Categories: ArcheologyCulture

In Historical Armenia, Vandals Tried To Destroy The Cuneiform Writing Of King Menua

A 3000-year cuneiform writing from the period of the Kingdom of Van is in danger. This cuneiform writing was left by ruler of the Ancient Armenian state Menua and describes the king’s aggressive military campaigns. The monument is located in the village of Yazilitash of the Khorasan province in Erzurum (occupied by Turkey).

According to Atatürk University professor Alpaslan Ceylan, treasure hunters have repeatedly attempted to fragment the monument for sale. He also noted that the historical monument could be blown up at any time by thieves or vandals and urged authorities to take precautions.

Alfaslan Ceylan has been engaged in scientific work since 1998. During his visit to the village of Yazilitash, he witnessed the vandalism of a historical written monument. According to Ceylan, this could be done either by treasure hunters or people who want to erase traces of history. He noted that in a previous visit, he hadn’t noticed saw marks.

“This is another way to destroy our history with our own hands. What the enemy cannot do, we do with our own hands. They do this in search of gold.

The last line of this inscription reads: ‘May he who destroys this scripture be honored with the curse of the gods.’ There is no gold in the monument,” said Ceylan.

P.S. Remarkably, the professor said: “This is another way to destroy our history with our own hands.” What did he mean by “our”?

Source: www.ermenihaber.am

Vigen Avetisyan

View Comments

  • if it were their history, they would know its value. It's evident that they have no idea about this civilisation. They prouve who are they.

Recent Posts

Abandoned by an Ally: The French Armenian Legion in Cilicia and the Road to the Smyrna Catastrophe

How a promise made to genocide survivors was traded away for peace with Ankara —…

33 minutes ago

The Vilgort Cup: A Silver Masterpiece of Cilician Armenia (c. 1150–1159 A.D.)

A Fragment That Traveled Across Continents The gilt-silver medallion shown above — two richly dressed…

2 days ago

Hannibal and Artaxias the Great: The Carthaginian General Who Helped Build the “Armenian Carthage”

Few episodes in ancient Armenian history capture the imagination quite like the tradition that Hannibal…

1 week ago

The Priestess of the Kingdom of Van: A 9th-Century BC Bronze Figurine in the British Museum

Five angles of one small bronze figure — and what emerges is not an abstract…

2 weeks ago

The Winged Sun and the Armenian Tiara: Royal Symbolism of the Orontid (Yervanduni) Kingdom of Commagene, 163 BC – 72 AD

Introduction Among the successor states that emerged from the fragmentation of the Achaemenid-derived Orontid (Armenian:…

3 weeks ago

A Bronze Age Vessel from Gardman: Solar Symbolism, the Sun-Cross, and the Sacred Landscape of Ancient Armenia

Article based on the explanations and interpretive observations of Angela Terian, with additional archaeological and…

3 weeks ago