World Bank Document

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

World Bank Document ReportNo. 13034-AM Armenia Agriculture and Food SectorReview (In Two Volumes) Volume II: SubsectoralAnalyses and StatisticalAnnex February6, 1995 Public Disclosure Authorized Natural ResourcesManagement Division Country Department IV Europeand Central Asia Region Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Documentof theWorld Bank Public Disclosure Authorized CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Currency unit - Ruble (R) US$ 1 = R 684 (March 1993) US$ 1 = R 2,600 (October 1993) Currency unit - Dram (D) - Introduced November 22, 1993 US$ 1 = D 14 (November 1993) US$ 1 = D 408 (January 1994) WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Metric System ABBREVIATIONS Al Artificial Insemination AU Animal Unit CFM Collective Farmer's Market CMEA Council of Mutual Economic Assistance CPF Collective Peasant Farms CSO Cooperative Support Organization CSQC State Commission for Seed Quality Control CST Commission for Seed Tests DBH Diameter at Breast Height DWSI Department of Water Supply and Irrigation EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EU European Union FSU Former Soviet Union FU Feed Unit GDP Gross Domestic Product GIS Geographic Information Systems GNP Gross National Product HICOOP Armenian Consumers Union MOA Ministry of Agriculture MOF Ministry of Food and Procurement NMP Net Material Product NPO Scientific Production Associations NTB Non Tariff Barrier O&M Operation & Maintenance OME Operation and Maintenance Enterprises RSC Rural Service Cooperative TA Technical Assistance TCFP Target-Oriented Comprehesive Food Production Program USDA United States Department of Agriculture VAT Value Added Tax WUA Water Users' Association CONTENTS - VOLUME II: SUBSECTORAL ANALYSES VIII. AGRICULTURAL RESOURCE BASE AND CROP PRODUCTION ...... - 1 A. LAND ....................................... 1 B. IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ..... 3 C. CROP PRODUCTION ............................ 10 D. CROP INPUTS ................................ 22 IX. LIVESTOCK SECTOR .35 A. LIVESTOCK POPULATION AND PRODUCTION .35 B. LIVESTOCK PERFORMANCE AND FEEDING EFFICIENCY ... 37 C. THE FEED BASE .38 D. MAJOR PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . 41 E. LIVESTOCK SUPPORT SERVICES .46 F. LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION CONSUMPTION AND DEMAND . 48 G. ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION .49 X. AGRO-PROCESSING ENTERPRISES . .53 A. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING SECTOR .54 B. DAIRY AND MILK INDUSTRIES .58 C. MEAT PROCESSING .60 D. THE MIXED FEED INDUSTRY .61 E. FLOUR MILLING INDUSTRY .62 F. WINERIES AND BRANDY PLANTS .63 G. RECOMMENDATIONS .64 XI. FORESTRY AND ENVIRONMENT .. 67 A. FORESTRY .67 B. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES .74 XI. STATISTICAL ANNEX .81 BOXES: 8.1 Soil Composition. 1 8.2 Main Vegetable Areas .14 11.1 Seabuckthorn. 69 FIGURES: 8.1 Land on Slopes. 1 8.2 Crop Areas .14 8.3 Tobacco Area and Production.15 8.4 Fruit Crop Areas and Production.16 8.5 Vineyard Areas and Grape Production.17 8.6 Seed Productionof Cereals .23 8.7 Mineral Fertilizer Supply .25 8.8 Crop Nutrient Ratios ............................ 25 8.9 Use of Pesticides ........... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 28 8.10 Agricultural Machine Delivery ....... 31 10.1 Raw Product Deliveries to MOF Canneries ...... 56 11.1 Budget Allocations to Forestry Operations ............... 68 11.2 Income from Forestry Sector Operations ................ 68 11.3 Agricultural Land Use ......... .. .. .. .. .. 74 TABLES: 8.1 Monthly and Annual Rainfall ........ .. 1 8.2 Irrigations Methods ........... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 8.3 Annual Volume of Runoff by Region ....... 4 8.4 Historical Regional Cropping Patterns ...... 10 8.5 Recommended Crop Rotations ....... 11 8.6 Outputs of Cereals in Armenia ....... 12 8.7 Food Production Program . 18 8.8 Average Seedv.a.e.Sed.Ra Rates . ......... ................. t es 23 8.9 CropCrop Response Response toto Fertilizer Fertilizer . ... 26 8.10 Optimal Pesticide Use .28 8.11 Machinery PrivatizedM.h.n.r.Pri . ........................vti z e d 32 9.1 Livestock PopulationL.e.t.c.Po . ........................p u ati o n 35 9.2 Livestock Numbersi.e.t.k.Nu . ............................ m b e r s 36 9.3 Output ofof Dairy Dairy andand Meat Meat Products Products .Output 36 9.4 SuppliesSupplies ofo Forage-Feed f Forage-Feed . ... 39 9.5 Per Capita Consumption of Major Livestock Products .48 9.6 Actual and Profitable Farmgate Prices . 50 10.1 Design Capacity and Utilization .53 10.2 Canning Industry Capacity and Utilization .55 10.3 Sausage Plant Capacity and Utilization .61 10.4 Semi-Finished Meat Product Plant Capacity and Utilization .61 10.5 Production of Wine . 63 10.6 Wine and Spirit Production .64 11.1 Land Erodability in Several Regions of Armenia .71 11.2 Physical Characteristics of Lake Sevan .76 11.3 Reservoirs Designed to Contribute to Lake Sevan Solution .77 11.4 Annual Pesticide Use by Region .78 CHAPTER 8 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES BASE AND CROP PRODUCTION A. LAND 8.1 Armenia covers a total area of about 29,740 kin2, an area approximatelyequal to the size of Maryland. It is landlocked,lies between 390 and 410 north and 440 and 460, and occupies some of the most rugged and earthquake-proneterritory of the Caucasusregion. It borders Azerbaijanto the east and south, Georgia to the north, and Turkey and Iran to the west and south across the Araks River. Elevation and Climate 8.2 Agriculturein Armenia, as in any country, is greatly influencedby its ARMEN1A climate, elevation, and slope of its cultivatedland, and condition of its soils. Its cultivated land lies between 6000 to 2,500 elevation. Only about 28% of the / land is located below 1,500 m elevation 7 and only 10% below 1,000 m (Figure 8.1). Much of the cultivated land is in narrow, fertile valleys arnong the mountains. The / > 30 broad flat and fertile Ararat valley along the left bank of the Araks river includes 0-30 important cultivatedland . 12-20 TopographicalZones and Agro-ecological Regions Source: Agricultural Atls. J964 8.3 The country is divided into Figure8.1 two major watersheds, the river basin of Kuri river in the north-east, and the basin of the Araks river in the south-west. The Araks river basin comprisesabout four fifth of the country, while the Kuri basin occupiesabout one fifth. Agroclimatically Armenia is divided into six regions, some of which are further split into subregions (see Map at end of report). Only two of the subregionsbelong to the Kuri River watershed; the other subregionsdrain into the Araks River watershed. 8.4 Crop growing periods range from 100 to 220 days and rainfall varies between 200 mm in the plains to over 1,000 mm in the mountains. A harsh continentalclimate (annual temperatures average 10°C in Yerevan at 1,000 m asl, and 4°C in Sevan at 1,925 m asl) limits grape and fruit productionto lower lying areas, while upland regionsare planted mainly in winter and spring cereals and fodders. Some 80% of all agriculturalproduction comes from the lower lying areas, particularlyfrom the Ararat Plain. Low relative humiditiesand high sunshine hours during the growing season create a favorableenvironment for crop growth, with relatively low incidenceof diseases and pests. 2 Chapter 8 8.5 Unless irrigated, agriculturalproduction is generally considered untenable for all areas receiving less than 300 mm during the growing season. The total annual precipitationand its seasonal distributionvaries widely among regions (Table 8.1). All grape and fruit production,70% of vegetable growing, and 44% of fodder lands are irrigated, while only 26% of the cereal area is irrigated. Marked variation in year-to-yearannual precipitationcan occur, giving rise to considerablevariation in rainfed crop production. Hail and dry winds are frequent during the crop growing season. Only about 29% of Armenia's territory has slopes less than 30, another 27% has slopes of up to 70, and the rest of the land is steeper (Figure 8.1). Table 8.1: Monthly and Annual Rainfall (mm) Stations Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Yerevan 23 25 30 41 50 25 14 11 14 26 27 25 312 (Ararat Valley, 900 m) Leninakan 22 25 30 62 87 70 47 32 30 32 32 21 490 (NW area, 1,600m) Sevan 23 30 40 68 95 73 48 40 36 56 49 40 598 (Sevan Lake Area, 1,900 m) Source: FAD 8.6 Althoughagricultural land totals 1.4 million ha, only about 534,000 ha are A CoUproS considered arable (1991). Armenia has a great varietyof soils, including14 genetic soil groups, SoilTypes Area Area 42 soil types and some 140 sub-types. About 000h half of the arable land is fertile chemozemsand Cimamnonicforest 79.0 13.9 another 14% is reasonablyfertile chestnutsoils; however, only about one third of the chernozems Chernozems 270.3 47.5 and one fifth of the chestnut soil have a deep Meadow-chernozem 8.0 1.4 humic horizon, while the rest are medium deep Chsnt 82.0 14.4 or shallow. Deeper agriculturalsoils are found generally in the plains areas of the Ararat valley Brownsemidesert 42.0 7.4 and in smaller valleys of the northeast and irriga meadow-brown 53.0 9.3 southeast (Box 8.1). Alluvial-terre 27.0 4.7 Other 7.7 2.4 Total 569.0 100.0 Box 8.1 Agricultural Resources Base and Crop Production 3 B. IRRIGATIONAND WATER RESOURCEDEVELOPMENT 8.7 Armenia has a long history of irrigation. Although about 100,000 ha were irrigated fifteencenturies ago, only about half of that area was still irrigated at the beginningof the century. Until recentlypractically all of the area equippedfor irrigation(the commandarea) has been irrigated. Because of the lack of energy, spare parts, pump replacements, and the war effects (when 18,400 ha were abandoned)the intensityof irrigation has declined by about 8%, compared with that of 1990. 8.8 Irrigation supplementsrainfall and varies between 2,000 to 10,000 m3/ha/year. Design delivery capacities(measured at the outlets) are generally about 0.85 I/s. Overall water use efficiency, from water source to crop, for gravity systems is not more than 30 to 35 % of use.
Recommended publications
  • 23 History of Sesame Cultivation and Irrigation in the Armenian
    History of Sesame Cultivation 23 and Irrigation in the Armenian Highlands from the Kingdom of Urartu (Ararat) through Subsequent Periods Major Agricultural Innovation Dorothea Bedigian CONTENTS Agricultural Background, Environment, and Geography of Iron Age Urartu (Ararat) .................368 Urartian Innovation I: Irrigation Technology ................................................................................. 370 Urartian Innovation II: Introduced Summer Crops Sesame and Millet Expanded Growing Season ............................................................................................................................................ 373 Impact of Sesame: Urartian Sesame Milling Workshop at Fortress Teishebaini (Karmir Blur) ................................................................................................................................. 374 Sesame’s Economic Boon .............................................................................................................. 377 Knowledge of Harvest Methods Aided Identification of Assyrian Šamaššammū ......................... 378 Hints from Language: Sesame Names Reveal Distinct Sources .................................................... 378 Legacy: Ensuing Armenian Tradition ............................................................................................ 379 Impetus for Armenian Sesame Cultivation: Religious Fasts Require Abstinence from Animal Products .........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Armenian Culture from the Semiotic Perspective
    Culture Studies Armenian Folia Anglistika Armenian Culture from the Semiotic Perspective Armine Matevosyan, Manana Dalalyan Yerevan State University Abstract The present paper goes along the lines of Semiotics, a branch of linguistics. It studies the system of signs which takes the form of words, images, sounds, gestures and objects. Through the usage of signs we represent the linguocultural aspect of our knowledge, ethnic traditions and folklore. The interest we take in the paper is the study of signs and symbols in Armenian culture. Culture, including miniature paining, singing, dancing, architecture and cuisine, may involve any sphere of Armenian identity. Signs and symbols that constitute language and culture are constructed through verbal and non-verbal interactions and are arbitrary. The purpose of our analysis is to specify what why, whom questions in a specific context of situation, as well as in a large context of culture, such as social community, media and communication. Key words: semiotics, culture, communication through signs, cultural identity, science of signs, cuisine, visual signs. Introduction Semiotics is the study of signs and sign using behavior. It was defined by Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure as the study of “the life of signs within society”. It is an academic field dedicated to the study of signs. A sign (for example, the word ship) may be recognized by the presence of its constituent parts, which in semiotic theories is based on the signifier (the container, or the sign's perceptible form: the letters s-h-i-p) and the signified (the meaning or content; the notion conveyed by the signifier: a vessel of considerable size for deepwater navigation).
    [Show full text]
  • Armenia Seeking & Travelling Deeper
    ARMENIA SEEKING & TRAVELLING DEEPER UNDISCOVERED ARMENIA Exclusive small group cultural and historical trekking expedition led by international and local guides. Discover Unknown Armenia: A journey from the capital city of Yerevan, towered over by the snow-capped peaks of Mount Ararat, through the ancient prehistoric and Christian history of this ancient land and trek into the mountains and along ancient pilgrim and silk trading routes through landscapes, historic sites and rural communities seldom visited by tourism. Interact with local communities, culture and history in a way that few visitors to Armenia do. An extraordinary 12 night / 11 day exploration, into the ancient and modern culture and remote landscapes of rural Southern Armenia. The journey involves 6 days of pioneering trekking routes between Vaghatin/Vorotnavank ancient and modern villages far off the tourism beaten track. itzen Old Khot Old Harzis Bardzravan Tatev Taandzatap An ancient land of tradition, culture and history within stunning mountain landscapes. Armenia is an ancient land with a rich culture and identity. A cradle of civilisation which flourished on its fertile high plateaus and gained protection and sanctuary in its mountainous landscape. It is a land fought over by Byzantine, Persian, Roman and Islamic empires as an important centre and a major component of the ancient Silk Trading Routes. Armenia was also the seat of ancient kings who embraced early Christianity in the 3rd century making Armenia the first sovereign nation in the world to adopt Christianity and a centre for pilgrimage and ecclesiastical architecture, culture and learning. In modern times, Armenia was part of the Soviet Union and became independent in 1991.
    [Show full text]
  • Preliminary Excavations at Ambroyi Village, Armenia: a House on the Silk Road Frina Babayan, Kathryn Franklin, and Tasha Vorderstrasse
    oi.uchicago.edu Ambroyi VillAge Preliminary excavations at ambroyi village, armenia: a house on the silk road Frina babayan, kathryn Franklin, and tasha vorderstrasse introduction The summer of 2013 marked the foundational season of the Project for Medieval Archaeology of the South Caucasus (MASC) (see Franklin and Vorderstrasse 2014). Dedicated to archaeo- logical explorations of social life in Armenia and neighboring regions during the medieval period (ad 301–1600), the MASC Project is a fundamentally collaborative undertaking enabled by cooperation between American researchers and archaeologists from the Armenian Na- tional Academy of Sciences Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography. Our long-term aim is to research the social forms and dynamic interactions of medieval life in the south Caucasus through cross-disciplinary methods and to build a community for such research throughout the region. The first year of the project worked toward this aim by strengthening research relationships and opening new directions of inquiry in the medieval past of Armenia. Open- ing new excavations at a previously unstudied medieval village site, we initiated a research program which should continue to produce challenging and interesting information about life in the medieval Caucasus. Our research in the summer of 2013 was centered in the Kasakh River Valley of central Armenia, in the uplands north of the capital city of Yerevan. The Kasakh Valley is part of the contemporary Aragatsotn Province: this territory is dominated by the broad volcanic peak of Mt. Aragats, the highest mountain within the modern Republic of Armenia. The Kasakh River collects from tributaries on Aragats and in the Pambak and Tsaghkunyats ranges, and runs past the city of Aparan down the valley to Ashtarak, the capital of Aragatsotn.
    [Show full text]
  • Suitability Assessment of Groundwater for Irrigation Purpose at High-Risk Sites of the Ararat Plain
    PROCEEDINGS OF THE YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY C h emi stry and Biology 2020, 54(1), p. 75–82 Biology SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER FOR IRRIGATION PURPOSE AT HIGH-RISK SITES OF THE ARARAT PLAIN K. A. GHAZARYAN ∗ Chair of Ecology and Nature Protection, YSU, Armenia Soil salinization, caused by natural and anthropogenic factors, is a pressing environmental issue in Masis Region, which is one of the important regions of irrigated agriculture in Armenia. To prevent this adverse process the groundwater quality in the region has been evaluated for agricultural uses. For this purpose, the water samples were collected from 27 extraction wells and analyzed for major quality parameters following standard test procedures. Other chemical indices, notably sodium adsorption ratio, permeability index and magnesium hazard, were derived from the measured quality parameters. During the studies the areas with good, permissible and unsuitable groundwater quality for irrigation were determined. According to results obtained for irrigation of agricultural lands in Masis Region (especially in its eastern and southern parts), the usage of highly saline groundwater from shallow horizons should be restricted as much as possible, and in Ranchpar Village, where the groundwater even from the high depths has а high salinity, it is required to use an alternative source of irrigation water. Keywords: irrigation, groundwater quality, hydrochemical indices, soil salinization, Masis Region. Introduction. Land is an important and indispensable resource for society development. With rapid human population increase, the need for agricultural lands is continually growing, which causes various ecological problems, such as soil salinization, soil erosion, soil exhaustion etc., which ultimately leads to agricultural land degradation [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Eriqua and Minuahinili: an Early Iron Age-Nairi Kingdom and Urartian Province on the Northern Slope of Mt Ağri (Settlement Complexes at Melekli and Karakoyunlu)
    TÜBA-AR 21/2017 ERIQUA AND MINUAHINILI: AN EARLY IRON AGE-NAIRI KINGDOM AND URARTIAN PROVINCE ON THE NORTHERN SLOPE OF MT AĞRI (SETTLEMENT COMPLEXES AT MELEKLI AND KARAKOYUNLU) ERİQUA VE MİNUAHİNİLİ: AĞRI DAĞI’NIN KUZEY ETEĞİNDE BİR ERKEN DEMİR ÇAĞ-NAİRİ KRALLIĞI VE URARTU EYALETİ (MELEKLİ VE KARAKOYUNLU YERLEŞİM KOMPLEKSLERİ) Makale Bilgisi Article Info Başvuru: 11 Ekim 2017 Received: October 11, 2017 Hakem Değerlendirmesi: 23 Ekim 2017 Peer Review: October 23, 2017 Kabul: 4 Aralık 2017 Accepted: December 4, 2017 DOI Numarası: 10.22520/tubaar.2017.21.004 DOI Number: 10.22520/tubaar.2017.21.004 Aynur ÖZFIRAT *1 Keywords: Mt Ağrı, Minuahinili, Eriqua, Nairi, Late Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, Urartu, Eastern Anatolia, Southern Transcaucasia, Northwestern Iran Anahtar Kelimeler: Ağrı Dağı, Minuahinili, Eriqua, Nairi, Son Tunç Çağ, Erken Demir Çağ, Urartu, Doğu Anadolu, Güney Kafkasya, Kuzeybatı İran ABSTRACT Highland of eastern Anatolia, southern Transcaucasia and northwestern Iran were divided among a great number of local polities in the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age (c. 1600-900 BC). By the change of political power, regional landscape previously consisted of small local polities largely transformed into a province of the kingdom of Urartu (Middle Iron Age, c. 900-600 BC). The Urartian conquest of the Araxes valley-Mt Ağrı region began the earlier stage of the kingdom. Some of the sites that we investigated in the region show a developed and complex system. These settlement complexes were located in central area of geographical units. Each of the them covers interrelated units in a vast * Prof. Dr., Mardin Artuklu Üniversitesi, Edebiyat Fakültesi, Arkeoloji Bölümü, Kampüs Yerleşkesi, Diyarbakır Yolu 5.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Mount Ararat on Formation of Armenian Cultural Landscape
    jacO quarterly, Vol.2, No.4. Summer 2014 The Impact of Mount Ararat on Formation of Armenian Cultural Landscape Samaneh Rahmdel This article retrieved from the research project of "Art and Civi- M.A. in Landscape Architecture lization of Caucasus" and a field research trip, which was organ- ized in 2013 by NAZAR research center. [email protected] Abstract Armenian consider Mount Ararat mother of Armenia. The Armenian history has had deep links with this mountain from the beginning. All of Armenian myths somehow link to the mountain, and Armenian ethnic identity is defined by Ararat. Ararat is considered as symbol of two foldness of Great Armenia and pattern of reattachment of the nation's pieces. In Armenians opinion, Ararat has passed a trade from nature to t myth, from myth to culture, and from cul- ture to landscape. Its status as Armenian's most distinctive element of the natural landscape is the result of Armenians subjective selection of nature, which has been promoted to a cultural element by the association with Armenian culture and mythology. Plus Ararat has had a unique role in formation of Armenian land- scape fabric, as the most important ritual (churches in slopes of Ararat) and residential landscapes (Yerevan city) were established directly by the identified impact of Mount Ararat. In the urban landscape, Mount Ararat appears frequently in the viewpoint, urban graphic and street art; this repeated apparent which is more obvious about Ararat than any other element in the environment, suggests that the mountain has still a centralized role in cultural landscape, as it has retained its unifying role in natural landscape as well.
    [Show full text]
  • NOTA BENE Vol
    NOTA BENE Vol. 23 No. 1 Academic Year 2017–18 NEWS FROM THE HARVARD DEPARTMENT OF THE CLASSICS Notes from the Chair by Mark Schiefsky As the 2017–18 academic year draws to a close, I am delighted to report that the study of Classics continues to thrive at Harvard. Our concentrator numbers remain strong (thanks in no small measure to the efforts of our Director of Under- graduate Studies, Naomi Weiss), and last fall we welcomed a sizable new cohort of graduate students into our various PhD programs. As always, the calendar was packed with invited lectures, workshops, and conferences on all manner of topics connected with the ancient Greco-Roman world. The last academic event of the year, a discussion of democracies ancient and modern with Paul Cartledge of the University of Cambridge, took place just two days ago. It was a highlight of the year and a demonstration of the continuing relevance of Classics to the modern world. I invite you to read much more about all the department’s activities in the pages that follow. Let me first acknowledge the contributions of several colleagues who will soon be moving on to new opportunities. This year the department was fortunate to have the services of two outstanding Lecturers, Nathan Pilkington and Julia Scarbor- ough, in the fields of ancient history and Latin literature, respectively. They made crucial contributions to our curriculum in a year in which a large number of faculty were away on sabbatical leave, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded from Brill.Com09/27/2021 01:24:51PM Via Free Access 32 Chapter One
    a background of the armenians and mongols 31 CHAPTER ONE A BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE ARMENIANS AND MONGOLS Before moving on to the relationship set up between the Mongols and the Armenians , it is necessary to give a short historical back- ground about the origin, location and history of them. It is especially important to mention the historical conditions of the Armenians on the eve of the Mongol conquest , when Greater Armenia and Cilician Armenia existed separately from each other with no major political contacts, although with constant cultural, religious and trading links. The Mongols were dealing with two different vassal states, of which the Greater Armenians were their subjects, while the Cilician Armenians were their allies. The Armenians in Greater Armenia The history of the Armenian people goes back to Hittite and Assyrian times and it has formed a part of the history of the north-eastern region of the Mediterranean world, existing and being influenced by Aegean-Anatolian, Mesopotamian, Iranian, Hellenistic and Romano- Byzantine civilisations.1 A description of earlier Armenian geogra- phy is given by Strabo (63/64 BC–24 AD), the Greek geographer and historian.2 The historical Armenian plateau is the highest among the three land-locked plateaus that form the northern part of the Middle East . In the west, it borders with the Anatolian plateau, and in the south-east with the Iranian plateau.3 Mount Ararat (Masis) is about 17,000 feet (about 5,200m) above sea level and represents the highest point not only in Armenia, but also in West Asia.
    [Show full text]
  • Water Management and Technologies in Ancient Armenia
    WATER MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGIES IN ANCIENT ARMENIA Author: Naira Harutyunyan PhD Candidate Central European University Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy Nador u. 9, H-1051 Budapest, Hungary E-mail: [email protected] Date: August 15, 2012 Abstract Every civilization, be it modern or ancient, has exploited water resources by constructing hydraulic structures with the main purpose of satisfying the everyday water needs. Armenia, with its several-thousand-year-old history, has a special position in creating and exploiting numerous irrigation works and water supply systems for controlling the use of its water reserves. Clearly, the whole range of ancient technologies cannot be covered in one article. This article presents an overview of irrigation and water supply structures in Ancient Armenia during the pre-Urartian and the Urartian period, first named in Assyrian inscriptions around 1250 B.C. It presents hydraulic technology in Urartian urban centers and ancient irrigation systems around Van Lake. The complex hydraulic system on Mount Aragats, dated to pre-Urartian period, is covered with indication of the “cult of water” represented by the vishaps, the fish-like monuments of the god of water, which are closely related with irrigation activities. Ultimately, the water works that were constructed in Ancient Armenia demonstrate the elaborated planning and outstanding ingenuity proved by more than two millennia operation, still serving part of its initial aim. The article draws on a review of published literature, materials of museum collections, specialized encyclopedias, atlases, and other useful reference items. Key words: water, ancient Armenia, Menua irrigation canal, Rusa dam, Erebuni, hydraulic system in Mount Aragats 1 1.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Source of the Tigris'
    note Archaeological Dialogues 14 (2) 179–204 C 2007 Cambridge University Press doi:10.1017/S1380203807002334 Printed in the United Kingdom ‘Source of the Tigris’. Event, place and performance in the Assyrian landscapes of the Early Iron Age Om¨ ur¨ Harmans¸ah Abstract Performative engagements with specific, culturally significant places were among the primary means of configuring landscapes in the ancient world. Ancient states often appropriated symbolic or ritual landscapes through commemorative ceremonies and building operations. These commemorative sites became event-places where state spectacles encountered and merged with local cult practices. The Early Iron Age inscriptions and reliefs carved on the cave walls of the Dibni Su sources at the site of Birkleyn in Eastern Turkey, known as the ‘Source of the Tigris’ monuments, present a compelling paradigm for such spatial practices. Assyrian kings Tiglath- pileser I (1114–1076 B.C.) and Shalmaneser III (858–824 B.C.) carved ‘images of kingship’ and accompanying royal inscriptions at this impressive site in a remote but politically contested region. This important commemorative event was represented in detail on Shalmaneser III’s bronze repousse´ bands from Imgul-Enlil (Tell Balawat) as well as in his annalistic texts, rearticulating the performance of the place on public monuments in Assyrian urban contexts. This paper approaches the making of the Source of the Tigris monuments as a complex performative place-event. The effect was to reconfigure a socially significant, mytho-poetic landscape into a landscape of commemoration and cult practice, illustrating Assyrian rhetorics of kingship. These rhetorics were maintained by articulate gestures of inscription that appropriated an already symbolically charged landscape in a liminal territory and made it durable through site-specific spatial practices and narrative representations.
    [Show full text]
  • Aramazd Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies
    ARAMAZD ARMENIAN JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES VOLUME XII ISSUE 1 2018 ASSOCIATION FOR NEAR EASTERN AND CAUCASIAN STUDIES, YEREVAN OXFORD 2018 ²ð²Ø²¼¸ غðÒ²ìàð²ðºìºÈÚ²Ü àôêàôØܲêÆðàôÂÚàôÜܺðÆ Ð²ÚÎ²Î²Ü Ð²Ü¸ºê вîàð XII, вزð 1 2018 ²è²æ²ìàð²êÆ²Î²Ü ºì ÎàìβêÚ²Ü Ðºî²¼àîàôÂÚàôÜܺðÆ ²êàòƲòƲ, ºðºì²Ü ՕՔՍՖՈՐԴ 2018 Association for Near Eastern and Caucasian Studies in collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography (National Academy of Sciences of Armenia) ARAMAZD ARMENIAN JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES (AJNES) Editor–in–Chief: Aram Kosyan Vice–Editors: Arsen Bobokhyan, Yervand Grekyan and Armen Petrosyan Associate Editors: Kristine Martirosyan-Olshansky and Nshan Thomas Kesecker Editorial Board: Levon Abrahamian, Gregory Areshian, Pavel Avetisyan, Raffaele Biscione, Elizabeth Fagan, Andrew George, Hrach Martirosyan, Mirjo Salvini, Ursula Seidl, Adam Smith, Aram Topchyan, Vardan Voskanyan, Ilya Yakubovich Communications for the editors, manuscripts, and books for review should be addressed to the Editor–in–Chief or Vice-Editors. Editorial Office: Marshal Baghramyan Ave. 24/4, 375019, Yerevan, Armenia Tel. (374 10) 58 33 82 Fax: (374 10) 52 50 91 E–mail: [email protected], [email protected] http://www.ancs.am ISSN 1829–1376 © Association for Near Eastern and Caucasian Studies, Yerevan 2018. All rights reserved. Typeset and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK Subscriptions to Aramazd should be sent to Archaeopress Publishing Ltd, Summertown Pavilion, 18-24 Middle Way, Oxford OX2 7LG, UK Tel +44-(0)1865-311914
    [Show full text]