The megalithic complex in southern Armenia called Karahunj (Zorats Karer) is not only the most interesting structure in Armenia but also one of the most mysterious stone compositions in the world.
How is it different from other megaliths?
Firstly, almost all of them date back at the 4th-3rd millennium BC while the age of Karahunj is at least 7,500 years (some researchers, in particular, Graham Hancock, suggested that the complex has a 12-thousand-year history).
Secondly, the holes in the stones are what’s unique about the Armenian megalith. In 2010, geographer Nicholas Howard, one of the members of the expeditionary group of the University of Oxford and the Royal Geographical Society of the United Kingdom, said, “…The presence of holes in the stones puts it apart from a number of similar objects.”
All the researchers who studied Karahunj, including Paris Herouni, Graham Hancock, Nicholas Howard, Vachagan Vahradyan, Vazgen Gevorgyan, and others, came to the conclusion that the complex is the oldest known observatory.
“Sounding stones”
The very name of the megalith located in the Syunik province of Armenia can tell a lot.
The word “Karahunj” or “Qarahunj” consists of two Armenian roots: “kar” (qar), which means stone, and “hunj” – sound, voice. That is, sounding or speaking stones. (It is interesting to recall the name of the megalithic complex in France, in which the root “kar” (Carnac) is also present).
Other names of the complex are Zorats Karer (stones of strength), Karegandz (stone treasures).
Thus, on one hand, there are “treasures”, and on the other, there is “sound.” What are these cliffs telling about and why were they so valuable?
For the construction of Karahunj, the builders brought menhirs from the nearby canyon of the Dar River, one of the tributaries of Vorotan. 222 stones in total. 84 of them have 4-5 cm perfectly round holes.
How much time and effort did it take to drag the 50-ton menhirs for several hundreds of kilometers?
It says only one thing: the installation of the stone blocks was necessary to our ancestors. Apparently, the complex provided them with knowledge, which they actively used in their life.
This may be due to both health problems and harvesting. Thus, through megaliths, people carried out certain calculations…
Stone Observatory
From the previous materials of the “Lost Knowledge” series, in which Sputnik Armenia told about Navasard (the ancient Armenian New Year) and the Tatev Gavazan, it becomes clear that in ancient times, the constellation of Hayk-Orion was of great importance for the Armenian people.
In conversation with a Sputnik reporter, independent researcher Vazgen Gevorgyan told about the direct connection of the stars with Karahunj.
“Today, there is no doubt that Karahunj really is the oldest observatory. During our visits in recent years, we conducted important astronomical observations and were fully convinced of this,” he said.
As already mentioned in the previous materials of the “Lost Knowledge” series, the Hayk-Orion constellation, which is called “Shampruk-kshirk” (balance axis) in Armenian, reaches the celestial equator on August 11. That’s why Gevorgyan conducted his observations on that day.
“Through the holes in the stones, one can observe the culmination point of the celestial equator, which the Hayk-Orion constellation reaches once in every 25920 years and marks the end of the old and the beginning of the New Year. This is the point on the celestial equator, with the help of which scientists of antiquity calculated time and made a calendar,” the researcher noted.
Observing through the holes of Karahunj, the ancient astronomers could calculate the appearance of certain heavenly bodies, watch their movements in the sky (fix the angular changes), and fix the point of sunrise and sunset, the days of the equinox and the solstice.
Vazgen Gevorgyan’s team watched the starry sky through the stone telescopes in Karahunj on August 11, 2012 (this year, the Mayan calendar ended). The data was so amazing that in 2015, at the invitation of Gevorgyan, Armenia was visited by the world-famous researcher of ancient civilizations Graham Hancock.
Afterwards, he wrote: “The constellation of Orion rises before dawn over the megaliths of Karahunj, and one can see how the three stars of the Orion constellation line up vertically over the tip of the menhir.”
After the statement of such an authoritative researcher, the popular scientific geographic magazine National Geographic included the Karahunj complex, which is also called the Armenian Stonehenge, in the list of the world’s oldest observatories in 2016. The journal emphasized that here, our ancestors conducted observations of Orion and Sirius.
How the stars “tied” Karahunj and the pyramids
The constellation of Orion and the star Sirius were so important for ancient astronomers that the main pyramid of Cheops has stellar pointers. This is reflected in the Egyptian myths and legends.
The shafts of pharaoh and the queen are directed precisely at the culmination points of these stars. The pharaoh’s shaft is placed at an angle of 45 degrees and is aimed at the Orion constellation, and the chamber of the queen is directed at Sirius at an angle of 39.5 degrees.
According to Vazgen Gevorgyan, we have an amazing “coincidence”: the ancient Karahunj observatory, which was built long before the Egyptian pyramids, is located at 39.5oN (this was noticed by Paris Herouni).
And if you draw a 45-degree azimuth from the Giza plateau to the northeast, which is the direction the three main pyramids of Giza indicate, the intersection of these two lines falls exactly in the area where the Karahunj – “Armenian Stonehenge” and the Tatev monastery complex of the 9th-10th centuries are located.
Photo by armeniasputnik.am
Photo by armeniasputnik.am
