Bastam, an Urartian Citadel Complex of the Seventh Century B. C.

Abstract

From the time when the first test trench was dug in 1968 in the Urartian ruins near the village of Bastam in Iranian Azerbaijan, 54 km. northwest of Khoy, regular excavations were carried out by the German Archaeological Institute until the beginning of the Iranian revolution. The last two seasons in particular have led to important discoveries regarding the architectural history of Bastam; these and the associated finds will be presented here. In the eighth century B.C. a fortified way station of small proportions, the name of which is not known, was established on a rocky projection overhanging the valley of the River Aq Chai (in English, the White Water). This elongated fort, 172 m. long and 38 m. wide at its broadest point, protected an important Urartian thoroughfare connecting the capital of Van (Tuspa) and the eastern part of the kingdom. The fortress was founded on bedrock near an occupation mound of the third and second millennia B.C., which lies at the foot of the acropolis of Bastam. After years of research, the remains of the fort, which lie beneath the constructions of Rusa II, were finally traced in 1978, at least in their general outlines. The history of Bastam begins with the Bronze Age mound, since the Urartians mined it for fill to use behind their walls. The modern village of Bastam lies over a large part of the mound. The painted pottery and the small finds belong to the prehistoric periods of northwest Azerbaijan and the Araxes valley. Rusa II, the founder and patron of Rusa-i URU. TUR, ruled from 685 to 645 B.C. Events dating to his reign are mentioned in II Kings 19-36-37: And the sons of Sennacherib after the murder of their father fled to the land of Ararat. This land of Ararat, around Mount Ararat, is to be identified with Urartu. Sennacherib of Assyria was murdered in 681 B.C. Rusa II of Urartu probably began construction at Bastam very soon after he came into power. In the approximately 90 years until the end of the Urartian hegemony, between 595 and 585 B.C., the acropolis and the lower town of Bastam were the scene of lively building activity. A subsidiary royal residence was built here in stages; it must have functioned as the administrative, military and religious center of the province, as well as the seat of a governor, and sometimes as the seat of a king. The Urartian establishment in Bastam (ill. i) covered an area 16oo m. long by 850 m. wide, 1.36 km' in all, and was composed of different elements. The Aq Chai, which floods in spring and after heavy summer rainfall, was held in check by strong walls, 6oo m. of which are still recognizable today. At the same time these walls secured the base of a canal embankment against erosion. The canal watered fields as far as ii km. away, and branched off from the Aq Chai under the protection of the Bastam fortress. In Urartian times, just as today, the artificially watered fields of the plain of Qara Zia Eddin began at the foot of the Citadel. Bastam then lay protecting and controlling the entrance of the cultivated plain which largely supported the citadel and settlement in Urartian times. The existence of a burial tumulus created a special problem for the excavations. This tumulus was made of alternate layers of river gravel and of material from the Bronze Age mound. It was laid out in the dry river bed and its base is surrounded by a natural accumulation of gravel almost 5 m. in height. The gravel makes excavation difficult, especially since it is unclear whether the burial lay in the center of the mound or off to one side. However, it seems likely that the grave mound was built no earlier than the Urartian period. In the plain, 365 m. to the east of the citadel, is the so-called East building, oriented N-S. It is a