An ancient human footprint from the Iron Age kingdom of Van (also known as Urartu / Ararat) was recently discovered at a castle in the historic Armenian city of Van (today part of Turkey). The footprint, measuring some 26 centimeters long and fitting a modern shoe size of 36, was found at Van Castle...
World’s oldest surviving melody was composed by Armenian ancestors 3400 years ago
The 3400 year old hymn, is the oldest known fragment of noted music so far discovered in history. It was created by an anonymous Hurrian artist in 1400 BC. and dedicated to the goddess of orchards. At the time, the Armenians from the region of Van were known to their Hittite and Assyrian neighbors...
Tracing the oldest Armenian script
Simple questions rarely have simple answers. That’s certainly true for the following question: “What is the oldest extant example of the Armenian alphabet?” Initially I though it was a fairly straightforward question to ask and a simple google search would provide the answer. Surely there has to be the oldest surviving image of Armenian...
Ruins of a 3000 year old Armenian castle found in Lake Van – Turkey
A team of Turkish archaeologists has discovered the remains of what is believed to be a 3,000-year-old castle from the Armenian kingdom of Urartu (Ararat) submerged underwater in Lake Van. The underwater excavations were led by Van Yüzüncü Yıl University and the governorship of Turkey’s eastern Bitlis Province. The castle is said to belong to the...
Iron age Armenian antiques found by Hungarian police in a truck
Hungarian police released footage of ancient artifacts smuggled last year by a Turkish truck driver under way to Lithuania. The trove included ancient Sumerian, Persian, Assyrian and most of all Armenian antiquities of the Urartian era (Kingdom of Van). The artifacts dated to as early as 900 BC., included a helmet, small bells and horse tack, were...
The Last King of Babylon – The Armenian Rebel Arakha
The last independent king of Babylon was an Armenian by the name of Arakha also known as Nebuchadnezzar IV. After the Achaemenid conquest of Babylon in 539 BC, several attempts were made by the Babylonians to rebel against the Persian conquerors. The first attempt was led by Nidintu-Bêl and was violently suppressed by Darius the...
Why a Roman God wears an Armenian Tiara!
During various periods in the ancient Rome, several “mystery” cults and their deities of Near Eastern character became highly popularized. Through Roman expansion into the east, Roman society came in contact with many Near Eastern and Middle Eastern religions and started to worship some of the deities in their own fashion. Mithras Maybe the most famous...
Excavating Iron Age Armenia – A Race Against The Clock
Archaeological digs at the Iron age burial site of Karmir Blur (Red Hill) near Yerevan, Armenia have been started this month in great haste to meet the 6 months deadline. New and unique discoveries are being made daily by an enthusiastic team headed by Hakob Simonyan director of the Cultural Heritage Center of Armenia. A short distance from the excavation site there are...
Passages from Layard’s travels in Armenia
In his book “Discoveries among the ruins of Nineveh and Babylon : with travels in Armenia, Kurdistan, and the desert…” published in 1859 Sir Austen Henry Layard recounts his discoveries in Asia Minor and Middle east. I would like to share with you here a few notable passages regarding Armenia accompanied with illustrations from his book. Armenian influence...
Archaeologists Find Traces of Destruction in Ancient Armenian Town
Bone remains from a bronze age archaeological site in Metsamor, Armenia. Archaeologists from the University of Warsaw (Institute of Archaeology) discovered evidence of destruction and capture of the ancient city of Metsamor, one of the most famous archaeological sites in Armenia. Metsamor was essentially a Bronze Age city that at its heyday (from the...
