Artashat monastery monumental building – institute director

Photo by Ankhakh.com
The director of the National Academy's Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography says they are scheduling archeological, biological and collective-ethnographic expeditions and excavations on the territory of Artashat this year.
Excavations in Artashat, an ancient Armenian capital, are being conducted for the tenth year. The foundations of the city's monastery and an adjacent construction – a public bath with a mosaic design – have been already unearthed. Scientists believe the monastery was built under King Artashes.
"All are monumental constructions. We have unearthed both the foundations and the walls. The structures dating from 2nd until the 3rd-4th centuries BC are buildings suiting the capital of Artashat. We have unearthed quite a big territory," Pavel Avetisyan, the Institute's director, told Tert.am.
Scholars at the Institute are also studying ancient sites tracing back to the late 7th until the early 6th centuries AD to discover the agricultural societies' heritage in the Armenian highlands.
Asatryan particularly singled out the ancient sites of Aknashen (near Echmiadzin) and Masis Blur (near Yerevan) as most remarkable places of study.The Institute also conducts expeditions on the territories of the most ancient monuments (from Stone to Middle Ages) of the Armenian highlands and the ancient Armenian capitals (Armavir, Yervandashat and Dvin).   Read more... (211 words)

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