The 2026 Archaeological Campaign at Shamiram Has Been Successfully Completed
The 2026 archaeological campaign of the Joint Armenian-Italian Archaeological Mission at Shamiram, in the Aragatsotn region of the Republic of Armenia, has been successfully completed. The mission is carried out within the framework of the long-standing scientific collaboration between the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia and ISMEO – The International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies.
The project is directed by Varduhy Melikyan on the Armenian side and Roberto Dan on the Italian side.
The 2026 campaign, conducted from 26 May to 25 June, focused on several key areas of the site, with the aim of clarifying the chronology, function and development of one of the most complex archaeological landscapes in central Armenia. Shamiram is an exceptional multi-period site, characterized by a large fortified rocky plateau, several monumental defensive lines, extensive settlement areas, and important funerary zones. The new investigations have confirmed the extraordinary depth of its occupation, from the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age to the Urartian, post-Urartian, Hellenistic, Late Antique, medieval and post-medieval periods. Among the most significant results of the 2026 season is the continued excavation of Tomb 3, a monumental Late Bronze Age burial with concentric stone circles, a central stone cist, rich funerary offerings, bronze weapons, obsidian and metal arrowheads, and the remains of a ritually sacrificed horse. This discovery provides new and important evidence for the study of local elites, funerary practices and the symbolic role of the horse in the Late Bronze Age communities of Armenia.
The excavations also revealed important evidence for the pre-Urartian phases of the site. In the area behind one of the towers of the Urartian fortification, a Middle Iron Age room with substantial destruction layers was discovered, followed by a burial that predates the construction of the Urartian defensive circuit. This sequence offers a rare opportunity to investigate the transformation of a local Iron Age centre before and during the expansion of the Urartian kingdom in the Ararat region.
Further investigations were carried out in the fortified sectors of the site. The study of the gateway system of Wall 2 has shown that the visible L-shaped access was probably reorganized during the Hellenistic period over earlier Iron Age levels. At the same time, the excavation and cleaning of Tower 3 confirmed the monumental character of the Urartian fortification system, with a well-preserved megalithic structure measuring approximately 8.5 × 8.5 m. The 2026 campaign also opened new perspectives on the long life of Shamiram after the Urartian period. In Area 7, rooms with column bases, architectural structures built against the Urartian towers, and well-preserved medieval installations show how the ancient fortifications continued to shape the organization of the site for centuries. The results of this season confirm Shamiram as one of the key archaeological sites for understanding the long-term history of central Armenia: from Bronze Age funerary traditions and Iron Age local communities to Urartian monumental architecture and later phases of reuse and transformation.
The mission expresses its gratitude to all the institutions and colleagues who supported the 2026 campaign. The project is co-financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, with the support and in coordination with the Embassy of Italy in Yerevan. The study of the materials, together with anthropological, archaeozoological and further archaeological analyses, will continue in the coming months and will provide new insights into the history of Shamiram and its role in the ancient landscape of Armenia.
Institute of Archaeology & Ethnography
