Armavir (Argishtikhinili)
Urartian 776 BCE to Orontid Hellenistic (to 2nd c. BCE)·Urartu → Orontid Armenia → Hellenistic·🇦🇲 Armavir Province, Western Armenia, Armenia
About
About Armavir (Argishtikhinili)
Two citadels (D-A Mound): Argishti I fortress Argishtikhinili built atop Metsamor EB hill, rock-cut canal from Araxes still visible, later Hellenistic wall with Aramaic ostraca of Erivan, mythic Greek gymnasium with Hesiod verses. Pilinskij 1962 ostraca revealed Armenian royal archive. Armavir (Argishtikhinili) — Argishti’s Second Ararat Capital context and stratigraphy linking to regional chronology.
Why it mattersArmavir (Argishtikhinili) — Argishti’s Second Ararat Capital
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Stratigraphic relation to neighboring cultures?
Theories
- 01Regional trade node
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Occupied Urartian 776 BCE to Orontid Hellenistic (to 2nd c. BCE)
- Period
- Urartian 776 BCE to Orontid Hellenistic (to 2nd c. BCE)
- Culture
- Urartu → Orontid Armenia → Hellenistic
- Builders
- Local communities
- Purpose
- Dual mound Urartian capital on Araxes, later Hellenistic parchment site
- Abandoned
- post-period
- Rediscovered
- 19th-century surveys, modern excavations
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
Urartian 776 BCE to Orontid Hellenistic
Dual mound Urartian capital on Araxes, later Hellenistic parchment site
On the ground
Structures & features
40.0840° N · 44.0360° E · 450 m · 2 mapped features
Double Citadel of Argishtikhinili
citadelEastern and western mounds with canal cut from Araxes
40.0850° N · 44.0370° EHellenistic Archive Ostraca Building
archiveHellenistic structure yielding Aramaic ostraca
40.0830° N · 44.0350° E