New finds suggest Urartians may have settled near Lake Urmia

New finds suggest Urartians may have settled near Lake Urmia

Mehr News Agency, Iran
Aug 1 2005

TEHRAN, Aug. 1 (MNA) — Iranian archaeologists recently discovered
over 50 ancient sites dating back to the Urartian era northwest of
Lake Urmia which seem to confirm the theory of Urartian settlement
in the region.

The discoveries, which were made near Salmas and Khoy in West
Azarbaijan Province, include mounds, castles, cemeteries, and tombs,
West Azarbaijan Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department archaeologist
Reza Heydari announced on Monday.

The sites are similar to the Urartian sites located near Lake Van in
Turkey, Heydari added.

The ancient kingdom of Urartu, the biblical Ararat, flowered in the
area south of the Caucasus from the ninth century to the seventh
century BC.

Urartu, centered in the mountainous region around Lake Van, existed
from about 1000 BC, or earlier, until 585 BC, and stretched from
northern Mesopotamia through the southern Caucasus, including parts
of present-day Armenia up to Lake Sevan.

“The similar sites discovered in Turkey indicate that there was
a wide range of political, social, commercial, and economic ties
between Iran and Turkey at that time,” he noted.

According to Heydari, the Lake Urmia region’s copper, metal, and salt
mines, fertile land, and central location on trade routes were the
main reasons that the Urartians chose to settle in the area.

One feature of Urartu architecture, that was to be very influential
in the Near East, was the blind arch. The layout of Urartu buildings
was the precursor to that of the Iranian Apadana layouts.

Experts believe that Urartian architects played a major role in
designing Iranian fortified buildings. Urartu fortresses were solid
structures of stone blocks.