Oldest Street Discovered in Yerevan

A group of archaeologists hailing from Armenia, France, and Iran discovered Yerevan’s most ancient street. On July 7, the group announced in a press conference that it had found the 30-meter-long, tile-paved street in the Erebuni fortress, near the temple of Haldi, during its archaeological expedition. The group estimates that the ancient street is 2,700 years old, reported Armenia’s Arka news outlet.

The heads of each country’s expedition team spoke at a news conference about the historic discovery. “This is a unique and unprecedented discovery that may change completely our idea of the Urartu civilization,” said Mikael Badalyan of the Armenian team.

Shengavit Historical and Archaeological Culture Preserve

Hovsep Dagdigian

Summary: The Shengavit Historical and Archaeological Culture Preserve is a stone-age archaeological site on the bank of Yerevan Lake in Yerevan. It contains a small museum and remains of a settlement dating to the 4th millennium B.C. In 2009 Mr. Vladimir Tshagharyan assumed the position of director of the site, reporting to the director of the Erebuni Museum, Mr. Gagik Gyurjyan. The Shengavit preserve and Karmir Blur archaeological sites (both in Yerevan) are under the control of the Erebuni museum and its director. Mr. Tshagharyan had a staff of two others at the site. There was no ($0.00, yes zero!) funding for the operation or maintenance of the site which was badly in need of repair. In 2012 the Cambridge-Yerevan Sister City Association (CYSCA) initiated a program to buy construction materials to allow Shengavit’s staff to maintain the site and make needed repairs. That year, as a representative of CYSCA, I briefly met with Mr. Gyurjian who inquired about the amount of aid available from CYSCA and stated that funding should go through him. When told this was impossible he acquiesced to CYSCA’s plan to purchase construction material which would be used by Mr. Tshagharyan to make repairs. By the end of 2012 significant improvements were made to the site, though an immense amount of work still needed to be done. In 2013 additional funds were raised by CYSCA for this project but at every step numerous, deliberate obstacles were created to halt progress. Erebuni’s director appeared more interested in the amount of funding available from CYSCA than the maintenance and improvements Mr. Tshagharyan planned for Shengavit. With Mr. Tshagharyan’s hands tied and unable to continue Shengavit’s maintenance and upkeep, he resigned. This terminated CYSCA’s support program as well as a support program by another NGO. Details are contained in the main body of this article. Facts for this article were corroborated by a number of individuals.

This report is mine alone and not that of the CYSCA or any other organization.