Facial reconstructions of 2,700-year-old Hurro-Urartian women from Van and Urmia The Hurro-Urartians were an ancient people who inhabited parts of Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, and the Zagros Mountains. The Urartian individual was a noblewoman from Chavushtepe in eastern Turkey, also known as Sardurihinili. The site is located approximately 25 kilometers southeast of Van. Sardurihinili consists of fortification walls and the remains of an Urartian royal palace, built between 764 and 735 BC during the reign of King Sarduri II, at the height of the Urartian Empire's power. According to Assyrian sources from the 9th–8th centuries BC, the state of Urartu gradually emerged in the Armenian Highlands. Early texts mention the "lands of Uruatri," a tribal confederation that resisted Assyrian expansion and was linked to the Hurrians and Subarians. Urartu was a vast but ethnically diverse state that united many peoples by force; the Urartians themselves likely constituted only the ruling elite. During the Iron Age, the Urartians became a major regional power. The territory of the Kingdom of Urartu encompassed parts of present-day Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia. They were closely related to the Hurrians and spoke a language belonging to the same family. The Urartians were a sophisticated people, renowned for their craftsmanship, military prowess, and durable fortifications that have withstood the test of time. Urartu was also noted for its military campaigns against neighboring states. The second individual, also known as "SK59", was found in Hasanlu, an archaeological site of an ancient city located in northwestern Iran, in the province of West Azerbaijan, just south of Lake Urmia. The settlement was likely associated with the Mannaeans, a people inhabiting the region who likely spoke a Hurrian language. The site is best known for its catastrophic destruction. At the end of the 9th century BC, Hasanlu was violently sacked and burned, preserving a single moment in time much like Pompeii. Buildings, artifacts, and even human remains were sealed beneath layers of ash and collapsed debris. The attackers were most likely the Urartians. Excavations uncovered the remains of more than 285 people, many of whom were killed during the assault or executed afterward. Several bodies showed signs of mutilation, while the positions of others revealed desperate attempts to escape. Among the thousands of objects discovered in situ were weapons, ornaments, and household items, all abandoned amid the chaos. This destruction layer is one of the most important archaeological contexts of the early Iron Age Near East. Following the devastation, the city's High Mound was repurposed as the site of a Urartian fortress. Reconstructions commissioned by @shoresh03
