Finally someone uploaded this great documentary about the Armenian presence in the Holy Land.
Category: Science
A few months ago, I made a YouTube video about the history of the Armenian Wheel of Eternity. Maybe the most iconic among many ancient Armenian symbols. As expected people started to ask questions and post comments. Among the commentators a keen observer noticed that in some cases Armenians depicted the Wheel of Eternity inside a six pointed star. Because of the many questions I received since, I’ve decided to finally grant this symbol attention in a manner of a blog post.
Marble tombstone of the Armenian Grand Prince Hasan Jalal Vahtangian (1214-1261)
Most people today associate the six pointed star (hexagram) with the Jewish Star of David (Magen David), as it is the modern symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism. In 1948 it was even adopted on the official flag of Israel. According to Wikipedia: “Its use as a symbol of the Jewish community dates to the 17th century.” However, like many other aspects of Armenian culture, not much has been written about the Armenian usage of the hexagram. Even though its usage in science, art, architecture, decorations and even for religious purposes has been extensive throughout the history. View full article »
A wonderful documentary about Armenia and its past.
For some reason I again return to this subject. I recently found some text from an old German medical book Gart der Gesundheit (Garden of Health, 1470) describing the healing properties of Armenian earth. Modern medicine has advanced quit a bit since the old days, but I think it is still interesting to read about the “knowledge” of the old. It’s an interesting book about alchemy, various herbs and their peculiar properties. The following is an English translation:
Bolus Armeniaca; Earth from Armenia. It’s a kind of marble that was once highly prized for its fineness. Herbarius in Dyetsche writes “Bolus armeniacus or red soil of Armenia is a kind of earth, it has the power to contract and stop. You have to choose Armenian earth that is totally red. Armenian earth is good against spitting blood thus: Take barley water, disband or dissolve in it the Arabic gum and dragagantum with Armenian soil. The same is also good against redness of the body. If you give it with plantain water or make a plaster on the intestine with the egg white with Armenian soil and seeds of plantain. Against bleeding from the nose, take Armenian earth and the juice of Teesdalia, mix it together and place the mixture in the nose.
From Beverwijck “Bolus Armenia and Sigillum Lemnium (so called because in the old times on the Island of Lemnos the image of the Goddess Diana was printed on that soil) are for valid reasons in Matthiolus in his fifth book on Dioscorides Chapter 73 shown as similar remedies although in the pharmacies they are usually found separately. The Armenian earth cures the bites of snakes and other venomous creatures, helps against plague-like fevers, takes away the venom from poisonous drinks, resists rotting, stops blood spitting, dysentery and galvanization. Not far from the city Vassy in the landscape of Champagne and Cuysel Burgundy there is soil dug from there baring similarities with the Armenian bole. “
From: Gart der Gesundheit.
As my previous post suggests this second part is not a re-post but a continuation of more examples of scientific names in nature referring to Armenia.
Armenia has been well known to classical writers; as such many scientific names in nature refer to Armenia as its historic homeland. These names attest to the flora and fauna of Armenian Highlands beyond the borders of the modern Republic of Armenia.
The Armenian bumblebee
Bombus armeniacus, is a species of bumblebee.
Mammuthus armeniacus
The steppe mammoth, Mammuthus armeniacus, is an extinct species of Elephantidae, that ranged over most of northern Eurasia during the Middle Pleistocene, 600,000-370,000 years ago. It was the first stage in the evolution of the steppe and tundra elephants and an ancestor of the woolly mammoth of the later glacial periods.
A while ago when I didn’t have a blog I made an interesting entry on my friend’s blog ArmeniansWorld about a selection of scientific names from nature referring to Armenia as its native and/or classical homeland. In this case I would like to repost the entry here and while I’m at it I’ll add a second part with even more such cases.
Lapis armenus
Lapis armenus, also known as Armenian stone or lapis stellatus, in natural history, is a variety of precious stone, resembling lapis lazuli, except that it is softer, and instead of veins of pyrite, is intermixed with green.
Muscari armeniacum
Generally known as the Grape Hyacinth, is an herbaceous plant of the Botryanthus grouping of the genus Muscari with basal, simple leaves and short, flowering stems.
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Horse breading, the domestication of the horses and the development of the chariot in Armenia dates back to the time immemorial. In fact, the Armenian Highlands were renowned for horse breeding and horsemanship throughout ancient times. Murals of the Iran Age (Armenian) kingdom of Ararat attest to the richness of this practice. Traditionally Armenians consider themselves as descended from the biblical Torgom (Togarmah), where the Bible refers to the House of Togarmah, a land known for its horses (Ez. 27:14). For this reason the ancient Persians would collect Armenian horses as part of taxation for their armies and the royal guard (Strabo, 20 B.C.). Equally revered was the Armenian cavalry of the ancient times.
Armenian horsemaster bringing tribute to Darius I of Persia, Behistun Inscription (515 BC.)
V. Chapot wrote: “What they say about Armenia bewilders us. How could this mountain people develop such a cavalry that was able to measure itself against the horsemen of the Medes? One thing which is certain is the fact that Armenia …was a source of excellent well bred horses. The people in this country had discovered that horses were not just an economic asset, but could also be used for military purposes.”
In his chronology (Timeline of the Development of the Horse, 2007) Beverley Davis describes the the domestication of the horse in Armenia as follows: View full article »
Archeologists working in Armenia believe they have uncovered the world’s oldest skirt. This is the same location in Armenia where the world’s oldest shoe was found. It was 4500 years old.
The 5,900-year-old garment discovery was reported by the head of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography in Yerevan, Pavel Avetisian. The researcher indicated at a news conference held on Tuesday that the uncovered piece of skirt could be the world’s oldest piece of reed clothing ever discovered.
The skirt fragment, made from reeds, was found while the archeologists were working a dig in the Areni-1 cave located in the southeastern part of Armenia.
Areni-1 cave is located in the village of Areni, a village in the Vayots Dzor province and part of the Fertile Crescent region of Armenia. The area, known for its great wine country, located in between the areas of Nakhichevan and Ararat, which runs along the Turkey border.
Boris Gasparian, another Armenian archaeologist working at the site with the group made up of Armenian, U.S. and Irish scientists, had also found a mummified goat that they believe is roughly 5,900 years old as well.
If their estimates prove correct, the mummified goat found in Armenia is more than 1,000 years older than many of the mummified animals that have been discovered in Egypt.
The joint international excavation has been an ongoing effort to understand and restore the ancient historical and archeological past of Armenia since 2007 and has already yielded a number of incredible finds besides the skirt and mummified goat, such as Copper Age artifacts that date back between 6,200 to 5,900 years ago.
The skirt findings in southeastern Armenia come almost a year and a half after a leather shoe, believed to be the world’s oldest at 5,500 years old, was also found in the same country and same location as the skirt.
Armenian bole, also known as bolus armenus or bole armoniac, is an earthy clay, usually red, native to Armenia. It is red due to the presence of iron oxide; the clay also contains hydrous silicates of aluminum and possibly magnesium.
