Najafabad, Sargon II’s Stele, and Mount Urattus: The Geological and Archaeological Evidence

Abstract

In 1965, a very important discovery took place in Najafabad village in Asadabad district, located in western Iran: the find of a monumental stele of Sargon II dating to his campaign into the central Zagros in 716 B.C. This article examines the questions of where the stele was exactly found and where it had been originally erected. It shows that the stele was made of local limestone and that the mound at Najafabad contained an Iron Age settlement. Mount Alvand is identified with the Orontes/Oroandes of Greek and Roman sources and also with Urattus, the last place Sargon visited during the campaign.