Shengavit, An Ancient Center of Export – Ancient Armenia

The ancient Shengavit Settlement located on the left bank of Hrazdan River is one of the most renowned centers of metallurgy, agriculture, and cattle-breeding of the Armenian Highlands and Western Asia. The hilly 6-hectare territory of the ancient settlement is now lying within Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia.

The settlement features a group of brickwork homes with stone foundations surrounded by a powerful fortress fencing. The population of the Shengavit Settlement dwelled in round homes, which’s diameter was around 6-8 meters. Those homes also featured adjacent square premises.

Metal items unearthed in Shengavit closely resemble those discovered during the excavations in the Sumerian city of Ur. Those artifacts include copper bracelets, spiral adornments, awls, leaf-like spear tips, a flat hunting sword, and a large axe with a hole for a handle.

The Shengavit Settlement has been an important center of copper export to Lower Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and the Caucasus. The settlement has been established in ca. 4th millennium BC. Among the remarkable archaeological discoveries of Shengavit are human remains, whose genetic profile is characteristic to the representatives of the Armenoid race. Established about 6,000 years ago, this anthropological type was discovered in the second layer of Troy, in Iranian Tepe Sialk, and Sumerian cities of Ur and Kish. Most probably, the wide dispersion of Armenoids has been a result of early emigrations of the people from the Armenian Highlands.