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Excavations at Yeghegis-1, a rockshelter in southern Armenia, reveal long-term human habitation from the late fifth to mid-fourth millennia BC. Here, the authors present a preliminary overview of the materials recovered from the site and highlight the potential of ongoing research to shed light on Chalcolithic human lifeways in the region. Keywords: Lesser Caucasus, Late Chalcolithic, zooarchaeology, ZooMS, rockshelter, southern Armenia, Introduction The Chalcolithic, also known as the Copper Age, is characterised by a move towards early extractive copper metallurgy, a technological revolution that prompted increased productivity, growth of social stratification [...]

The article discusses the issues of preservation of the housing stock. The aim of the work is to identify the importance of modernization in the perspective of the development of Yerevan’s housing stock through a comparative analysis of modern international and local experience and to determine its main directions. In the work: the actual situation formed in Yerevan was presented; the social picture and the structure of the housing stock were revealed; the need for reconstruction was substantiated; the concept of modernization, the circumstances that determine its requirement, and their compliance with the processes currently taking place in Yerevan were considered; the problem of determining the expediency of reconstruction was presented; the question about the contradiction between the goals of long-term stability and rapid superprofits was raised; the principles of reconstruction were predetermined; the role of the state in housing management was clarified. The summarization of the results allowed to substantiate the need to preserve and modernize residential development, strengthen the role of the state in the field of housing policy, regulate the management system, as well as determine the main goals, principles, and directions of the processes. The results assisted to point out the unresolved issues and the directions that can contribute to the further examination of the problems. The results can be useful for the processes carried out for the modernization and reconstruction of residential development in Yerevan, as well as for future research covering a wider scope of prospects for the development of the housing stock as a whole.

The article addresses issues of ensuring housing safety. The aim of this work is to summarise the tasks set by the state for seismic risk reduction in Yerevan and to identify their reflection in the process of increasing the seismic resistance of standard residential buildings. The work includes: summarising the seismic risks of the territory of the Republic of Armenia and Yerevan; discussing the current situation of housing development in Yerevan, types of buildings, and possible reconstruction options; analysing the tasks set within the framework of increasing the seismic resistance of residential buildings built during the Soviet era in Yerevan; raising questions about the shortcomings of state policy; and revealing the contradiction between the measures taken in management and the principle of "priority of preparedness over recovery". It was substantiated that the lack of significant results in the process is due to failures in management, rather than technical, economic, or legal problems. The results can be useful for improving strategies of residential development safety, as well as for fostering a more conscious approach to the problem by the state and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article touches upon the interrelations between the structural elements and the building structure in architecture. The aim of the work is to generalize the peculiarities of "midis" masonry formation and to reveal its influence in the evolution process of the structure of Armenian medieval churches by a comparative analysis of different characteristics. In the work: the development of three-layer "midis" masonry was systematized, the phenomenon of shell structure and spatial integrity in the churches of the 4th-14th centuries was highlighted, the tendencies of evolution of the masonry monolithic nature and church structure integrity were revealed by a comparative analysis of volumetric and planning characteristics of different churches. The results allowed to formulate a certain sequence of interactions in different characteristics, which confirmed the relationship between the evolution of the masonry and the structure of the churches: the evolution of "midis" masonry led to the structural monolithic nature of the walls and the forms derived from it, which in turn led to the integrity of the stone building structure. The results can be useful in further research covering structural-compositional interrelations, including both heritage and modern architecture studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the results of geochemical and typological analysis of late Neolithic settlement Aknashen (1st half of the 4th millennium BC) are presented. The excavations in Aknashen have started in 2004 by Armenian-French expedition under the direction of R. Badalyan. Totally 50000 obsidian objects were found during the excavation. The subject of this study are the whole lithics (2035 objects) excavated in 2015 from 1st, 2nd and 3rd horizones of 9 to 12 trenches. The material was first subjected to typological and technical- morphological analysis. Then from the undisturbed Neolithic context 118 obsidian objected were selected which were subjected for Portable X-Ray flourecense analysis to determine their geochemical features and to attribute them to their sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During four field seasons spanning 2014 through 2017, Project ArAGATS (Archaeology and Geography of Ancient Transcaucasian Societies) expanded our long-term research on the origins and development of complex political systems in the South Caucasus with a comprehensive study of the upper Kasakh River valley in north-central Armenia. The Kasakh Valley Archaeological Survey employed both systematic transect survey of 43 km2 and extensive satellite- and drone-based reconnaissance to accommodate the complex topography of the Lesser Caucasus and the impacts of Soviet-era land amelioration. Though our survey was animated by questions related to the chronology and distribution of Bronze and Iron Age fortifications and cemeteries, we also recorded Paleolithic sites stretching back to the earliest human settlement of the Caucasus, Early Bronze Age surface finds, and historic landscape modifications. Concurrent to the survey, members of the ArAGATS team carried out test excavations at select settlement sites and associated burials, and a series of wetland core extractions, with the goals of affirming site occupation sequences and setting them within their environmental context. This report provides an overview of the results of these multidisciplinary activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]