Nearly 40 archaeological experts at an excavation site in Turkey's eastern Van province have uncovered 2,800-year-old pithoi, large ceramic storage containers. The latter have reportedly been used as tombs during the reign of the Urartian Kingdom, which centered around Lake Van established in 860 BC, Daily Sabah reports.

The archeology team from Istanbul University has been carrying out excavations in the region every year for the past five years to unearth artefacts from the Urartian Kingdom, which ruled the area until its defeat by the Medes in 590 BC.

Unearthed by an archaeology team, the pithos tombs, used as burial chambers at the time, give clues about some of the customs of the kingdom.

Just 38km from Van excavation work is also taking place at Urartu Castle. This year parts of the walls were discovered.

Head of Excavation Doc. Dr. Mehmet Isikli, told Hurriyet Daily News: “This made us very excited, as even though these walls witnessed great earthquakes, their architecture remained quite robust and unchanged.”