HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

7th century BC, 19th–20th centuries AD

The Dalma Gardens are located in the western part of Yerevan, on the right bank of the Hrazdan River.

Among the fruit orchards of Yerevan, Dalma is the oldest. According to a cuneiform inscription discovered in Zvartnots, the gardens were established during the reign of Rusa II, ruler of the Kingdom of Van (685–645 BC). The Dalma irrigation canal, built in the 8th century BC, supplied water to the gardens near the ancient city of Teishebaini (Karmir Blur), including Dalma.

The name “Dalma” originated in the 19th century from the Persian word “deolme,” meaning dug out, excavated, or underground.

In the Middle Ages, the Dalma canal ceased to function, and the gardens were abandoned. In 1815, Hussein Quli Khan, the last Persian sardar of Yerevan, restored the canal and integrated it into the general irrigation system. At that time, new gardens were established, viticulture and winemaking developed, and numerous wine presses and cellars were built. The sardar’s pavilion, once one of Yerevan’s landmarks, was also located here.

Information about Dalma is provided by Ghևond Alishan, Yervand Shahaziz, as well as European travelers such as Frédéric Dubois de Montpéreux, Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, and Russian imperial official Ivan Chopin, among others.

About half of the Dalma gardens were occupied by various fruit trees, while the other half consisted of wide avenues lined with poplar trees on both sides. On the slopes, around 80 varieties of grapes were cultivated, along with dozens of varieties of mulberry, apricot, and apple.

In ancient times, Dalma covered a vast area, stretching from the Tsitsernakaberd hill to Zvartnots. In the 19th century, it covered 790 hectares, of which 533 hectares were orchards. Until the 2000s, it occupied about 530 hectares, and currently about 290 hectares remain preserved.

The Dalma Gardens are a nearly 2,700-year-old archaeological complex rich in biodiversity and historical-cultural layers. They are of great interest for studying not only Yerevan and Armenia’s viticulture and winemaking culture but also the architecture of production facilities such as wine presses and cellars. One of its valuable features is the traditional mound-based viticulture, which has preserved local grape varieties.

It is known that during certain seasons—from spring to late autumn—people also lived in Dalma, as evidenced by the remains of residential structures adjacent to economic buildings.

Since 1931, the Dalma Gardens belonged to the collective farm of the Shahumyan district. After Armenia’s independence in the 1990s, local authorities leased the gardens to individual land users. Until 2000, they were included in the State List of Natural Monuments of Armenia, with a protected area of 790 hectares.