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archaeologist in Turkey have unearthed the skeleton of an elite individual who may have meet an ill-timed death during an temblor in the part 2,700 geezerhood ago .
wear off jewellery and surround by weapons and artifact , such as a three-fold - sided inscription , and seals – small items used for " depute touch , private property , possession and authorization , " this individual no doubt lived an opulent aliveness in the eighth century B.C. until they fell to their death within the fort , with their personal property in tow , saidMehmet Işıklı , heading of the Ayanis excavations and professor in the Atatürk University Department of Archaeology .
Aerial view of the skeleton found this year at Ayanis Castle.
The fort was built in Ayanis , anUrartiancenter in Turkey ’s Van responsibility where the frame was find . The Iron Age kingdom ofUrartureigned from the 9th to 6th century B.C.and spanned from what is now Armenia to western Iran to eastern Turkey , where Ayanis is located .
scholar have long speculated that an quake and subsequent fire cause the downfall of Ayanis . Since excavations commence there in the belated 1980s , there has been a " lack of such evidence to support the aim earthquake scenarios for the end of the urban center , " Işıklı say Live Science via electronic mail . The finding of this skeleton loan critical grounds to the quake hypothesis , Işıklı said .
Anthropological analysis will be take on the skeletal system to set the individual ’s age and sex activity , and to control if any trace of the Einstein persist , although there is debate among researchers as to whether any soft tissue remains .
The recently restored Haldi Temple.
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A double - sided inscribed cuneiform pad , find with the skeleton , will be interpret and publish soon . Depending on the content of the inscription , it may be possible to specify this individual ’s role and class in Urartian social club , as well as to give valuable context of use to the societal or political activities at Ayanis .
According to Işıklı , not only is the skeleton in the cupboard " passing well preserved " but " the skull is in good consideration , and according to the preliminary information we have received , " there may be chemically fast trace of the brain stay .
Aerial view of the temple area.
Erkan Konyar , an associate professor in the Department of Ancient History at Istanbul University who is not involved in the finding but has excavated other Urartian finding , warned that brain tissue does not typically survive in the climate of Van , which includes the massive Lake Van and is over a mile above sea level ( 5,380 feet , or 1,640 meters ) . Rather , head tissue is likely to survive only in swampyor glacial environments . grounds that first seems to be Einstein tissue are really " trace form by inured soil , " Konyar told Live Science in an email . Işıklı said further anthropological examination is needed to confirm the remains of tissue paper , along with other characteristics of the skeleton .
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After the " brilliant " city of Ayanis was built by King Rusa II in the mid - 7th century B.C. , " the kingdom chop-chop enter the cognitive operation of collapse and collapsed curtly after , " Işıklı enounce . Therefore , clues to the realm ’s collapse may lie within the paries of the Ayanis bastion . Ayanis is " the only excavation project that has the potential drop to work the problems of this peak and collapse of the realm , " Işıklı said .
Previous excavations within the bastion have unearthed the Haldi Temple , which has undergone restoration since 2020 , along with its stone carvings honoring Haldi , the chancellor god inUrartian religion . A number of rooms in the synagogue have been excavated recently , and there are plan to create an receptive - air museum for tourists to visit the temple .
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