Traces of ancient life found in eastern Van

VAN

During excavations carried out in İremir Mound, located in eastern Van province’s Gürpınar district, archeologists have found traces of ancient life dating back 5,000 years.

The excavation works, which started earlier this year with permissions obtained from the Culture and Tourism Ministry, revealed new significant information that can shed light on history.

A 15-person excavation team, consisting of anthropologists, archaeologists and art historians, have found an archaic living space from the Early Bronze Age during surface research.

The said area consists of a part believed to have been used for storage, along with ancient ceramics, pots and jugs.

Erol Uslu, the head of the excavation team and the chair of Van Museum, told Anadolu Agency that until this day excavations works have been carried out in 28 different parts of Van.

Only in three locations, Dikkaya, Tilkitepe and Karagündüz, there are mound areas, Uslu said.

“Revealing ancient ruins dating back to the Urartians are very important for mound excavations. The findings we revealed in İremir Mound dates back to the Early Bronze Age,” he said.

“This shows that there was life here before the Urartians,” he added.

Uslu also said that the İremir Mound has significance because it displays the ancient civilizations as a whole.