Historical Role
Besides the legendary relationship of the volcano with King Nimrod, in 1990s scientists discovered that Nemrut played an important role in the life of the first civilizations. Despite the abundance of obsidian sources in Anatolia and Iran, Nemrut was the main source of obsidian – the most important material of the Stone Age – for all settlements in Mesopotamia and the settlements of the Mesolithic era around the Dead Sea. The analysis of obsidian products revealed that the population of those areas used obsidian from only two sources: Nemrut and the nearby dormant volcano Bingöl. An ancient center of obsidian processing and trade was found at Lake Van, which was part of one of the earliest trade routes.
| Obsidian deposits at the bottom of Nemrut caldera | Obsidian arrowhead | Obsidian eye in an ancient sculpture |
Two eruptions of Nemrut were probably witnessed by people of Urartu, an ancient state located in the eastern Turkey. These eruptions occurred ca. 787 BC (period of King Menua) and ca. 657 BC (period of King Rusa II), and the latter eruption might cause the sudden disappearance of the city Uaiais located 30 km east of Süphan.
Read more about this topic: Nemrut (volcano)
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