Shengavit Settlement

Shengavit Settlement
Շենգավիթ հնավայր

Stone foundations of Shengavit Settlement.
Shown within Armenia
Alternate name	Shengavit
Location	Corner of Bagratuniats St. and Shengavit St. overlooking Yerevan Lake, Shengavit District, Yerevan,  Armenia
Region	Caucasus
Coordinates	40°09′25″N 44°28′37″E / 40.156965°N 44.476862°E / 40.156965; 44.476862Coordinates: 40°09′25″N 44°28′37″E / 40.156965°N 44.476862°E / 40.156965; 44.476862
Type	settlement
Area	6 ha (15 acres)
Height	Site sits approximately 30 metres (100 ft) above the Hrazdan River
History
Material	stone (foundation/lower walls), adobe brick (upper walls),
Abandoned	Last quarter of the third millennium BC
Periods	late Neolithic - late Eneolithic
Site notes
Excavation dates	1936-1938, 1958-1980, 2000-2008, 2009-2010, 2012
Archaeologists	Yevgeny Bayburdyan (1936-1938), Sandro Sardaryan (1958-1980), Hakob Simonyan (2000-2008), Mitchell S. Rothman (2009-2010, 2012)
Condition	Extant foundations
Ownership	City of Yerevan, public property
Management	Shengavit Historical & Archaeological-Preserve; entry fee required (1000 AMD museum & grounds + 2000 AMD personal tour guide)
Public access	Yes
Website	Erebuni Historical & Archaeological Reserve: Shengavit Settlement
Active excavation

The Shengavit Settlement (Armenian: Շենգավիթ հնավայր (Shengavit' hnavayr)) is an archaeological site in present-day Yerevan, Armenia located on a hill south-east of Lake Yerevan. It was inhabited during a series of settlement phases from approximately 3200 BC cal to 2500 BC cal in the Kura Araxes (Shengavitian) Period of the Early Bronze Age and irregularly re-used in the Middle Bronze Age until 2200 BC cal. The town occupied an area of six hectares. It appears that Shengavit was a societal center for the areas surrounding the town due to its unusual size, evidence of surplus production of grains, and metallurgy, as well as its monumental 4 meter wide stone wall. Four smaller village sites of Moukhannat, Tepe, Khorumbulagh, and Tairov have been identified and were located outside the walls of Shengavit. Its pottery makes it a type site of the Kura-Araxes or Early Transcaucasian Period and the Shengavitian culture area.

The area of modern day Shengavit has been populated since at least 3200 BC, during the period of Kura–Araxes culture of the Early Bronze Age. Excavations at the Shengavit historical site started in 1938 under the guidance of archaeologist E. Bayburdian who dug a trial trench at the hill which in turn led to further archaeological work to be done at the site. Archaeologist S. A. Sardarian resumed the excavations in 1958 but his work was poorly documented. He left insufficient records to pinpoint exact locations where artifacts were found.

In 2000, extensive excavation process was launched under the guidance of archaeologist Hakop Simonyan, who dug stratigraphic trenches at the edges of the old trenches excavated by Bayburdian and Sardarian.

In 2009, Simonyan was joined by professor Mitchell S. Rothman from Widener University of Pennsylvania. Together they conducted three series of excavations in 2009, 2010, and 2012 respectively. During the process, a full stratigraphic column to bedrock was reached, showing there to be 8 or 9 distinct stratigraphic levels. These levels cover a time between 3200 BC and 2500 BC. Evidences of later use of the site (until 2200 BC) were also found. The excavation process revealed a series of large buildings, round buildings with square adjoining rooms and simple round buildings. Particularly notable are a series of ritual installations discovered in 2010 and 2012. These seasons revealed a series of large buildings, round buildings with square adjoining rooms and simple round buildings. Particularly notable are a series of ritual installations discovered in 2010 and 2012.