Excavations are planned in the ruins of Ani, the capital of an ancient Armenian kingdom, to last for 45 days.

According to Kars Culture and Tourism Director Hakan Doğanay, Turkish Ministry of Culture allocated 110 000 TR for archaeological diggings. As he noted, the last excavations were held back in 2011.

While under Russian rule, in early XX century, Ani hosted excavations, with 4 carriages of artifacts exported to Russia, the majority of them currently displayed in the country’s museums, the official said, according to Anadolu.