Archaeologists discovered burials at an Urartian necropolis at the Çavuştepe Castle, Van Province, East Turkey, which provide new details about Urartian burial customs.

The necropolis has been reported as being plundered by illegal treasure hunters in recent years. Rescue excavations conducted at the site have revealed a tomb with the skeletons of a man and a woman. Officials believe they were husband and wife because they were buried together. Among the artefacts found within the tomb are a bronze belt, a tray, a seal, and several bronze jewellery items. The researchers have also discovered a skeleton of a horse, being the first such find within an Urartian tomb. Close to the horse skeleton, the excavation team found many oxidized and deformed iron pieces and bronze nails, possibly belonging to a horse carriage. Samples taken from the horse skeleton will be analysed to determine the age and species of the horse. So far two different types of burial methods have been determined at the site. The first one is the urn-type burial, in which the dead people are cremated and their ashes are buried. Eight such tombs were found in an underground of nearly half a meter depth and most of them were broken. The second type involves placing the deceased in a tomb in a foetal position.

(after Hurriyet Daily News)