The History Museum Of Armenian Presents New Permanent Exhibition  entitled THE CULTURE OF SHENGAVIT (second half of the 4th mill. BC – first half of the 3rd mill. BC).

In the second half of the 4th millennium BC, the culture of the Early Bronze Age, also known as Shengavit or Kuro-Arax cultures, took shape in Armenia.   It embraced an enormous territory, including the Armenian Highland and adjacent regions.  The most important centre of this culture was the Valley of Ararat.

More than six hundred fortress-settlements and burial mounds of the Early Bronze Age were found in excavations.  Settlements of three to fifteen hectares were mainly built in the lowlands and foothills, abounding in water.   The larger ones had walls with secret entrances and a citadel.

The rich and diverse assortment of specimens, excavated from Shengavit, Mokhrablour, Karnut, Harich, Agarak, Elar, Jrashen, Berkaber and other sites, testifies to the  fact that the distinctive  material and spiritual culture of the native population of Armenia occupied a special place in the earliest Near Eastern civilization.    In this context, of exceptional value are the Early Bronze Age pottery of Armenia and its imagery of ritual-magical nature.  Engraved, drawn and onlaid images of stylized birds and animals, geometrical ornaments, protuberances and diverse handles predominate in the decoration.

The exhibition presents:

• ritual hearths, stands and supports, clay vessels, anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and phallus-like clay statuettes,  excavated from the early settlements of Shengavit, Mokhrablour, Karnut, Harich, Agarak and Elar, are striking illustrations of the worship, rites and beliefs of the inhabitants of the Armenian Highland
• photographs made during the first excavations of Shengavit under the guidance of Evgeny Bayburdian in 1936 – 1938