Abstract: Van and its vicinity have been a prominent region with settlements recording many civilizations since the earliest periods in history. The most stunning remains of civilizations in this region belong to the Urartian Kingdom, which was established in the centre of Van from the middle of the 9th century BC. The capital city of the Urartian Kingdom was Tushpa (Van Castle), which was established on the Van Castle rock cliffs rising on the eastern shore of Lake Van. In addition to Tushpa, the capital of the Kingdom of Urartu, the architectural remains of many castles, urban settlements, and other architectural structures, including dams and water canals, are extensively observed in the eastern part of Lake Van. Considering the geological structure of this central region, it appears that the Kingdom’s settlements and architectural structures were founded on the Van formation, which consists of Bitlis Metamorphics, Upper Cretaceous Ophiolites and Tertiary deep-sea sediments that form the basement rocks in the region. This study was carried out to determine petrographic characteristics and classify rock types of natural stones used as building materials in Van Castle, Çavuştepe, Ayanis, Toprakkale, Zivistan, Keçikıran Castle, Körzüt Castle and Menua Canal belonging to the Urartian Kingdom. A secondary purpose was to use a geological approach to determine the quarries from which they were extracted. For this purpose, representative natural stone samples were taken from the architectural structures and their remains in the settlement centres of Urartian Kingdom in order to prepare rock thin sections of natural stone samples. The thin sections were examined under polarising petrographic microscope to determine petrographic features and classify the rock types. When the architectural building groups in Urartian settlements are examined, different natural stones were mostly used as building materials. The rock types of these natural stones used in construction of these structures are generally classified under two main groups as igneous and sedimentary origin. Sedimentary rock types such as limestone, travertine and sandstone were preferred as the main building material in settlement centres around the Lake Van Basin. Additionally, igneous rocks types such as gabbro, basalt, andesite and serpentinite were preferred more intensely in centres which are located around the north and western part of Lake Van. At the point of determining the sources of rock types used as natural stone building materials in the Urartian centres, it was concluded that Urartu primarily supplied those materials from the nearest quarry sites. The use of this material is also possible especially from rocky or other nearby areas on which the structure was built. However, in line with the materials used in cuneiform inscriptions and monumental architectural structures such as temples, etc, the supply of building materials was also provided by distant sources. Considering the geology of the region, it is suggested that essential findings were obtained showing that igneous rocks were brought from the areas north and west of Lake Van, while sedimentary rocks are represented by limestones from the southern part of Lake Erçek, and travertine rocks from quarries in the Edremit region.