ARMENIAN-BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION FOUND FIRST IN ARMENIA MESOLITE MONUMENT, SITE OF NEANDERTHALS
Yerevan, May 19. ArmInfo. A group of Armenian and British
archaeologists will start diggings of Neanderthals’ site in the
karst caves of Ijevan mountain ridge, on the left bank of Agstev
river in 2006.
The group manager Boris Gasparyan told ArmInfo that the finding is
the first mesolite monument for the whole Armenia. The so-called cave
“Ovk-1” and the rocky shed “Ovk-3” were chosen for diggings. During the
last year’s reconnaissance investigations of caves, the archaeological
expedition found sites of Neanderthals there. “We’ve opened several
cultural layers during diggings and only after the seven layer’s
removal, we succeed to find a must layer, rich by bone remains and
magnificent stone tools of Neanderthals”, Gasparyan said.
Four archaeological layers were fixed there in the punched
reconnaissance hole. As Gasparyan noted, the last layer with the
mesolite-typical microlite tools from obsidian is the most important.
According to the preliminary conclusions of archaeologists, the Ijevan
hollow and the Agstev river canyon were settled in the must epoch
at the least (200,000-40,000 years ago). The scientists will start
the main diggings on June 10. The archaeologists do not consider it
appropriate yet to call the concrete age of findings, as the monument
materials have to pass complex radiocarbon analyses.