"Thousands of stone carvings on an extinct volcano, accessible only in summer, spanning millennia of highland devotion"
Ughtasar Petroglyphs
Syunik Province, Armenia
Above three thousand metres on the slopes of an extinct volcano in Armenia's Syunik Province, over two thousand rock fragments carry carvings made across millennia — hunting scenes, geometric spirals, celestial symbols, and above all, goats with massively exaggerated horns. Known locally as itsagir, 'goat letters,' these petroglyphs are the accumulated marks of nomadic peoples who climbed to this altitude deliberately, seasonally, and repeatedly over thousands of years.
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Quick Facts
Location
Syunik Province, Armenia
Coordinates
39.6857, 46.0525
Last Updated
Mar 9, 2026
Learn More
Over 2,000 rock fragments on Mount Ughtasar near Sisian bear carvings spanning from the possible Paleolithic through the Bronze and Iron Ages. The dominant motif is the wild goat, known locally as itsagir or 'goat letters.'
Origin Story
No origin narrative survives. The name Ughtasar has been speculatively linked to the Armenian word for pilgrimage (ughtagnatsutiun), suggesting the mountain was understood as a destination — a place one travels to deliberately. The petroglyphs themselves constitute the only record of their makers' presence and purposes.
Key Figures
Hamlet Martirosyan
Researcher who proposed that the petroglyphs represent a writing system ('goat writing' or 'itsagir'), noting the linguistic connection between 'dig' (goat) and 'diq' (gods) in ancient Armenian
Spiritual Lineage
No continuous lineage connects the petroglyph makers to any present-day community. The carvings are evidence of a practice that lasted millennia and then ceased. What remains is the stone record and the mountain.
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