About Astronomy in Old Armenia

I am not sole in opinion about the presence of developed level of science, language and culture in Old Armenia. At the beginning of XX century well known German historian E.Maunder and archaeologist Swarts, famous British astronomer and historian of astronomy W.Alcott wrote that the first people who divided the sky to the constellations and named them, lived not in Egypt, not in Babylon, but in Armenian Highland (in Valley of river Euphrates) and around Mount Ararat, at latitudes from 36° to 41°, and that process was completed in DI millennium BC. According to W.Alcott these conclusions are agreed also with historical and archaeological data.

E.Mounder also writes: ”Egyptians, on whose ancient monuments twelve Zodiac signs were found out, told the truth that they had taken their knowledge about stars from the Chaldeans (= Urartians = Armennians, see below, P.H.), and they in their turn were teachers of Greeks at the times of Phales and Pythagoras”.

Zodiac signs, used till now, are ancient Armenian hieroglyphs for Zodiacs which are saved in Armenia till now, for example, in Metsamor Monument (big metallurgical plant and observatory in the Ararat Valley, V millennium BC), in rock petroglyphs [32, 32a], on pages of Matenadaran” manuscripts.

The planet Earth (with human population) is denoted in present astronomy (from old times) by ring with cross on the top. This was an Armenian old sign of Earth: the ring with man on the top which was simpler and earlier than petroglyph shown in Fig. 40.

The same structure have the carved ornaments on thousands Armenian famous Cross-Stones made before (Fig. 43c) and especially after the Christianity adopting (Fig. 94). French famous astronomer and philosopher K.Flomarion, British scientist A.Berry and others noted the high level of astronomical knowledge in prehistoric Armenian Highland.

American scientist, the well-known researcher of Stonehenge and CaI lanish, G.S.Hawkins in 1970-s wrote to V.H. Hambartsumian, President of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, that Stonehenge is not alone and it should be expected the presence of such astronomical culture in Armenia.

Karahunj and this PART 1 are bright confirmation of his rightness. Karahunj is also confirmation of other above mentioned statements and opinions about developed astronomy and culture of Old Armenia.

An extract from the book “Armenians and Ancient Armenia” by Paris Heoruni.

• Matenadaran is Repository, Scientific Institute and Museum of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan, the capital of Republic of Armenia (see Fig. 67a on page 142).

32. Toumanian B., Petrosian S., Astronomical Petrogliphs, Yerevan, 1970 (in Russian)

32a. Tokatyan K.S., The Astronomical Method for Absolute Chronology of Rock Carvings with Constellations, Proc. of 2nd Internat. Congress of Rupestrian Archaeology, Valamonica, Italy, 1997 (in English)