The name Karahundj probably doesn’t mean anything to you and for good reason. Western archaeologists have only recently gained access to this prehistoric site hidden deep down in the southernmost province of the former Soviet republic of Armenia. It’s a place nobody knows what to make of as yet, but things are about to change. After being locked for decades in fierce debate over the significance of this place, the local scientific community agreed last week it is time to put their differences aside and join efforts to solve the mystery of the Talking Stones of Karahundj.
The site takes it’s name from the over 200 monoliths displayed in a complex pattern over a seven hectares area. Some of the stones measure up to three meters in height and weigh up to 10 tons. The most mystifying feature is that some 80 of these stones have holes bored into them. When the wind blows it makes a weird whistling sound passing through the holes, hence the name of Talking Stones.
One theory is that the stone complex was an astronomical observatory and the holes were in fact used for star gazing, much like modern telescopes. According to tests, the site is 7,500 years old, predating the much more famous Stonehenge by 3,000 years. This would make Karahundj the oldest astronomical observatory known to us.
Astrophysicist Elma Parsamian discovered that the holes in some of the stones align with sunrise and sundown on the day of the summer solstice. In recent years, this characteristic has made Karahundj the favorite gathering place for neo-pagans in Armenia, just like the Stonehenge temple attracts an eclectic crowd for the summer solstice. Other stones had been deliberately positioned in order to align with Deneb, the brightest star in the constellation of Cygnus.
There is also a less spectacular theory that the stones still standing in the area were part of the outer walls of a fortress, used by people to hide in times of war. And some challenge the testing done on the site, claiming the ruins might be only 4,500 years old.
Following last week’s decision the two warring factions will now work together to uncover the truth.
Whatever the truth about Karahundj might be, fact is southern Armenia is the site of many fascinating archaeological discoveries. The most interesting place is the Areni-1 cave, situated not far from the stone complex.
A few years ago, archaeologist working at the Areni-1 cave have announced the discovery of the oldest leather shoe ever found, dated to have been crafted some 5,500 years ago. Such discoveries are rare as clothing items easily decompose. The prehistoric shoe in the Armenian cave was protected from elements as it was found buried in fossilized sheep dung. The item is made from a single piece of cow hide laced with leather cord.
"The hide had been cut into two layers and tanned, which was probably quite a new technology” (Ron Pinhasi, co-director of the dig, from University College Cork in Ireland)
The prehistoric shoe, which shows obvious signs of compression in the heel and toe area, corresponds to a size seven by modern standards, but it is impossible to tell if it was worn by a man or a woman.
The people who inhabited the Areni-1 cave in the Copper Age did travel a lot and over a rough terrain. Scientists have discovered in the cave pieces of obsidian, which had been probably brought there from a site 75 miles (120Km) away.
Previous to the Armenian find, the oldest shoes in the world was considered those belonging to Ötzi, the "Iceman" found in the Austrian Alps in 1991, who died around 5,300 years ago.
If you’re curious, sandals have an even longer history, the oldest known such items, discovered in a cave in Missouri, being dated to 7,000 years ago.
Whoever these prehistoric people were, they also liked to party, or at least this is what we can presume following the discovery of the oldest wine-making equipment in the world. In fact, they discovered wine a few hundred years before taking the trouble of crafting footwear, the winery being 6,100 years old.
The equipment consists of a 2-foot-deep (60-centimeter-deep) vat buried next to a 3.5-foot-long (1-meter-long) basin made of hard-packed clay with elevated edges. Experts say prehistoric people made their wine in a traditional way, using their feet.
”Juice from the trampled grapes drained into the vat, where it was left to ferment. The wine was then stored in jars — the cool, dry conditions of the cave would have made a perfect wine cellar”.
Archaeologists also discovered drinking cups, withered grape vines and seeds in the cave.
It is possible that the wine was used in burial rituals, as the winery is situated near a prehistoric necropolis. Drinking cups have been found inside the graves.Evidence of the practice of providing wine to dead has been discovered in Ancient Egypt where illustrations inside the tombs showing how many jars of beer and wine from the Nile Delta were provided offered to the dead to enjoy in the afterlife.
Excavations at the Areni cave unearthed a 5,900 years old straw-woven skirt. Even back then women cared about fashion, the clothing item being made of an ‘amazing material with rhythmic color hues’. The extraordinary skirt is now on display at the History Museum of Armenia.
Although we know very little about the prehistoric inhabitants of modern Armenia, let us not forget that this is the country where mount Ararat is located. In the Bible, The Book of Genesis mentions mount Ararat as the place where Noah’s Ark came to rest after the Great Flood.
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