Within the volcanic Gegham and Vardenis Mountains of Armenia, architect Suren Petrosyan found distinctive and mysterious astrological rock artwork work.

Specialists have totally different opinions on the creation chronology of the rock artwork work discovered within the basin of Lake Sevan and alongside the slopes of Mount Aragats. Some suppose these rock artwork work have been created within the third to second millennium BC, others declare in regards to the fifth to fourth millennium BC, and there are researchers who date them to tenth millennium BC. It isn’t shocking, because the examine and chronology of rock artwork work could be very troublesome. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as a doubt that these rock artwork work illustrating stellar maps have 1000’s of years’ historical past.

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Sacred Websites: Rock Artwork Work in Gegham and Vardenis Mountains

If you go to the mountains the place these astrological work—some made with a pure paint manufactured from purple volcanic mineral, others carved into the rock—have been created, instantly you discover the huge skies which appear virtually too near the Earth. The starry sky is particularly clear and brilliant, which evokes one to return to the previous and for a second seem beside our ancestors and see how they noticed.

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The dramatic volcanic panorama of the Gegham Mountains, Armenia (MEDIACRAT/CC BY-SA 3.0)

And at a time when there have been no magnifying gadgets, the truth that the Armenian Highland is excessive sufficient above sea degree (1700 to 1800 meters, or 5577 to 5905 ft), and about 500 to 600 meters (1600 to 2000 ft) excessive from the neighboring nations, contributed to witnessing breathtaking readability of the starry sky.

On this regard, nice significance was positioned on rock artwork work, on the hill known as “Sheikhi Chingil” within the Gegham mountains, and on the height of Sevsar in Vardenis Mountains—the previous above sea degree about 3500 meters (11,482 ft), and the latter at about 300 meters (984 ft).

Celestial Rock Artwork

These rock artwork work differ from the remainder of the Armenian petroglyphs as a result of they’re completely devoted to the worship of the heavenly our bodies, together with the solar, moon, planets, stars, and strange compositions of figures. In these locations even the so-called “strange” rock artwork work are inextricably linked to the starry sky.

Many Armenian scientists have studied these distinctive historic astronomic facilities and their stellar maps, however historian and archaeologist Harutyun Martirosyan got here to conclusion that the ancestors of Armenians, whereas worshiping the heavenly our bodies, acknowledged a number of necessary quantitative and qualitative patterns of the celestial world.

Accordingly, it’s clear that the heavenly our bodies that have been carved into the rock have been based mostly on correct observations, that 1000’s of years in the past our ancestors have differentiated not solely the solar and the moon, but additionally planets, stars, and constellations which have been separated into respective photographs and symbols solely within the third millennium BC.

Clearly, historic man not solely observed, but additionally depicted the motion of the celebs that helped them to obviously perceive and mark day and night time, and the passage of time—seasons, days, even hours. Our ancestors differentiated the lengthy, medium and quick days based mostly on the actions of the close to and distant stars and planets.

Thus, Armenians’ ancestors’ understanding of the night time sky got here from non secular circles.

The Solar and Moon: Siblings within the Sky

If we have a look at the disks of the solar in our rock artwork work, then you definitely see that they’re portrayed in a different way: in various positions, the disks of the solar painting the morning, midday and night. The solar is depicted via 4 concentric circles in accordance with its rotation.

Rock artwork on the Sevsar Astrological Observatory, Armenia. (Picture creator offered)

Armenians’ ancestors believed that the solar and the moon are siblings. That is why they usually depicted the moon, just like the solar, within the circle. Nevertheless, in contrast to the solar, the moon was depicted with two concentric circles, that displays two principal levels of the moon.

Drawings detailing the rock artwork symbols. (Picture creator offered)

Following the solar, moon and stars actions, regularities, and their quantitative expressions, historic Armenians generalized all these in numbers, learning depend and arithmetic from nature.

So, they gave the solar one level, the solar and the moon two factors, the moon and the celebs three factors, 5 factors they gave to the planets and added to the solar and the moon, it turns into seven factors. Additionally, the quantity 7 occupies the principle place in all preliminary calculations of man, particularly because it precisely matches with the modifications of the moon phases.

That’s the reason, in “Sheikhi Chingil” rock artwork work we’re repeatedly met with such teams of heavenly our bodies, of which the sum is 7.

Numbers of Astronomy

The primary of rock artwork portray is comparatively small and has internal and outer frames. There are 28 lengthy rays on the large body.

Drawings detailing the rock artwork symbols. (Picture creator offered)

If we think about that the moon is seen from the area of Armenia for less than 28 days through the month, then we now have to just accept the total relationship of the period of the lunar month and the “Sheikhi Chingil” ray numbers. So, it turns into apparent that we’re actually coping with the calculations of lunar month which consists of 4 weeks, the start of which was decided by the particular observations.

Primarily based on these photographs, we will assume that one of many highest locations of the Gegham Mountains, “Sheikhi Chingil”, was a temple-observatory for the traditional Armenians, from the place they watched the brilliant our bodies of sunshine within the sky, counted the variety of days and months, and so they made predictions based mostly on the noticed actions.

Historical Astronomy at Sevsar

The rock artwork work of Sevsar, that are probably the most distinctive rock artwork work on this planet, each by type and by its content material, are vastly important. By learning the rock artwork depictions, researchers got here to the conclusion that Sevsar was an historic astronomic middle.

Rock artwork at Sevsar, Armenia. There are 15 pictured rock-pieces inside an space of fifty by 20 meters (164 by 66 ft). (Picture creator offered)

On this assortment of “star maps” there are a lot of photographs much like constellations, that are divided into teams. One group has seven factors, the opposite one 38 factors, and 4 semi-spherical figures are carved individually. There are 56 factors on a stone, so we will see right here the identical 7, 14, 28 numbers as at “Sheikhi Chingil” within the distant mountains. So, utilizing this star map, we will discover the variety of days in two lunar months.

This reality permits us to multiply the quantity 28 by 12, and we are going to get 336, which is the same as 12 lunar months’ period. And if we multiply all 60 figures of rock artwork work by 6 (30X12), then we are going to get 360, which can be near the photo voltaic yr period.

Historical rock artwork work that includes symbols of lunar and photo voltaic occasions. (Picture creator offered).

Historical rock artwork work that includes symbols of celestial occasions. (Picture creator offered).

The second stone of Sevsar accommodates a lot of celestial our bodies which present the calculation of the ‘tropical month’ or vernal equinox. Semi-spherical our bodies are organized in three rows and every of them has 31 factors (whole of 62), and the tropical month has 31 days.

Photo voltaic Calendar

The third rock of the Sevsar occupies six sq. meters (65 sqft) and presents a fabulous calendar.

On this “star map” 4 teams of celestial our bodies are clearly distinguished, together with geometrical photographs, human and animal figures, and so on. Seven figures are positioned within the middle of the map which appears to be a photo voltaic system.

Right here we will see two of 12 constellations: “Aries” the Ram and “Gemini” the Twins, from which the photo voltaic rotation of the spring cycle begins and ends.

Constellations are depicted as people, animals and geometric figures. (Picture creator offered)

The quantity and structure of figures within the rock artwork work results in the conclusion that the ancestors of Armenians have been predicting the 4 seasons which straight have been trusted the solar’s place.

Pursuant to the Photo voltaic Calendar of Armenian ancestors, half of the yr contained 186 days. Certainly the Sevsar calendar contained an virtually unerring variety of days of a half yr.

It’s shocking that the one year of the trendy calendar are additionally mirrored in Sevsar rock artwork work, which is in “Aries” Constellation.

Having such an ideal calendar and with the ability to decide the precise time of the exact half day of summer season solstice by the shortest shadow of the solar, our historic chroniclers may prepare, via precise calculations, the sequence of holidays and rituals

Neighboring Mesopotamia and Egypt civilizations, within the third millennium BC have been utilizing not solely the calendar, but additionally sand and water clocks, nonetheless, it’s apparent that the earliest Lunar-Photo voltaic calendar (about fifth to fourth millennium BC) in Armenia undoubtedly is extra progressive in comparison with the astrological calendars of Egypt and Babylon.

All of the proof that we now have at our disposal confirms that the ancestors of the Armenians virtually knew some patterns of motion of celestial our bodies, the popularity and use of which was one of many principal circumstances for his or her progress, particularly in agriculture, animal husbandry, searching, and the humanities.

High picture: Stellar rock artwork map from Sevsar astronomical observatory. Supply: Courtesy of the creator Lilit Mkhitaryan

By Lilit Mkhitaryan