2,700-Year-Old Shields and Helmet Found at Ancient Castle in Turkey

Three bronze shields and one bronze helmet dating back 2,700 years were found by archaeologists excavating an ancient castle in Turkey, the country’s minister of culture and tourism announced on  Instagram and X earlier this month.

Ayanis Castle was a fortress near Lake Van in eastern Turkey erected by the Kingdom of Urartu (also known as the Kingdom of Van). At the height of its success, between the ninth and sixth centuries B.C.E., the kingdom was known for its military prowess and metalwork.

The shields and helmet were found in a temple complex devoted to Haldi, the chief god of Urartu, and were left as offerings to the god.

These are hardly the first or most extensive finds at the site, which included the discovery of a miniature bronze chariot likely used for transporting a cultic statue just last year.

“This castle is proving to be the richest Urartian site in Turkey for many reasons, not the least of which is the quantity of bronzes associated with the temple,” Paul Zimansky, a history professor at Stony Brook University who conducted archaeological work at Ayanis between 1997 and 2009, told Live Science.

Current excavations at the castle are being overseen by Mehmet Isikli, an archaeology professor at Ataturk University.