Stele of Kelashin (Sidekan area)

The Kelashin Stele is named after the village Kelashin, which is Kurdish for sacred blue stone. Kelashin in Kurdish is a combination of two words. “Kel” can refer to a variety of things ranging from a tombstone to marker, but is generally understood to be treated with respect. “Shin” is blue, and refers to the dark hue of the stone the stele is made from.

It was first described by Friedrich Eduard Schulz in 1827. Part of Schulz's notes were lost when he was killed by Kurdish "bandits", and later expeditions were either prevented by weather conditions or the brigands, so that a copy (latex squeeze) of the inscription could only be made in 1951 by G. Cameron, and again in 1976 by an Italian party under heavy military protection.

During the war against Iraq by the peshmerga in the 1980s, the Kelashin area was one of the routes used for peshmerga entering into the region. Many of them were familiar with the stele as a landmark. the stele is now kept in the museum of Urmia city‏ since 1984.

Inscription

The inscription describes the acquisition of the city of Musasir (Ardini) by the Urartian king Ishpuini. The Kelashin Stele found there bears an important Urartian-Assyrian bilingual text dating to c. 800 BC. The inscription is in both Urartian and Assyrian, and commemorates the conquest of an Assyrian city, Musasir, or Ardini in Urartian. The exact location of Musasir is speculated, but the Stele itself is located in Kelashin.

Topzawa stele

Also there are a small stele found in Topzawa village, close to Sidekan town called Topzawa stele. It is kept in theErbil museum. From Topzawa (Topzawä), 25 km from Kéleshin, a bilingual Stele of King Rusa I Urartu. It is badly preserved. The text tells how Urzana appeared in front of Musasir Rusa, perhaps, as Russell suggested,[6] to seek for help against the Assyrians. Rusa attacked the Assyrians and Urzana sat on the throne of his fathers. Musasir were offered to the gods of sacrifice. At the end of the inscription are the one who destroys, threatened the usual punishment of the gods. Most researchers assume that Musasir was in the vicinity of Topzawa‏