HISTORICAL BUILDINGS
BERDSHEN TSITSERNAKABERD
2nd–1st millennia BC – Late Middle Ages
State index: 1.6.14
Located opposite the historic
Kond district of Yerevan, about 700 m east of the memorial complex dedicated to
the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
According to tradition, this
site was home to the palace of Astghik, the goddess of love in the Armenian
pantheon. Swallows living on the second floor of the palace served as
messengers, carrying news to Astghik’s beloved, the god Vahagn. This is how the
hill acquired the name “Tsitsernakaberd” (“Fortress of Swallows”). Some
scholars have identified Tsitsernakaberd with the fortress of Chelidonion
mentioned in Byzantine sources (translated from Greek as “Fortress of
Swallows”). The basis for this identification is the account of the historical
events of 1047 by the Byzantine chronicler John Skylitzes of the second half of
the 11th century.
At the summit of a promontory
stretching east to west, on two terraces, lies the citadel of the fortress,
where remains of defensive walls 2–6 m thick, built of massive basalt stones,
have been preserved, as well as the foundation walls of a palace (temple) at
the highest point. The multi-tiered terrace walls descend stepwise from the
summit into the Hrazdan Gorge.
Beginning in the 1960s,
archaeological investigations were carried out at the settlement. Structures
from various historical periods were uncovered, and rich archaeological
materials were discovered. The latest excavations were conducted in 1998 and
2007. Based on the archaeological finds and construction techniques, the
excavation director, archaeologist Hayk Hakobyan, dated the site to the
12th–9th centuries BC, noting that life there continued at least until the Late
Middle Ages (17th century).
Built during the Bronze Age,
Tsitsernakaberd remained continuously inhabited for at least 4,000 years and
played an important role in Yerevan’s defensive system.
It is an exceptional monument
of the history and culture of ancient, classical, and medieval Yerevan.
