Erebuni Museum Archaeological Preserve, Yerevan, Armenia

Erebuni Museum Archaeological Preserve, Yerevan, Armenia 

This archaeological site dates from 782 BC, three decades before Rome was established. It gives an excellent insight into daily life in the palace of Argishti I, one of the greatest kings of Urartu. At the foot of the hill, a Soviet-era museum displays artefacts from the palace excavations including some extraordinary silver rhythons, as well as objects found when an Urartian tomb was uncovered in Yerevan in 1984 during construction of a factory.

The first stage of excavations here started in 1950, after a farmer unearthed an inscribed stone tablet. Archaeologists swooped in and soon found a large cuneiform slab with the inscriptions of Argishti I confirming the date when the fortress was constructed. They went on to uncover the remains of courtyards, halls, temples and rooms that were part of the royal palace. Dozens of Urartian and Achaemenid artefacts and mural fragments were also found, many of which are now displayed in the museum.

Epic Armenia Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound