Village of Agarak

Heading west along the main road, some 8km from Ashtarak is the village of Agarak where a large site, thought to be early Bronze Age, was excavated during the first decade of this century. The site occupies 200ha on an extensive outcrop of tuff. It is signposted on the left just after leaving the village. After an information board the track veers right, uphill. Keeping close to the weather-beaten cliff-like rock on your right you reach a 1m3 cavity in the white tuff. At the bottom is a small passageway, 50cm long, which leads into an underground 2m3 chamber. Carved into the walls are large rectangular niches. Apparently a complete skeleton and weapons, thought to be Urartian, were found here. A torch is essential if you wish to explore. On the top of the rocky outcrop removal of the thin layer of topsoil has revealed numerous pits carved into the rock. Some are deep and either rectangular or circular, others are shallow and have an obvious channel running from them. Some are now filled with water creating small ponds in which irises and frogs flourish. Yet others look very like the rock-hewn coffins in places such as Lmbatavank.

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