The bronze items—three shields and a helmet—were found during excavations at the archaeological site of Ayanis, an ancient citadel and settlement in what is now Van province in eastern Turkey, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on social media.Ayanis was a citadel city founded in the seventh century B.C. by the Urartian king Rusa. Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom that extended across parts of what is now eastern Turkey, Armenia, Iran and Iraq.The kingdom, renowned for its mastery of stone, metal and weaponry, was one of the most powerful states in West Asia during the eighth and...