UNIQUE PLACES

IV-III millennia BC

State index: 1.11.2

Located in the southwestern part of Yerevan, atop and along the slopes of a hill-promontory on the left bank of the Hrazdan River, Shengavit now resides on the southern side of Lake Yerevan. This archaeological site includes a multi-layered residential area and a burial ground.

Shengavit stands out as a significant monument of the Early Bronze Age, holding universal value. Established in the IV millennium BC, it thrived for over a millennium until around the middle of the III millennium BC. Between 2900-2700 BC, stone walls, 2-4 meters wide, were constructed around the hilltop. Shengavit evolved into a large, continuously developing center for agriculture, animal husbandry, metallurgy, religion, and trade, surrounded by arbaynak villages. Before the construction of Lake Yerevan, the area where Shengavit stands was occupied by the village of Koghb, along with its gardens and cultivated lands. During the Early Bronze Age, the Armenian Highlands witnessed a remarkable development of irrigated agriculture, as evidenced by the abundance of agricultural tools unearthed at Shengavit.

From all layers of the ancient site, stone tips of hoes, hundreds of flint blades of sickles, which were attached to wooden or bone bases with bitumen, boat-shaped vessels made of porous basalt, beaters made of river stones, sanders, mortars, etc., were found.

Archaeological excavations at Shengavit began in 1936-1938 and have continued up to these days. The site was found to have housed at least 500-700 houses, with an estimated population of 5000-6000. Various craft activities were documented, including metal and stone processing workshops, as well as grain storage wells. Shengavit’s significance extends to its architectural remains and complex religious practices. A temple from the second half of the III millennium BC was unearthed in 2012, underscoring the site’s status as one of the renowned urban settlements of the Ancient East.

Excavations revealed a defensive structure comprising three-column retaining walls reinforced with rectangular masonry towers on the northern and western sides, facing the Hrazdan gorge. Notably, a 30-meter-long, 1.5-meter-high secret passage, constructed with slabs and covered with earth, descended to the Hrazdan River (III millennium BC, state index: 1.11.2.1) through one of these towers.

Outside the town’s protective walls, in the abandoned suburb, lies a burials dating back to the first half of the III millennium BC. Around 15 burials have been discovered so far, revealing widespread practices of dismemberment. The presence of jewelry and beads made of gold, silver, bronze, sardine, jasper, marble, travertine, limestone, tuff, bone, seashells, terracotta, and glass found in the tombs reflects deep social stratification. Among the findings from these tombs is a phallus dating back to the III millennium BC, currently displayed in front of the museum. This stone artifact, measuring 210 x 60 x 40 cm, features a phallic finish and is made of gray tuff. Phallus cult, associated with male fertility cults, was prevalent in the early agricultural and early Bronze Age cultures of the Old World, including the Shengavitian or Kur-Araksian culture, as evidenced by sexually emphasized symbols in male figurines and relief sculptures of clay cultic hearths.

 The Scientific Research Center of Historical and Cultural of Heritage” SNCO

Yerevan Municipality