Armenian Archaeology: Past Experiences and New Achievements

Pavel Avetisyan is a former student of Gregory Areshian during his study at the Yerevan State University in 1975-1980; he now leads together with Gregory and Kristine Martirosyan-Olshansky the joint Armenian-American archaeological team at the excavations of the Neolithic settlement at Masis Blur, Armenia. Pavel received his PhD in 2003 (Chronology and Periodization of the Middle Bronze Age of Armenia) and D.Sc. in 2014 (Armenian Highland during the 24-9th centuries BC. The Dynamics of Socio-Cultural Transformations, according to Archaeological Data). His areas of research are Old World archaeology and the Neolithic and Iron Age cultures of Transcaucasia, devoting his studies also to the periodizations and chronology of the Bronze and Iron Ages of Transcaucasia. Professor Avetisyan is the Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and Professor at the Yerevan State University. Arsen Bobokhyan, PhD in Archaeology, is a Director and Leading Researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, NAS RA. He specializes in the Bronze and Iron Age archaeology of the Armenian Highlands and the Near East, focusing in particular on ancient cults and cultural contacts. Bobokhyan currently leads excavations on Mt. Aragats and the eastern shores of Lake Sevan in Armenia. He is a co-founder and a vice-editor of the journal Aramazd. Yervand Grekyan, PhD in History, Dr. habil. is a Leading Researcher and Research Professor at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography and the Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia (NAS RA). His research focuses on the history and culture of the Armenian Highlands from the second to the first millennia BC. He is a co-founder and a vice-editor of the journal Aramazd.

Editorial – Aram Kosyan ;


Foreword: The present and the perspectives of Armenian archaeology – Pavel Avetisyan ;


Study of the Stone Age in the Republic of Armenia (Part 1 – Lower Palaeolithic) – Boris Gasparyan, Daniel S. Adler, Keith N. Wilkinson, Samvel Nahapetyan, Charles P. Egeland, Philip J. Glauberman, Ariel Malinsky-Buller, Dmitri Arakelyan, Makoto Arimura, Roberto Dan, Ellery Frahm, Hayk Haydosyan, Hayk Azizbekyan, Artur Petrosyan and Andrew W. Kandel ;


Project ArAGATS 1998-2018: Twenty years of archaeological investigations into the Bronze and Iron Ages of Armenia – Badalyan, Alan F. Greene, Armine Harutyunyan, Lori Khatchadourian, Ian Lindsay, Maureen Marshall and Adam T. Smith ;


Gleanings from the history of Armenian-German archaeological relations – Arsen Bobokhyan ;


Recent Investigations in the Province of Lori – Michael Herles and Ruben Davtyan ;


The archaeological mission of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia and the National Research Council of Italy, 1994-2014 – Raffaele Biscione and Simon Hmayakyan ;


The Vayots Dzor Project (VDP): a preliminary overview of the first three years’ activities (2016-2018) – Boris Gasparyan, Roberto Dan, Artur Petrosyan and Priscilla Vitolo with contributions from Hayk Haydosyan, Ani Adigyozalyan, Hayk Azizbekyan, Karen Azatyan, Chiara Zecchi, Ghasem Moradi, Tommaso Saccone, Annarita Stefania Bonfanti and Faezeh Dadfar ;


Comprendre l’évolution de l’Arménie entre la fin de la période ourartéenne et le début de celle Achéménide : Une collaboration entre les équipes française et arménienne Beniamin et Erebuni (1999-2019) – Deschamps et François Fichet de Clairfontaine avec la collaboration de Vincenzo Mutarelli, Anna Azizyan, Miqayel Badalyan et Mary Karapetyan ;


The Kotayk Survey Project (KSP): an overview of the first six years of activities (2013- 2018) – Artur Petrosyan, Roberto Dan and Priscilla Vitolo with the collaboration of Varduhy Melikyan, Ghasem Moradi, Chiara Zecchi, Tommaso Saccone ;


The Armenian-German excavations in Oshakan – Michael Herles and Hayk Avetisyan ;


Excavations at Metsamor, seasons 2013-2018 – Ashot Piliposyan, Krzysztof Jakubiak, Ruzan Mkrtchyan, Hasmik Simonyan, Mateusz Iskra and Artavazd Zaqyan ;


Ervandashat : résumé d’une étude archéologique de 2005-2014 – Arevik Parsamyan et Armine Gabrielyan ;


Study of the Classical sites of Armenia during the years of the Third Republic (1991- 2018) – Mkrtich H. Zardaryan ;


Tigranakert of Artsakh – Hamlet Petrosyan ;


The Achievements of medieval archaeology in the past fifty years – Husik Melkonyan ;



Obituaries ;


Babken Arakelyan (1912–2004) In Memory of the Teacher – Mkrtich H. Zardaryan ;


Vahan E. Hovhannisyan (1956-2014) – Ashot S. Piliposyan and Gregory E. Areshian ;


Aram Kalantaryan – Husik Melkonyan ;


Telemak Khachatryan – Frina Babayan ;


Zhores Khachatryan – Inesa Karapetyan and Hasmik Margaryan ;


Emma Khanzadyan – Arsen Bobokhyan ;


Harutyun Martirosyan – Arsen Bobokhyan ;


Felix Ter-Martirosov – Lilit Mikayelyan ;


Gevorg Tiratsyan – Garegin Tumanyan ;


Rafik Torosyan – Anzhela Tadevosyan ;


Stepan Yesayan – Hayk Avetisyan ;


Summaries (in Armenian) ;


Abbreviations