Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
The Archaeology of Anatolia,Volume III, Recent Discoveries (2017–2018), Steadman,Sharon R. McMahon,Gregory, Editör, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Cambridge, ss.84-98, 2019
The Urartian Kingdom was on the historical stage as a sovereign power beginning in the mid-9th century BCE, located in mountainous eastern Anatolia and the lands nearby. During its most powerful era, the kingdom extended its borders to the Euphrates in the west, to Lake Urmiye in the southeast, to the plateau of Erzurum-Kars in the north, and to Lake Sevan in the southeast. The Urartian kings who reigned in this vast and harsh geography for almost three centuries constructed magnificent castles in order to make the central authority permanent. Rusa II, who was the last great king of the Urartians, and reigned during the 7th century BCE, had five large castles constructed in the mountainous zone during this tumultuous era. There is no doubt that the most majestic of these is Ayanis Castle, which rises on a natural hill on the eastern coast of Lake Van. The castle, which is just a one-day walk (35 km) away from the capital Tušpa, must have been constructed just after 673–672 BCE according to the inscriptions from the monumental gate and temple, and based on the results of dendrochronological analysis. The excavations at Ayanis Castle, which have continued for 30 years, have provided a rich inventory belonging to the Urartian culture. Excavations were carried out in two areas, the Citadel and the outer town, in areas identified as “The Temple Area, Domestic Buildings, Pillared Hall, Monumental Gate, East and West Storerooms, South-North-East and West Fortification Walls and a part of the outer city”. Among this group of structures, the most prominent is the Hall with Podium, which also includes the Temple of Ḫaldi and which is a unique element in Urartian architecture discovered in the excavations of the Temple Area; the new phase of archaeological excavations here are the topic of this study. The excavations that began in 2011 have continued with a focus on solving the archaeological problems in the temple area, and related restoration and protection. Within these studies the focus was on the new monumental building, which is located east of the temple area and just behind the core temple of Ḫaldi (cella). This new building, renamed “The Hall with Podium,” is an authentic structure that has caused us to revise what was already known about the Urartians and raises new questions regarding Urartian archaeology.