The architectural structure of Kef Castle, built by the Urartian King Rusa II on a hill at an altitude of 2,300 meters, is being revealed through excavations.
Archaeological excavations continue at the 2,700-year-old Kef Castle, located in the Adilcevaz district of Bitlis.
With permission and support from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Faculty of Literature of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University (Van YYÜ), Faculty of Archeology, Associate Professor. Doctor. The movable cultural assets and real estate obtained during the excavations carried out under the direction of İsmail Coşkun shed light on the history of the city.
During the archaeological excavations carried out in the castle, a living room with a completely accessible floor, a room believed to be a kitchen, seals, pottery, ornaments, stoves, animal bones, ashes and architectural remains were unearthed.
Associate Professor, PhD. Dr. Coşkun explained that they focused this year's excavations on the great hall part of the castle and said:
“In particular, we discovered the entire upper hall. We found seals, pottery, stone tools, decorations, an area that we think might have been a stove connected to a large wall, ash and animal bones there.”
“FINDINGS MADE TO THE FINAL STAGE OF URARTU”
Emphasizing that Kef Castle consists of two large areas including the lower city and the upper city, Coşkun said, “We are talking about a land area of 200 thousand square meters, completely surrounded by walls.”
Expressing that they carried out excavations at the entrance to the palace, İsmail Coşkun said, “We think that there was a kitchen here. These findings date back to the last period of Urartu. During the excavation, we went deep into the upper hall, we unearthed all 8 elephant legs and also identified a room connected to the hall. We consider this place as Aşihusi (rich house, banquet hall).”
