Urartian mural found at Erebuni fortress with colors intact after 2,600 years

Archaeologists from France and Armenia have discovered a wall painting at the ancient Erebuni fortress that has retained its original colors for more than 2,500 years. Researchers call the find unprecedented, as ancient panels usually crumble and lose pigment due to moisture and other changing environmental conditions.

The panel dates to the most turbulent period in the history of the kingdom of Urartu. Specialists have not yet attempted to interpret the scenes and decorative motifs depicted on the fresco — their primary focus is the exceptional condition of the paint layer.

The remarkable preservation opens up opportunities to study the materials and techniques used by Urartian artists. Further analysis should reveal how the pigments were produced, whether they came from mineral or organic sources, and which regions they were brought from.

Erebuni was founded in 782 BCE on a hill overlooking the Ararat Valley. The fortress is well studied, thanks in part to cuneiform records kept by its inhabitants under successive Urartian rulers. The settlement was more than a military outpost: its center housed a temple dedicated to the chief deity of Urartu, while residential quarters, warehouses, and administrative buildings stood within the walls.