Urartian Cult of the Stelae and New Discoveries at Aznavurtepe and Yeşilalıç (Ashotakert)

The Urartian Kingdom is recognized for its idiosyncratic religious architecture and ritual practices. Tower-temples (susi) at the peak of citadels, dedicated to the “national” god Ḫaldi, constitute the most essential element of religious architecture. Additionally, cult areas with an altar and uninscribed stelae on pedestals, best known from Erzincan/Altıntepe, demonstrate that there were different types of sanctuaries in the Urartian world. Veneration of stelae is also known from depictions in seal-impressions. Recent discoveries of an open-air sanctuary with stelae at Varto/Kayalıdere and uninscribed stelae at Aznavurtepe and Yeşilalıç bear witness to the wide distribution of this cult. Although discoveries at Altıntepe and Varto/Kayalıdere led to an association of stelae with funerary cults, inscriptions that speak of Ḫaldi worship in front of stelae (pulusi) strongly suggest that stelae sanctuaries on the slopes of citadels must be related with the Ḫaldi cult, in whose name susi and temple complexes (É.BÁRA) were built in citadels.