Karmir Blur, Archaeological site in Shengavit District, Yerevan, Armenia

Karmir Blur is an archaeological site in Yerevan displaying remains of an ancient Urartian city atop a hill. The ruins include fortress walls, temples, storage rooms, and residential structures dating to the first millennium BC.

Rusa II of Urartu built Teishebaini in the mid-7th century BC to guard the kingdom's eastern borders against the Cimmerians and Scythians; work continued under Rusa III some 50 years later. Around the beginning of the 6th century BC the city burned down, and charred cloth, rope and seeds, plus skeletons clutching gold objects, point to a night attack its inhabitants could not escape.

The excavations reveal how Urartian people lived, worked, and organized their community through everyday objects left behind. Visitors can observe traces of their daily activities in preserved tools, weapons, and household items.

The site lies within Yerevan city limits and is easily accessible, with maintained paths between ruins for exploring. Informational signs and displayed artifacts help visitors understand the excavated structures and findings.

The hill's red colour comes from mudbrick walls that burned and crumbled when the city was destroyed around 600 BC, not from the natural stone. Excavators also found skeletons clutching gold objects, likely residents trying to save or loot possessions as the fire spread.