Prehistoric Site in Karabakh

[September 18, 2006]

In the 1970s, Azerbaijani scientists announced to the world that the site of a prehistoric human settlement and the bones of prehistoric man had been found in the village of Azikh, located in the region of Fizuli. The items and bones found were moved to Baku and have been kept at a museum there ever since. In reality, these reports referred to the village of Azokh in the Hadrut region of Mountainous Karabakh. The Azerbaijani scientists had used explosive substances during the excavations, and signs of explosions remain at the mouth of the cave to this day. Azokh has appeared a number of times throughout Armenian history. During different wars, the residents of nearby villages sought shelter in the cave there. Stories about this cave were passed down orally from generation to generation; village elders today tell stories about the cave that they heard from their grandfathers.

Excavation by an international team has been underway at the Azokh cave for five years now. The team, headed by British citizen Tanya King-Hovsepyan, works for one month each summer.

“This is a very important site for the Caucasus – important for archeology and anthropology. We hope to find the bones of prehistoric man here, since we've already discovered signs of his existence, tools and other evidence,” said Tanya King-Hovsepyan.


Scientists have discovered a number of items over the past five years, proving that Neanderthal man used to live in the cave. The Armenian group within the team is led by anthropologist and doctor of science Levon Yepiskoposyan.

“The large number of items discovered are proof that Neanderthals used to live here. They range from the smallest items to the largest – a five meter depiction of a bear living in the cave, which is – just imagine – 250 thousand years old,” Yepiskoposyan said.

The archeological group includes renowned scientists from Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, and Armenia as well as students from Karabakh. During our visit there was a lot of activity going on both inside and outside the cave. One group was digging soil, the other removing it, a third group was taking measurements, and a fourth was conducting laboratory studies in Azokh.

“When humans moved out of Africa and came to the Caucasus, they split into two directions here – one group moved towards Europe and the other towards Asia. This site in the Caucasus is very important because it helps us to understand that period. By studying the cave in Azokh we can gather information on a period which has remained largely unknown,” said Spanish scientist Patricio Dominguez.


Two students from the department of history at the Artsakh State University are also part of the group. “This is the fourth year that I've been in this program and have been a member of this archeological group. This has been a great experience for me and a wonderful opportunity to learn,” said student Lena Asryan. Lena has decided to continue her education – stone tools are her area of interest, and she plans to specialize in that field.

All the tools and bones are taken out of the cave in sacks. After a preliminary examination, the sand is washed off in the river and the items are taken to the laboratory. “All the information about the findings is entered into a computer and a database is created,” said Patricio Dominguez. The findings are transported to London, studied, and then preserved so that they do not decay. They are then returned to Karabakh and handed over to the Stepanakert museum.


Around twenty young people from Azokh are also part of the excavation work. “Over the past five years we've made a lot of friends in the village; the villagers support us. There are many people from the village who work with us, help us and participate in the excavation work,” King-Hovsepyan said.

The scientists believe that the Azokh cave will claim its place in science. “Azokh is a unique cave in that it can tell the story of human history from prehistoric times up to today. To be more picturesque, it can be compared to a thick book with pages that are difficult to open. It is difficult to read those pages, and for that you need knowledge and certain skills. But in the end it allows you to discover and understand history which spans hundreds of thousands of years,” said Levon Yepiskoposyan excitedly.

Team members seek sponsorship throughout the rest of the year, so that they can return to the site the following summer. They have difficulties sometimes because the excavations are in a country not recognized by the rest of the world – Karabakh. Another reason for the difficulties is that the Azerbaijanis periodically protest that the excavation is organized without consent from Baku.

When asked how long the excavation will last the Armenian group leader answered, “It would be more correct to ask, ‘How many generations will work here?' Many generations.” The team excitedly awaits the day they will make their biggest discovery – the bones of prehistoric man.

“That will be a discovery which will attract the attention of the whole world, not just of specialists,” said Levon Yepiskoposyan. The scientists are convinced that that would also help to promote scientific tourism. They have had the idea of constructing a museum at Azokh. People would come to Karabakh to see the abode of prehistoric man and all the pages of history summarized in the Azokh cave.

Tigran Baghdasaryan
4th year student, European Regional Academy

http://hetq.am/eng/culture/0609-azokh.html

Armenian Pagan Deities Are Reappearing

[September 25, 2006]

Nineteen years ago historian Hayk Hakobyan had no idea that he was standing above an entire complex of pagan temples. In 1987 he and a group of archaeologists arrived in the village of Hoghmik in the Amasia region to study the area before the construction of the Kaps reservoir began. “The Hoghmik Complex was discovered by accident. I remember it was a very cold and rainy day. We began working and some three hours later a 13-meter-long and half-a-meter-wide platform with bones of sacrificial animals was revealed. We decided to stay,” Hakobyan recalled.

The summer residence of the Armenian gods
Near the village of Hoghmik, just four kilometers from Amasia, the archeologists discovered a complex of pagan temples. They carried out excavations between 1987 and 1993, but for very short periods of time. Because of financial problems, the group wasn't able continue its work until this year. Before that, they had all kept silent about the existence of the complex.

Today only one-twentieth of the complex has been studied; Hakobyan has trouble saying just how many generations it will take to uncover the complex completely. The work is expensive—it costs at least one million drams (about $2,500) to carry out excavations just one month per year. But this year, one month of work yielded the discovery of a temple of the goddess Anahit. Both in the times of Urartu and in pagan times, temples to all the major gods were built in complexes. According to Hayk Hakobyan, the Hoghmik site includes temples of all the principal pagan gods: Aramazd, Vahagn, Anahit, Astghik, Mihr, Barsham, and Nane.

The complex was built before Christ, during the reign of Artashes II. “I'm sure it's a whole district of pagan temples. The district stretches out one hundred meters on either side of an 80-meter-long avenue. The temples were built along both sides of the avenue. The pivot of the district consists of the halls of the three principal pagan gods, Aramazd, Anahit and Mihr,” Hakobyan said. A small earthen disc was found in one of the halls with the Greek inscription: “Four horses are being sacrificed to Mihr.” Horse skulls or entire skeletons have been discovered in nearly every room.

Children too were sacrificed in Hoghmik
Today fifty structures have been uncovered within the pagan district that illustrate just what a pagan temple really was. Numerous pieces of earthenware crockery and other objects were found during excavations and are now in the Shirak Archeological Museum. Clay objects, iron chandeliers, and a Bronze statuette of Mihr were also discovered. And in one of the rooms, skeletons of a priest and two children were found. “One of the buried priests is 190 centimeters tall. He was buried lying on his side. There are skeletons of children next to him facing each other. These children were probably temple slaves who were sacrificed,” Hakobyan explained.

Hakobyan said that this is the first time that ancient sacrificial altars are being studied in Armenia. “There were two types of altars at that time. The victims were killed on one of them – an axe-shaped object was also found, and the offering was made on the other. There are small pools near the entrance to the building for the priests to wash their hands before the rite. The ritual also required that the priests shave their heads. An iron razor was also found in Hoghmik.”

There are round holes next to the altars for tying the animals before the sacrifice. “In the pagan era, people filled vessels with a mixture of animal blood, milk, and seeds, and threw them into the river. In this way they fed their gods to gain their favor. The pagan gods were very jealous and demanding,” the historian noted. He believes that the Hoghmik temples served six villages located along a six-kilometer stretch of the river.

The complex is made up of three layers with obvious signs of reconstruction. It functioned until the 3 rd or 4 th century AD. After the adoption of Christianity, the temples were not destroyed but gradually sealed shut. The excavations yielded an understanding of how. “The process is very interesting. After making a sacrifice, people locked the door and moved to another room. And some time later all the rooms of the complex had been sealed shut. The scene reminds you of Ancient Rome. Soon after Christianity replaced paganism during the reign of Constantine the Great, priests closed the temples dedicated to Mithra weeping and wailing in the hope that one day Mithra would return. This idea is also present in our epic David of Sassun, when everyone was grieving because Mithra-Mher had gone into a rock with the hope of returning,” Hakobyan said.

There is little scientific research on monuments from the Urartian period to the Middle Ages. This year's excavations in Hoghmik have discovered four monuments at once that are new to science. All the altars are 104 centimeters high and all the doors are 83 centimeters wide. This prompted Hakobyan to insist, “The architect had a design prepared in advance. It is evident from the excavations that the main object of worship in the Hoghmik complex was the sun. The Hoghmik temples will give us an opportunity to find out what a temple looked like, how it was organized, how temple rites were performed, what the pagan priests' class was, its composition, etc.”

From Hoghmik to the cupolas of Armenian churches

Hakobyan believes the excavations will also reveal what happened during the Hellenistic era – whether it was a synthesis of Armenian and Hellenic cultures, or the Armenians just crudely appropriated the Hellenic culture. “Hoghmik illustrates that in the Hellenistic era we are dealing with a strictly Eastern cultural heritage. The architecture of Hoghmik is much closer to Urartian than to Hellenic architecture. When we analyze our early Christian architecture we try to understand where its foundations come from. The Hoghmik complex proves that the foundations of our architecture are from Armenia,” the historian said. He explained that one of the distinguishing features of the Hoghmik complex is that all the temple roofs are flat, but the central temple is domed. And that is where the cupolas of Armenian churches come from.

Victoria Abrahamyan
http://hetq.am/eng/culture/0609-amasia.html

The basic elements of excavations of Shoushi in 2005

Executive summary. In June-July 2005, Artsakh archeological expedition of Archeological and Ethnography Institute of National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of RA, headed by senior staff member of scientific Institution of NAS, archeologist L.H.D. Hamlet Petrossian, with the following members of the expedition Nora Abrahamian (Archeological and Ethnography Institute of NAS of RA) and Vardges Safarian (Artsakh State University), architect Manoushak Titanian and director of Museum of History and Country Studies of Shoushi Ashot Haroutiunian, had accomplished wide archeological excavations in Shoushi town and surrounding areas of NKR. The Excavations were done on the initiative of “Shoushi” Foundation (president – Bakour Karapetian, executive director Sevak Artsruni) and with financial assistance of “Zhan Poghossian and the sons” Foundation. This initial statement represents to the corresponding departments and interested organizations the first results of the studies. The study as was foreseen, was carried in two main directions, i.e. , excavations of ancient tombs, aim of which is to set on serious scientific base the problems of Armenians’ formation in this part of the mountainous country as well as excavations of medieval monuments, the aim of which is to prove that Shoushi plateau was inhabited by Armenians and the existence of Armenian culture in the region before Panah’s appearing. The second important aim of the excavations is the creation of attractive prospective of cultural tourism. One can witness that there are serious results in all the directions.

The excavations of tombs of Metal Ages. In the two valleys of the tombs, adjoining the gates of Shoushi from North and North-East, were excavated one by one the tombs dating back to the first millennium BC, which have not only strictly spectacular solutions, but presented hundreds of bronze articles and ornaments, metal weapons and earthenware crockery. We can confidently say that after the restoration, these goods can become a luxury for every museum exhibition. Dozens of vessels with externities of deities and taps witness the high level craftsmanship of their creation and the fine aesthetic taste, which represent the beliefs and ideas of old inhabitants.

Exploratory excavations of Armenian and Greek and Ancient Cemeteries. Near the Eastern stone-wall of Shoushi, the excavations of the ancient parts of the so-called Armenian and Greek cemetery showed that there was an Armenian cemetery here in 12-13th centuries, the Khachkars of which, in the middle of the 19th century, were used for new burials. The five Khachkars of the 12-13th centuries, testified here, witness that Shoushi plateau was inhabited by Armenians during the most prosperous period of Khacheni Armenian principality. Now the next problem is to find the corresponding place of residence to which Khachkars belong.

It is interesting to study the gravestones found as a result of the cleaning works of some parts in the Ancient cemetery. One of them dates back to 1771, which is, in fact, the most ancient Armenian epitaph in the territory of Shoushi, which is protected by the stone-wall.

Discovery and excavations of Karkar castle(*1).
One can consider extremely spectacular the exploratory excavations of the castle near the cave, called Avan bonds, in Hounot canyon. During the cleaning works in the upper platform in the fillings and tonir (Armenian stove to bake bread) many examples of materials referring 12-14 centuries were found. It is worth mentioning the arrow and spit of Mongolian type and the fragment of Chinese bullock-cart found here. They not only prove that the Eastern part of Shoushi plateau, Hounot canyon, was inhabited at that time, but also, that a trading road was passing here, for the retention of which Khacheni princes erected these fortifications. These new data became a base to locate Karkar castle, mentioned by historians, right in this place, which in the end of the 17th century, during Armenian liberation movements, was reconstructed and got Avan or Small Sghnakh (*2) name. The first conclusion is that not only Turkish newcomers, but before them, Armenian Melik Shahnazar and sotnik Avan in the beginning of the 18th century fortified and reconstructed the fortifying points, which were founded by Armenian princes centuries ago and played an important role.

Discovery and excavations of Shoshva (*3) Sghnakh. Thanks to the detailed observations and the examination of appropriate special literature on Shoushi stone-walls, we managed to find out that the building of stone-walls on the present territory of Shoushi by Panah (in the fifties of the 18th century) and the ruins of one of the castles corresponds to the part of the stone-wall which is situated near Mkhitarashen gates. The large-scale excavations undertaken here are not still over, but they have already given the data, which witness that this part inside the stone-wall was inhabited in the beginning of the first millennium BC.

These are serious data to end up the Azeri Myth that Shoushi plateau was first inhabited by Panah. The excavations of this important part will continue next year and we hope that we will manage to testify one more huge Armenian building existing in pre-Panah times, but this time inside the town gates. This seems to be more strictly prospective and important, because it is situated almost in front of Shosh village, and is 250 meters far from Cemetery with Khachkars. Maybe, thanks to this castle, it will be possible to testify the prominent Shoshi stone or Sghnakh, from which, according to some points of view, Shoushi town got its name. We hope that the entire and detailed scientific examination of the results, which is already undertaken by the scientific staff of the expedition, will result in more expanded and deep conclusions.

The archeological materials discovered during the excavations, i.e., around 2000 fragments of different articles (especially clay vessels), were temporarily shifted to Yerevan and are now in the process of laboratory examinations and restoration. After finishing the mentioned works, the materials from N 71 tomb (a part of which was registered in the Museum of History and Country Study of Shoushi before the excavations), in the cleaned and restored state, with the appropriate sequence, will be delivered to the Museum of History and Country Study of Shoushi. The question of the final shelter for the materials from remaining excavation places will be solved by the corresponding order of NKR Government. The excavations of Shoushi are an important phase on the way of native history and culture study, restoration, propagation and the implementation of its best traditions; therefore, it is very important for them to become the issue of state attention and care.

Head of Archeological studies of Shoushi,
Doctor of Sciences Hamlet Petrossian
January 10, 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*1. It is wrong to call the castle situated near Avan cave, Karkar Castle, because according to numerous sources, i.e., Arab geographer Hamavi, historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi, the whole fortress was called Karkar. And the rivulet, flowing in the Canyon, got its name from the fortress and not vice versa. And the cave named Avan, which formed a partial protection together with other caves and castles in the system of Karkar fortress, was never named Karkar (all the footnotes are done by the author).

*2. In Armenian dialectical dictionary Sghnakh means fortified area and in the 18th century the name of Karabakh was Armenian Sghnakh.

*3. Hounot and Mkhitarian villages were situated between Shosh village and Shoushi or Karkar fortress. The “fortification” founded here in the 1st quarter of 18th century, which was included in the military formation system of Armenian Sghnakh places was called Shoushi or Small Sghnakh, which are proven by dozens of documents of that time period. And about Shoushi village of the plateau, the first information was given by the scribe Father Manuel in 1428 in the records of Shoushi’s Gospels. So, name Shoushi was not given by Panah, but it existed from ancient times.

http://www.journal.shoushi.am/en003.html

THE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES

ANI was one of the capitals of medieval Armenia. It is located on a high triangular rocky plateau, on the right bank of the Akhurian river, in the historic province of Shirak (now in Turkey).

In Armenian literature, Ani was first mentioned as a fortress in the 5th century. The Bagratids proclaimed Ani the capital of Armenia in 961.

In its prime, the 9th-13th centuries, Ani became the most important city in Armenia, where city-building and construction, arts, crafts and trade, science and culture reached an unprecedented development. The excavations of the city revealed the remains of majestic secular and worship structures and numerous examples of material culture. From the end of the 19th century to 1917, an expedition guided by outstanding expert in Oriental studies N. Marr, with the participation of famous Armenian scholars T. Toramanian, H. Orbeli and others, carried out excavations in Ani.

Part of the collection rescued from the World War I and photographs of the monuments have fortunately been preserved and are now kept at the Museum.


ARATASHEN settlement (6th-5th millennia BC) is a Neolithic-Chalcolithic habitation. It is situated 5 km south-west of Echmiadzin, on the bank of the Kasagh river. A large number of tools made of obsidian, stone, bone and everyday objects were found during the excavations. Knife-like blades and diverse axes of obsidian and pyramid-shaped nucleuses comprise an important group. Aratashen with its exceptional findings is of utmost importance for the periodization and study of the Neoithic-Chalcolithic culture in Armenia.


ARMAVIR, the archeological site, is located in the Ararat valley, on the left bank of the Arax river. It was a large economic, cultural and worship centre. Greek geographer Ptolemy (90-168) mentions it as a city. Movses Khorenatsi attributes the foundation of Armavir to Aramayis, the grandson of Hayk Nahapet (Forefather Hayk). It was Armenia’s capital under the Yervandids until the end of the 4th century BC. The Citadel of Armavir was built at the height of 76 m, and city quarters spread around it

The Citadel walls and main walls of buildings, Hellenestic period pottery – flasks, cups, phials, karas-vessels, glass vessels, weapons, ornaments and other objects, were discovered during excavations.

Armavir was excavated from 1962 under the guidance of B. Arakelian and G. Tiratsian.


ARTASHAT was the capital of Armenia in 180 BC-339 AD. It is situated on the bank of the Arax river, on the hills in the environs of Khorvirap. The territory had been inhabited since the mid-5th millennium BC. The city was built under king Artashes I (180 BC) and was a crossroads of international trade in the Ancient World. In its prime period, it occupied a territory of 3,000 hectares and had 150,000 inhabitants. Armenian and foreign historians spoke of Artashat in admiration.

The excavations confirm that the city was walled and had a flexible defence system. It had a palace-administrative, worship, craftsmen’s and other quarters. The objects excavated from Artashat represent marble, terracotta and alabaster statues of gods, unique coins, seals and stamps that confirm the relations with different countries, art pieces, locally produced and imported pottery, glass vessels, weapons, ornaments of precious metals, architectural fragments and various objects of everyday use.

Excavations started in the 1970s under the guidance of B. Arakelian and Z. Khachatrian, and have continued until present.


ARTIK burial mounds (15th-9th centuries BC) are located in the tufa quarries between the town of Artik and the village of Harich. About 640 Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age tombs of catacomb burials with rich archeological materials were excavated in the burial mounds. The collection comprises various clay vessels, bronze weapons, ornaments, statuettes of birds and chamois, seals, adornments of semi-precious stones and other objects. The materials discovered during Artik excavations are kept in the archeological funds of the Museum.

The monument has been excavated since 1960 under the guidance of T. Khachatrian.


DVIN is a multi-layered monument 30 km south of Yerevan, in Artashat sub-region of the Ararat province. With the villages of Aygestan, Nerkin Dvin, Hnaberd and others, the monument occupies a territory of 400 hectares and has been inhabited continously since the 3rd millennium BC. It was the capital of Armenia from the 330s to 885, and the See of the Armenian church in 484-931. Dvin was destroyed in the 13th century during the Seljuk and Mongol invasions.

In the centre of the monument is the citadel of the medieval city with mighty walls and more than 40 semi-circular towers, around which large business and dwelling quarters stretched. A partial study of Dvin was carried out as far back as the second half of the 19th century. Owing to systematic excavations that started in 1936 and continued until present, citadel and residential areas from different periods, architectural structures of secular and worship nature, production complexes were unearthed, the city’s chronological picture was outlined, borders were identified and the life and daily routine of different layers of the society were studied.

Numerous examples of craftsmanship were discovered - ritual vessels, altar-pieces, sculptures from the 3rd-1st millennia BC, objects of applied arts from the Hellenistic period, decorated clay and faïence vessels of medieval local production and import, samples of glassware and metalware, ornaments, coins and other objects.


EREBUNI is an Urartian fortress-city of the 8th-7th centuries BC. It was the seat of the Achaemenid governor in the 6th-5th centuries BC. It is located in the south-eastern part of the city of Yerevan. The fortress was founded in 782 by king Argishti. The name of the capital Yerevan comes from Erebuni. Cuneiform inscriptions enable us to follow the whole course of the city’s history. The Citadel was built on the hill of Arin-Berd and is enclosed into mighty walls. The excavations unearthed palace buildings, halls, temple complexes, military barracks, industrial and economic buildings. The basalt stone with a cuneiform inscription about the foundation of the fortress discovered in Erebuni, fragments of frescoes from the palace, seals, stone cups and diverse clay objects are kept in the Museum.


GARNI, the archeological monument, is situated on the right bank of the Azat river, including the village of Garni and its environs. It was continuously inhabited from the 3rd millennium BC until the Late Middle Ages. It is called the Land of Guiarniani in the Urartian cuneiform inscriptions. The fortress of Garni is thought to have been founded in the 2nd century BC, and the Temple devoted to Mihr – in the 1st century AD. Garni was a military post and a royal summer residence. The Early Bronze Age settlement, Middle and Late Bronze Age and Hellenistic tombs, as well as the fortress with Hellenistic and medieval structures were excavated. The discovered findings present the products of pottery, jewellery, metalware and glassware, coins and the art of building.


HARICH is a multi-layered monument of the 26th century BC- 10th century AD on the southern part of the village of Harich in Shirak. It is located on the slopes of Aragats Mountain on a high tufa plateau surrounded by deep gorges on the three sides. The Bronze Age settlement with its three terraces stretches from the west to the east and occupies 12 hectares of land. The terraces are separated from each other by Cyclopian walls. A burial mound of 3 square kilometers is located near the settlement. In the Early Bronze Age layer of the monument, dwelling houses, square in plan, with fireplaces made of stone and movable hearths decorated with anthropomorphic figures, were unearthed. Ritual clay statuettes of animals and people, black-polished pottery, metal-casting objects, tools to cultivate wheat, bronze ornaments and other objects were found here.


KARASHAMB burial mound (22nd-21st centuries BC) is a Mid-Bronze Age monument. It is situated in the mid-stream of the Hrazdan river, near the village of Karashamb. The burial mound
(diameter – 30 m, height – 1.5 m) belonged to a chief. Ornaments made of precious metals and bronze, weapons, symbols of power, utensils and clay objects were discovered there. Of exceptional scientific and cultural interest in the collection is the silver inlaid goblet, whose belts sculptured with narrative scenes contain great information for the study of the spiritual and material culture of Armenia of the Middle Bronze Age. It was excavated in 1987 under the guidance of V. Hovhannisian.


KARMIR BLUR with the Urartian fortress-city of Teishebaini of the 7th-6th centuries BC is located in the south-eastern part of the city of Yerevan, on the left bank of the Hrazdan river. It was built under Rusa II (685-640 BC), and treasures of the Erebuni fortress were transferred there. There was a vast settlement of the Early Bronze Age on the territory of the city. The Citadel of Teishebaini was built on a hill and was surrounded with walls. The excavations unearthed pre-Urartian, 13th-9th century BC residential quarters, Urartian palace buildings, halls, temple complexes, military barracks, industrial and economic structures. Cuneiform clay tablets with business correspondence, inscriptions about construction work, seals and highly artistic specimens of sculpture, jewellery, armoury, decorative-applied arts and pottery are kept in the Museum.


KARNUT settlement (4th-3rd millennia BC) is an Early Bronze Age monument. It is situated on a hill, near the village of Karnut in Shirak. Dwelling and worship structures were opened during excavations. Among the objects found at Karnut, of importance are black-polished ritual karas-vessels with ornamentation in reliefs and concavities, movable hearths with anthropomorphic figures and other samples that are unique findings of Early Bronze Age pottery in Armenia.

The monument of topographic characteristics comes close to the Early Bronze Age monument of Harich.


LCHASHEN, the archeological site, is located on the banks of Lake Sevan, near the village of Lchashen. The site includes monument complexes of the 3rd-1st millennia BC – a Cyclopian fortress, habitations, the cuneiform inscription of king Arguishti I on a lakeside cliff, etc. On the land formerly covered by the waters of Lake Sevan, burial mounds, tombs, cromlechs and stone-box burials of all Bronze Age stages were excavated. The Lchashen collection is of diverse nature: it includes unique wooden four-wheeled and two-wheeled carts, bronze sculptural groups representing hunting scenes, statuettes of birds and animals, weapons with artistic decoration and symbols of power. Original pieces of art are various objects of worship, ritual and everyday use, ornaments of precious metals and stones, coloured and engraved pottery.


LORI-BERD, the archeological site, is a monument of the 22nd-6th centuries BC, with several archeological and cultural layers. The settlement and the burial mounds embrace a part of the town of Stepanavan and the entire village of Lori-Berd.

Various objects of material culture acquired from the mounds represent objects of adornment made of precious metals and semi-precious stones, bronze weapons, ornaments, tools, highly artistic statuettes, utensils, diverse clay vessels and other objects.

The monument has been excavated since 1969 under the guidance of S. Devedjian.


MOKHRABLUR settlement (4th-3rd millennia BC) is an Early Bronze Age monument with numerous constructive horizons. It is situated 4 km south of Echmiadzin, on an artificial hillside, and embraces about 3.5 hectares of land.

Numerous ornamented clay vessels, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic clay statuettes, tools and other objects were discovered at the monument. These materials have a great significance for the study of the Early Bronze Age plain and valley culture. One of the oldest monumental temples with an enormous altar was discovered in this settlement.

The first investigatory excavations in this settlement started in 1935 under the guidance of E. Bayburdian. In 1970-1985, the archeological expedition of the Armenological Centre at Yerevan State University carried out systematic excavations under the guidance of G. Areshian.


OSHAKAN, the archeological site, is located on the bank of the Kasagh river, 5 km from the town of Ashtarak. The village is rich in archeological monuments of the 3rd-1st millennia BC. On the hill called “Didi-Kond”, ruins of an Urartian fortress (7th-6th centuries BC) with a citadel, palace and temple complexes were excavated. Burial mounds of the 11th-2nd centuries with Early Iron Age, Urartian and Antique tombs are scattered around the fortress and on the slopes of the hill. The Oshakan collection kept in the Museum is represented by a bronze statuette of a lion, original examples of coloured pottery, stone idols devoted to the worship of ancestors, various ornaments, tools and other objects.


SHENGAVIT settlement (4th-3rd millennia BC), an Early Bronze Age monument, is situated on a hill on the right bank of Yerevan Lake. It occupies a territory of more than 6 hectares and is surrounded by mighty Cyclopian walls with towers and an underground path.

The settlement has four cultural layers, the lowest of which is of Chalcolithic period. Round habitations and adjoining square multi-dwelling structures were excavated in the three early Christian layers. Ritual hearths, household pits, sumptuous karas vessels filled with wheat, moulds for metal-casting, tools, diverse clay vessels and other objects were discovered in the centre of round habitations.

The Shengavit burial mounds were opened outside the wall, to the south-east and south-west of the settlement. Oldest examples of jewellery were found in these burial mounds.

The excavations of Shengavit started in 1936 under the guidance of E. Bayburdian and continue until present.

The monument is a classical example of the Kuro-Arax culture; in specialized literature, it is also known under the name of “Shengavit” culture.

VANADZOR burial mound (17th-16th centuries BC) is an important monument of the Middle Bronze Age in Armenia. The burial mound covers 30 square metres and is 3 m deep. It had a log-covered on-ground segment. Some of the significant objects excavated there include jewellery examples (vessels, ornaments), bronze weapons, tools and ornamented clay vessels. One of the unique examples of the art of jewellery of Armenia in the Middle Bornze Age, the gold goblet chased with the images of lions, stands out among the findings. The burial mound was excavated in 1948 under the guidance of B. Piotrovsky.

http://www.historymuseum.am/departments/ar...gy_sites_en.htm

ARCHEOLOGISTS COME ACROSS RICH FINDINGS IN CHURCH OF HANDABERD, NAGORNO KARABAKH

A group of archeologists from the Institute of Archeology within the National Academy Sciences together with professors from Yerevan Polytechnic Institute and Nagorno Karabakh state university carried out excavations in the area of Handaberd monastery in Karabakh in August of the current year. The undertaking was financed by the Harutyunians from New Jersey, USA.

The major aim of the excavation was to prepare way for multifold researches as well as to partially reconstruct the monument. Historical documents inform that most of the buildings of the monastery were built in 1276 AD by father Davit. Architectural investigation indicates that the monastery was built around a chapel. The monument differs from other classic Armenian churches with construction methods and materials and allows the observers to understand the architecture of 13-14th centuries.

As a result of the excavations there were found khachkars (cross-stones), tombstones and documents dating back to 12-14 centuries. The found numerous pieces of inscriptions evidence that literacy was widespread in Armenia. A khachkar with an engraved horseman holding a spear in one hand and a goblet in the other is a unique find. The examination of khachkars found in Artsakh show that people of Artsakh always revered defenders of the motherland.

Stiffened pieces of stone found during the excavation were stated to be flints after examinations carried out at the Archeological Institute. The flint can be worked out only artificially and in high temperatures. All the findings will be resting at the Archeological till the end of the excavations and the construction of Karabakh’s would-be museum.

Prepared by Ruzan Poghosian
AZG Armenian Daily #217, 03/12/2004
http://www.azg.am/?lang=EN&num=2004120303

Erebuni

Once again, great posts here and in the history section.

Thank you for your hard work.
I salute you.

Avak

It's my pleasure. I love learning about our ancient history and want as many Armenians as possible to be able to know about the great civilization(s) our ancestors built. roool

Buried Secrets: Archeological site holds centuries of history
By Viorica Vladica
ArmeniaNow correspondent
December 13, 2002

A group of four to five men equipped with small shovels and brushes are digging tirelessly a hole looking like a crater and each piece they find is a smile on their faces and an occasion for later debates. Their findings, more valuable than jewels, are slices of history.

Just days before Armenia's first snow halts their work, the men are digging on a mild and sunny autumn day, as they have for more than a year at the site, Agarak, a six stone multiplex believed to date since the Early Bronze Age.

The site, about 30 km from Yerevan, is mostly still a sheltered field with only five percent of its pre-historic and ancient assets brought to light. But the archaeologists promise an out of this world exposure of cultures and civilizations when they finish their work.

Even the President visited the place last year and certified it as a State protected monument. For archaeologists the President's decision was good news since it gave them the freedom to apply for grants and it allowed them to drive away the peasants who were destroying the 6,000 years old tombstones with their agricultural works.

Some of the flat fields between the multiplexes are still worked by the peasants who live in the nearby village of Voskehat. Although many legends about this place are haunting their community, the farmers did not know until the expedition started that there is a gigantic monument under their day-to-day life. Now they often ask archaeologists when they are going to see the promised monument.

"Well, not less than 150 years", says Boris Gasparyan, Director of Gfoeller Fund in Armenia. And he is not joking. Located on the western bank of the Amberd River, the site reaches an area of about 200 hectares and a team of 70 people and a budget of $140,000 a year is not an adequate amount for speedy excavation.

Their work, the archeologists say, is for coming generations and for history itself.
It is a flat surface pierced periodically by tuff cliff multiplexes, rocky hills and blocks of stone. Archaeologists say all these stones, entombed by time, bear traces of intensive work by both nature and man.

There are alcoves carved into the cliffs, as well as stair-like platforms leading to them, in addition to the stone structures. All these multiplexes, including a series of horseshoe-shaped configurations and channels linking them, plus trapezoidal sacrificial altars, make the landscape a multi-stratum monument.

The examination of layers shows that the site was subsequently inhabited in various archaeological periods. The first constructions originate from the Early Bronze Age and the latest ones date from the 17th century AD.

"For the time being," says Gasparyan, "excavations are being conducted only at the first cliff plateau of the northern complex of Agarak. The street discovered at the northeast edge of this site, as well as the presence along both sides of the street of houses with round floor plans and square external corners, indicate that there was a town here in the Early Bronze Age."

The street discovered in this site has been named Gfoeller Avenue, in honor of the brothers from the United States who created a special fund for archaeological digs in Armenia.

The location has many crypts, smaller and larger, that in Early Bronze time were shaped for pagan ritual purposes, like sacrifices or burials, but later on served as wine presses and wine storages.

During the excavations, archaeologists also found a great amount of ceramic fragments, terra cotta statues; round and horseshoe-shaped candle lamps, jewelry and coins.

It is said that Agarak had developed a flourishing economy and commerce, especially during the 3rd and 4th centuries BC, as well as during the 2nd and 4th centuries AD. The greatest evidence for this development is the discovery of painted urban pottery, a drachma of Alexander the Great, a silver coin of Octavian Augustus and several rings found in late antique burials.

When it comes to the discovery of Agarak, Pavel Avetisyan, one of the expedition's leaders, says it is "a gift from heaven".

"It is a cultural phenomenon that will help us to build an image of what was here thousands of years ago."

Among the treasures, a ceramic zoomorphic pot best shows the skills of potters during the 8th-6th centuries BC. It is worked with polish and has various ornaments. Archaeologists say the representation of a ram, with its head on the pot mouth and its genital organs at the bottom, symbolizes fertility and also the patriarchal system of the Urartu times.

But to bring the pot to how it looks today took tremendous work. It is not enough to find the ceramic pieces on the field and put them in a glass case in a museum.
First, archaeologists fix the spot where the objects are found. Then, very carefully, like surgeons during an operation, they are taking them out of the ground.

Discovered fragments are then brought into the laboratory to be vigilantly cleaned.
Then a restoration crew goes to work, putting the pieces into a single object.

"I like everything connected with the restoration", says Lilit Manukyan, who is doing this job for eight years, "because at the beginning it is like a mystery, and in the end it is the unbinding of this work. It is like a puzzle."

Indeed, the site of Agarak, which contains hundreds of thousands similar objects makes Armenians proud of what is preserved in their country. But the more is discovered the more remains to be discovered.

Maybe 150 years is too much for a lifetime but insignificant for a clash of civilizations gathered all in the site of Agarak. As the archaeologists say: "Maybe in 150 years our descendants will walk on Gfoeller Avenue and say: 'This is an Early Bronze street'."

http://www.armenianow.com/archive/2004/200...crets/index.htm


What a Site: Renovation of Republic Square uncovers surprise history of old Yerevan
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
May 16, 2003

For the past three weeks Republic Square in Yerevan has looked more like a corral than a public meeting place. Large strips of metal construction fencing have closed off the popular dancing fountains, sidewalks and thoroughfares in the heart of the city.

Not since Lenin's statue was removed about a decade ago has the Square seen such activity. But that renovation had little to compare to what is going on now.
The Square is not simply being renovated but totally rebuilt, redecorated, re-clothed as it were, at a cost of $1 million Lincy Foundation dollars.

The 3,776 square-meter oval in the center is being turned into a mosaic carpet of seven different Armenian stones. Footpaths will become wider and will include ornamental decoration. Streetlamps will get marble-faced, contemporary replacements.

Project director Eduard Bezoyan says the Square is expected to be completed at the end of October.

But the renovation took an unexpected turn last week when an operator made a startling discovery while running his earth mover.

Pulling away the asphalt and dirt has turned the construction zone into an archeological dig, as part of an ancient complex has been unearthed, spreading from the right side of the oval to the front of Armenia Hotel.
Members from the Memorials Preservation Committee have been called in to look at the site and are saying the buried structure is an arched construction two or three hundred years old.

"At this moment we can express our opinion based on naked eye observations," says archeologist Husik Melkonyan. "But we have 10 days to make a final decision about the research. And then we will be able to define to which period of time this construction belongs, what kind of construction it is and to whom it belonged."

It turns out some archeologists knew about these secrets of the Square. Mikael Manaseryan, who was a child when the Square was being built (from 1926-58) remembers that during construction children were entering an underground building in the evenings looking for treasures.

"Of course we didn't find anything. But those ancient monuments were buried under the soil in one night and nobody had time to examine them," Manaseryan says.

Deputy head of the Memorials Preservation Committee Samvel Mosoyan confirms that during Soviet times no one was allowed to conduct research in the area.
Bezoyan says if the discovered construction is an ancient memorial, conditions for underground works will be created, but the surface has to be covered.

"Regardless of the value of the discovery we have to meet the deadline of the international contract. Otherwise financing will be ceased," he says.
So while archeologists study the relic of the past, some 300 construction workers continue the Square's facelift, facing their million-dollar deadline.

http://www.armenianow.com/archive/2004/200...asite/index.htm


History Unearthed: Archeologists find evidence of settlement millennia older than Yerevan
by Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
November 14 , 2003

Excavations in the Yerevan district of Shengavit over the past two years have uncovered a city which local and some foreign archeologists believe to have been settled five thousand years before the birth of Christ. Scientists say the site has yielded some of the archeologically-richest finds in all the Caucasus, and if the dating proves accurate, it would mean that the area was settled nearly 4,000 years before the Urartus founded Yerevan.

Among the unearthed remains are jewelry, female idols, baked-clay statues, a furnace for making flint forging instruments, suggesting a developed settlement. More than 50 horse bones have been found, evidence of developed horse-breeding - a find that archeologists say is the first of its kind in the Caucasus.

Shengavit is not a new site of interests for archeologists. The shapeless hill some 30 meters above the Yerevan Lake has been the focus of scientific study since 1936, when archeologist Yevgeni Bayburdyan started a two-year study there.

In 1958, excavations were renewed by a group of archeologists under the leadership of Sandro Sardaryan. After 1985, however, the area was turned into a training ground for archeological practice. It remained an archeological laboratory until last year and over the years the site itself suffered damage as a result.
Research restarted in 2000, but was sporadic. But new funding from the British Embassy (about $4,000) helped the research continue since September. It is being carried out by the Armenian Center of Cultural-Historical Heritage.

Two main areas have been the focus of excavation. In one, an area of about 250 square meters, evidence of brick and river-stone walls was found. In the second area, on the hill's northern side researchers found a wall surrounding the city.

"The low level dwellings discovered as a result of the excavations were two-to-three meters below the ground level," says director of the Center, historian Hakob Simonyan.

According to Simonyan the dwellings were built in a hurry, using available materials, not paying attention to the aesthetic side and also ignoring seismic stability.

Unlike its common first-level houses, two meters below the ground level are dwellings made of stone blocks and basalt, mortared with clay, and are of rectangular, polygonal and round shapes.

"The variety of construction materials indicates that the society was divided into different social and economic groups," Simonyan says.

Onyx, marble and granite staffs were found among structures that surprised scientists by their sense of aesthetics and attention to seismic stability.

"A very interesting method of building the lodgings was used to resist earthquakes," Simonyan says. "Stones were attached to each other with weeds dipped into liquid clay. This made the walls more flexible and protected from the quakes."

Sanctuaries, decorated by ornamentation depicting rams, stone instruments and clay plates made with great professionalism were also found here.

Obsidian stones were used for the sheep eyes, which according to ancient belief, was a symbol of protection. "This is the first case in Armenia when eyes of an animal are decorated by stones," Simonyan says.

Pear-shaped barns for storing grain, with round entrances were also found. The huge, four-meter deep storages could have held four tons of wheat. A large quantity of sickles, axes, and tools for wheat milling were found in the barn areas.

The principles of town-planning and house construction suggest that Shengavit was once a city.

Further, remnants of a forge with nine smelts indicate an industrial settlement producing copper.

Some of the artifacts have been sent to Germany, where archeologists there confirm local scientists' belief that the finding - from the bronze age - shows Yerevan to have been built not only on the basis of the ancient city of Erebuni, but also on the basis of this earlier founded habitat.

http://www.armenianow.com/archive/2004/200...story/index.htm

Very interesting Erebuni!! Thanks.

AGARAK

The site, lying in the southern foothills of Mt. Aragats, is located on the western bank of the Amberd river and covers an area of 200 hectares, a portion of which (118 hectares) has now been declared a historical and cultural preserve by the government of Armenia.

The site consists of horizontal flows of solidified tuff, which extend southward and have flat surfaces. They border on the East with the river, while in the West they turn into a hilly ridge. Taking into account the special characteristics of the local relief, formed by tuff flows, the inhabitants transformed the landscape at the cost of considerable effort, turning natural masses of tuff into a gigantic system consisting of collections of stone structures. Downstream along the course of the Amberd river for dozens of kilometers extend without a break tuff cliffs, passages, rocky hills, and natural plateaus, as well as freestanding blocks of stone. On their surfaces and sides, these formations bear the traces of intensive stone working. The sides of the cliffs and plateaus have also been carved. There are niches carved into the cliffs, as well as stair-like platforms leading to them, in addition to structures of yet other types.

All of these structures, including an unbroken series of round, horseshoe-shaped structures and channels linking them, plus trapezoidal "sacrificial altars", transform the natural landscape into a gigantic monument. This ensemble of cultic structures is complemented by artificial constructions located around the plateaus and in the spaces between them. Stratigraphic observations indicate that this ensemble of cultic structures and courtyards was created in the early Bronze Age. Within the limits of the Armenian Plateau and the territories bordering on it, no other such site is known. It is unique in terms of its unusual composition and design, as well as its volume and area.

For the time being, excavations are being conducted only at the first cliff plateau of the northern complex of Agarak. The results of field investigations in 2001-2002 show that Agarak was settled starting in the early Bronze Age. The street discovered at the northeast edge of the first plateau, and the presence along both sides of the street of houses with round floor plans and square external corners, indicate that, in the early Bronze Age, there existed here a town with a regular street plan. In all likelihood, the basic compositional elements of the town plan in the early Bronze Age were determined by the man-made town courtyards carved on top of the cliff, around which extended living quarters. During the course of the excavations, an enormous quantity of ceramic fragments, terra cotta statues, round and horseshoe-shaped portable hearths, and hearth stands was discovered. They permit us to date this section of Agarak to the middle cycle of the so-called Shengavit or Kuro-Arax archaeological culture, which is nowadays dated to the 29 th through 27 th centuries B.C.

The layers overlaying the strata of the early Bronze Age are disturbed. They contain material remains confirming that the site was subsequently inhabited in various archaeological epochs, from the middle Bronze Age to the early Iron Age, inclusive. An amphora burial with an Urartian seal and the presence of many Urartian ceramic fragments permit us to speak as well of Agarak being inhabited from the 8 th to the 6 th century B.C. After the fall of the Van Kingdom, Agarak experienced yet another period of intensive development, becoming a large settlement of the urban type.

The large quantity of wine presses and wine storage vats discovered in the excavated sectors indicates the predominant role of viticulture and wine-making in the economic life of the inhabitants of Agarak. As one of the most important points along the trade route leading from Airarat to Shirak and Ani, Agarak
developed a flourishing economy and commercial sector, especially in the 3 rd and 4 th centuries B.C. and in the 2 nd through 4 th centuries AD. Evidence of this development is provided by the discovery of painted urban pottery, a drakhm of Alexander the Great, a silver denarius of Octavian Augustus, and several signet rings found in sarcophagi burials belonging to the late Antique period of the site.

The discovery of modest amounts of glazed and cooking pottery in the alluvium layer covering the plateau's Antique strata indicates that life continued at Agarak in the high Middle Ages (12 th to 14 th centuries). The final phase of the history of Agarak's inhabitation is represented by the very modest aterial remains of the 17 th and 18 th centuries (ceramics, hearth bases,coins issued by the Khanate of Yerevan, etc.). The present utilization of the site can be understood only in the light of its entire historical development. Once it was a place for the creation and development of ancient thought, cult rituals, sacrifices, and an economically developed, vibrant life. In our day, parts of the site have been transformed into shrines, which by virtue of centuries-old tradition are still revered by the local peasants.

NERKIN NAVER

This site is located in the western part of town Ashtarak.They are presented by of middle bronze age. Belong to trealit-vanadzorian culture dating back from 21-19 th cc B.C.Rich archaeological was found due to systematical excavations(ceramics,born,metalic and golden decorations)
Diametre reach up to 30-40metres.

The burials are located on the western side of the town Ashtarak. They are presented with burial mounds of the middle bronze age. The burials belong to Trialeti-Vanadzor Culture dating back to 21-19cc B.C.Here due to systematical excavations were found burials rich in archaeological inventory(ceramics, borne, metal and golden decorations).

DPREVANK

Dprevank is located in the northern suburbs of the village Dprevank,next to freeway Yerevan-Gyumri.They are presented by of the end of the middle bronze epoch.Due to excavations were found belonging to Karmirberd and vanaturian culture dating back to the 18-16 th cc B.C.They differ from the others with with the foundations of wanderful examples of barnished painting pottery and the differ with their huge size cameras and wonderful architectural construction.

Burial Shamiram-2
It is located on the Northern suburbs of the village Dprevank, close to freeway Yerevan-Gyumri, they are presented with burial mounds of the middle bronze age. Due to long-lasting excavations the burials were discovered belonging to Karmiberd and Vanurnit culture, dating back to 18-16 cc.B.C.

These excavations are distinguished with wonderful examples of the banished ceramics, with its huge size burial cells and wonderful architecture of the burial constructions.

http://www.armeniatour.com/main.php?id=7 (see link for pictures)

Metzamor -An Archeological Site Awaiting Further Excavation

Lena Nazaryan
August 04, 2008



At the beginning of the 1960’s a group of young archeologists and geologists unearthed a large quantity of remains forged from a variety of metals while excavating a site along the banks of the Metzamor River in the area of the Taronik village in the Armavir Marz.

The excavations continued apace and it became clear that what had been discovered were the remains of a royal seat in the Ararat Plain. A well-preserved copper foundry dating back to the 4th century B.C. was also uncovered on the site. The scientists found evidence that the area had been inhabited as early as the third millennium B.C. During the years of excavation a large quantity of household items, and utensils, work tools, decorative pieces and crypts were uncovered. So much so, that the need to open a museum was felt. Indeed, in 1970 the Metzamor historical-archeological museum named in honor of Koryun Mkrtchyan, the leader of the archeological dig party, was opened to the public.

This museum doesn’t show up on most organized tourist itineraries even though it houses a collection of over 27,000 artifacts. The name of the ancient royal city that was unearthed isn’t known. Azat Harutyunyan, The Director of the Museum, still hopes that one day an inscription will be discovered revealing the name of the city despite the fact that excavation work was halted in 2006. The city has temporarily been named Metzamor, after the neighboring river.

Director Harutyunyan states, “Only a tiny piece of the site has been excavated. The lifetime of one geologist isn’t enough to investigate this location. There are still many ancient ‘treasures’ to be discovered by many others.”

It turns out that Metzamor was an ancient metallurgical center for smelting and reprocessing. The entire foundry complex has been well preserved - the furnaces and smelter built in the cliff walls. Two types of foundries were uncovered; one lined with brick and the other made from clay. Fragments of tin, copper, zinc, phosphorus and mercury were unearthed from the soil layers. There were no mining operations in the city. The reason that a foundry was built here was because of the river flowing close by. Next to the foundries a pile of white bricks was found. By analyzing the composition of these bricks geologists pieced together that they were man-made and used in the metal forging process.

Museum employee Ashot Hakobyan explains that, “Given that the heat produced from burning wood wasn’t sufficient to forge metals, people started to combine bits of animal bone and clay to raise the temperature. Bricks were forged from the filtered paste after dissolving the solution in water. These bricks, due to their high concentration of phosphorus and lime, produced a sufficient temperature when burned for the forging of metals.”

Excavations at the burial site located one-half kilometer to the northeast of the city’s citadel unearthed a large number of stone crypts ringed with red paving-stones. The city’s leaders were buried here and a variety of animals and even servants and slaves were sacrificed in their honor. Some of the more interesting artifacts unearthed in the crypts include glaze-painted clay vessels and wooden decorative boxes inlaid with gold, silver and semi-precious stones.

Mr. Hakobyan relates that, “Along with the deceased chief or high priest they would bury the skulls of decapitated individuals, who were their servants in life. On the right side of the crypt they would bury the nobleman, alongside of which would be placed the skulls of the servants.”

The most notable of artifacts uncovered is an agate weight stone in the shape of a frog from the era of Babylonian ruler Ulam Vuranish (16th century BC). The inscription on the frog attests to the fact that it was used as a weighing stone. The actual weight of the stone, 1 “sikgh” is etched on the frog’s stomach. (This 1 unit of Babylonian weight roughly equals 8.5 grams). The stone, having lost its significance as a weight, was used as a talisman. This is probably the reason why a small hole to thread a piece of string was made in the stone.

Another golden artifact of the museum is a seal of cornelian with Egyptian hieroglyphs owned by the Babylonian ruler Kurigalz (15th century BC). The cylindrical seal, dipped in either melted wax or some other colorful material, was then rolled on the piece of paper, leaving an impression of the seal’s design - the high priest serving wine or nectar to the king.

These findings attest to the fact that Metzamor, since ancient times, was located at the crossroads of commerce in the Ararat Plain, linking Asia with the North Caucasus. Unearthed pitchers still held traces of wine, water and wheat. Museum employee Hakobyan notes that, “We know the specific contents of the pitchers. For example, clay pitchers designed to store wheat had etchings of wheat chaffs and snakes. The snakes were designed to ward off rodents. On the water pitchers were carvings of deer and goats, symbols tied to water worship rites. Naturally, wine vessels possessed carvings of grapevines.”

The Armenians of Metzamor also made beads out of sardonyx stone. Mr. Hakobyan explains that, “The colors and shine of these beads has been wonderfully preserved after so many millennia of being buried under the soil. You would think they had just been bought at the Vernisage Market. As far as I know, similar type beads are now worn by women but back then it were the men who wore them, not only as symbols of beauty but of richness as well. They also possessed magical, healing and protective properties as well.

Vahram and Hakob Mkrtchyan, the sons of Metzamor Museum founder Koryun Mkrtchyan, also assist with various museum matters. Their financial assistance went towards repairing the roof, installing air conditioners and modernizing the museum’s water system. According to the Museum’s Director, the only thing left to be repaired is the road leading to the museum.

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Koryun Mkrtchyan’s birthday his sons unveiled a memorial carving set in the museum’s wall.

Only 1,000 of the museum’s 27,000 artifacts are presently on display. The rest are stored away out of sight.

http://hetq.am/eng/culture/8269/