Archaeological Excavations Are Underway At The Ancient Sites Of Shoghakat And Artanish Villages

Excavations at the archaeological sites of Shoghakat and Artanish villages of the Shoghakat community of Gegharkunik Province began on August 3, 2020. They are co-organized and co-financed by the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the NAS RA and the Institute of Geological Sciences of the NAS RA.

According to the expedition coordinator, candidate of historical sciences Arsen Bobokhyan, the excavations are carried out jointly with the State Science Committee of the Republic of Armenia within the framework of the program “Search for hidden and closed archaeological monuments via geochemical methods”. The program is headed by candidate of geological sciences Arshavir Hovhannisyan.

Currently, archaeological excavations are underway in the mausoleum of the Shoghakat village and in the Early Bronze Age settlement of Artanish. In the coming days, excavations will also be carried out in the fortified settlement of Sotk in the expanded Geghamasar community.

“We have excavated the Artanish 23 mausoleum in the Shoghakat village. We have already excavated two tombs – currently, we are excavating a third. The tombs date back to the Iron Age.

One of the excavated tombs was looted six months ago, and a criminal case was opened on the fact. Still, archaeological materials, beads, ceramics, as well as human and animal bones were found in the tomb, giving an idea of the economic relations, culture, lifestyle, and beliefs of the period.

The Early Bronze Age monument of Artanish was discovered by our expedition in 2015. It dates back to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. Interesting archaeological items have been unearthed there.

The expedition incorporates a large number of highly qualified archaeologists and geologists,” said the co-chairman of the expedition.

Source: gegharkunik.mtad.am