The site of Metsamor Castle, near the Armenian town of Metsamor

Metsamor

Metsamor is a city in the Armavir Province of Armenia. Armenia's Nuclear Power Plant called Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant is located in this city. Metsamor was built in 1979 to house workers from the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant. The power plant was closed in 1989 after an earthquake prompted...

 has been populated from the 5th millennium BC until the 18th century AD. The excavations of the
tombs of Metsamor castle began in 1965. Arkuni town is noted for its observatory and temple
complexes consisted of seven sanctuaries. Near the site is a neolithic stone circle

Stone circle

A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....

s dated to ca. 5000 BC, interpreted by enthusiasts of archaeoastronomy

Archaeoastronomy

Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky how they used phenomena in the sky and what role the sky played in their cultures." Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern...

as an astronomical "observatory".

Metsamor Museum

The Museum of History and Archeology at Metsamor was opened in 1968. It is the repository of more than 22,000 items, almost all uncovered at the site.