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Further Russian Excavations in Armenia (1949–1953)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

R. D. Barnett
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Extract

The Russian excavations at Karmir-Blur, conducted since 1939 jointly by the Institute of History of the Armenian Republic and the Hermitage Museum, are the only excavations of an Urartian site of any importance as yet made under scientific conditions. A summary of the first part of their publication was published in this Journal in 1952, and it is in keeping with the importance of this excavation that a further summary, covering the seasons 1949 to 1953, should be made available to English readers.

Part II describes the seasons 1949–1950, during which the expedition continued work on the citadel and a sector of the town of , especially on its domestic quarters, and showed that this city was one of the principal administrative centres of Trans-Caucasia (Fig. 1). Particularly important was the discovery of two great storerooms, numbered 25 and 28, used for storing wine in vast pithoi (jars), the total content of which is estimated to have been about 150,000 litres of wine, apparently the equivalent of 600 akarki—the Urartian unit of liquid measure. It is pointed out, however, that King speaks of building even greater wine cellars, capable of holding 900 akarki. Remains of grape pips point to the cultivation of grapes of the type of Voskeat (Chardji), Mschali, Ararat (Hachabash) and also some black grapes.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , Spring 1959 , pp. 1 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 1959

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References

page 1 note 1 A small excavation is now reported at Arin-Berd (Irpuini)—Losyeva, I. M., “Raskopki Urartskoi Kreposti goroda Irpuini,” Sovyetskoye Vostokovedenie, 3, 1955Google Scholar. See also p. 12, n. 2.

page 1 note 2 Barnett, & Watson, : “Russian Excavations in Armenia,” Iraq, XIV, Pt. 2, pp. 132–147Google Scholar.

page 1 note 3 The photographs illustrated in the accompanying plates were courteously supplied by B. B. Piotrovsky.

page 1 note 4 Piotrovsky, B. B.: Karmir-Blur II, Rezultaty Raskopok 1949–1951Google Scholar, Erevan 1952. III, 1951–53, Erevan 1955. A further part has also appeared dealing with the architecture, which it is hoped will be summarised in a future article (Oganesyan, K. L., Karmir-Blur IV, Architektura Teisbebaini, Erevan 1955)Google Scholar.

page 1 note 5 Bostan-kaya inscription (from near Melazgerd).

page 4 note 1 Piotrovsky takes them for fish-priests, such as are used in Assyria in the ritual for driving out demons [on these figures, called apkallē, see Woolley, J.R.A.S. 1926, 689–708] and points to another example on an Urartian seal illustrated in his Istoriya Kultura Urartu, p. 282. Another figure of a scorpion-man was found in Room 28 (Fig. 4).

page 5 note 1 At Toprak Kale, Orbeli in 1911–12 found remains of red marble veneer with figures of bulls, trees, and ornamental friezes (material i po arkeologi rusii 1912, 34). One fragment of fresco painting, found near the sacrificial altar, is 1·20 cms. long and is decorated with a framing pattern. Others are ornamental patterns, circles with inscribed cross, crossing bands, linked with circles with central rosettes, parts of face and horns of horned gods or of their dress ornamented with squares inscribed with rosettes, remains of discs with radiating beams, at the ends of which are palmttes and pomegranates. The colours, though destroyed by burning were found to be a bright red ochre rich in iron, and a brighter red consisting of yellow ochre. Outlines were in black, and the ground was of thick china clay.

page 6 note 1 Height of block 51·8 cm. Height of turret 155·4 cm. The plan was rectangular with sides of 260 and 210 cms. with projections at the corner. The blocks were laid dry, and it is remarked that such fine stone cutting could only have been possible with iron tools.

page 7 note 1 Karmir-Blur I, fig. 39.

page 8 note 1 Illustrated in Piotrovsky, , Istoriya i Kultura Urartu, p. 313, fig. 46Google Scholar.

page 8 note 2 The report on this is by V. Sorokin.

page 11 note 1 mRu-sa-a-i-ni-e bi-tuu-ri-is-ḫu-si-e.

page 12 note 1 Karmir Blur I, fig. 3.

page 12 note 2 The inscription runs dḪal-di-e e-u-ri-e i-ni a-še mAr-gi-iš-ti-še mMe-nu-a-ḫi-ni-še aluIr-bu-ni-e-di uš-tu-ni mAr-gi-iš-ti-ni ŠARRU DAN-NU ŠARRU al-su-i-ni ŠARRU mat Bi-a-i-na-ú-e a-lu-si aluTu-uš-pa patari. “To the god Haldi, the mighty, Argištiš, son of Menuaš, gave this shield for the city of Irbuini. Argištiš, son of Menuaš, mighty king, great king, king of the land of Biaina, prince of the city of Tušpa.” Piotrovskiy points out that a variant spelling of Irbuni is Erebuni and M.A. Israel and A. B. Morzoyan suggest this is to be identified with Erevan, at the south-east corner of which anicent remains survive, on the mound of Arin-Berd. The shield of Sarduriš bore an inscription very similar to that of Argištiš.

page 13 note 1 Compare similar objects found at Khorsabad, Place, V., Ninive et l'Assyrie (1867) III, pl. 71Google Scholar.

page 13 note 2 Above p. 4. The text reads: I-ni KUNUKKUm …. BITU …. mRu-sa-hi. “This seal …. house, son of Rusaš,” i.e. probably Sarduriš, son of Rusaš. c. 645–625 B.C.

page 13 note 3 Piotrovsky, Urartu, fig. 44, left.

page 15 note 1 The text reads: dḪal-di-e/ Ar-gi-isšte BA.

page 15 note 2 Ša mMe-nu-a.

page 15 note 3 As in the Kazbek Treasure discovered by G. F. Govedjishvili, cf. also the EHzavetskaya Kurgan excavated by I. I. Vesselovsky in 1913, O.A.K. 1913–15, p. 154.

page 15 note 4 The inscription reads: dḪal-di-e e-ú-ri-e/i-ni karka-ra-ni mAr-giš-ti-še NIG. BA and on the reverse ša Ar-gi-iš-ti.

page 16 note 1 Compare Karmir Blur I, p. 92, fig. 60Google Scholar.

page 16 note 2 Ibid. I, fig. 38.

page 18 note 1 See above, p. 7.