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#1 Arpa

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Posted 03 November 2003 - 07:36 AM

Karahunj/Stonehenge.

I have no idea what "hunj" and "henge" mean.
Of course the Karahunj being discussed here is the one at Metsamor but one will also see that it is not unique, that rthere are other, if minor ones.

1. Karahunj, Mataghablur; A mountain in the Goris region, 1686 meters. A volcanic cone with smooth slopes and an almost spherical summit. Mostly used as pasture and grazing grounds.

2. Karahunj; Village in the Goris region at the convergence of Vararuk and Karahunj rivers.

3. Karahunj; A village of Artsakh in the Martuni region.

Is this an atttempt in Culture Murder?
Anchor stone? Anchor huh? This man is "at sea". He should be thrown to the sea with one of thhose stones around his neck.
How those qatsi lakotner can take an Arnenian story and end up ascribing it to some alien culture. It is sad but not nearly sad enough when we ourselves attempt to tie of our heritage to alien idiots the likes of Noah.

http://anchorstone.c...anchorstone.jpg

Rick Ney.
In five parts. Go to part 3 and see what those holes are.It seems some people are taking it more seriously than one would imagine. The place is turning to be a university of knowledge, if you will, on ancient science and more spcifically of ancient science and astronomy in Armenia.


http://www.astrology.../armstone1.html

It seems like excellence in astronomy did not beging with Victor Hambatsumian. BTW. Did you know that there is a galaxy named after the Armenian astronomer Markarian?

http://nedwww.ipac.c...CATION/tbs.html

#2 Arpa

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Posted 03 November 2003 - 10:09 PM

Karahunj/Stonehenge.

I have no idea what "hunj" and "henge" mean.
Of course the Karahunj being discussed here is the one at

In the above post I said I had no idea what hengeor hunj meant.
I should have read it furhter. Here it is, a segment of part 6 of the above site "astrology.com";
=========

What's in a Name?
And then there is the name. For as long as anyone could remember, the site was called "Ghoshun Dash", a Turkish name meaning "Army Stone", probably because the complex looks like an army of soldiers when seen from a distance. Parsamian translated the name into Armenian, "Zorats Kar", but she couldn't help but notice that a nearby village and locality was called "Karahundj".

Parsamian first noted the 'coincidence' of the Karahundj with its translation into English, an Indo-European language like Armenian.

"The word 'Karahundj' is a complex word, made up of 'Kara' (from stone) and 'hundj'. 'hundj' is very close to 'henge.' So Kara-hundj translates into Stone-henge."

The tricky part is 'henge' and 'hundj'. There are no modern equivalents for these sounds in English or Armenian, both are ancient roots that have evolved into other words over time.

Parsamian adds, "The philologist Babkin Chukasian told me that in old Armenian the word 'hundj' may have been 'pundj' which means bouquet. Over time, we think they changed it to 'hundj' which is very close to the English 'henge'. Gerald Hawkins supposed that 'hundj' might be an old version of the word 'hung' or 'hang', which would make Stonehenge 'hanging stones."

Herouni thinks that "hundj" is a variant of the Armenian word for voice ('hunchuin'), and the name Karahundj means "Voice Stones" or "singing stones". He notes that at the March equinox, hundreds of people visit Stonehenge in England to listen to the stones, as the winds whistle through them. "Most people know England's Stonehenge, but there are others in England, Scotland, Ireland, even in Iceland and Brittany. One in the Hebrides is called 'Kalinish'. The first part 'Kali' is close to the Armenian 'Kara'. And 'nish' is a precursor of the Armenian 'n'shen' which translates into 'sign'. A town near another henge in England is named "Karnak", but in old English it was "Karnish," which is close to the Armenian for Stone Sign."


#3 gamavor

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Posted 09 February 2004 - 01:00 PM

Related:
http://armenians.com...l=karahunj&st=0


I think Nvard was the one who first brought this very interesting topic. smile.gif

#4 MosJan

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Posted 09 February 2004 - 01:38 PM

Arpa I know this stones and - have seen them many times in 1980’s
One of my fathers students has been living in that part of Armenia for many years and for 3 summers we have spend some time vacationing in Sisyan / goris

The way Aramayis has told me
It takes 7 stones to make a complete complexes, only 2 have holes on them – on different time of year the light from the san will pass trough the hole and shine a light on one of the 7 stones, each stone has it’s mining - like ifteh light is on #1 stone – it’s time to Horovel – Arror if it’s on #2 it’s time to start planting trees – if the light is on #6 it’s time to harvest grapes
This is the way I was told. And don’t believe there is something extra ordinary, just Armenians doing there normal daily staff of inventing something


As for the starts or galaxies smile.gif I was told that by a good friend that their are more Armenian named Galaxies and stars then any other .
Next time I find a star I’m going to name it after you – but what good will it do for me – it will ignore me, will not even shine wan I look at it.
smoke.gif

btw - the qarahunje vodka is the best -

#5 bellthecat

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Posted 09 February 2004 - 03:52 PM

A henge is an earthwork ritual monument in the form of a circle. Such monuments are ONLY found in the British isles. They are not necessarily of stone, and many do not actually contain stone circles. Stone circles can be found in other parts of the world, but are most common in Britain. I don't know the origin of the word, neither does my dictionary. (At a guess, I'd say it might be a corruption/variation in pronounciation of hinge, perhaps? - i.e. something circular that turns or you walk around).

#6 bellthecat

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Posted 09 February 2004 - 03:56 PM

Of course, those stones in Armenia are in a row, not a circle.

#7 gamavor

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Posted 09 February 2004 - 06:52 PM

Well, if what MosJan says is true, how come the light from the sun pass by one stone and reflect on other if they are not in circle?
I have never been to Sisian, but I guess something is not right.

Steve, we all know that British Islands are(were) very special. smile.gif

#8 MosJan

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Posted 09 February 2004 - 07:37 PM

QUOTE (gamavor @ Feb 9 2004, 05:52 PM)
Well, if what MosJan says is true, how come the light from the sun pass by one stone and reflect on other if they are not in circle?
I have never been to Sisian, but I guess something is not right.

Steve, we all know that British Islands are(were) very special. smile.gif

most al of them i soo are in circle or circle config,
most of standing up and some are laying dawn.

i remember one clos to Portaqart (20minut walk ) most all teh stons war stending up. and some carving's on the stones

#9 Arpa

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Posted 11 February 2005 - 10:18 AM

Karahunj


The Lost World: New book places the birth of civilization in Carahunge
By Gayane Mkrtchyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter

A new book claims that Armenia’s Carahunge observatory is evidence of the world’s oldest civilization.
Scientist and radio physicist Paris Herouni argues in “Armenians and Old Armenia” that an advanced civilization existed in Armenia 7,500 years ago. Herouni, a graduate of Radiotechnical Department of Moscow Power Institute has 350 published scientic works, including monographs and 23 patents. Since 2000 he is a member of the group “People to People Ambassador” USA, which includes 30 top scientists of the world.

Herouni, 72, says that he was not attempting to gain fame or revolutionize history with his book, published in December 2004. Through scrupulous study, he says, he reached the conclusion that the stone circle at Carahunge is proof that Armenia’s civilization predates the Egyptians and Sumerians by 2,500 years.

“There are magnificent buildings in the world – the pyramids of Egypt, Stonehenge, wonderful temples in South American rainforests, which were created at least 6-15,000 years ago. Who are their authors? The world doesn’t know,” he says.

“Scientists find that all of those are the result of a developed culture, but they don’t know where that culture came from. This book gives an answer: Carahunge explains that 7,500 years ago Armenians possessed a stable and extensive knowledge. They knew that the Earth was round, knew its sizes. They knew that the Earth is rotating around its axis, as well as the laws of the movement of the cone-shaped axis, known as precession.”

Every year since 1994 Herouni has organized scientific expeditions at his own expense to study Carahunge, which is situated near the town of Sisian, 200 kilometers south-east of Yerevan.

It is made up of hundreds of vertically standing stones of which 223 were numerated by Herouni’s scientific expedition. Of these, 84 stones have holes measuring 4-5 centimeters in diameter and prepared with care, pointing in different directions.

Carahunge consists of 80 stone telescopic tools, which have preserved their precision. Herouni says that one can use them for work even today.

“By the precession laws of the Earth’s axis, using four telescopic methods, I calculated Carahunge’s age. It turned out to be 7,500 years old. This figure always terribly surprises everyone, because the most ancient civilization is believed by historians to have begun 5,000 years ago, and Carahunge had already a developed civilization some 2,500 years before that,” he says.

After making his research and calculations, in 1999 the scientist got in touch with Prof. G. S. Hawkins in Washington, who is regarded as the world’s foremost specialist on stone monuments. Hawkins has been involved in studies of Stonehenge for all his life.

Herouni says that he was particularly interested in Hawkins’ opinion and soon he got the professor’s conclusion: “I admire the precise calculations you have made.” Hawkins acknowledges that Carahunge is 7,500 years old.

“I am most impressed with the careful work you have done, and hope that the result will ultimately get recorded in literature,” Hawkins wrote in his letter.

Carahunge is 3,500 years older than England’s Stonehenge and 3,000 years older than the Egyptian pyramids. The total area of the observatory is 7 hectares. According to the scientist’s findings, a temple consisting of 40 stones built in honor of the Armenians’ main God, Ari, meaning the Sun, is situated in the central part of Carahunge. Besides the temple, it had a large and developed observatory, and also a university that makes up the temple’s wings.

Herouni shows photographs shot from a helicopter and says: “This is the central circle with 40 stones, which are without holes, these are the southern and northern wings. Soon this territory will be fenced and will be turned into a museum. Carahunge is situated at a height of nearly 1,750 meters, in a plane area.”

The stones of Carahunge are made of basalt. Each of them weighs up to 10 tons. Those stones without holes make up one tool together with those having holes in them.

Over millenniums the stones became worn and grown over with thick layers of moss. However, Herouni says that the holes have been rather well preserved since they were cleanly processed once. The holes are telescopic tools that look at different points on the horizon.

Showing the photographs, Herouni explains in detail: “Often you look through holes at some point of the zenith and see nothing, but in the past according to the law of precession, a star rose or passed through there. Knowing the laws of precession, I set forth formulas in my book and knowing today’s positions of the stars, their coordinates, I count back and see that once a star appeared or went down from that same place. It is those calculations that allow me to decide the age.”

He says that the brightest star of the constellation of the Swan, Alfa, whose name is Denema, passed through Carahunge’s zenith 7,630 years ago. Carahunge’s scientists had enough time both to build tools and work with them. And to achieve all that, they had already gone the way of sufficient development. According to Herouni, when Armenia embraced Christianity, Carahunge had already operated for 5,800 years.

“The observatory’s scientists knew the planets of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. They knew about the solar system 6,000 years before Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton. Carahunge proves that 7,500 years ago mathematics, technologies, a form of written language were developed in Armenia, as well as a state with a thousand-year-long history, with laws and order,” says Herouni.

Carahunge literally means sounding stones. The scientist is convinced that they had a lot to say to people and continue to say today. Herouni explains that the “ch” phoneme gradually changed into “j”. He also says that there is a similarity in the names of the observatories of Stonehenge in England and Calenish in Scotland.

Herouni himself named the observatory Carahunge in 1994. Carahunge village is situated 30 kilometers from the observatory near the town of Goris. There are two Carahunge villages also in Artsakh and Herouni has started to research the origin of the villages’ names.

“I understood that when Armenia embraced Christianity, when temples were being ruined, monuments were being destroyed and books were being burned, people barely had time to run away and so they founded villages with similar names in remote places,” he says.

“In Carahunge many stones are broken, uprooted. There are also many standing stones, some of the holes of which are broken, there are half-finished tools. It can be felt that they suddenly stopped the work.”

It is mentioned in the book that besides Carahunge Armenians also had standing stones near the large village of Kaghzvan situated in Turkey to the west of Mount Ararat, again with holes, which bore pre-Christian crosses on them. Herouni got the photographs of the stones from his Dutch friends, who had climbed Mount Ararat.

The book “Armenians and Old Armenia” consists of three parts. The first is Carahunge, the second is devoted to the analysis of the Armenian language, and the third part is the history of Armenia beginning from the 40,000th year up to the adoption of Christianity. The book is published in 2,000 copies, most of which are sent abroad. Herouni finds that restoring Armenian history means restoring the authenticity of the world’s history.

Paris Herouni has quite serious scientific achievements in the main scientific directions – in the spheres of radio-physics, radio-engineering, radio-astronomy. Herouni’s scientific trends are recognized and are being applied in developed countries.






http://www.armeniano...?go=pub&id=536#

#10 Armena

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Posted 20 May 2005 - 08:58 AM

QUOTE (Arpa @ Nov 3 2003, 02:36 PM)
I have no idea what "hunj" and "henge" mean.


Hunj comes from the Armenian word ''hnchel'' which means singing. Kara - hunj means singing stones.

#11 kakachik77

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Posted 20 May 2005 - 10:48 AM

QUOTE (Armena @ May 20 2005, 08:58 AM)
Hunj comes from the Armenian word ''hnchel'' which means singing. Kara - hunj means singing stones.


Armena,

"hnchel" in Armenian is written with letter "ch"

"hunj" is ritten with Armenian "j"

these words might sound similar but they don't have a commot root.

"hunj" is "henge"

#12 Zartonk

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Posted 20 May 2005 - 04:35 PM

Are there any other similiar stones in the Caucasus or anywhere sorounding The Republic?

Edited by Zartonk, 20 May 2005 - 07:11 PM.


#13 Armena

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Posted 21 May 2005 - 03:05 AM

This is also an interesting information:

''There are many Stonehenges, including others in England, Scotland, Ireland and Iceland. The one in Ireland is called "Kalinish", which is very close to the Armenian "Stone Sign". A town near another in England is named "Karnak", but in old English it was "Karnish," also meaning Stone Sign. The word Singing Stones makes sense, since at each site is in an open field, and the wind whistles through the stones. At England’s Stonehenge, groups gather at the March Solstice to listen.''

Source: http://www.tacentral...ry_ancient.html

#14 Arpa

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Posted 21 August 2005 - 06:44 PM

As long as we are talking about stone and stone age we might as well revisit theis thread, specially for the benefit of those who have jpined since then

#15 Arpa

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Posted 22 August 2005 - 07:05 AM

Here is another site of Hin Qari Dar in Armenia.

http://antiquity.ac....all/dolukhanov/

Please click the URL above the picture of Kurtan to see an expanded version..

No, no I don't have rocks in my head smile.gif

#16 hagopn

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Posted 17 June 2007 - 07:56 PM

QUOTE(kakachik77 @ May 20 2005, 04:48 PM) View Post
Armena,

"hnchel" in Armenian is written with letter "ch"

"hunj" is ritten with Armenian "j"

these words might sound similar but they don't have a commot root.

"hunj" is "henge"



That has already been answered by Mr. Heruni in his book as the article mentions. Corruptions of words happen over thousands of years. The entire problem with Eastern and Western Armenian is due to such phonetic corruptions.

#17 hagopn

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Posted 17 June 2007 - 07:59 PM

QUOTE(Arpa @ Feb 11 2005, 04:18 PM) View Post
Karahunj


The Lost World: New book places the birth of civilization in Carahunge
By Gayane Mkrtchyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter

://www.armenianow.com/eng/?go=pub&id=536#]http://www.armenianow.com/eng/?go=pub&id=536#[/url]


Zo, have you read this book? It's got some interesting stuff. It would have helped if he collaborated with Jahukian, Davtyan, and Gavoukjian (who was alive when this project began.)

Karen Tokhatyan is continuing the rock carving research with continuous enthusiasm. We should be hearing from him soon.


#18 Arpa

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Posted 21 June 2007 - 06:46 AM

Today June 21, 2007 is Summer solstice day, Արէւադարձ, Ամառնամուտ
Look what is happening at Karahunj...eerrr Stonehenge. tongue.gif
http://www.youtube.c...E...ted&search=

Edited by Arpa, 21 June 2007 - 06:48 AM.


#19 Arpa

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Posted 14 September 2007 - 11:59 AM

I will post this under the general topic of HISTORY hoping that our ads and mods would see it fit to create a whole new subtopic of "ARCHEOLOGY/ՀՆԱԳԻՏԱՆՔ" wher we can merge all posts dealing with the subject. We have written about Metsamor, Tigranakert (in Artsakh) ans other srcheological sites.
Don't get me wrong. I have utmost respect towards Ejmiatsin, Geghart, Tatev, Khor Virap et al. But all those take us back to only 1700 years, while Garni et al take us even further back, to corroborate those of us that our culture goes back 4-5 thousand years.
http://search.hp.net.....menianow.com/
Issue #37 (257), September 14, 2007
(September 14, 2007)
Digging History: Second pagan temple (slowly) unveiled in Artashat
By Arpi Harutyunyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Armenian archeologists have discovered the second pagan temple in Armenia after Garni.
The temple found 5.5 meters under ground not far from the modern town of Artashat about 30 kilometers to the south-east of Yerevan was devoted to Mihr – the God of the Sun in Armenian mythology. The temple – the symbol of sun-worship was built near Artashat which maintained its status the longest among the capitals of Armenia - from the 2nd century B.C. to the 5th century A.D.
“By discovering the remains of the temple we found out that the temple was even more gorgeous and beautiful than Garni. That means we have found a big historical wealth that needs being kept by all means,” says Zhores Khachatryan, 72 year old coordinator of the archeological expedition team.
The expedition comprised of 15 workers of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia had begun the excavations of the territory of capital Artashat in the 1970s. Before that large-scale excavations in the territories bordering Turkey were prohibited by Soviet authorities.
The findings reveal that Artshat occupied about 400 hectares of territory and had a population in 150,000 in its heyday. The fortification walls of the city stretched for more than 10,000 meters; 4,500 of them were unearthed by the scientists in 1970-80s.
The town founded on 12 hills in the neighborhood of Khor Virap built on the place of the temple devoted to the goddess of maternity and fertility Anahit used to be a big center of commerce, which is witnessed by more than 1,000 types of the found seals.
“All the studies show Artashat was built in accord with a regular and a planned design project. However, unfortunately, we cannot research all the hills: the heart of Artashat was built on the marble ore that has been blown up for many times and has equaled that part [of the city] to ground,” says archeologist Khachatryan with regret, who has been in the science for more than 60 years spending the greater part of the year on archeological sites. Khachatryan has also taken part in the excavations in Saint Petersburg (then, Leningrad), Crimea and Anapa. As he says he has passed the best Russian school.
The archeological team has also managed to find the public bath-house of Artshat with its 7 rooms 75 square meters each.
“There is a mosaic floor and a tiny brook, bases and pools with beautiful ornaments have been found. Also a toilet with sewage system with more than 2,000 years of history, something you can’t find even in modern-day villages, was found,” laughs the archeologist.
The archeological works and others like it, were interrupted by the Karabakh movement in 1988 and the crisis in the later years. The archeological life in the newly independent Armenia gained new momentum in the early 2000s.
An expedition team was formed again in 2003. However, it had only 5 members instead of the former 15 because of insufficient [financial] means to have a larger group.
“We knew from the very beginning there was a temple that was destroyed during the reign of King Tiridates in the 4th century, in times Christianity was spread. But we didn’t know where exactly it was and what was its size,” says Khachatryan.
It’s already five years the archeological team with small financial means excavates the old Artashat. The latest studies concluded: the temple devoted to god Mihr was built on a hill on the left bank of Arax River. The hill was surrounded by walls where the limestone holy place was erected. The excavations disclosed also the 23 staircases leading to the temple.
1,625,000 drams (about $4,800) were allotted by the state budget for this year studies. Khachatryan says the money will hardly suffice to excavate a mausoleum, when they must excavate a whole city.
The archeologist is proud of the work of his team, but picks on the work of community heads as a result of which lands of Artashat that bear one of the most important pages of Armenia’s history are sold today.
“They say exactly 6 hectares are sold, but what we see is a different size – about 60 hectares. Sooner or later they will build castles wrecking our past to the ground,” Khachatryan says with indignation hoping to save at least the remaining territories.
The archeologists think they may find at the end of the excavations that the temple may be reconstructed; however, they are unable to find whether it is possible to find financing for it.

Edited by Arpa, 16 September 2007 - 06:32 PM.


#20 gamavor

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Posted 06 October 2007 - 10:35 AM

The city was founded by Artaxias I in 190 BC. Strabo and Plutarch described it as a large and beautiful city, terming it the "Armenian Carthage". A focal point of Hellenistic culture, Armenia's first theater was built in the city. Artashat remained the principal political and cultural center of Armenia until the fall of the Armenian Kingdom in 428. Incorporated into the Sassanid Empire, Armenia's capital moved northward to the city of Dvin, just south of modern day Yerevan.

Artashat is said to have been chosen and developed on the advice of Hannibal:

"It is related that Hannibal, the Carthaginian, after the defeat of Antiochus III by the Romans, coming to Artaxias, king of Armenia, pointed out to him many other matters to his advantage, and observing the great natural capacities and the pleasantness of the site, then lying unoccupied and neglected, drew a model of a city for it, and bringing Artaxias thither, showed it to him and encouraged him to build. At which the king being pleased, and desiring him to oversee the work, erected a large and stately city, which was called after his own name, and made metropolis of Armenia." (Plutarch's Life of Lucullus)
Tigranes II was defeated by Lucius Lucullus in 68 BC at the Battle of Artashat, and the city remained a hotly contested military target for the next two centuries. Artashat was occupied by Syrian legions under the Roman general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo in AD 58 as part of the short-lived first conquest of Armenia, and destroyed in AD 163 when Statius Priscus reconquered Armenia.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artashat


I'm sure Arthashat is one of the spots on the map of current borders of Armenia with the richest archeological material.





This could be a nice project for diaspora volunteers that may help the excavation work under professional guidence.




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