Excavations of the tomb of the Haykaberd fortress, Van, have revealed a hitherto unknown burial tradition from the period of the Kingdom of Van.
It is reported that excavations in the northern part of the Haykaberd fortress (Sardurikhinli, Chavushtepe) and the tomb built by ruler of the Kingdom of Van Sarduri II continue.
Every year, new data appears on the social life, funeral rites, and beliefs of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Van. In the past, the excavation team got acquainted with four different architectural styles of mausoleums. But this time, they discovered a new burial tradition in a mausoleum of a new architectural style.
A burial site with a sarcophagus, a simple burial site in the ground, a burial site in a stone tomb, and a cremation burial site were found here. Each burial site is enclosed in a tomb of a certain architecture.
Another burial style was discovered too – a mausoleum. A mausoleum of this form was built here for the first time.
Here, the deceased would be cremated, and the remaining ashes would then be placed in a jar. Later, the deceased would be buried according to a religious ceremony, as evidenced by a very interesting and unique tombstone installed on the ashes of the deceased.
It is reported that the tradition of erecting tombstones is first encountered in the tombs from the Kingdom of Van.
Source: westernarmeniatv.com
