Minua Canal (A 5-12A–D) Four identical copies of a 14-line text by Minua, concerning the water canal (the so-called Shamran or Semiramis Canal) commissioned by this king, have been found at various locations along the canal in Edremit, south of the city of Van. A 5-12A is located on a rocky cliff approximately 2.50 m … Read more
Muradiye (A 5-16) Two fragments of a badly damaged stele, reused as a gravestone, were found in the Armenian church in Muradiye, formerly known as Berkri. Their whereabouts are unknown today. The fragments belonged to the lower section of a stele that apparently celebrated the construction of a canal. Transliteration:1ʹ [x x x x] x2ʹ … Read more
Sarmaç / Kopanıs (A 5-47) The inscribed stone block was first copied by F. E. Schulz in 1828, built into a wall of the church of Surp Grigor Lusaworich in Kobanıs (today Sarmaç), a village on the northwestern slopes of Erek Dağ, 10 km east of Van. The block has a 10-line inscription that repeats … Read more
Metsopay-Vank (A 5-83) The inscribed stele was seen and copied by W. Belck in 1891 in the now-vanished Armenian monastery of Metsopay-Vank / Astvadzašin, about 32 km east of Patnos. The round-topped stele, which had a round hole, was walled into the upper threshold of the church door. It disappeared along with the church and … Read more
Keçikıran (A 5-84) The stele fragment was found in the house of Kasım İlçiboğa in the village of Keçikıran, about 15 km east of Muradiye, near the northeastern shores of Lake Van. A publication of the inscription was already produced by Donbaz and Wilhelm in 1996 based on an unprovenanced copy. An Urartian period hill-top … Read more
Garni (A 8-12) The inscription is carved on a freestanding, irregularly shaped stone—apparently the upper part of a reused ancient Vishap stele—found at the ancient Armenian fortress of Garni, approximately 20 km east of Yerevan. The upper left section is obliquely broken. The stone is 153 cm high, 79 cm wide at the level of … Read more
Marmashen (A 8-10) The five-line inscription is engraved on one of the large boulders in the canyon of the Ahurjan (Arpaçay) River near the village of Ganlija (now Marmashen), about 8.5 km northwest of Gyumri in Armenia. The southeast-facing inscription covers an area 18.5 cm high and 80 cm wide. The rocks are located near … Read more
Sarıkamış (A 8-6) The lower end of a stele preserves the last 27 lines of an inscription of Argišti I. The fragment was found in 1878 by A. D. Jerizow as reused in the outer wall of a mosque in Sarıkamış in the province of Kars. It reportedly originated from ruins on a wooded ridge … Read more
Lchashen / Ordaklu (A 8-11) The rock inscription is located in Ordaklu (now Lchashen) by the northwest corner of Lake Sevan in Armenia. Inscription is carved on a reddish, overturned boulder on the northwest shore of the Gokcai (i.e., Lake Sevan), at the outflow of the Zanga (Hrazdan) River. The uneven line heights and rough … Read more
Guganis (A 8-38) The cylindrical column base was found in the abandoned village of Guganis (now Köklü) by the Hoşap Creek, south of the city of Van, about 13 km west of Gürpınar. The top surface bears a cross and Armenian graffiti. A single-line inscription of Argišti I surrounds the stone. It is 81 cm … Read more
