This almost 6000-year-old house in Shengavit settlement of Yerevan is preserved better than Yerevan’s old town (which almost disappeared in the past few decades). It most likely had a wooden roof with a little round or square window on top, to let the smoke out when the ritual or cooking fire was burning.
The buildings were mainly round and rectangular. If there hadn’t been any mining research in the early 1930s around Yerevanian lake, the discovery of this 2-acre early Bronze Age settlement, located in south-western part of Yerevan, could have been indefinitely delayed Evgeni Bayburdyan, who found and named it Shengavit, wasn’t lucky enough to finish his work, because he was sent to Siberia by Stalin.
When you’re in Yerevan, you shouldn’t miss the perfect opportunity to visit this open-air museum on the life of Shengavitans, who perhaps made the greatest quality pottery in the whole region. Geometric ornaments on clay pots dated 3500-3300 BC remind me of the enigmatic Nazca Lines in Southern Peru (giant geoglyphs in Nazca Desert). I love finding parallels between remote cultures, because it gives a feeling of unity and helps feel closer to every single corner of this amazing planet.
Shengavit is located on a hill, high enough to see the mountains around. The trilingual guide (who speaks English, French and Russian) of the museum next to the ruins will show you priceless artifacts and introduce you to the reconstructed local male with a faithfully Armenian nose. Ring the bell to enter.
