Description

Description

Description

In the spirit of the United Nations decision to declare 2009 as International Year of Astronomy as well as initiative such as "Astronomy and world heritage" launched by the Centre of world heritage of UNESCO, Armenia is organisation the 2009 European Heritage Days en 2009 with the theme "Milky way".

Science is very importance in in the creation of heritage as well as in research. Most of the tangible heritate, with the exception of landscapes, comes from the practical application of knowledge. Buildings, such as the first examples of Ourartian architecture, pagan or christian, show not only the first traces of precise knowledge of culture in the building of Armenia: the treatment of several types of stone, the geometric conception of plans, la regularity of cuts, the most well controlled types of stone cutting, the use of vaults and roofs. The ancient site of Metsamor, opened following archaeological research, has allowed us for a long time to present Armenia as an ancien country of astronomy: the ancient plateaux for observation open on the small hill of Metsamor are considered as an "Astronomical observatory". Research on the first line of small hills shows that, beyond the scope of worship there was also an astronomic range: Sirius was the most likely star to be the object of worship and observation by the ancient inhabitants of Metsamor. It has also been clarified from the scientific point of view that the alignment of the menhirs called ZORATS KAR, dating from the second millenium BCE, which, without doubt, has the same myths and the same astronomic range as the well-known "Stonehenge". From Metsamor, from ZORATS KAR, from the engravings on the rocky stones of the Géghama mountains to the astronomic observatories of the State University of Yerevan and Burakan lead us to consider Armenia as being part of the ancient astronomic culture in the world.

In this context, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia will organise a series of events presenting Armenia as an ancient country of astronomy. In the framework of the Days, the television company “Ararat” will project documentary “The myth of Metsamor” created in 1968 par Cinematographic Union “Yerevan” underling for young people not only its historic and scientific value but also the scientific value.

On this occasion, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Armenia will send soldiers to clean the historic and cultural sites.

The launching ceremony of the European Heritage Days will start with the opening of the photographic exhibition"Europe, our common heritage" presenting photos of the International Heritage Photographic Experience (IHPE) of the member States of the Council of Europe. The logos and flag used underline and highlight the European dimension of the Days. A stand presenting the list of themes and the dates chosen in the member States will also be exibited in the places participating.