Secrets of the Archaeological Excavations in Armenia

Archaeological excavations assist the development of tourism invaluably – each antiquity discovered can be a tourist attraction.

Traces of a hitherto unknown group of people who worshiped fire were found in the Agitu-7 cave in the Syunik Province of Armenia. Boris Gasparyan, a researcher at the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, reported this on Tuesday.

According to him, Armenian archaeologists searched the cave for traces of people of the Paleolithic era and found an ancient cult monument.

“We have not yet reached the bottom layers. This find testifies that people with a peculiar religion have lived in these lands with Christians. They had a cult of fire,” Gasparyan said.

The results of excavations in the village of Elpin (Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia) are also impressive – burial grounds of the period of the Van Kingdom have been discovered. Apparently, this area has been an important economic center – winemaking has been well-developed here, as testified by traces of grape gardens and plantations.

“Several millennia ago, winemaking has been an important component of their economy,” Gasparyan said.

The scientist noted that further archaeological excavations will assist the development of tourism in Armenia – the finds can be turned into historical attractions.

“Armenia cooperates with archaeologists from all over the world. We organize joint expeditions with scientists from the US, Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Japan, and other countries,” Gasparyan added.

Since most of ancient Armenia today is located in Turkey, this region is of particular interest to Armenian archaeologists. But Gasparyan noted that there is no official cooperation with the Turkish side.

“Of course, there are Turkish experts or scientists who we could exchange information with. But due to political issues, there is no Armenian-Turkish cooperation. I think it will be this way for a long time,” he added.

However, he concluded that the lack of information is partially offset by cooperation with scientists from other countries.