LARGE SCALE EXCAVATIONS UNDER WAY

“After long years of break, this is the third year now that the archeology institute has started excavations of old monuments on the funds released by the state budget,'' Pavel Avetisyan, director of Archeology and Ethnography Institute, told Panorama.am. This year the state released 96 million drams to the archeology institute. ''Most funds are used for archeological digging. Field studies and excavations have been conducted in the area of 28 monuments in the course of this year,'' Avetisyan said.

In his words, rare samples are discovered from old Armenian capitals of Armavir, Artashat and Dvin. ''Remains of a temple complex, inlayed bathroom have been discovered in the area of Artashat. The constructions dating back to 1st and 2nd BC are vivid in terms of their monumental walls,” he said. Small statues, clay pots, beads, stamps, also included imported items, were found during diggings.

The archeology institute is implementing joint programs with archeology centers throughout European countries. “Thanks to these projects, many items discovered by us are being laboratory tested in those countries, which, unlike us, are equipped with new technology and equipment. So far, we are using old technology and tools during our field work,” Avetisyan mentioned. However, the level of science and research complies with the European standards, he said.