Cuneiform inscription on the founding of Erebuni

This cuneiform inscription is called the “birth certificate” of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It was left by a king of Urartu near the Erebuni fortress on a basalt stone slab and tells of the founding of the city in 782 BC. Erebuni is the old name of Yerevan.

The dark stone is set into a wall built of other stones. Its smoothed front is entirely covered with more than ten lines of cuneiform signs.