VISHAP STONES OF ARMENIA

 

In the high mountains of Armenia unique monuments have been preserved, which traditionally are called by the people "Vishap/Dragon stones".

Like Khachkars (cross-stones) also the Vishaps are distributed only within the Armenian Highland. The centers of their spreading are Aragats and Geghama mountains. Ca. 150 examples of these monuments are known today.

Vishaps are 150-550 cm high, they are made of grayish stones – andesite or basalt, and, according to their forms and the iconography, they can be divided into three groups:

1. Bull shaped (four-sided stelae, with an image of bull's head and extremities fallen down in the frontal part),

2. Fish-shaped (carved in the form of a fish),

3. Fish and Bull shaped (contains the details of the previous two types).

Vishaps were widely used in the Bronze Age, particularly in the 2nd millennium BC, however, it is possible that their origins go back to the earlier periods.

Vishaps are originally placed at an altitude of up to 3000 m above sea level, in a standing or lying position. In ancient times, most of them were standing. As a rule, they appear in groups, a few of them - alone, in water-rich flat areas and in round stone platforms; there are tombs, petroglyphs and tower-like structures in their vicinity.

 

Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, RA

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, NAS RA

Ararat-Eskijian Museum, Los Angeles

ArchaeoArt and LAB NGO, Armenia

«Vishap» Project, Armenia-Italy

 

 

Fig.1. Distribution and quantification of Vishap stones

 

 

 

Fig. 2. Types of Vishaps

 

 

 

 

VISHAPS GEGHARDA LICH 1 AND 4

 

Name – Gegharda lich 1 and 4

Type – Bull shaped (Gegharda lich 1 – with two birds looking at each other)

Material – Reddish basalt

Preservation – Good (partially broken on frontal and back sides)

Size – 400x150x65 cm (Gegharda lich 1), 205x80x22 cm (Gegharda lich 4)

Original place – Area of the lake Gegharda lich, Geghama Mountains

Altitude above the sea level – 2700 m

Context – In the area of the Gegharda or Vishapa lich/lake, where a water reservoir is currently present, there were eight dragon stones, which were moved from the original places to Yerevan (Gegharda lich 2, 3, 5 - Matenadaran and Second Massive garden), to the adjacent hill (Gegharda lich 1, 4, 8) or remained under the water (Gegharda lich 6, 7). According to archival photos, most of these monuments could have been situated within the cromlech-platforms. Other cromlechs and also petroglyphs are spread nearby.

History of discovery – The main stelae of the Gegharda lich were found by the Garni expedition led by N. Marr and J. Smirnov during 1910-1911. At least, until the 1970s they were in their original places, in the central part of the lake. With the rising water of the lake, the monuments were moved to the current place on the hill, and later in 2010 were raised up. Gegharda lich 6 was discovered in 1963 by the expedition of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, and Gegharda lich 8, which is located 70 m south-east of Gegharda lich 1 and 4, was found and raised by the workers reconstructing the dam in 2016.

 

 

Fig. 3. Gegharda lich landscape and the original (green) and present (red) locations of the vishaps Gegharda lich 1 and 4

 

 

Fig. 4. Drawings of Gegharda lich 1 and 4