Kevin Alan Brook In 1996, an unexpected and remarkable
archaeological discovery of Jewish significance was made by an
Armenian bishop, Abraham Mkrtchyan. The bishop came upon a
number of large inscribed gravestones in a river and an
adjoining forest at the edge of Eghegis, in the Siwniq region of
southeastern Armenia. These stones, which were shaped from
granite into oblong cylinders, contain Hebrew and Aramaic
inscriptions and are the first known physical evidence of a
Jewish community in Armenia prior to modern times. The community
existed contemporaneously with Jewish communities in neighboring
regions like Georgia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Dagestan, the Crimea,
and Ukraine. It may have consisted of about 150 people,
according to Frank Brown, writing in the Jerusalem Report
("Stones from the River"). The stone inscriptions contain dates
ranging from the middle of the 13th century to 1337. An
archaeological team was assembled from Israeli and Armenian
experts, thanks in large part to Bishop Mkrtchyan. Israeli part