Nemrut (volcano) of Lake Van, which is near the volcano, allowed clarification of the chronology and activity of recent eruptions. The potential activity of Nemrut and the close proximity of several Turkish cities inspired recent in-depth studies. In October 2003, the first in Turkey real-time seismic network of sensors has been installed around the volcano. During the first three years of operation the network has registered 133 seismic events with a magnitude of 1.3–4.0. Eruptions of Nemrut were mainly of Plinian type. Their products are mainly alkaline and include a wide range of lavas: from basalt to rhyolite and phonolite, as well
Urartu local residents began to plunder the Toprakkale ruins, selling its artefacts to European collections. In the 1880s this site underwent a poorly executed excavation organised by Hormuzd Rassam on behalf of the British Museum. Almost nothing was properly documented. The first systematic collection of Urartian inscriptions, and thus the beginning of Urartology as a specialized field dates to the 1870s, with the campaign of Sir Archibald Henry Sayce. The German engineer Karl Sester, discoverer of Mount Nemrut, collected more inscriptions in 1890/1. Waldemar Belck visited the area in 1891, discovering the Rusa stele. A further expedition planned for 1893 was