THE SHENGAVIT ARCHEOLOGICAL PRESERVE
by admin Joseph Dagdigian
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
Harvard, MA
Shengavit excavation, American embassy in background
The foundation of Yerevan is often cited as 782 B.C., the year the
Urartun city of Erebuni was founded by Argishti I on a hill within the
borders of the modern city of Yerevan. While Yerevan may be considered
the direct descendant of Erebuni, mankind has lived there for many
thousands of years before King Argishti I built his city.
Visitors arriving at Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport pass the U.S. Embassy
on the way to Yerevan’s center. In back of the embassy is a small,
man made lake. Rising above the lake’s opposite shore is the Shengavit
Historical and Archeological Culture Preserve. Within the preserve
are excavations revealing settlements from the end of the 4th to the
beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C., as well a small museum containing
artifacts found at the site. The neatly arranged artifacts are labeled
in English, Armenian, and Russian. The actual archeological site spans
an area of 6 hectares (about 15 acres), though during the Soviet era
a hospital was built over part of the site destroying forever the
yet unexamined archeological evidence underneath.
The Shengavit archeological record contains 4 layers, each about 4
meters (12 feet) in depth representing distinct phases of habitation.
The lowest and oldest layer contains the archeological record of
inhabitants living around 4000 – 3000 B.C., while the uppermost,
most recent layer is dated to about 2000 B.C. Scholars believe the
site was continually inhabited for over 2000 years. Found within
the oldest stone age layer were crude stone tools and other items,
while the upper layer revealed sophisticated pottery, the presence
of agricultural activity, cattle raising, and copper tools as well as
stone molds used to cast copper implements. Buildings were constructed
of unbaked clay bricks set upon stone foundations with connected
circular and rectangular rooms. The inside walls of the rooms were
plastered. There was evidence that the walls were painted, though that
evidence no longer exists. Within the rooms were found triangular
hearths set upon stands. The circular rooms contained centrally
located stone pedestals upon which columns rested to support the roof.
Floors were made of pebbles covered with clay.
The Shengavit culture was spread throughout the Ararat valley and was
influential as far as western Armenia, Cilicia, northern Mesopotamia,
and Palestine. Obsidian tools from Armenia were found in the Middle
East. Anthropologists, analyzing human remains from Shengavit tombs,
believe the “Armenoid” skull type typical of current day Armenians
evolved in this region. Shengavit was linked to other settlements
in the region, all of which demonstrated a similar culture and were
connected by trade. While there is no record of the language used at
the time, scientists believe that a non-Semitic, non-Indo-European
language or family of languages was prevalent, traces of which remain
today within the Armenian language.
While it can not be stated that the early residents of Shengavit were
“Armenian”, as the Armenian nation, people, and language may not
have been formed at that time, it is likely that the tribes living in
the region ultimately coalesced to form the Armenian people and the
Armenian language. At a much later time migrating tribes introduced
Indo-European elements into the Armenian language.
Initial excavation of the site began in 1936 by Joseph Orbeli
(1887-1961) and Eugeni Bayburtyan (1898-1938) and lasted for 2 years;
then the site was abandoned. Orbeli was the director of the Hermitage
Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Bayburtyan apparently was a bit
too nationalistic; he was arrested by Stalin and was never seen again.
>>From 1945-1950 Sandro Sardaryan (1912-1995) studied the site and
then, from 1950-1983, led a new excavation of Shengavit. Yuli Tamanyan,
being an architect and member of the excavating team, performed the
site’s measurements. He was the son of famed architect Alexander
Tamanian who, in 1925, developed the general layout of Yerevan. In
1967 Sardaryan published a study “Primitive Society in Armenia” in
English describing Shengavit and other ancient settlements within
the Armenian highlands.
Shengavit excavation and museum
Currently on the Shengavit preserve one may view the foundations of
ancient dwellings and visit Shengavit’s nicely arranged museum. The
director of the “Shengavit Historical and Archaeological Culture
Preserve” is Vladimir Tshagharyan, an experienced archeologist and
architect with considerable experience in managing and preserving
Armenia’s large number of historical and archaeological sites. He is
assisted by Vano, an experienced construction worker, and Gayane –
a guide who is fluent in Armenian, English, Russian, and perhaps
a few other languages. The 3 person staff is severely underpaid,
receiving salaries that are impossible to live on in Armenia. They are,
in effect, volunteers as their motivations are the preservation of
Armenia’s important historical and archaeological record. In addition
to inadequate pay, there is zero budget (not an exaggeration – it’s
actually zero!) for the maintenance and renovation of the site. The
site desperately needs to install running water (there is no water at
the site), a sewage line (there is none), rest rooms, and a phone line
(there is none). They need a dozen or so boards to repair the benches
(they were denied $100-150 needed for the bench repairs by the head of
Yerevan’s Shengavit district – there are budgetary constraints!). The
museum building dates from 1920 when it was constructed to serve as
a station for Red Army officers. The roof needs repair and the museum
walls need reinforcement in order to support the used air conditioners
which were donated to the museum.
My wife and I spent a day visiting building supply stores where we
bought enough material to start the most critical repairs before
the arrival of winter weather. The staff does all the repair and
maintenance work, including digging trenches for a sewer line and
for a water connection. Part of the preserve was illegally sold to a
private individual. The director has gathered extensive documentation
on this illegal sale and presented the evidence to Yerevan City Hall.
He is assured that the matter will be rectified. If it is not,
he says, he will go to court – though hiring a lawyer will require
funds which he does not have. If it comes to this, and one hopes it
won’t, the Diaspora will need to help. Moreover the site is not fenced
in. I visited the site on two consecutive days. On the second day a
new pile of trash had been dumped on the site. Fortunately there is
a policeman stationed at the site during off hours to protect the
valuable artifacts in the museum and the undiscovered ones which
still lie underground.
Director Tshagharyan displaying Shengavit artifacts This is an
important site not just for the study of the formation of the Armenian
nation, but for studying the ancient history and culture of the
entire region. This past summer a group of American archeologists from
Pennsylvania were researching the site until the really hot weather
arrived, at which point they returned home. They plan to return once
the weather cools down a bit. It is embarrassing for foreign visitors
to see that such an important site is so severely underdeveloped
and ignored, except for the few people who are desperately trying
to maintain it. Of course there are severe financial shortages in
Armenia, but a recent U.N. survey indicated that Yerevan has more
expensive cars per capita than any other major city!
Vladimir “Vova” Tshagharyan, Shengavit’s director, has ambitions
to establish the amenities needed by visitors. The site needs to be
secured with a fence surrounding the area. The illegally sold land
must be returned. The antiquated museum building needs to be renovated
and ultimately replaced with a more modern facility with a library,
an area to study and preserve artifacts, and an area where visiting
archeologists can conduct their research. Shengavit’s director is
considering the establishment of a non-profit organization or an NGO
to oversee donations to the site.
The Shengavit Historical and Archaeological Culture Preserve is only
a 15-20 minute taxi drive from the center of Yerevan. Its entrance
is in back of the Shengavit hospital on Bagratunyats Street, on the
opposite side of Yerevan Lake from the U.S. embassy. Visitors are
welcome throughout the week other than on Mondays when most museums
in Armenia are closed.
References: ~U
~U Primitive Society in Armenia, Sandro Sardaryan, MITK Publishing
House, 1967, Armenia