Marjan de B
Karahundj - the Armenian Stonehenge
Zorats Karer (also called Karahunj, or Carahunge) is an archaeological site near the city of Sisian in the Syunik province of Armenia.
The site is located on a rocky promontory near Sisian. About 223 large stone tombs can be found in the area. It was explored by a team of archaeologists from the Institut für Vorderasiatische Archäologie, University of Munich who published their findings in 2000. They concluded that Zorakarer "was mainly a necropolis from the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age." The Munich archaeologists add that it may have served "as a place of refuge in times of war", possibly in the Hellenistic - Roman period (c. 300 BC - 300 AD). A wall of rocks and compacted soil (loam) was built around the site with vertical rocks plugged into it for reinforcement: today only these upright rocks remain.
About 80 of the stones feature a circular hole, although only about 50 of the stones survive. They have been of interest to Russian and Armenian archaeoastronomists who have suggested that they could have been used for astronomical observation. This was prompted by four of the holes pointing towards the point where the sun rises on midsummer's day and four others at the point where the sun sets on the same day. However, the holes are relatively unweathered and may not be prehistoric in origin.
source: wikipedia
Karahundj - the Armenian Stonehenge
Zorats Karer (also called Karahunj, or Carahunge) is an archaeological site near the city of Sisian in the Syunik province of Armenia.
The site is located on a rocky promontory near Sisian. About 223 large stone tombs can be found in the area. It was explored by a team of archaeologists from the Institut für Vorderasiatische Archäologie, University of Munich who published their findings in 2000. They concluded that Zorakarer "was mainly a necropolis from the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age." The Munich archaeologists add that it may have served "as a place of refuge in times of war", possibly in the Hellenistic - Roman period (c. 300 BC - 300 AD). A wall of rocks and compacted soil (loam) was built around the site with vertical rocks plugged into it for reinforcement: today only these upright rocks remain.
About 80 of the stones feature a circular hole, although only about 50 of the stones survive. They have been of interest to Russian and Armenian archaeoastronomists who have suggested that they could have been used for astronomical observation. This was prompted by four of the holes pointing towards the point where the sun rises on midsummer's day and four others at the point where the sun sets on the same day. However, the holes are relatively unweathered and may not be prehistoric in origin.
source: wikipedia