It was proven that the medieval legend is correct. Armenian medieval authors Pavstos Buzand and Movses Khorenatsi wrote that the king of Persia Shapukh II exhumed the bones of the Armenian kings of the 4th century from the city of Ani Kamakh, where the necropolis of the Armenian dynasty of Arsacid was located, and tried to take them to Persia to show his dominion over Armenia.
However, Sparapet Vassak Mamikonyan did not let that evil deed happen. After beating the Persians, he took the relics of the monarchs of the Arsacid back away and buried them in Aghdzk.
This ancient information was confirmed when archaeologists stumbled upon a royal crypt with the reburied kings and their relics in Aghdzk. They also found precious medieval glass, numerous ornaments, and coins.
Aghdzk is a village on the slopes of Aragats mountain in the Aragatsotn province of Armenia. It has been the mausoleum of the Arsacid dynasty since the 4th century. It is a large royal funerary complex and a basilica, the remains of which are still visible.
“This church is a monument of the Christian heritage because it was built right after Armenia adopted Christianity at the state level, as the first country in the world,” said the deputy director of the Historical and Cultural Heritage Research Center of the Ministry of Culture of Armenia, archaeologist Hakob Simonyan.
According to Simonyan, this discovery aroused interest among Hungarian and Iranian archaeologists, who soon joined the excavations. The Armenian Minister of Culture attended the site of the excavations along with various other officials and guests.
According to Hakob Simonyan, the Armenian government plans to build a museum at the site of the excavations, and the DNA of the relics will be investigated for scientific purposes.
