Shengavit Settlement

a site of an ancient fortified settlement of the Kura-Araks Aeneolithic culture, situated on the left bank of the Razdan River, within the city limits of Yerevan. Excavations were conducted by E. A. Baiburtian from 1936 to 1938 and S. A. Sardarian from 1958 to 1967. The settlement occupied an area of about 4,000 sq m and had a cultural level measuring 4 m in thickness. It was fortified by a thick stone wall with towers, and an underground passageway led to the river. Excavations uncovered round houses, as much as 7 m in diameter, with adjoining rectangular structures made of mud brick on stone foundations. Other discoveries, including stone saddlequerns, pestles, and mortars, the remains of spikelets of various species of wheat and barley, and the bones of domestic animals, attest to developed land cultivation and stock raising. Bronze objects and various forms of black polished ware were also found. Burials dating from the early Bronze Age were also discovered, some containing gold ornaments.