It is a fortress settlement located on the northwestern frontier of the Kingdom of Urartu, about 15 km east of the modern-day city center of Erzincan. Altıntepe (meaning “golden hill”) fortress was established on top of a 60-meter-high volcanic hill at the southern edge of the mountain ranges that border the Erzincan Plain to the north.
Altıntepe was first discovered by chance in 1938 during a road construction project when Urartian artifacts were unearthed. The first official excavations were carried out by Tahsin Özgüç between 1959 and 1966. A second phase of excavations began in 2003 under Mehmet Karaosmanoğlu.
Although the hill saw intermittent settlement from the Bronze Age through the Byzantine era, the lack of inscriptions makes it difficult to determine the original name of the Urartian settlement or who founded it. Based on the words “Argišti” and “Rusahinili” found on two separate bronze fragments in a tomb, Özgüç proposed that the city was established during the reign of Rusa II, son of Argišti. Özgüç also categorized the Urartian-era structures into two distinct layers belong to the 8th and 7th centuries BCE.
The fortress on the hilltop covers an area of about 200 meters. Byzantine walls later built on the site damaged the original Urartian fortifications and gateway. In addition to temple and palace complexes and storage facilities identified as Urartian in origin, a large columned hall measuring 44 by 25 meters was also discovered. Resembling structures found in Persian architecture, this building has been referred to as an “apadana.” Its construction date is debated: Özgüç attributed it to the early Urartian period, while Karaosmanoğlu suggested it was built later, in an expanded form during the late Urartian period. Scholar Geoffrey Summers, on the other hand, attributes the building to the Achaemenid era.
One of the best-preserved features of the site is an open-air sanctuary built on a terrace below the southern slope of the hill. This sacred area includes four stelae placed side by side and a circular altar in front of them. It is believed to have been part of a cult site connected to nearby burial grounds.
In the cemetery near the sanctuary, three underground tombs have been discovered. Two were found accidentally in 1938 and 1956, both partially damaged and looted. The third, however, was unearthed intact during Özgüç’s 1959 excavations. This three-chambered tomb is especially noteworthy, not only for the valuable artifacts it contained, but also for the presence of two stone sarcophagi, which had never before been seen in any Urartian tomb.
References:
Danışmaz, H. 2018. Arkeolojik Veriler Çerçevesinde Urartu Krallığı’nın Eyalet Sistemi, Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi, İstanbul Üniversitesi, İstanbul, 2018.
Karaosmanoğlu, M. 2011. “Erzincan Altıntepe Kalesi,” in Urartu: Doğuda Değişim – Transformation in The East, eds. K. Köroğlu & E. Konyar, YKY, İstanbul, 364 – 371.
Karaosmanoğlu, M. 2021. “Erzincan/Altıntepe,” in Archaeology and History of Urartu (Bianili) – Colloquia Antiqua 28, ed. G. R. Tsetskhladze, Leuven, 114-211.
Karaosmanoğlu, M. & H. Korucu. 2015. “Erzincan Altıntepe Kalesi,” Atatürk Üniversitesi Güzel Sanatlar Enstitüsü Dergisi 35, 36-59.
Kuşu, S. 2015. Altıntepe Urartu Yapılarının Sanal Ortamda Üç Boyutlu Görselleştirilmesi, Yayınlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Marmara Üniversitesi, İstanbul.
Özdoğan, M. E. 2014. “Iron Age Chronology Issues of Altıntepe and the Kingdom of Diauehi,” in Urartians: A Civilization in the Eastern Anatolia, eds. A. Çilingiroğlu et al., 87-103.
Özgüç, T. 1961. “Altıntepe Kazıları / Excavations at Altıntepe,” Belleten 25/98, 253-290.
Özgüç, T. 1966. Altıntepe – Mimarlık Anıtları ve Duvar Resimleri / Archhitectural Monuments and Wall Paintings, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Özgüç, T. 1969. Altıntepe II – Mezarlar, Depo Binası ve Fildişi Eserler / Tombs, Storehouse and Ivories, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Summers, G. D. 1993. “Archaeological Evidence for the Achaemenid Period in Eastern Turkey,” Anatolian Studies, 43: 85-108.
Image sources:
T. Özgüç, 1961
T. Özgüç, 1969
M. Karaosmanoğlu & H. Korucu, 2015
S. Kuşu, 2015
Arkeoloji Haber, 2016
H. Danışmaz, 2018
Arkeoloji ve Sanat, 2021
M. Karaosmanoğlu, 2021
Bora Bilgin, 2024