Archaeologists working at the ancient fortress-city of Argisztihinili in Armenia have made a surprising discovery - a one-meter-tall stone idol carved with haunting human features. Found as part of a stone chest in its original context, this 2,500-year-old artifact represents one of the most significant finds from the Urartian Kingdom, offering rare insight into the spiritual beliefs of one of the ancient Near East's most enigmatic civilizations reports PAP. The discovery was made during excavations on Saint David's Hill, where an Armenian-Polish expedition also uncovered an exceptionally well-preserved cremation cemetery containing twelve urns with grave goods.
A Face from the Distant Past
The idol was discovered by Dr. Mateusz Iskra from the University of Warsaw's Centre for Mediterranean Archaeology and Hasmik Simonyan from Armenia's Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography. Carved from volcanic tuff - a porous rock formed from volcanic ash - the idol depicts a highly stylized face with pronounced eyebrows, closely set eyes, a long nose, and narrow lips.
"At the side wall of a stone box-shaped object, we came across, to our astonishment, a stone slab with carved features of a human face. It's an idol figure, preserved in its original context," Dr. Iskra explained.
The stylized face has a long, prominent nose and seemingly a small mouth. (Michalina Andrzejewska/via PAP)
The artifact was found within a domestic dwelling dating to the late 7th or 6th century BC, part of a large, terraced building complex spanning approximately 400 square meters.
Symbols of Ancestors and Fertility
Similar anthropomorphic idols have been discovered at other Armenian archaeological sites, leading researchers to interpret them as objects connected to ancestor worship or fertility cults. These spiritual practices were widespread throughout ancient Mesopotamia and the Caucasus region during the first millennium BC. The presence of the idol within a residential setting suggests it played an active role in household religious practices rather than being confined to temples or formal cult centers. To better understand the idol's purpose, researchers plan to conduct chemical analyses of residues within the stone chest, hoping to identify substances that might reveal how the object was used in ritual activities.
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Burials in urns discovered during excavations in 2025. (Adrian Chlebowski/via PAP)
An Exceptionally Preserved Cremation Cemetery
The excavation team's second major discovery was a sprawling cremation cemetery containing twelve burial urns - potentially the largest and best-preserved urn-field cemetery ever found in Armenia.
"The ashes of the deceased were placed with great care in ceramic urns, often accompanied by grave goods," explained Hasmik Simonyan, who specializes in physical anthropology.
The excellent preservation of these urns provides unprecedented opportunities to study the funerary customs and rituals of communities living under the cultural influence of the Urartian Kingdom during the early first millennium BC. The combination of domestic structures, religious artifacts, and burial grounds at Saint David's Hill offers archaeologists a comprehensive view of daily life, spiritual beliefs, and death practices in this ancient fortress-city.
The archaeological site at Saint David's Hill, part of the ancient Urartian fortress-city of Argisztihinili. (P. Okrajek/University of Warsaw)
The Legacy of Argisztihinili
Founded in 774 BC during the Urartian expansion into the Transcaucasus region, Argisztihinili served as a major administrative and economic center rather than primarily a military installation. The city overlooked the fertile Ararat plain and played a crucial role in Urartian control of the region during the 8th and 7th centuries BC. The archaeologists were surprised by the exceptional preservation of the structures they uncovered.
"The excavated sections of the rooms still contain the original mud brick and stone slab floors," Dr. Iskra noted. These well-preserved floors have yielded valuable information about the daily lives of Argisztihinili's ancient inhabitants, including storage rooms containing large ceramic vessels still embedded in the ground. The expedition plans to return for a new research season in spring 2026, supported by funding from Poland's National Centre for Science.
Top image: Stone idol with carved human facial features discovered at the ancient Urartian fortress-city of Argisztihinili, Armenia. Source: Michalina Andrzejewska/via PAP
By Gary Manners
References
ASZY, 2025. Stone idol and other discoveries from Argishtikhinili. Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw. Available at: https://pcma.uw.edu.pl/en/2025/10/10/stone-idol-and-other-discoveries-from-argishtikhinili/
Iskra, M. and Simonyan, H. 2025. Płytę z wyrzeźbionymi rysami ludzkiej twarzy i rozległe cmentarzysko. Available at: https://naukawpolsce.pl/aktualnosci/news%2C109961%2Cplyte-z-wyrzezbionymi-rysami-ludzkiej-twarzy-i-rozlegle-cmentarzysko
Milligan, M. 2025. Mysterious human-faced idol discovered on Saint David's Hill. Available at: https://www.heritagedaily.com/2025/10/mysterious-human-faced-idol-discovered-on-saint-davids-hill/156139
