Çavuştepe contains the remains of the Urartian fortress Šardurihinili (Sarduris town), built between 764 and 735 BC by King Sarduri II. The fortress is located on the slope of the Bol Dağı, which gave the fortress strategic importance. An important military road led from the Urartian capital Tušpa to Šardurihinili and from there over the Kel-i-Shin Pass to Musasir.

Šardurihinili was built when Urartu was powerful and is an impressive example of Urartian architecture, art and culture. Excavations took place between 1961 and 1986. The Šardurihinili fortress consists of an acropolis and a lower town.

In the smaller upper fortress there is a temple of the god Haldi, in the lower fortress the palace, depots, stables, workshops and a temple for the god Irmušini. In other fortresses no temples of other gods were found, only those for Haldi. Within the fortress wall there are also cisterns. During the excavations a granary with fossilized grain was found. Many consecration and thanksgiving inscriptions of the king to the god Haldi were found scattered over the fortress.

An exemplary inscription reads:
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The fortress was destroyed in the 7th century BC. In the Middle Ages, stones from the fortress were used to build houses. In the first millennium B.C., the Kingdom of Urartu was a kingdom in north-east Asia Minor, at the borders of today's states of Turkey, Armenia and Iran. Most researchers assume that the empire came to an end in the 6th century BC. A final assessment of the end of Urartu will require more accurate data overall. With the end of the empire, the Urartian language also disappears.

The village Çavuştepe below the fortress hill