Mysteries of Astghashen

Astghashen village is located in the Askeran region of Artsakh. The village is famous for its star-shaped fossils, which were discovered as a result of studies carried out in that region.

Millions of years ago, the Tethys Ocean was here. Over time, as a result of the rise of the Earth’s crust, the ocean began to retreat, and land areas were formed. As a result of the decrease in water space, giant dwellers of the ocean began to adapt to new conditions and, therefore, became smaller.

Later the fossil remains of these animals accumulated and were covered with land sediments.

The famous “stars” of Astghashen have nothing to do with starfish. Many people think that these small fossils were sea lilies, which are not plants. These are small marine animals that only look like water lilies.

In addition to star-shaped fossils, there are many other fossils in this area: nummulites, gastropods, ammonoids, seashells. There are also round fossils in the form of sea urchins that lived about 150 million years ago.

The locals have a beautiful legend about the stars of Astghashen. It says that after a heavy rain the ground was filled with stars, as if they fell from the sky along with the rain.

During our visit to Astghashen we tried to find some fossils, but it was not so easy. Over time, people took away everything they could find in this area. Therefore, it is now difficult to find any samples here.

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