On the road to Ardini/Muṣaṣir in the Zagros Mountains. The recently discovered Kani Shilan archaeological complex and the site of Qalat Shab Agha, Iran

This article presents the results of recent archaeological research conducted by the authors on the western margin of the Oshnaviyeh plain, in north-western Iran. Territorial survey activities made it possible to study archaeological evidence already known in the region, as well as to investigate previously unpublished archaeological sites. The area under exploration contains two narrow river valleys that come from the Zagros Mountains located to the west. The courses of these two rivers, the Siah Rud and the Sefid Rud that flow into the River Godar, constituted in ancient times, and still is today, the only road leading to the Kelišin pass, located at an altitude of almost 3,000 metres. Along this mountain road, used throughout the ages, a series of archaeological sites and Urartian inscriptions have been found over the years. The territory investigated was also part of a fortified road (with regularly spaced forts) built in the Urartian period, studded with bilingual Assyrian/Urartian inscriptions, on which stood at least one of the sites discussed in this article.