Zvartnots Cathedral
Excavated ruins of a circular seventh-century cathedral, a UNESCO site with an on-site museum.
Zvartnots, the cathedral of the celestial angels, was raised between about 641 and 653 by Catholicos Nerses III on the road between Vagharshapat and Yerevan, on a spot associated with the meeting of King Trdat and Gregory the Illuminator. It was a circular aisled tetraconch of three diminishing storeys, ringed by a colonnade of piers carrying eagle capitals and carved vine friezes, with a palace and wine press alongside. The building appears to have collapsed, probably in an earthquake, around the tenth century.
The site was forgotten until the archaeologist Khachik Dadyan uncovered it between 1900 and 1907, and a reserve was established in 1923 with a first permanent display opened in 1937. Parts of the lower arcade have been re-erected, and the ground plan, well, sundial and columns can be walked around in the open air. The museum building holds finds from the excavations, among them large storage jars, metal tools and jewellery. UNESCO inscribed Zvartnots together with the churches of Echmiadzin in 2000.
Highlights
- Circular three-storey tetraconch plan of the seventh century
- Re-erected arcade with eagle capitals and vine friezes
- Sundial bearing an Armenian inscription
- Museum display of jars, tools and jewellery from the excavations
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