Old Data and New Investigations The Urartian and Orontid Fortress of Körzüt in Muradiye Plain, Turkey

This article presents an important archaeological site located on the north-eastern shore of Lake Van, Turkey. The site was one of the first to be associated with the kingdom of Urartu, thanks to the grandeur of its characteristic architecture and the pottery visible on the surface. Körzüt is composed of a vast fortified complex, within which there were certainly a temple, palatine structures, storage rooms, a settlement, and a necropolis. Presumably contemporary hydraulic works have been documented near the site. Körzüt has been the subject of numerous illegal excavations in past and present times, which over the years have brought to light a considerable amount of epigraphic material. This has allowed us to attribute the construction of the complex to King Minua, between the end of the ninth and the beginning of the eighth century BCE. Numerous recent illegal excavations on the site have led to emergency excavations. These investigations have led to the discovery of important remains, which are discussed and contextualised in this paper, together with what was already known in terms of epigraphic and architectural evidence. Furthermore, Körzüt can be added to the list of settlements that were also used in the post-Urartian era in the years in which the Armenian Highlands was dominated by the Orontid dynasty.