ISTANBUL, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- A stone artifact inscribed with the name of Prophet Muhammad has been unearthed at the ancient archaeological site of Ani in eastern Türkiye, offering fresh insight into the region's history, authorities said Monday.
In a post on the social media platform X, Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the name appears six times in Kufic script on the stone, which is believed to have come from a Seljuk tomb tower.
Giving visual details of the artifact, Ersoy noted that three of the inscriptions are intricately carved into a decorative band encircling an eight-pointed star.
The stone was found during excavations at a Seljuk cemetery that has been under study since 2021.
Located in the province of Kars on the Turkish-Armenian border, Ani was a major crossroads on the ancient Silk Road. It served as the capital of the Bagratid Armenian kingdom in the 10th and 11th centuries before falling under Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman rule. The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. ■