First-Millennium BC Steles Found in Artsakh

Monuments dating back to the first millennium BC have been found in Artsakh. Eight anthropomorphic steles have been unearthed near the village of Nor Karmiravan in the Martakert District of the Artsakh Republic.

It was noted that explorative excavations will be conducted at the site of the finds for the possible discovery of other similar stone sculptures.

The Department of Tourism and Environmental Protection under the Ministry of Economy of Artsakh reported that the monuments have been accidentally discovered by a resident of the village.

“We got a call from the village. Our experts arrived at the site and discovered stone sculptures. Preliminary excavations revealed several more monuments. It was decided to appoint an exploration process in the area. In the case of the discovery of new finds, a program will be developed for conducting large-scale excavations,” said Marat Shahramanyan, an official from the Department.

A junior researcher at the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, a member of the archeological expedition in Tigranakert, and the head of the Nor Carmirovan excavation Nzhdeh Yeranyan expressed the hope that the monuments had been found in their original places and that further excavations will give more results.

“Unlike the three dozen similar monuments that have been discovered in the past years in the territory of Artsakh, the current stone sculptures reach two or three meters in height. They also differ in pictograms and some technical features.

The graphic details are well underlined and preserved on them – hands folded on the chest, face, details on some steles, the image of a dagger,” said Yeranyan.

The scientist believes that the discovered monuments will be of interest to “both Armenian and foreign specialists.”

The administration of the community of Nor Karmiravan reported that the territory on which the monuments were discovered hadn’t been cultivated and that landowners would not suffer from the excavations.