This presentation outlines the earliest Armenian pilgrimages to the killing fields of Dayr al-Zur (Der Zor)

in the Syrian Desert. It is there that Armenians interacted with the remains of Armenians murdered during

the Armenian Genocide (1915-1918) in acts of remembrance. Semerdjian discusses the origins of the

now-destroyed Armenian Genocide Memorial in Dayr al-Zur and the ritual and collection habits of

pilgrims that enact what she calls bone memory. Using archival documents and oral histori