Petroglyphs in Armenia

The mountains of Armenia are rich in petroglyphs created thousands of years ago and preserved to this day. That is why many people are interested in petroglyphs in Armenia. The name petroglyph comes from the Greek words “petra” and “glypho”, which translate as “stone” and “carve”.

Researcher of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, astrologer and specialist in petroglyphs Karen Tokhatyan says in one of his interviews that petroglyphs are the product and expression of visual thinking, as people have always felt the need to express what they saw and did, both with words and pictures.

In is known that in the past people used petroglyphs to communicate. That is why many of them are special symbols, with the help of which people described different things and phenomena.

We can say that petroglyphs are a great treasure, since they contain a lot of information about the everyday life and spiritual and mental perceptions of people who lived in this era. In the past, petroglyphs served as written sources that helped to preserve and transmit traditions and customs. According to different sources, there are more than 20-30 thousand petroglyphs in Armenia.

How petroglyphs emerged

As we have already mentioned, petroglyphs were created thousands of years ago and preserved to this day. They testify to past customs, types and areas of human activity. Harutyun Martirosyan in one of his scientific works mentions that deep changes in human preception of nature found their expression in Armenian art of Neolithic, Eneolithic and Bronze ages. And a fully formed intelligent modern human is interested in the interconnection and coherence of natural phenomena. Conditionality, stylization, and narrative complexity become typical for the art of this period. Along with images of animals, images of people play a significant role in scenes of hunting and fighting. Human activities become the central theme of art.

H. Martirosyan claims that Armenian highland is extremely reach in this type of monuments, which are large and small accumulations of various, diverse, completely unique petroglyphs, stretching from the foothills of Aragats to the slopes of the Armenian Taurus. Especially large groups of petroglyphs are found on the peaks of Geghama, Vardenis, Vayots Dzor, and Syunik Mountains, bordering with the basin of Lake Sevan.

Petroglyphs of Geghama Mountains

Most of the petroglyphs in Armenia are located in the Geghama Mountains. H. Martirosyan notes in his work that petroglyphs of Geghama Mountains are the sanctuaries of ancient hunter-gatherers, temples of ancient art and worship. These petroglyphs give a clear idea of ​​the prerequisites for the survival and development of local communities: the diversity of fauna, the climatic conditions and flora, the economic activities of that time (hunting, cattle domestication and breeding).

On the petroglyphs of the Geghama Mountains you can clearly see various types of animals, such as bison, aurochs (or cow), red deer, megaloceros, moose, roe deer, horse, wild donkey, fox, wolf, boar, lynx, lion, leopard, a number of small animals, different types of dogs and reptiles, duck, goose, stork, swan, partridge, etc.

Some of these animals have completely disappeared from Armenia. A significant part of the listed animals is depicted on Armenian petroglyphs in hunting scenes.

Over time, people created legends about petroglyphs. You can read about these legends in the works of Harutyun Martirosyan. For example, according to his research, on one of the petroglyphs at the top of Mount Pokr Paytasar in Geghama Mountains, you can see a giant figure of a two-headed, thick-skinned dragon with cruciform and semicircular open ends. This semicircular end resembles an open mouth, inside of which there is a ring-shaped or disc-shaped body that symbolized a man in the monuments of ancient art. Under the cruciform end of the dragon there is a figure of a goat, which obeys the beast.

Petroglyphs of Ukhtasar

Thousands of petroglyphs can also be found in the ancient area of ​​Ukhtasar. They are scattered at the foot of the mountain, in ravines, around small ponds formed in volcanic craters. More than 2000 petroglyphs were found here, dating from about 5-2 millennia BC. These petroglyphs depict people mainly during hunting, work, religious rituals, wild and domestic animals, astronomical objects, as well as many unexplained images and sketches.

There are also many myths about the petroglyphs of Ukhtasar. In his scientific work, H. Martirosyan also presents the legends associated with some of the petroglyphs of Ukhtasar. For example, he says that one of the petroglyphs of Ukhtasar shows human-like creatures that have sun and lightning features and fight dragons. According to H. Martirosyan, the god of sun and lightning leans on the earth, rays of light erupt from his limbs, and a crown glows on his round head (just like halo of Christ). The dragon, directed towards the sun and the moon, towards the head of the human-like god, fights against him.

Other petroglyphs of Ukhtasar also show that fire gods are fighting dragons. On one of these petroglyphs you can also see figures of a human-like creature and a dragon. However, here the human figure does not have glowing limbs. It is just a courageous and heavily built figure who nailed the dragon’s head to the ground with his right foot.

Petroglyphs of Sartsali

During our hikes, we found many petroglyphs at the foot of Mount Sartsali. Looking at the images, it can be assumed that these petroglyphs are relatively new. It is difficult to find information about them, since they have not yet been studied properly. We hope that very soon these petroglyphs will attract the attention of specialists and will be thoroughly studied, since we believe that they have a great value.

Geography

In Armenia, petroglyphs are widespread almost throughout the whole country. Petroglyph specialist Karen Tokhatyan says that petroglyphs in Armenia can be found in Yerevan – Avan district, in Ararat region – Khosrov Forest, in Armavir region – Armavir, Metsamor, St. Shushanik Monastery, in Aragatsotn region – Mount Aragats, Artin, villages Mastara, Kaqavadzor, Shamiram, Voskehat, Agarak, Geghamavan, Quchak, on the territory of Aparan reservoir, in Shirak region – Tirashen, villages Horom, Haykadzor, Dzithankov, Anipemza, in Yererouk, in Lori region – villages Neghots, Koghes, Loriberd, in Tavush region – Gosh village, in Kotayk region – villages Zovuni, Ptghni, Balahovit, Bjni, Geghard, in Geghama Mountains, in Gegharkunik region – Gavar, villages Lchashen, Vardenik, Ayrk, Nerkin Shorzha, on Mount Sevsar, in the Vardenis pass, in Syunik region – Ukhtasar, villages Jermajur, Tsghuk, Qarahunj, near the Karkar River, on Mount Navasar, Muradsar (Husosar).

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