Ancient Armenian observatory is 14,000 years old, says scientist

The ancient Armenian observatory, originally known as qarahunge or qarapunge (stonehenge or stone bunch), dates its history back to 14,000 years, according to Vachagan Vahradyan, a mathematician and a PhD candidate in biological sciences.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, the scientist said that though scholarly circles are not unanimous on the site’s origins, his own studies have found that it was really used for astrological research.

He said that identifying the construction’s precise name is very important in terms of revealing the scientific truth and later protecting the site from political speculations.

“The construction’s first name that we come acrosss in scientific literature is Ghoshundash. But this is not a Turkish name; it was made to sound like one,” he said, dismissing all the reports that the place’s original name was Zorats Karer (troop stones). “That’s just a translation, Ghoshundashi. But Ghoshun means a row, not a troop. And in several Armenian dialects, it was used to signify a group. So, it has to be named a group of stones, but the word group is not quite the right one, it is a stone bunch or stonehenge.”

The scientist further referred to 13th century Armenian historian Stepanos Orbelyan’s records about the village Qarahunge, noting that the place received its name from a stonehenge.

As for the construction’s purpose, Vahradyan said that despite archaeologists’ persistent efforts to prove that it served as a mausoleum site (with the holes on the stones having been used for tying horses or lifting stones), scientific studies have found that it was an observatory.

“Archaeologist Onik Khnkikyan conducted studies in 1983 and advanced the hypothesis that the holes were observation posts used for watching stars. Elma Parsamyan later showed the stones through which it is possible to determine the parts of world. I have found, through studies, that the construction’s architecture and stonework reflect the Cygnus constellation. That also testifies to its astrological significance,” he said.

The mathematician said that he has himself recently found one of the four stonehenges on the territory of Armenia. He said it is in the Lori region but did not name a specific location.

“I think another one has to be in Nagorno-Karabakh’s Qarahunge village. After finding money next year, I have to try to organize an expedition to find the stonehenge,” he said.