YEREVAN. – Archaeological monuments are the treasure of Armenia and so they need serious protection, doctor of the Tokai University Makoto Arimura said in Yerevan.

Dr. Arimura has been cooperating with the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia for five years, the subject of his interest is the Neolithic period. Briefing Armenian journalists on the concept of the Neolithic period, Dr. Arimura said that he worked in Syria and Turkey, Central Asia and Georgia.

“There are many Neolithic monuments in Syria and Turkey. However, our data on the Caucasus from period of 10 to 6 thousand needs a deeper research,” said the doctor.

Speaking about the inn Lernagog 1 (8-7 thousand BC) discovered in 2017 in the Armavir region, the expert noted that many excavations in the Ararat valley had been conducted before, but no archeological site dating back to the period before 6 thousand BC has been ever found.

“Since we couldn’t find more ancient ones, we tried to look elsewhere. We began our exploration and five years ago found Lernagog 1. This year, I conducted excavations with my colleagues and my students. We found many objects from obsidian and bones. Studies show that the inn is older than 7 thousand BC. The discovery of architecture in Lernagog was a real surprise. This is a unique find for this period in this region. Unfortunately, the found so far is not all excavated, this year we will excavate completely. However, I think that the continuation of the excavation can also lead to finding other similar encampments”, said Dr. Arimura, adding that earlier such monuments were not known in Armavir.

According to his assessment, from the point of view of the Neolithic period, Armenia is of special importance because the wild wheat was found here, and it is possible that the domestication of wheat began exactly from this region.

“Architectural monuments must be protected, because otherwise they are in danger of destruction. They are the treasure of Armenia. There are many good specialists here which is very important in terms of cooperation”, Dr. Arimura emphasized.