Archaeological Excavations at Murat (Norik) in 2018: A Preliminary Report

This study aims to introduce the preliminary results of the rescue excavations conducted at Murat (Norik) H？yük, located on the edge of Murat River. The mound is situated south of the modern village of Murat in the Solhan town of Bing？l city in Eastern Anatolia. The excavations conducted in 2018 yielded diagnostic finds mainly representing the Middle Iron Age. A single cultural level identified at the mound yielded the foundations of what appear to be a fortress. This cultural layer rich in small finds clearly belongs to the architectural remains of a fortress. The pottery assemblage recovered from the excavations represent the local versions of the typical Urartian pottery, while snake-headed glass bracelet and bronze objects such as needles, bracelets, earrings, fibula and belts display characteristic features of comparable finds known to us from major excavated Urartian sites. The rescue excavations carried out Murat (Norik) H？yük, which has been the first systematic archaeological excavation conducted in the area Bing？l, are hoped to contribute much to our general understanding of the Urartian presence in this part of eastern Anatolia during the early first millennium BC