Artaxata in Armenia – Archaeological research in a Hellenistic metropolis in the Ararat plain

Basic data for this project

Description

Artaxata was the capital of the Armenian kingdom of the Artaxiad dynasty. Founded by Artaxias I. (189-160 BC), it became an important metropolis in the Hellenistic period. The ancient city is located about 10 km south of today's Artashat on the hills by the monastery of Khor Virap. So far, only selectively excavations have been carried out in the urban areas during the 1970s and 1980s. This fieldwork by the Armenian Academy of Sciences focused on the topographical and the chronological development of the city. The main interest was the exploration of the fortification, the necropoleis and the domestic quarters. The chronology of the city seems to go together well with the literary tradition of Artaxata's history. Questions about the Basileia, the cults and the design of the lower city have not yet been sufficiently answered. The knowledge of Artaxata thus remains unsatisfactory. Important questions about urbanism, the cultural profile of the city in Hellenistic times and questions of epoch boundaries remain unanswered. It has to be clarified how long "Hellenism" lasted in Armenia and to what extent processes of "Romanization" are visible in cultural history.The aim of the project, for which we apply in the first phase for 3 years of funding, is to explore in the area of hill XIII the urbanistic and material culture of the city of Artaxata from the founding in Hellenistic times to the post-Christian centuries, thus achieving a solid cultural and historical classification of the city. In addition, this cooperation project intends to intensify the scientific cooperation between Germany and Armenia.The main focus of the fieldwork will be hill XIII, which was prospected by us and examined with a sondage in the year 2018. The hill lies in the transitional zone from the upper city (hill I-XII) to the lower city and is in close proximity to the presumed palace district on hill II. Geophysical prospection has yielded promising results. Larger rectangular structures can be seen in the magnetogram on hill XIII. The sondage on this hill has brought to light cultural layers that can be interpreted as remains of mudbrick architecture. According to the magnetogram, there is a monumental building, a kind of "villa", in the south of hill XIII. Southwest of this structure an approx. 100 m long "hall" can be seen. Between the "hall" and the "villa" is probably the course of an ancient road. Anomalies in the north and south of the study area may possibly be interpreted as an aqueduct (north) and as an old river bed (south).The focus of the first project phase will be on the excavation of the structures on Hill XIII and the "villa" on its south slope. In addition, sondages are planned in the area of the suspected road and the possible aqueduct.