New Archaeological Site Called Tirinkatar (Red Mountain) Discovered in the southern part of Aragats

A research expedition of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia and the University of Venice, who studied dragon stones (vishapakar) in 2012, discovered a new archaeological monument called Tirinkatar (Red Mountain) in the southern part of the Aragats mountain range – at an altitude of about 3,000 m above sea level.

Here, 12 dragon stones are located on a plateau with an area of about 40 hectares. Around them one can find cromlechs, rock carvings, round structures, giant houses, etc. Since 2013, excavations have been carried out in Tirinkatar to get deeper insight into the phenomenon of dragon stones and date these monuments.

The head of the expedition from the Armenian side is Arsen Bobokhyan, Director of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences. Experts from the Department for Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia, the Scientific Research Center of the Historical and Cultural Heritage and the Service for the Protection of the Historical Environment and Cultural Museum Reserves paid a working visit to the ancient settlement of Tirinkatar in the Aragatsotn region. The working group examined the progress of the excavations carried out for the 10th year, and studied the boundaries of monuments and envisaged protected areas.

According to the representatives of the community, this territory has always been a sacred place for them, and dragon stones as well as rock carvings were protected by the community. In the near future, the documents will be submitted to the Ministry and reviewed by an expert commission in order to assign the status of a newly discovered monument to the ancient archaeological settlement of Tirinkatar, and to establish a protected area.