©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project


Anzavurtepe

For site maps and drawings please click on the picture...

maps

For photographs please click on the photo...

Anzavurtepe
Type:
Fortress
Altitude:
m
Region:
Eastern Anatolia
Province:
Agri
District:
Patnos
Village:
Merkez
Investigation Method:
Survey
Period:
Middle Iron Age

     


It is 60 km north of the Lake Van within the borders of Agri. It was discovered in 1960 during a visit by A. Erzen accompanied by the Superintendent of Schools and a museum personnel in Agri. The systematic surveys revealed that the fortress is from the Urartu Period, and it houses a temple and a bronze statue of a lion. The section on which the temple rises was dug by treasure hunters at a depth of 4 m. There is a 3.2 m long corridor and doorways in front of the 5 x 5 m chamber of the temple. This structure resembles the Temple of Haldi Temple at Toprakkale to a great extent. A 3-4 m deep pit of ca. 20x20 cm carved into the bedrock at was found at each corner of the foundation as in the Temple of Haldi, and bronze plates were found in two of them. According to Barnett, the temple has a square shape with a dimension of 20x13.5 m. Due to its similarity with the Temple of Haldi, it is likely that it was a temple. Presence of grey blocks slightly above the foundation level in the interior part of the structure with some bearing Urartian inscriptions and the blue-painted decorations on the northern wall provide further evidence for identifying it as a temple. Extramural architecture is very limited at Anzavurtepe similar to the Temple of Haldi. The lion statue in bronze found in the temple is seated, and it measures 7 cm in height, and 9 cm in lenght. It bears Urartian characteristics. The most characteristic feature of the Anzavurtepe lion is its rectangular eyes, with eyebrow and lid together forming a triangle over the two corners of the eyeball. This feature is also seen in the lions unearthed during the previous excavations at Toprakkale. It is also represented in the metal lion bearing the name of Sarduri II. The eyes of the animals in the contemporary resources are not like that. In Urartians, the head of the animals carry an inverse y-like form (?). The exact period of the temple and the bronze lion is uncertain. It is also difficult to estimate when the temple was demolished. The illicit diggings on the Anzavurtepe resulted in grave damage in the fortress.
Location:
Geography and Environment:
History:
Research and Excavation:
Stratigraphy:
Small Finds:
Remains:
Interpretation and Dating:


To List