Three bronze shields dating back 2,700 years were found in Ayanis Castle.

In Van, during the excavation work carried out for 36 years at the Ayanis Castle built by the Urartians, three bronze shields and one helmet, approximately 2,700 years old, were found this year.

The excavation work at Ayanis Castle, located within the borders of Van’s Tuşba district, has been ongoing for about 36 years and has been conducted for the past 10 years under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Mehmet Işıklı from the Department of Archaeology at Atatürk University Faculty of Arts. The excavations, which reveal different artifacts each year, unearthed three bronze shields and one helmet during this year’s work.

“We have unearthed 3 bronze shields and 1 helmet in this year’s excavations”
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Işıklı expressed that the richest repertoire among this year’s findings consists of bronze shields: “In our excavations this year, we have unearthed 3 bronze shields and 1 helmet. These artifacts were found in very good condition. As you know, Ayanis Castle has undergone a significant earthquake. Due to this earthquake, there is a monumental collapse stemming from the adobe walls. Many artifacts have been found deformed for this reason. However, these were found at a great depth. Because they were found at the bottom of a room approximately 6-7 meters deep, they are in quite good condition. Of course, we have some minor breakages, but we hope to complete these with restoration and conservation. Among these, there were three shields and similarly a helmet. We believe it is a decorated ceremonial helmet. Because we can currently capture some of the decorations; of course, these decorations will beautifully emerge after a comprehensive restoration and conservation. All of these actually present very strong evidence that a royal or a religious elite group used that area. The presence of these artifacts shows that Ayanis Castle, as a result of 36 years of excavation, has offered a rich repertoire of bronze artifacts, especially bronze weapons,” he said.

“Urartians were a civilization that skillfully worked stone, metal, and metal”
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Işıklı stated that more than 30 bronze shields have been found so far in the castle excavations: “These 3 were found in the northern areas. If we consider why these shields were located in the temple area, as mentioned before, the god Haldi plays a significant role as the chief god in Urartian religion, but his most important feature is being a leader god. He is a sacred figure who guides the royal family and the royal army going to war with his weapon and spear. Therefore, the Urartian kings and the noble class often gift weapons to god Haldi. We know that these shields and other bronze weapons are dedicated to god Haldi. This group of shields and helmets was also dedicated to him. Of course, once the inscriptions on them are cleaned, they will come to light. Therefore, we beautifully obtained 3 examples of the dozens of bronze shields in the temple area this year. Hopefully, once their restoration and conservation are completed soon, we will contribute them to our regional museum and start exhibiting them. We are working in a castle that dates back approximately 2,700 years. These shields likely belong to a period that dates back 2,700 years from today. As you know, the Urartians were a civilization that skillfully worked stone, metal, and metal and were considered masters in this regard. They hold a very special place in Anatolian culture from this perspective. In fact, we see the richest collection of metal artifacts in Urartians. From this perspective, the Urartian kingdom masterfully worked with metal. Especially in the period of the last king we excavated, II. Rusa, a very rich collection of metal artifacts emerges, particularly at Ayanis Castle.”