ARDAHAN, TURKEY — A significant archaeological discovery was made in a village in Ardahan, where an ancient stone slab bearing an Aramaic inscription was found. The artifact, which historians suggest may date back as far as the second millennium BCE, has caused excitement among researchers.
The inscription, considered a major find for the region, was immediately taken into custody and transported to the Kars Archaeology and Ethnography Museum for protection and study. This transfer highlights a resource discrepancy: the piece was found by residents of Ardahan, but the artifact was officially claimed by Kars due to Ardahan lacking its own suitable museum facility to house and preserve such a historical treasure.
First of its Kind in the Region
Museum authorities have confirmed that this is the first time an artifact inscribed in Aramaic has been documented in the Kars–Ardahan highlands. Aramaic is a Semitic language that was widely used across the ancient Near East, and its unexpected presence in this northeastern region is prompting scholars to re-evaluate the area's historical cultural interactions.
Experts at the Kars Museum have launched an extensive analysis to decipher the Aramaic text. Once the inscription is fully translated, it is expected to provide invaluable new details on the ancient history and cultural dynamics of the northeastern Turkish frontier.