Archaeological excavations on the hills within the administrative territory of Aragatsavan village

These days, an expedition team from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography (IAE) of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, led by Mariam Shakhmuradyan, Ph.D, a researcher of the Department of Early Archaeology, is conducting archaeological excavations on the hills within the administrative territory of Aragatsavan village, in the Talin district of Aragatsotn Province. On one of the hills, the team has uncovered the ritual section of an ancient fortress.

The Talin district is rich in historical and archaeological sites, attesting to continuous human habitation and cultural activity over millennia. The most numerous remains belong to the pre-Christian period and include settlements, fortresses, megalithic towers, burial grounds, the so-called “desert kites,” as well as the ruins of various ritual and defensive structures.

According to team member and archaeologist Levon Mkrtchyan, in the first millennia BC there existed a fortified settlement at the site, the spiritual and ritual sanctuary of which is currently being excavated. The sanctuary is a rectangular, solidly built stone structure with an area of about 16 square meters. Similar structures are known from the Armavir and Shirak Provinces. Excavations have revealed the walls of the structure, which in some sections are preserved to a height of more than 2 meters. They are constructed of roughly hewn basalt blocks. Additional tombs and dwellings have been preserved on the slopes and at the foot of the hill.