It’s well known that Artsakh (a.k.a. Nagorno-Karabakh) is a magical place. From the heaven reaching mountains to the unexplored caverns that hold secrets to human evolution and countless archaeological sights, Artsakh is unique in many ways. But not many have probably heard of the little star-shaped stones that, according to a local legend, are raining...
Ruins of a 3000 year old Armenian castle found in Lake Van – Turkey
A team of Turkish archaeologists has discovered the remains of what is believed to be a 3,000-year-old castle from the Armenian kingdom of Urartu (Ararat) submerged underwater in Lake Van. The underwater excavations were led by Van Yüzüncü Yıl University and the governorship of Turkey’s eastern Bitlis Province. The castle is said to belong to the...
Yerevan turns 2799, Congratulation!
Yerevan is the capital and the largest city in the Republic of Armenia and one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Today marks the 2799th anniversary of the foundation of the capital city of Erebuni-Yerevan. Celebrations in its honor will be held in the capitol with music, dances life performances and various other cultural activities. Founded by the...
The Milk Revolution: How people from the Armenian Plateau brought milk to Europe
The Armenian Highlands was an important center of early human technological and agricultural inventions. Situated at the crossroads between Europe, Middle East and Asia it served as a geographic conduit for the spread of technology and genetics into Europe during the Neolithic revolution when humans first abandoned hunting and gathering and started to settle down....
A New Study Reveals 8000 Years of Genetic Continuity in Armenia
That the Armenians are an indigenous people of the Armenian Highlands has already been well established by prominent studies in the field of genetics. Haber et. al. (2015) for example could not find any traces of admixture among Armenians for at least 4000 years, concluding that: “Our tests suggest that Armenians had no significant mixture...
Ancient Egyptians were closer to Armenians than to Africans; a new genetics study reveals
A recent study sheds light on the age old question “who were the ancient Egyptians?” A team of international scientists from the University of Tuebingen and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany analyzed the DNA of 93 Egyptian mummies dating from approximately 1400 BCE to 400 CE. The...
Iron age Armenian antiques found by Hungarian police in a truck
Hungarian police released footage of ancient artifacts smuggled last year by a Turkish truck driver under way to Lithuania. The trove included ancient Sumerian, Persian, Assyrian and most of all Armenian antiquities of the Urartian era (Kingdom of Van). The artifacts dated to as early as 900 BC., included a helmet, small bells and horse tack, were...
From Dragon Stones to Kings Bones – 9 Recent Archaeological Discoveries Made in Armenia
The abundance of ancient ruins, monuments and archaeological sites, have earned Armenia the title of: “an open air museum”. While this is certainly true, everything known of ancient Armenia to date is but a tip of the iceberg, as most is still lying beneath the soil silently awaiting discovery. Some of the worlds oldest human settlements have...
DNA from a 7 thousand year old tooth found in a Cave in Artsakh perfectly matches with modern Armenians
Scholars from Britain, US, Denmark and Armenia led by Prof. Levon Yepiskoposyan have been examining prehistoric caves near the village of Azokh in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and found unique artifacts from different periods, among them a tooth from a human who lived 7000 years ago. Due to the cave’s climate DNA was preserved inside the...
Armenia – The Cradle of Wine
Wine is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in the world and has a fascinating ancient history that goes back to the dawn of civilization some 10,000 years ago. Once considered the beverage of the Gods worshiped and praised in many cultures by priests, poets and scholars alike. The Armenian Highlands played an important role in the history of the...
