As it turned out, there are many ancient artifacts in the territory of Armenia. Scientists’ recent findings can rewrite the history of the Ancient World. Let’s talk about them.
In the scientific world, for some reason, it is considered that the territory of Armenia has never been “involved” in the historical processes of ancient civilizations. Far more interesting for the scientific world are the civilizations of ancient Egypt or the Sumerians.
The Soviet Union also played a significant role in this – after all, excavations in the territory of Armenia began precisely in Soviet times. And then, there was such an interesting thing called the “iron curtain”, and it had a huge impact not only on the country’s economy but also science.
Practically nothing was known about the discoveries of Soviet scientists in Armenia. But nowadays, the situation is beginning to change radically. Interesting finds in Armenia began to be unearthed in the 20th century.
In 1975, several ancient burial grounds were discovered in the territory of Mount Aragats. They immediately interested Soviet archeologists. These sites were referred to in ancient sources as Naver.
In many ancient European languages, the words “nev” or “nav” meant “grave” or a “ship”. However, everything is much more complicated – researchers believe that this name has a sacred meaning. Supposedly, the souls of the departed were sent off to another world on a ship.
After the discovery of the burial grounds, things got more interesting.
The mounds were not young at all – they were built in 3rd-2nd millennia years BC, which was demonstrated by radiocarbon analysis conducted not only in the Soviet Union but also in countries such as Germany and the United States.
Information about these graves was also found in the annals of Armenia. For example, in the “History of Armenia” of Movses Khorenatsi, it is said that the son of the leader of the Armenian people, Hayk, lived near the mountain of Aragats in about 2492 BC.
A lot of rich people from the highest strata of society were buried in these burial grounds. Near the burial grounds, archaeologists found more than eight other mounds. Then, their number increased even more – over 70. These findings allowed researchers to suggest that Armenia may be the ancestral home of the Indo-European civilization.
Among all the burial grounds found in the world where the Aryan way of thinking and the Aryan way of life are recorded, these burial grounds are the most ancient. Not far from them were also found the traces of the production of those times. All this gives new food for thought, as well as gives rise to new questions.
Next to these burial grounds, a large number of animal bones, various weapons, jewelry, and many other items were found. But these sites are interesting not only for the usual ancient artifacts – there were also other sensational finds.
Scientists believe that these burial grounds in all respects correspond to the Aryan notions. Their structure is very complicated. Traces of such processes as cremation, gnawing of the bones of slaves by specially trained dogs, and simple burials of peasants were found here.
Interestingly, women were buried on their left sides, while men on the right. Besides, almost every burial site had two horses. In one of such burial grounds, a black jug was found, on which six pairs of chariots with 4-spoke wheels were drawn. And such chariots existed in very ancient times.
Another interesting find is a red jug with the image of thoroughbred horses. This may indicate that horse breeding flourished in Armenia in the distant past.
A plentitude of unique jewelry was found as well. Some of it was made of quartz, and quarts melted only at a temperature of about 1700 degrees Celsius! No one else is known to have been making quartz products in such distant antiquity.
Many proofs of the hypothesis that ancient Armenia had been actively involved in international trade back in those times were found as well.
