Karmir Blur in the Late Urartian Context

Abstract The site of Karmir Blur, ancient Teishebaini, is located on the left bank of the Hrazdan river in the southwestern districts of the modern capital, Yerevan. Teishebaini was, together with Erebuni (Arin Berd) and Argishtihinili (Aramvir, Davti Blur), an administrative centre of the Urartian kingdom in the Ararat plain and is nowadays one of the most important sites for the reconstruction of the Urartian state economy, as well as the chronology of the Iron Age. Recent archaeological research in Urartian fortresses in Armenia has raised doubts about the conventional dating of the destruction of Karmir Blur that is associated with the end of the kingdom of Urartu. The article presents new archaeological results from the investigations that were conducted in Karmir Blur in 2019 as part of the Armenian-Austrian cooperation.