Joint discovery by Armenian-German team in ancient city of Artaxata

ArmInfo. Archaeologists from the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and the University of  Munster in Germany have discovered the remains of a previously unknown early Christian church  in the ancient city of Artaxata (modern Artashat). The find consists of an octagonal building with cruciform extensions. This is stated on the website of the University of Munster, Germany.

According to Professor Achim Lichtenberger of the University, the  church dates back to the 6th century. At the same time, he referred  to it as sensational evidence of early Christianity in Armenia.  In  turn, NAS RA doctor Mkrtich Zardaryan emphasized: <Octagonal churches  were unknown  here until now, but we are very familiar with them from  the Eastern Mediterranean region, where they first appeared in the  4th century AD>.

According to the source, the octagonal building, around 30 meters in  diameter, had a simple mortar floor and terracotta tiles. Finds of  marble indicate that it was lavishly decorated with this material  imported from the Mediterranean. The team studied the church using  geophysical methods.  An Armenian-German research team has been  exploring Artaxata in the Ararat Valley since 2018. The excavation  project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the  Armenian National Academy of Sciences.