At the ongoing excavations in the Gürpınar district of eastern Türkiye’s Van province, a chamber tomb carved into the bedrock and a water channel dating back to the Urartians have been found.

Archaeologists discovered the remains of a castle dating back 2,800 years on a mountain at an altitude of 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) in the district as part of a project sponsored by Van Yüzüncü Yıl University (YYÜ) last year. A large cistern with a depth of 6.5 meters, a length of 6.5 meters and a diameter of 2.5 meters, walls and ceramic artifacts were also found in the castle.

Maintaining their works in the area, the experts, under the supervision of professor Rafet Çavuşoğlu, who is the head of the YYÜ Faculty of Letters Archaeology Department, recently discovered the remains of a water channel and a chamber tomb.

Noting that the castle, believed to have been used by the Urartian rulers, also hosted different civilizations in the Middle Ages, Çavuşoğlu said that the structure was built in a pyramidal form, which is the common feature of the Urartian architecture.

"The castle is a rectangular structure that is 100 meters long and 25 meters wide. There are also architectural sites that were inhabited in the Middle Ages inside the castle. The area of the castle is located at a point that is very dominant for transition points."

Explaining that the remains of a 30-meter water channel were also unearthed in the area, the professor said: "One of the most important factors in the choice of location of the castle is also its proximity to water resources."

Providing information about the chamber tomb, Çavuşoğlu stated that the structure was built on steep bedrock at a height of about 10 meters from the ground. "We tried to view the interior of the tomb with a drone as we enter it due to the steepness. We observed that there are niches in its interior."

According to the excavation head, experts also found a dirhe, which is the name given by the locals to the tower-shaped structures built in a cyclopean style, in the area. Pointing out that the outer wall of this place is 2 meters thick, he continued: "It is a place with foundation beds of 7 by 8 meters."