Armenian-Italian Archaeologists Uncover Ancient Tombs, Fortress Remains at Historic Shamiram Site

A joint Armenian-Italian archaeological team has uncovered major new discoveries at the ancient settlement of Shamiram in western Armenia, revealing fresh evidence of how the site evolved over thousands of years and offering new clues about the people who lived, ruled and were buried there.

The monthlong excavation, carried out from May 26 to June 25 in Aragatsotn Province, adds to growing evidence that Shamiram was continuously occupied from the Late Bronze Age through the medieval period. Researchers say the findings strengthen the site's importance as one of Armenia's richest archaeological landscapes.

The excavations are being led by the Armenian-Italian Archaeological Mission, a long-running partnership between the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of Armenia's National Academy of Sciences and the International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies (ISMEO). The project is co-directed by Armenian archaeologist Varduhi Melikyan and Italian archaeologist Roberto Dan.

One of the season's most significant discoveries came from the continued excavation of Tomb No. 3, a monumental Late Bronze Age burial complex. Archaeologists uncovered a stone burial chamber surrounded by concentric stone circles, along with bronze weapons, obsidian and metal arrowheads, valuable grave offerings and the remains of a horse believed to have been sacrificed as part of burial rituals.

Researchers say the tomb provides rare insight into the region's elite class, ancient funerary traditions and the symbolic role horses played in Armenian societies more than 3,000 years ago.

Excavations also revealed new evidence from the period before the rise of the Kingdom of Urartu. Behind one of the fortress towers, archaeologists discovered a Middle Iron Age structure that showed signs of fire and destruction. Beneath it lay an older burial dating to a time before the Urartian fortress was built.

The discovery gives researchers a rare opportunity to trace how a local Iron Age settlement changed as Urartu expanded across the Armenian Highlands.

Work also continued on the settlement's defensive structures. At the Wall 2 gate complex, archaeologists found evidence suggesting the visible L-shaped entrance was rebuilt during the Hellenistic period, replacing an earlier Iron Age gateway. Nearby, cleaning and excavation at Tower 3 exposed a well-preserved Urartian megalithic tower measuring roughly 28 by 28 feet (8.5 by 8.5 meters), highlighting the scale of the kingdom's military architecture.

Elsewhere at the site, researchers uncovered column bases, architectural remains connected to Urartian towers and well-preserved medieval buildings. The discoveries show that later communities continued to reuse and reshape the ancient fortress long after the fall of Urartu.

According to the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, this year's findings further establish Shamiram as one of Armenia's key archaeological sites for studying the country's long history, from Bronze Age burial customs and Iron Age settlements to Urartian statehood and medieval occupation.

The excavation is supported through a scientific partnership between Armenia and Italy and is co-funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation with support from the Embassy of Italy in Yerevan.

Researchers said laboratory analysis, anthropological studies and further examination of the newly recovered artifacts will continue in the coming months, with the goal of deepening understanding of Shamiram's place in Armenia's ancient past and the broader history of the South Caucasus.

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