Metsamor site

The Metsamor site is an archaeological site in the Ararat Plain region of Armenia. It includes the remains of settlements and structures dating from the Chalcolithic, Bronze, and Early Iron Ages.

According to tradition, Metsamor was destroyed in the Iron Age by the Urartians;[1] researchers now believe it was destroyed by Scythian or Cimmerian nomads.[2]

The Metsamor site is to the southwest of the village of Taronik, in the Armavir Province.

History

Metsamor is centered on a hill overlooking the Ararat Valley. Archaeologists have excavated the fortified citadel, the area known as the "lower town" below the citadel, and the cemetery to the east. Early digs revealed an undisturbed stratigraphic sequence that began in the Bronze Age—the Kura–Araxes culture (c. 4000–2000 BC)—and ended in the early modern period.[3] The oldest traces of settlement date to the turn of the 4th millennium BC, in the Bronze Age or Chalcolithic; the youngest date to the 17th century CE.[4] In the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages (15th–8th century BC), the settlement became an important religious and economic center with a developed metallurgical production. On the southern slope of the hill was a large religious complex consisting of five small temples with clay “cascading” altars. Recovered artifacts include gold necklaces and gilded belt fittings which depict hunting lionesses.[5]

Excavations

Research in Metsamor has been conducted since 1965.[6] Until the 1990s, work was carried out by Armenian teams directed by Emma Khanzadyan and Koryun Mkrtchyan; in the years 2011–2013, Ashot Piliposyan headed the excavations.[4] All the finds are displayed in the museum located at the site. In 2013, an Armenian-Polish archaeological expedition started work in Metsamor as a result of the cooperation between the Institute of Archaeology and the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (from the University of Warsaw) and the Service for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Environment and Museum Reservation, Ministry of Culture of Armenia. Krzysztof Jakubiak (IA UW) and Ashot Piliposyan are co-directors of the mission.[5] Jakubiak says that Metsamor "has an important role among the settlements of the Ararat Valley."[1]

Museum

The Museum of History and Archeology at Metsamor Site was opened in 1968. It is the repository of more than 22,000 items, almost all discovered at the site.

References

  • Jakubiak K., Iskra M., Piliposyan A., and Zaqyan A. (2017). Preliminary report on the 2016 season in Metsamor (Armenia). Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 26/1 (2017)
  • TruszkowResearch in Metsamor has been conducted since 1965.[2] Until the 1990s, work was carried out by Armenian teams directed by Emma Khanzadyan and Koryun Mkrtchyan; in the years 2011–2013, Ashot Piliposyan headed the excavations. [3] All the finds are displayed in the museum located at the site. In 2013, an Armenian-Polish archaeological expedition started work in Metsamor as a result of the cooperation between the Institute of Archaeology and the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (both University of Warsaw) and the Service for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Environment and Museum Reservation, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia. Krzysztof Jakubiak (IA UW) and Ashot Piliposyan are co-directors of the mission.[1] ski, M., Bagi, O. Aerial survey of the necropolis and the surrounding fields at Metsamor. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 26/1 (2017)
  • Jakubiak K., Piliposyan A., Iskra M. and Zaqyan A. Metsamor, First preliminary report of seasons 2013, 2014, 2015. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 25 (2016)
  • Khanzadyan E., MResearch in Metsamor has been conducted since 1965.[2] Until the 1990s, work was carried out by Armenian teams directed by Emma Khanzadyan and Koryun Mkrtchyan; in the years 2011–2013, Ashot Piliposyan headed the excavations. [3] All the finds are displayed in the museum located at the site. In 2013, an Armenian-Polish archaeological expedition started work in Metsamor as a result of the cooperation between the Institute of Archaeology and the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (both University of Warsaw) and the Service for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Environment and Museum Reservation, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia. Krzysztof Jakubiak (IA UW) and Ashot Piliposyan are co-directors of the mission.[1] krtchyan K. and Parsamyan E. Metsamor: Usumnasirut’yun 1965–1966t’t’. peghumneri tvyalnerov, Yerevan: Akademiya Nauk Armianskoe S.S.R. (1973)

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Archeologists Discover New Findings in Metsamor, Asbarez, September 12, 2017
  2. ^ Krzysztof Jakubiak and Kinga Bigoraj. "Metsamor: the Early Iron Age/Urartian settlement in the Aras Valley, Armenia." Cambridge University Press. 2020. [1]
  3. ^ Jakubiak, Krzysztof (2017). "Metsamor (Armenia): preliminary report on the excavations in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Appendix: Anthropological examination of burials from Metsamor in seasons 2013–2015". Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean. 25: 553–572. doi:10.5604/01.3001.0010.2348.
  4. ^ a b Truszkowski, Marek; Bagi, Otto (2018). "Aerial survey of the necropolis and the surrounding fields at Metsamor in Armenia". Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean. 26/1: 570–578. doi:10.5604/01.3001.0012.1806. S2CID 133852077.
  5. ^ a b "Metsamor". pcma.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  6. ^ Khanzadyan E., Mkrtchyan K. and Parsamyan E. Metsamor: Usumnasirut’yun 1965–1966t’t’. peghumneri tvyalnerov, Yerevan: Akademiya Nauk Armianskoe S.S.R. 1973
  • Media related to Metsamor site at Wikimedia Commons
  • The Armenian History", by Armenia's National Academy of Sciences (1971)
  • "From the History of Ancient Armenia", by Dr.Suren Aivazyan
  • "Evolution of the World Alphabets", by Dr.Armen Melkonyan

40°7′34.59″N 44°11′12.46″E / 40.1262750°N 44.1867944°E / 40.1262750; 44.1867944

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