Pyramid of Ararat Plain

For several years archaeologists of Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of National Academy of Sciences of Republic of Armenia have conducted excavations near the settlements of the Ararat plain in collaboration with American research group.

Their searches have resulted in the discovery of unusual building, dated back to III-II millenniums BC. The construction resembles the pyramids of Giza and Mexico, though it is more similar to the Mesoamerican pyramids in Mexico.

The pyramid was discovered near Dvin, Ararat province, Armenia, completely covered in dust layer of thousands of years old. The height of the pyramid is approximately 25 meters (82,02 feet), which is almost the height of a nine-story building. According to one of the hypothesis, it has been used as a shelter during assaults on nearby settlements.

Whatever its purpose and the reason behind its construction have been, the pyramid is a peculiar museum of Hayasa-Azzi, a Late Bronze Age confederation formed between two kindgoms of Armenian Highlands, Hayasa, located South of Trabzon, and Azzi, located north of the Euphrates and to the south of Hayasa.

During that particular excavations numerous other monuments of Neolithic age, including clay structures and stone tools, have been discovered. According to the director of the institute Pavel Avetisyan, not all finds have reached our days in one piece. Most of the finds are thousands of years old, the oldest one being an artifact with images with estimated age of six thousand years.

Excavations have also been done near Yervandashat, Armavir, Artashat. The mission of the research group is to discover such artifacts which could shed some light on the culture of Armenian people of time period between the Stone Age and Middle Ages.