Zvartnots (A 12-8) In the late 19th century, the stele was found beneath the ruins of the northwest gate of the church of Surp Zvartnots. It is displayed outdoors in front of the museum at the medieval Armenian site of Zvartnots, a few kilometers east of Echmiadzin (now Vagharshapat) in Armenia. The stele is 2.70 … Read more
Nashteban (A 11-5) The rock inscription is on the southern slopes of the Savelan (Sabalan) Mountains, near the now-abandoned village of Nashteban, located about 20 km northeast of the city of Sarab in Iran. The inscribed surface covers an area 64.5 cm high and 112 cm wide. It was carved in a deep niche, but … Read more
Ezhdaha Bulaqi (A 5-59) The rock niche with an inscription of Minua is located 18 km north of Uşnaviyeh, near the turnoff for Zeyveh on the road to Urmia, beyond the watershed and along the Qasemlu River. It is carved into a very jagged rock face flanking the road, set back about twenty meters from … Read more
Lower Anzaf (A 2-6A–C) Three duplicates on large limestone blocks, bearing the foundation inscription of the fortress of Lower (Aşağı) Anzaf about 15 km northeast of the city of Van, were discovered during the construction of a bypass of the Van-Özalp road, which cut through a corner of the fortress. Blocks A and B are … Read more
Thanahat (A 11-3) The top part of a basalt stele, inscribed on both faces, was found in 1975 in the ruins of the church of Thanahat, near the village of Arevis, about 17 km southwest of the city of Sisian, Armenia. The inscription on the obverse was entirely destroyed after a large cross and decorations … Read more
Toprakkale(?) (A 12-5a) The small fragment preserved in the Hermitage Museum probably comes from Toprakkale. It was likely collected during the expedition of Iosif A. Orbeli in 1911–1912. The preserved text corresponds with the main texts from Ayanis and Karmir Blur, indicating it is from another duplicate of the standard text of Rusa II. Transliteration … Read more
Bastam (A 12-5) A small fragment of a reddish inscribed stone was found during the early years of excavations at Bastam. The fragment preserves only a small section of six lines, recognized as a duplicate of part of the third column of the Ayanis temple inscription. The fragment is in the Museum of Ancient Iran … Read more
Bulutpınar (A 11-8) The basalt stele was found in 2007 in the village of Bulutpınar (old Cemalverdi), located about 25 km northwest of Patnos. According to locals, the stele was found at and brought from a ruined Armenian cemetery. It originally had a cross carved on the blank top part, which was broken after its … Read more
Unknown (A 5-57) The unprovenanced stone slab was brought to the British Museum by H. Rassam sometime at the end of the 19th century. The slab is 52 cm high, 60 cm wide, and 6.5 cm thick, and it appears to have been cut off from its original stone. Transliteration:1 dhal-di-i-ni-ni2 uš-ma-a-ši-i-ni3 mmì-i-nu-ú-a-še4 miš-pu-u-i-ni-hi-ni-še5 i-ni … Read more
Aznavurtepe (A 2-10) The cylindrical stone, likely a column base, was found in a secondary context in a church in Patnos. It most likely originated from the Urartian fortress Aznavurtepe located about 2 km northwest of the town. The block is 43 cm in height and has a diameter of 75 cm. It bears a … Read more
