
In 1959, when I deciphered the so-called “Urartian” – Armenian cuneiform and read it in the language of archaic grabar, it marked the end of the pseudoscientific “Urartu concept”. It became perfectly clear that there was never any “Urartu” state, and the teachings of the “Father of Armenian History” Movses Khorenatsi (5th century) and the “Chronological Tables” by historian Mikael Chamchyan (1785) about the foundation of Armenia as a state by Haik, and the existence of the Haikazuni dynasty were correct.
This was a revolutionary act that shattered all established notions about the ancient history of the world that were incorporated into textbooks.
No one wanted to publish my decipherment. The only option left was to publish it as a manuscript. And so, I released the book “Deciphering the Armenian Cuneiform” as a manuscript.
The academic elite of Armenia used every possible and impossible leverage against me. They collected and burned my book! Allegedly, I was a “nationalist”, and supposedly my book emanated hostility against Georgians and Azerbaijanis(?). Utter absurdity! It couldn’t get any worse!
Everyone remembered at that time – in 1963, Stalinist dogmas: “Urartu – a conglomerate of nations”. I managed to save from destruction – out of an edition of 500 copies – only 50 books, thanks to the initiative of the second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia, Bagdasaryan Ovannes Minaevich.
It was then that academician Boris Piotrovsky said to me: “As a geologist, you know well that every process in nature leaves its traces… If you claim that Movses Khorenatsi is right, then show us the archaeological evidence of the existence of ancient Armenia.”
This was fair! Indeed, at that time there was no object in Armenia from 4 to 2 thousand BC, except for Shengavit, excavated by the archaeologist Sardaryan on the outskirts of Yerevan. However, this was a meager site, which contained almost nothing and could not attest in favor of the existence of the very ancient Armenia as interpreted by Movses Khorenatsi.
The situation in 1963, when my manuscript regarding the cuneiform decipherment was collected and destroyed, was more than tragic for me. A geologist-miner, Azat Veguni, approached me saying he knew of an unknown cuneiform near Echmiadzin, which he wanted to show me.
At the end of November 1963, Veguni took me in his car to the village of Zeyva. In the car were geologists Artem Arutyunyan, Jim Oganesyan, and another person unfamiliar to me – Koryun Mkrtchyan.
After examining two hills in Zeyva, I stated that there were no cuneiform inscriptions, but there were Armenian hieroglyphs that hadn’t been discovered before. Additionally, there was an ancient mining-metallurgical site that needed excavation.
Having deciphered the Armenian cuneiform of the 18th century BC, I knew that an even older period of ancient Armenia’s existence must be associated with hieroglyphic writing, which is mentioned in medieval Armenian manuscripts (like the Erznka manuscript).
On Metsamor – I named the two hills near the village Zeyva in honor of the Mother Goddess Metsamor of the pagan pantheon of deities – on the very first day of visit, I found images of Armenian hieroglyphic writing on the rocks!
At my request, the guys went to search the hills for metallurgical slag and ceramic remains. When they returned, everything became clear: they held black glazed pottery from the 5th millennium BC and metallurgical slag.
It was November 30, 1963. The problem of proving the existence of the ancient Armenia of Movses Khorenatsi ceased to be an issue.
I organized the Metsamor expedition under the Earth Sciences Department of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, secured funding, and conducted excavations in 1965-66.
As the head of the Metsamor expedition, I handed over all materials to the new team of the expedition in 1966, publishing over twenty articles and a monograph in Moscow by 1968. In the same year, 1968, I defended my doctoral thesis on Metsamor.
I cannot complain that my efforts were not appreciated.
Metsamor is the history of Armenia – the history of the Haik dynasty of kings.
And that says it all!
The excavations of Metsamor had a global historical significance.
The pseudoscientific “Urartu concept” was debunked. The significance of the decipherment of Armenian cuneiform and the excavations of Metsamor cannot be overstated.
Reflecting on events nearly half a century ago, one can say that it was an Idea, fueled by audacity and hard work, that prevailed.
…Moving forward, I would like to note the following. As early as February 1964, I published in the journal “Izvestiya AN Arm. SSR (Earth Sciences)” the first report regarding the discovery of Metsamor.
Piotrovsky and his entourage stirred up a fuss claiming that Metsamor dated to the 15th century and not the 5th millennium BC, and that the hieroglyphs I discovered were either Gypsy tamgas or Arabic writing. Blinded by this nonsense, Piotrovsky accused me.
Under an agreement with the Armenian Academy of Sciences, I was to conduct excavations of the ancient mining-metallurgical site of Metsamor over two years – in 1965-1966. After this period, in October 1966, I resigned from my responsibilities. I never returned to Metsamor, considering my task completed.
Specific details regarding my discovery and excavations of Metsamor can be found in the following works published by me:
- “The Ancient Mining-Metallurgical Construction of Metsamor” // “Izvestiya AN Arm. SSR (Earth Sciences)”, Vol. XVII, No. 2.
- “Once More on the Metsamor Mining-Metallurgical Construction”, Ibid, No. 5.
- “Regarding the Raw Material Base and Melting System at Metsamor”, Ibid, No. 6.
- “Assyro-Babylonian Sources on the Export of Metals from the Armenian Highlands” // “Scientific Works of NIGMI”, Issue V.
- “The Ancient Mining-Metallurgical Construction of Metsamor” // “Questions of the History of Science”. Published by the Armenian Academy of Sciences. Yerevan.
- “On Some Questions of the History and Metallurgy of Ancient Armenia” // Moscow: VINITI Publishing.
- “Metsamor” // Newspaper “Grakan tert”, September 4, Yerevan.
- “The Oldest Metallurgical Furnaces” // Newspaper “Komsomolets”, October 11, Yerevan.
- “Armenian Calendar Belts” // Newspaper “Avangard”, January 4, Yerevan.
- “The Astronomical Observatory of Metsamor” // Newspaper “Komsomolets”, February 7, Yerevan.
- “The Observatory of Metsamor” // Newspaper “Avangard”, February 13, Yerevan.
- “Armenian Non-Hieroglyphs” // Magazine “Literary Armenia”, No. 3.
- “The Development of Geology and Mining in Ancient Armenia. Theses of Documents IV Transcaucasian Conference”… Published by the Armenian Academy of Sciences.
- “The Development of Mining-Metallurgical Knowledge”… Collection “History of Mining Science”. Materials of the First All-Union Coordination Meeting. Tbilisi: “Metsniereba” Publishing.
- After I handed over the Metsamor expedition to others in 1966, no further excavations were carried out there.
What’s more! All sorts of ignoramuses and adventurers now dated Metsamor not to the 15th century, as they initially very much wanted to, but… to the history of the “Urartu state”, i.e., the VII – VI centuries BC, and falsely recorded it in the “Encyclopedia of Armenia”. They neither recalled the history of the Hayasa-Haik dynasty of Armenia nor that I had discovered and excavated Metsamor.
Suren Ayvazyan. Newspaper “Metsamor”
Translated by Vigen Avetisyan