Metsamor Fortress
Posted by Sjur Cappelen Papazian on October 27, 2013
Metsamor (which means “black swamp” or “black quicksand”) is a town and an urban community in the Armavir Province of Armenia. The modern town of Metsamor was built in 1979 to house the employees of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, but the archaeological site of Metsamor Castle shows that the area has been populated from the 5th millennium BC until the 18th century AD.
In the center of the Ararat Valley, located just outside the village of Taronik, the ancient fortress Metsamor, lying as it does some 35km southwest of Yerevan, occupies a volcanic hill with its near lying area. Prompted to life by the fertile valley with its rich water resources, vegetation and hunting grounds, girdled by the meandering Metsamor River, the fortress, as before, is the site of cool bubbling springs ingusing life into the entire area.
The regular excavations of the tombs of Metsamor castle began in 1965, and are still in progress, led by Professor Emma Khanzatian. The most recent excavation work occurred in the summer of 1996, along the inner cyclopic wall. They has yielded cultural layers dating to the Aenolithic, three periods of the Bronze Age (early, middle and late), the early and developed Iron Age (Pre-Urartian, Urartian and Antique) and the Middle Ages.
Excavations have shown strata of occupancy going back to the Neolithic period (7,000-5,000 BC), but the most outstanding features of the site were constructed during the early, middle and late Bronze Ages (5000-2,000 BC). Inscriptions found within the excavation go back as far as the Neolithic period , and a sophisticated pictograph form of writing was developed as early as 2000-1800 BC. The “Metsamor Inscriptions” have a likeness to later scripts, which influenced Mashtots’ alphabet (see Evolution of the Armenian Alphabet).
It is notable with its observatory and temple complexes consisted of seven sanctuaries. The neolithic stone circles of c. 5000 BC, are located adjacent to the castle site. The settlement persisted through the Middle Ages. Excavations at the site demonstrate that there had been a vibrant cultural centre in Metsamor from roughly 4000 to 3000 BC, and many artifacts are housed in the museum.
The astronomical observatory predates all other known observatories in the ancient world– that is, observatories that geometrically divided the heavens into constellations and assigned them fixed positions and symbolic design. Until the discovery of Metsamor it had been widely accepted that the Babylonians were the first astronomers.
The observatory at Metsamor predates the Babylonian kingdom by 2000 years, and contains the first recorded example of dividing the year into 12 sections. Using an early form of geometry, the inhabitants of Metsamor were able to create both a calendar and envision the curve of the earth.
The excavations have shown that back in the early Bronze Age (late 4th-3rd millennia BC) Metsamor was a flourishing cultural center that had a substantial influence on the historical and cultural development of the local people.
The excavation has uncovered a large metal industry, including a foundry with 2 kinds of blast furnaces (brick and in-ground). Metal processing at Metsamor was among the most sophisticated of its kind at that time: the foundry extracted and processed high-grade gold, copper, several types of bronze, manganese, zinc, strychnine, mercury and iron. Metsamor’s processed metal was coveted by all nearby cultures, and found its way to Egypt, Central Asia and China.
The iron smelting process was not advanced in Metsamor, probably due to the vast quantities of pure bronze alloys at hand, and Metsamor primarily mined and sold iron ore to neighboring cultures which took better advantage of its properties. One of the early examples of R&D not getting past the lab door. It is not until the Early Iron Age that Metsamor took full advantage of the high-grade iron ore it had been selling to others.
Recent studies define the monument as a large urban-type settlement which, according to preliminary data, occupied an area of 10.5 hectares and consisted of a citadel fenced in by a sturdy Cyclopean wall and a ziggurat observatory sited on a low mountain ridge. The fortress comprised a range of rotund dwellings with adjacent outbuildings.
The citadel on top of the volcanic hill is about 10.5 hectares in size, but the entire city is believed to have covered 200 hectares at its greatest extent, housing up to 50,000 people (making it a huge metropolis in those days). Nearby spring-fed marshes and lakes suggest the extent of the wildlife that covered the area up to the bases of Mount Aragats and Ararat. The area was rich in water, mineral and hunting resources at the time of the development of Metsamor. The nearby Metsamor river provided both transportation and the first irrigation source recorded in Armenia.
During the Middle Bronze Period (late 3rd to mid 2nd millennium BC) there was a surge of urban growth and a development of complex architectural forms which extended the boundaries of the settlement to the area below the hill. Basically, that area within the inner cyclopic walls are the older city, and that beyond represent newer areas. By the 11th c. BC the central city occupied the lowlands stretching to Lake Akna, and covered 100 hectares (247 acres).
The Late Bronze period introduced more pronounced class distinctions. Evidence of this are the objects of funeral rites and the precious materials discovered in the tombs of elite rulers.
In the early Iron Age (11th-9th cc BC) Metsamor was already a city. The citadel, observatory and dwelling blocks that occupied the lowland stretching to Lake Akna covered an area of 100 hectares. The fortress proper within the huge Cyclopean wall housed the palatial structures, the temple ensemble with its seven sanctuaries and the outbuildings.
About 500 meters to the southeast of the citadel is the location of the traditional necropolis (town dwellings) which was tentatively supposed to cover an area short of 100 hectares of land. With a population of 50,000, Metsamor rivaled in size the largest cities in the world at that time. Small interments have been excavated along with large burial mounds and underlying crushed-stone layers yielding large-sized tombs built of red tuff blocks and encircled by cromlechs.
Another 70-80 hectares (170-200 acres) next to the Necropolis comprises the main burial site, where thousands of people were buried in simple graves and large burial mounds. Once uncovered, these graves revealed an underlying layer of crushed-stone which further revealed large mausoleums built from red tufa, encircled by a series of cromlechs (monoliths of arched stone). What the excavators uncovered in the process was both a history of Metsamor’s burial rituals and a concern for hiding wealthy tombs.
Like the Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings, Metsamor’s rulers tried to thwart grave robbers by hiding the locations of royal tombs. Fortunately the grave robbers at Metsamor were not as lucky as those in Egypt, and the Mausoleums revealed intact and richly adorned burial vaults, giving us an excellent glimpse into the traditions for preparing the body for the afterlife.
Among the artifacts uncovered in the royal tombs were evidences of great wealth: gold, silver and bronze jewelry and adornments were found over and next to the body, which was placed in a sitting fetal position in a large stone sarcophagus (early Metsamor) or lying in a casket (late Metsamor).
The bodies were laid out with their feet oriented towards the East, so they could greet the sun and follow it to the afterlife in the West. Included in the vaults were the skeletal remains of horses, cattle, domesticated dogs and humans–presumed to be servants or slaves to the deceased.
The sacrifice of slaves and animals was a common feature of burial rituals during the Bronze and Early Iron Age, as they were considered necessary to assist their master in the next life. In addition to jewelry, pottery and tools, excavators discovered pots filled with grape and pear piths, grains, wine and oil. The fruit piths are a prominent part of the food offerings, and considered a necessary part of the funeral rites.
Other funeral objects discovered were rare amethyst bowls, ornamented wooden caskets with inlaid covers, glazed ceramic perfume bottles, and ornaments of gold, silver and semiprecious stones, and paste decorated with traditional mythological scenes typical of local art traditions.
Egyptian, Central Asian and Babylonian objects were also found at the site, indicating that from earliest of times Metsamor was on the crossroads of travel routes spanning the Ararat plain and linking Asia Minor with the North Caucasus and Central Asia. By the early Iron Age Metsamor was one of the “royal” towns, an administrative-political and cultural center in the Ararat Valley.
The material artifacts dealing with funeral ceremonies testify to the high rank of the buried: numerous horses, cattle and other farm animals, pigs, dogs, and even people were sacrificed in their honor. The discovered grape and pear pits show that fruits also had a part to play in the funeral ceremonies.
Among funeral objects a special place belongs to amethyst bowls, ornamented wooden caskets, inlaid-work covers, glazed ceramic perfume bottles, and ornaments of gold, silver and semi-precious stones and paste decorated with traditional mythological scenes typical of local art traditions.
Among the finds a special place belongs to an agate frog-weight in the possession of the Babylonian ruler Ulam Vurarish (end of the 16th century BC) and a seal of cornelian with Egyptian hieroglyphs owned by the Babylonian ruler Kurigalz (15th century BC). These finds along with many other items show that from ancient times Metsamor stood at the crossroads of travel routes running across the Ararat plain and linking Asia Minor with the Northern Caucasus. In the early Iron Age Metsamor was on eof the ‘regal’ towns and administrative-political and cultural centers sited in the Ararat lowlands.
There are traces of wars, devastation and fire. At the most recent excavation, a mass of bones were uncovered, piled one upon the other. Piled outside the citadel wall, the bodies were dumped by survivors of a cataclysmic event (a siege or plague).
A complete destruction of the city, coinciding in time with the conquest of the Ararat plain by the Van kingdom, is dated to the Urartian conquest in the 8th BC. Immediately following its destruction the Urartian conquerors rebuilt the site, including the cyclopean walls. Afterwards Metsamor became a subject city to the Urartians and later, the Armenian kings.
The city continued to be inhabited through the Hellenic period and the Middle Ages to a sudden end in the 17th c CE. Excavations from these periods can still be seen on the hilltop and its eastern slope, as well as by glazed earthenware and luxury items now housed in the museum. Special among these are coins excavated from the Medieval period: they include the coin of Levon II (1270-1289), coins from the Khulavites mines minted in Tabriz (16th c) and West European 13-14th cc coins.
Stratigraphic data and the discovered material confirm the fact that following a brief interruption life on Metsamor hill was resumed. The Van rulers erected a new Cyclopean wall and Metsamor apparently acquired the status of taxpayer.
The territory of the citadel has also yielded materials pertaining to the antique and Hellenic periods.
Life continued to thrive in Metsamor throughout the Middle Ages up to the 17th century. The best evidence of this are the traces of former buildings discovered on the hilltop and its eastern slope, the glazed and unglazed earthenware, and items of luxury.
A special place belongs to coins excavated from Metsamors medieval layers. Among them one should mention the coin of Levon II (1270-1289), the medieval coin of the Khulavites minted in Tabriz (16th century), and the West European 13th-14th cc. coin which confirms Metsamor’s position throughout the ages as a centre at the crossroads of trade routes.
The rich and diverse material discovered in the multilayer excavations at Metsamor has naturally led to the founding of the Metsamor Museum at the site of the monument.
The Museum of History and Archaeology was opened in 1968. Today it is the repository of 22,000 items. Its ground floor holds along with the diagram of the stratigraphic picture of the excavated layers chronological materials discovered in the fortress and the burial grounds dating from the Early Bronze Age to the Middle Ages.
The second floor boasts two departments. The first displays materials dealing with trades, stone artifacts, items employed in jewelry-making, textile-weaving and leather working, carpet-weaving and the production of ceramics, and the glazed bluish-green decorative tiles that had ornamented the palace and temple halls. There is also a fine collection showing the metal-working process of those times.
The other department is devoted to the temple ensemble and items of worship. Here one sees idols, phallic sculptures, makeshift hearths, pintader seals for stamping blessed bread loaves, and amulets.
The museum basement is the repository of archeological wealth: an exposition showing the funeral ceremony of the Van Kingdom, the collection of gold displayed in two small halls comprising necklaces of gold, silver and semi-precious stones, amber and paste, along with other samples of jewelry-working discovered in the burials of wealthy Metsamor residents. The exposition is regularly replenished and renewed.
The museum attracts many visitors. The Metsamor monument and Museum have received a high appraisal of archaeologists, astrophysicists and other high-ranking specialists. There is no overstating the role of Metsamor in studying the history and culture of the people that once inhabited the Armenian plateau. Excavations of the ancient settlement are in full progress.
Cradle of Civilization 
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