Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography

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Ancient Archaeology Department

Ancient Archaeology Department
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Ancient Archaeology Department

The task of the Department is:

  1. To deal with the issues of material culture of those epochs which, from the perspective of world archaeology, relate to the Achaemenid, Hellenistic and Roman periods.
  2. From the temporal perspective - to deal with the periods of the Orontid, Artaxiad and Arsacid kingdoms, from the chronological perspective – to deal with the period approximately from the mid of the 1st millennium BC to the mid of the 1st millennium AD.
  3. To develop the archaeology of the Classical period in Armenia (equivalent study of geographical regions and chronological periods, publication of the results of excavations, regular application of modern methods, ensuring communication with the museums in RA, developing cooperation with foreign scientific, educational and publishing institutions, objective presentation of relevant issues at local and international conferences and publications), contributing to the influx of relevant personnel and natural generational succession.
  4. The Department carries out its work in the following forms of activity: field, cameral, laboratory, museum, archive/library.
  5. The results of the Department's work are measured by high-quality scientific publications (monographs, collections, articles), which must be relevant and innovative, using modern methods, participation and organized events (conferences, seminars, etc.), field and laboratory research, international relations, productive (attraction of foreign resources, participation of international scientific organizations), influx of personnel, defense of theses, provision of professional opinions.

 

The past and present of the Department

Introduction

The path taken by the Department of Archaeology of Ancient Armenia naturally reflects the progress of scientific and organizational activities of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography.

Back in the late 1960s, the Institute was located in the private house of the director of the pre-revolutionary Yerevan gymnasium, located near Khachatur Abovyan Square, or the so-called "Plani Glukh". This residential building, despite its architectural merits, did not at all meet the requirements of a scientific institution due to lack of space. And this was one of the reasons why specialists of archaeology of the Classical period and Middle Ages worked in a combined Department located in a small room, headed by the luminary Karo Ghafadaryan. Another, more important reason for such an artificial symbiosis was the insufficient funding of the Institute and, as a result, a significant shortage of scientific personnel. For this reason, some researchers of other institutes of the Academy of Sciences (Simon Krkasharyan, Hrach Bartikyan, Margarit Israelyan, Zohrab Ghasabyan and others) were also involved in the excavations of a number of the sites of the Classical period and other monuments studied in those years.

Despite the above-mentioned unfavorable circumstances, the efforts of the Department's specialists successfully carried out systematic excavations of Garni and Armavir (head: Babken Arakelyan), studied the fortress of Atsavan (head: Gevorg Tiratsyan), the burial grounds of Jrarat, Atarbekyan (heads: Gevorg Tiratsyan, Harutyun Mnatsakanyan) and other monuments. At the same time, one of the Department's researches, Gevorg Tiratsyan, participated in the excavations of Krasnaya Gorka for many years as part of a joint project of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography and the Leningrad Hermitage.

 

The initial stage of the Department's activities

In 1971, the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography moved to its current building, and along with other reforms, its structure was also regulated. The Department of Archaeology of the Classical Period of Armenia (later - the Department of Archaeology of Ancient Armenia) was formed, which was headed by the director of the Institute, academician Babken Arakelyan, and since 1973 by Gevorg Tiratsyan. The Department was replenished with a number of new employees and significantly expanded the scope of research work. In 1986, Gevorg Tiratsyan was replaced as head of the Department by Zhores Khachatryan, and since 2005 by Mkrtich Zardaryan.

In the life of the Department of Archaeology of Ancient Armenia, the 1970s and 1980s were marked by a number of outstanding achievements that determined the further path of its development. Systematic excavations of the capital Artashat, one of the unique monuments of Armenia and the entire East of the Classical period, have begun (heads: Babken Arakelyan (1970-1985), Zhores Khachatryan (1986-2015), Mkrtich Zardaryan (2016-present). Research in Garni (head: Zhores Khachatryan) and Armavir (head: Gevorg Tiratsyan (1973-1992), Inessa Karapetyan (since 1993-present)) has gained momentum, archaeological work was carried out in Karchaghbyur, Tmbadir (head: Inessa Karapetyan), Akunk (head: Zhores Khachatryan, Mkrtich Zardaryan, Hasmik Manukyan), on the Classical monuments of Tacharabak, Ditak (head: Felix Ter-Martirosov), Shirakavan (head: Felix Ter-Martirosov, Grigor Karakhanyan) and a number of other settlements. In Dvin, in parallel with large-scale studies of the cultural heritage of the medieval city, a targeted survey of the Classical period layer of the monument began (head: Gayane Kocharyan). Along with the constant study of famous monuments of the Classical period, the Department's researchers also actively participated in rescue excavations of the territories of various new buildings (Anushavan, Yereruyk, etc.).

The volume of academic research carried out by the Department’s scientists is astonishing. Two volumes of the book “Artashat” by Babken Arakelyan and Zhores Khachatryan (1975 and 1981) were published in the form of monographs. They are dedicated to the first stage of the study of Artashat and the remains of the city necropolis, “Essays on the History of Art of Ancient Armenia” by Babken Arakelyan, as well as “The Culture of Ancient Armenia: 6th century BC - 3rd century AD, according to archaeological data” (1988), “The Material Culture of Armenia of the 6th-4th centuries BC ”, dedicated to the material heritage of the Orontid period and “Dvin III. Dvin in the Classical period” (1991) - excavations of the Classical period layer of Dvin (2003) by Gevorg Tiratsyan. Important issues of the archaeology of the Classical period are covered in numerous articles published in Armenia and abroad.

The traditional active participation of both senior and young employees of the Department in various republican, all-Union and international conferences was also significant. No less important was the fact that the Department acted not only as a participant in scientific forums, but also as their organizer. In particular, in 1976, the entire staff of the Department was involved in organizing the XIV International Conference of Antiquities "Eirene" XIV held in Yerevan. In 1980-1988, three thematic symposia were held in Yerevan, devoted to the problems of Eastern Hellenistic culture, and a number of common approaches obtained as a result became a guideline for further study of the complex problems of cultural, political and economic interaction of the ancient world.

 

The Department in light of international scientific cooperation

After the end of the 1980s, the radical changes that unfolded in the country had a negative impact on the research work of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography. In those years, the number of monuments studied by specialists of the Department of Archaeology of Ancient Armenia was significantly reduced, the long-term excavations of the Garni fortress were stopped, work in Karchaghbyur and a number of other monuments stopped, and the once large-scale studies of Armavir and Artashat were carried out with significant interruptions. However, starting from this period, through the efforts of the director of the Institute Gevorg Tiratsyan, projects of international cooperation of the Institute, as well as the Department of Archaeology of Ancient Armenia, began. M. Zardaryan participated in the first such projects, the Armenian-American "IPARC" (in 1990-1995, headed by R. Badalyan, Phillip Kohl) and "ArAGATS" (starting from 1995, headed by R. Badalyan, Adam Smith). Inessa Karapetyan joined the excavations of Akhtamir (1994-1995, headed by Hakob Simonyan) within the framework of the Armenian-French project. The Department also made a certain contribution to the work of the Armenian-Italian expedition that carried out the study of the Urartian monuments of the Sevan basin (headed by Simon Hmayakyan, Rafaele Biscione). The next Armenian-French archaeological project was aimed at studying the important settlement of Benyamin (1999-2007, headed by Felix Ter-Martirosov, Hamazasp Khachatryan, Stefan Deschamps).

Since the 2000s, in parallel with the noticeable positive progress in the scientific work of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, the studies of the Department of Archaeology of Ancient Armenia have gradually been systematized. Systematic excavations of Artashat and Armavir were resumed, and the study of the Yervandashat complex of monuments was launched (2005-2014, headed by Felix Ter-Martirosov). Within the framework of the Armenian-French project, excavations were carried out in the urban section of the Erebuni fortress (2007-2009, headed by Felix Ter-Martirosov, Stefan Deschamps). Along with the cities of the Ararat Valley, a targeted study of the sites and culture of the Classical period of Syunik, one of the most important provinces of historical Armenia, was launched. Along with the cities of the Ararat Valley, a targeted study of the sites and culture of the Classical period of Syunik, one of the most important provinces of historical Armenia, was launched. The study was carried out by the Armenian-American projects "Vorotan" (2005-2008, headed by Mkrtich Zardaryan, Suzanne Alcock) and "Syunik" (2015, headed by Mkrtich Zardaryan, Daniel Potts), as well as by the efforts of the IAE (2012-2017, headed by Mkrtich Zardaryan). Along with the excavations and study of about 30 monuments (Shaghat 1, Shaghat 3, Balak, Uits, Agithu, Ashotavan-Tolors and others), work was carried out to identify the historical communication network of Syunik (2010-2011, headed by Mkrtich Zardaryan).

Along with the systematic excavations of the Artashat expedition of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography (headed by Zhores Khachatryan (2003-2015), Mkrtich Zardaryan (since 2016 to the present) in the Getamerdz region of the city of the Classical period, new international programs are being implemented in the direction of an expanded study of the monument. The Armenian-Polish project "Pokr Vedi" (2016-2018, headed by Mkrtich Zardaryan, O. Kubrak) explored the north-eastern outskirts of the capital, in the area where the three-dimensional inscription of Emperor Trajan was discovered. The Armenian-German project "Artaxata" (headed by Mkrtich Zardaryan, Achim Lichtenberger), which began in 2018, explores the 13th hill of Artashat (Lower City).

In 2009-2019, the Department made a great contribution to the archaeological research of Tigranakert of Artsakh. Inessa Karapetyan participated in the excavations of the city for many years, Zhores Khachatryan, Hasmik Margaryan, Lilit Minasyan participated for several years. In parallel with these works, in 2008-2014, Department researchers Inessa Karapetyan and Hasmik Margaryan also participated in the excavations of the multi-layered (Urartian and Classical period) fortress Getap 1 in Vayots Dzor.

Along with extensive field work, the Department's scientists continued their scientific research, many of which were published in prestigious professional journals and collections abroad: the USA, Great Britain, Germany, France, Poland and Russia. The geography of conferences in which the Department's specialists participate is just as wide: from the East (China, India, Iran) to European countries, the USA and Canada.

Since its formation, the Department of Ancient Archaeology has acted as a regional school of deep specialization of classical scholars. Thanks to the efforts of Babken Arakelyan and Gevorg Tiratsyan, at least two generations of Armenian scholars received their scientific baptism here. Many researchers of the Institute, as well as specialists from other humanitarian institutes of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia and relevant institutions abroad, have prepared various scientific dissertations at the Department.

Specialists of the Department of Archaeology of Ancient Armenia have taught and continue to teach at various higher educational institutions in Armenia and abroad for decades. These include Yerevan State University, Armenian National University of Architecture and Construction, Yerevan Pedagogical and Artistic Academy, etc. In 1994-1995, Mkrtich Zardaryan lectured at Wellesley College and the Harvard Center for Russian Studies, and in 2004 he taught at the University of Chicago.

Currently, the Department, following modern archaeological research trends and opportunities, at the same time preserving the good scientific traditions laid down by its founders, continues a comprehensive study of the culture and history of the Classical period of Armenia.