The lost tomb of King Ashot III

The photograph shows the tomb of the Armenian king Ashot III; this last photograph of it was taken in 1902. Today no trace of the monument survives: the Turkish authorities destroyed it completely, like thousands of other testimonies of Armenian history.

Under foreign rule and through many wars, the graves of Armenian kings, clergy and ordinary people were systematically destroyed.

The picture shows a ruined stone structure with an arched entrance and broad stone steps. Three men sit on the steps, one holding an umbrella and another a walking stick, while a boy stands on the left.