Near the village of Hartashen in Armenia's Shirak region lies Sharan Karer—a ancient alignment of nearly 700 basalt menhirs set in three symmetrical rows. Recent research explores its unique spatial geometry and a compelling hypothesis: could this megalithic complex have served as a prehistoric defensive barrier?
The Myth of Urartu’s Collapse: Archaeology Shows a 3,000-Year Continuum
When people talk about Urartu, they usually picture a powerful Iron Age kingdom that rose suddenly around Lake Van and then “collapsed” just as suddenly in the 7th–6th centuries BCE. In most popular narratives, Urartu vanishes in a blaze: Cimmerians, Scythians, Medes, fire, destruction, the usual suspects. But if you follow the stones themselves,...
New Artaxiad border-stone with Aramaic inscription found in Ardahan
In a remote village of Ardahan province of historic Armenia (modernday northeastern Turkey), archaeologists have uncovered an ancient stone bearing an inscription in the Aramaic language. The artifact has since been transferred to the Kars Archaeology and Ethnography Museum, in neighbouring Kars province, for detailed study. This is the first known Aramaic-language inscription documented...
The Floppy Hats of Urartu
Urartu, a rival kingdom to Assyria in the early 1st millennium BCE, is frequently mentioned and depicted in Neo-Assyrian sources. Among the visual depictions, one curious feature stands out: Urartian figures are often shown wearing distinctive “floppy” hats. These soft, conical caps with drooping peaks appear in Assyrian palace reliefs and have become an...
Hayots Gund: The Fearsome Army of United Armenia
In the annals of history, the Armenian kingdom stands out for its formidable military might. The Hayots Gund, or the Army of Armenia, was a cornerstone of this strength, embodying the valor and resilience of a nation that served as a buffer state between powerful empires. This post delves into the composition, tactics, and...
New Evidence for Indo-European Origins in Armenia
The quest to uncover the origins of the Indo-European language family has intrigued scholars for centuries, drawing together linguists, historians, and geneticists in a collaborative effort. In recent years, genetic and linguistic studies have made significant advances in analyzing the migrations of ancient populations linked to the Indo-European languages. Among the latest contributions is...
Aruna: The Hittite God with an Armenian Connection
Aruna was the Hittite God of the sea, whose name is identical to the Hittite word for sea. It is unknown whether the sea was named after the deity or vice verse. Compounding this mystery is the curious resemblance to the (colloquial) Armenian word արուն “arun,” meaning blood. This article delves into a theory...
The problem with Etiuni
Several prominent Armenian academics (e.g., Armen Petrosyan) and, recently, even some western academics (like Rasmus Thorso) have suggested that the Armenians have their origins in a little-known Iron Age tribe called the “Etiuni” (or more accurately, the “Etiuhi”). This tribe supposedly spoke Armenian and lived in the upper eastern regions of the Armenian Highlands...
New Discovery of a Second Urartian Temple Built by King Menua Reveals Armenian Continuity
A surprising second temple built by the Urartian king Menua has recently been discovered by Turkish archaeologists in the ancient Armenian province of Van (modern-day Turkey). Next to the temple, an intriguing royal tomb has been discovered, as well as pottery fragments and metal artifacts. The site is currently called “Körzüt Castle” after a...
I asked AI to analyse Armenian-Urartian language similarities
OpenAI’s new chatbot called GPT-3 is the largest language model AI at the moment. It has been trained with over 175 billion parameters, including books, web texts, academic papers, and encyclopedias. So I decided to ask it some interesting questions regarding the Armenian language. We know from recent discoveries that Urartians are genetically identical...
