AN URARTIAN GRAVE IN AGHAVNADZOR, VAYOTS DZOR, ARMENIA

In 2013 an Urartian tomb has been identified by chance during the construction of a house in the village of Aghavnadzor in Vayots Dzor Region, Armenia. Despite the tomb was heavily damaged, archaeologists were able to dig it and document it before its destruction. The multiple burial showed the contemporary coexistence of inhumation and incineration, according to a funerary practice well known in Urartian times. A good amount of grave goods have been recovered and restored. Most of it shows typical Urartian features with some interesting exceptions that refer to contemporary Assyrian models. The grave has been dated back to the 8th century thanks to 14C. In the present poster, the materials of the grave are presented and discussed. This discovery is particularly important because gives new information on the Urartian occupation of this part of the Armenian Highlands and, in particular, of the Vayots Dzor Region. The tomb will be discussed in the wider frame of the important Urartian evidence already known in the region, like the so-called ‘tomb of Yeghegnadzor’.