Areni

Areni Արենի
Areni veelage as seen frae Areni Kirk.
Areni Արենի
Coordinates: 39°43′15″N 45°11′02″E
Kintra	Armenie
Marz (Province)	Vayots Dzor
Elevation	990 m (3,250 ft)
Population  (2008)
• Total	1,865
Time zone	UTC+4 ( )
• Summer (DST)	UTC+5 ( )

Areni (Armenie: Արենի; umwhile Arpa) is a veelage in the Vayots Dzor Province o Armenie. It is best kent for its wine production, awtho the majority o wine produced locally is frae the nearhaun veelage o Getap. The kirk o S. Astvatsatsin is a single-nave twa-aisled domit Armenie kirk completit in the year 1321, an is locatit atop a plateau owerleukin the Arpa River an Areni. It wis designed bi the airchitect an sculptor Momik Vardpet who is best kent for his heich-relief carvins at the monastery of Noravank (locatit approximately 6 kilometers southeast frae Areni). Nearhaun thare the 13t century ruins o laird Tarsaitch Orbelian o Syunik's palace, muived frae Yeghegis tae Areni throu that time. Ruins o a 13t century brig biggit bi Bishop Sarkis in 1265-1287 are ane kilometer northeast o the kirk. At the same location are the remains o an aulder brig.

Copper Age excavations

In 2007, an Armenie-Erse team decidit tae dae test excavations in the cave steid o Areni 1. Twa test trenches in the front an rear galleries revealed Chalcolithic Age an Early Bronze Age layers datin back tae 5000-4000 BCE. Excavations in 2007-2008 uncovered 3 pot burials in the rear chamber o the cave. Ilka pot contained a Copper Age human skull wi nae associatit grave guids. Aw skulls belang sub-adults o 9–16 year auld. Thae are currently bein analysit bi the team's biological anthropologist. Remarkably, ane skull conteened a piece o a weel-preservit harn tissue. This is the auldest kent human harn frae the Auld Warld.

The cave haes affered surprisin new insichts intae the oreegins o modren ceevilizations an aw, lik evidence o a wine-makkin enterprise an an array o culturally diverse pottery. Excavations yieldit an extensive array o Copper Age airtifacts datin tae atween 6,200 an 5,900 year syne an aw. The new discoveries athin the cave muive early bronze-age cultural activity in Armeni back bi aboot 800 year. Additional discoveries at the site include metal knives, seeds frae mair nor 30 kins o fruit, remains o dozens o cereal species, rape, claith, strae, gress, reeds an dree'd grapes an prunes

In Januar 2011 airchaeologists annooncit the discovery o the earliest kent winery, the Areni-1 winery, seiven month efter the warld's auldest leather shae, the Areni-1 shae, wis discovered in the same cave. The winery, which is ower sax-thoosan year auld, conteens a wine press, fermentation vats, jaurs, an cups. Airchaeologists foond grape seeds an vines o the species Vitis vinifera an aw. Patrick McGovern, a biomolecular anthropologist at the University of Pennsylvania, commentin on the importance o the find, said, "The fact that winemakkin wis awready sae weel developit in 4000 BC suggests that the technology likely gaes back hintle earlier."

Gallery

• 
  Cairt o Areni an surroondin region
• 
  S. Astvatsatsin Kirk o 1321
• 
  Entrance o the Areni-1 cave complex
• 
  The 5550 year auld Areni-1 shae

See an aw

• Areni-1 shae
• Areni-1 winery
• Areni Kirk
• Noravank

References

• Areni at GEOnet Names Server

• World Gazeteer: Armenia – Warld-Gazetteer.com
• Report of the results of the 2001 Armenian Census, Naitional Statistical Service o the Republic o Armenie
• Kiesling, Brady (2005), Rediscovering Armenia: Guide, Yerevan, Armenie: Matit Graphic Design Studio
• Brady Kiesling, Rediscovering Armenia, p. 119; oreeginal airchived at Archive.org, an current version online on Armeniapedia.org.