# Aknashen

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{{Infobox settlement
|official_name          = Aknashen <br/> Ակնաշեն 
|native_name            = 
|pushpin_map            = Armenia
|mapsize                = 150px
|subdivision_type       = Country
|subdivision_name       = [Armenia](/source/Armenia)
|subdivision_type1      = [Marz (Province)](/source/Administrative_divisions_of_Armenia)
|subdivision_name1      = [Armavir](/source/Armavir_(province))
|leader_title           = 
|leader_name            = 
|established_title      =
|established_date       = 
|area_total_km2         = 
|area_footnotes         = 
|population_as_of       = 2011
|population_total       = 1,569<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/armenia/armavir/|title=Armavir (Armenia): Towns and Villages in Municipalities|website=www.citypopulation.de|access-date=2024-11-08}}</ref>
|population_density_km2 =
|timezone               = &nbsp;
|utc_offset             = +4
|timezone_DST           = &nbsp; 
|utc_offset_DST         = +5
|coordinates            = {{coord|40|05|45|N|44|17|10|E|region:AM|display=inline}}
|elevation_m            = 
|area_code              = 
|website                = 
}}

'''Aknashen''' ({{langx|hy|Ակնաշեն}}, also [Romanize](/source/Romanize)d as '''Aknachen'''; until 1978, '''Khatunarkh Verin''', '''Verin Khatunarkh''', and '''Khatunarkh''', also Russified as '''Verkhniy Khatunarkh''') is a town in the [Armavir Province](/source/Armavir_(province)) of [Armenia](/source/Armenia). The town's church is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew; nearby is a ruin of an 8th-century building.

==Archaeology==
Evidence from charred remains and crop processing residues in [pisé](/source/pis%C3%A9) have been discovered at the Neolithic settlements of [Aratashen](/source/Aratashen) and Aknashen. These settlements are located close together.<ref>{{Cite journal
| last = Hovsepyan R. Willcox G.
| date = 2008
| title = The earliest finds of cultivated plants in Armenia: evidence from charred remains and crop processing residues in pisé from the Neolithic settlements of Aratashen and Aknashen
| url = 
| journal = Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
| volume = 17
| pages = 63–71
| doi = 10.1007/s00334-008-0158-6
| pmid = 
| s2cid = 66190451
}}</ref> Recently, an 8000-year old settlement was excavated at Aknashen<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://allinnet.info/archeology/8000-year-old-settlement-excavated-at-akhashen/|title = 8000-Year Old Settlement Excavated at Aknashen|date = 28 November 2017}}</ref>

Aknashen is located in the basin of the Sev Jur (Metsamor) River ([:fr:Metsamor (rivière)](/source/%3Afr%3AMetsamor_(rivi%C3%A8re))), at an altitude of 900m above sea level. In 1969–1982 it was excavated by R.M. Torosyan. The Late Neolithic “[Aratashen-Shulaveri-Shomutepe](/source/Shulaveri%E2%80%93Shomu_culture)” cultural layer is represented by Horizons II–V. This lies directly under the Chalcolithic layer, and dates to the first half of the 6th millennium BC.<ref>Ruben Badalyan and Armine Harutyunyan 2014, [https://www.academia.edu/10672842/ Aknashen—the Late Neolithic Settlement of the Ararat Valley: Main Results and Prospects for the Research.] academia.edu</ref>

Obsidian geometric microliths have been discovered at Aknashen, which is somewhat unusual for Shulaveri-Shomu sites.

According to the excavators,

:"... the identified Horizon VII [at Aknashen], separated from the overlying horizons of the “Aratashen-Shulaveri-Shomutepe” culture by hiatus, and stratigraphically and chronologically preceding the Late Neolithic, is partially filling the gap between the Early [Holocene](/source/Holocene) sites and the settlements of the “Aratashen-Shulaveri-Shomutepe” culture."<ref>Ruben Badalyan and Armine Harutyunyan 2014, [https://www.academia.edu/10672842/ Aknashen—the Late Neolithic Settlement of the Ararat Valley: Main Results and Prospects for the Research.] academia.edu</ref>

In recent research, the links of Aknashen with the Middle Kura Basin have become clear, as also the links with the [Shulaveri–Shomu culture](/source/Shulaveri%E2%80%93Shomu_culture). The earliest Horizon VII started in 5950 BC. Some imported pottery was found there. Local pottery appears in Horizon V, around 5800 BC.<ref name="Lyonnet 2022 pp. 1343–1345">{{cite journal | last=Lyonnet | first=Bertille | title=Ruben Badalyan, Christine Chataigner & Armine Harutyunyan (ed.). 2022. The Neolithic settlement of Aknashen (Ararat Valley, Armenia). Excavation seasons 2004–2015. Oxford: Archaeopress; 978-1-80327-003-6 eBook, Open Access. | journal=Antiquity | volume=96 | issue=389 | date=2022 | issn=0003-598X | doi=10.15184/aqy.2022.93 | pages=1343–1345}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[Armavir Province](/source/Armavir_Province)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External sites ==
* [https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803270029 The Neolithic Settlement of Aknashen (Ararat valley, Armenia)]
* {{ArmenianCensus|130}}
* {{citation|last=Kiesling |first=Brady |title=Rediscovering Armenia: Guide |publisher=Matit Graphic Design Studio|location=[Yerevan, Armenia](/source/Yerevan%2C_Armenia)|year=2005}}
* {{RediscoveringArmenia|40}}

{{Armavir}}

Category:Populated places in Armavir Province
Category:Yazidi communities in Armenia
Category:Shulaveri–Shomu culture

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Aknashen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aknashen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aknashen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.