Archaeologists discover Armenia's oldest church, among the oldest in the world. "Sensational"

One of the world’s oldest Christian churches has been discovered in Armenia : archaeologists from the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and the University of Münster (Germany) have in fact uncovered the remains of a previously unknown early Christian church in the ancient city of Artaxata. The find consists of an octagonal building with cruciform extensions.

The research team excavated parts of the church and studied them using geophysical methods. According to Armenian and German archaeologists, the church dates back to the fourth century. “It is the oldest archaeologically documented church in the country,” explained Professor Achim Lichtenberger of the University of Münster. And it is, he added, “sensational evidence of early Christianity in Armenia.”

“Octagonal churches,” said Mkrtich H. Zardaryan of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, “were unknown here until now, but we know them very well from the Eastern Mediterranean region, where they first appeared in the 4th century AD.”

The discovered church finds parallels in early Christian buildings. In addition, in the cross-shaped extensions, researchers discovered the remains of wooden platforms, which have been radiocarbon dated to the mid-4th century AD. The octagonal building, about 30 meters in diameter, had a simple mortar floor covered with terracotta tiles. Marble findings indicate that the building was richly decorated (marble was imported from the Mediterranean). The German-Armenian team has been in Armenia since September and has already let it be known that excavations will now continue: indeed, the archaeologists hope to make new discoveries. The hope is also to understand to whom the church was dedicated.

The city where the building is located, Artaxata, was the scene, according to tradition, of the conversion to Christianity of the Armenian king Tiridates III (in 301 AD) by St. Gregory the Illuminator. According to tradition, Armenia would thus have been the world’s first officially Christian state. Near the site of the discovery stands an ancient monastery, that of Khor Virap, which preserves the memory of this tradition. Artaxata was the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia, ruled by the Artaxid and Arsacid dynasties. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia for almost six centuries. Today, the archaeological site of Artaxata is being studied by the Armenian-German research team since 2018. The excavation project on the settlement archaeology of the ancient city is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia.

Archaeologists discover Armenia's oldest church, among the oldest in the world. "Sensational"

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.