Erebuni Fortress Erebuni Fortress ( ) , also known as Arin Berd ( ; meaning the " Fortress of Blood " ) is a fortified city from the ancient kingdom of Urartu , located in what is present - day Yerevan , Armenia . It was one of several fortresses built along the northern Urartian border and was one of the most important political , economic and cultural centers of the vast kingdom . The name Yerevan itself is derived from Erebuni . Etymology . On an inscription found at Karmir Blur , the verb " erebu - ni " is used in the sense of " to seize , pillage , steal , or kidnap " followed by a changing direct object . As an unchanging direct object , scholars have conjectured that the word may also mean " to take " or " to capture " and thus believe that the Erebuni at the time of its founding meant " capture " , " conquest " , or " victory . " The Circassian historian Amjad Jaimoukha gives an alternative etymology , however : " eri " ( referring to the Èrs , the people living in the area ) + " buni " . " Buni " comes from the Nakh root which spawned the Chechen word " bun " meaning shelter or cabin ; the root however simply means lair or shelter . It may have spawned the word " van " in Armenian ( a language with a strong Urartian substratum ) , albeit possibly through different roots ( Urartian " biani " rather than Èr " buni " ) which similarly means shelter . Interpreted in that way , the fortress would be the capital city of the Èr people . " Van " as a root is also present in numerous other placenames in historical Armenia , including the city Van , Lake Sevan , and Nakhichevan , so it is probable that the " van " in " Yerevan " is another direct translation of the root . Jaimoukha states furthermore that the name of the Èr also serves as the root for the Arax valley ( the Erashki gorge ) and for the Medieval Georgian name used in the " Georgian Chronicles " for Lake Sevan - " Lake Ereta " . History . Erebuni was founded by Urartian King Argishti I ( r . ca . 785 – 753 BC ) in 782 BC . It was built on top of a hill called Arin Berd overlooking the Arax River Valley to serve as a military stronghold to protect the kingdom ' s northern borders . According to Margarit Israelyan , Argishti began the construction of Erebuni after conquering the territories north of Yerevan and west of Lake Sevan , roughly corresponding to where the town of Abovyan is currently located . Accordingly , the prisoners he captured in these campaigns , both men and women , were used to help build his town . In the autumn of 1950 , an archaeological expedition led by Konstantine Hovhannisyan discovered an inscription at Arin Berd dedicated to the city ' s founding which was carved during Argishti ' s reign . Two other identical inscriptions have been found at the citadel of Erebuni . The inscription reads : Argishti left a similar inscription at the Urartian capital of Tushpa ( current - day Van ) as well , stating that he brought 6 , 600 prisoners of war from Khate and Tsupani to populate his new city . Similar to other Urartian cities of the time , it was built on a triangular plan on top of a hill and ensconced by 10 - 12 meter high rampart s . Behind them , the buildings were separated by central and inner walls . The walls were built from a variety of materials , including basalt , tuff , wood and adobe . Argishti constructed a grand palace here and excavations conducted in the area have revealed that other notable buildings included a colonnaded royal assembly hall , a temple dedicated to Khaldi , a citadel , where the garrison resided , living quarters , dormitories and storerooms . The inner walls were richly decorated with murals and other wall paintings , displaying religious and secular scenes . Successive Urartian kings made Erebuni their place of residence during their military campaigns against northern invaders and continued construction work to build up the fortress defences . Kings Sarduri II and Rusa I also utilized Erebuni as a staging site for new campaigns of conquest directed towards the north . In the early sixth century the Urartian state , under constant foreign invasion , collapsed . The region soon fell under the control of the Achaemenian Empire . The strategic position that Erebuni occupied did not diminish , however , becoming an important center of the " satrapy " of Armenia . Despite numerous invasions by successive foreign powers , the city was never truly abandoned and was continually inhabited over the following centuries , eventually branching out to become the city of Yerevan . Erebuni ' s close affinity to Yerevan was celebrated in a splendid festival held in September 1968 , commemorating Erebuni ' s 2 , 750th birthday . Architecture . The site of Erebuni Fortress was located atop the 65 m tall hill of Arin Berd as a strategic position overlooking the Ararat plain and the main roads leading to the citadel . It also overlooked cramped Urartian town made up of residences below at the foot of the hill . The main entrance to the fortress was located at the more gently sloped southeastern site of the hill . It led to the central yard of the citadel . Ceremonies held by the personal guards of Argishti I and guards of the fortress garrison were held here . In the southwest portion of the yard was a temple of the god Khaldi . The temple had a large oblong plan with a staircase that led to the roof of a ziggurat type tower and a side room on the lower floor . Surrounding the hall was a double - rowed twelve - column open portico with benches along the walls . An altar for sacrifices was located at the left wall . The walls were decorated with colorful frescoes depicting representations of human figures , gods , geometric and floral designs . One of the frescoes uncovered depicts the god Khaldi standing on a lion with a warder in his left hand and a horned crown upon his head . It is typical of other representations of Khaldi found at other sites . The floor of the temple contrasted greatly from the rest of the complex in that it had wood floors composed of small planks , compared to the clay - coated adobe floors that were faced with stone slabs found in the rest of the citadel ' s rooms . Excavations . Early excavations began during the 19th century while more systematic excavations were carried out at Erebuni in 1952 , under the joint sponsorship of the Armenian Academy of Sciences ' Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography and the Pushkin Museum ' s Board for the Preservation and Restoration of Architectural Monuments . The team was led by Konstantine Hovhannisyan and Boris Piotrovsky , who served as an on - site adviser . In the course of the early stage of the excavations ( 1950 – 1968 ) , Argishti ' s palace , the royal assembly hall , temples and over a hundred rooms were excavated . Dozens of Urartian and Achaemenian artifacts , such as pottery , earthenware , belt - buckles , bracelets , beads , drinking vessels , helmets , arrows and silver coins , were also uncovered . The fragments of murals that were uncovered were found to be decorated with important religious themes , including " processions of gods , sacred animals , and trees of life " , as well as scenes of everyday life , displaying scenes of " hunting , cattle breeding , and agriculture . " Storage areas for grain , oil , and wine were also uncovered . On the doors of the storage areas inscriptions were placed at the entry doors telling the who built the storage area and the quantity of the items placed in them . One such inscription reads : The enormous ceramic jars that held the wine and oil had markings upon them . Smaller ceramic vessels were also found in excavations and are known to have been used in brewing beer made from barley . Other much larger vessels were used for storing foods and wine . Small circular markings on the sides of these containers near the top indicated the amount that could be stored inside . The larger of the vessels were usually buried half - way into the soil which naturally kept the contents cool . Numerous cuneiform inscriptions carved on basalt have been found around the complex . Some of which are currently displayed in the museum , while others can still be found displayed on the walls . In 1968 the Erebuni Museum of History was established . Its opening was timed to coincide with the 2750th anniversary of Yerevan . The museum houses items uncovered during the excavations at Arin Berd and Karmir Blur and gives a history of the site .