Areni

**Areni** (; umwhile **Arpa**) is a veelage in the Vayots Dzor Province o Armenie.  It is best kent for its wine production, awtho the majority o wine produced locally is frae the nearhaun veelage o Getap.  The kirk o S. Astvatsatsin is a single-nave twa-aisled domit Armenie kirk completit in the year 1321, an is locatit atop a plateau owerleukin the Arpa River an Areni.  It wis designed bi the airchitect an sculptor Momik Vardpet who is best kent for his heich-relief carvins at the monastery of Noravank (locatit approximately 6 kilometers southeast frae Areni).  Nearhaun thare the 13t century ruins o laird Tarsaitch Orbelian o Syunik's palace, muived frae Yeghegis tae Areni throu that time.  Ruins o a 13t century brig biggit bi Bishop Sarkis in 1265-1287 are ane kilometer northeast o the kirk.  At the same location are the remains o an aulder brig.

## Copper Age excavations
In 2007, an Armenie-Erse team decidit tae dae test excavations in the cave steid o Areni 1.  Twa test trenches in the front an rear galleries revealed Chalcolithic Age an Early Bronze Age layers datin back tae 5000-4000 BCE.  Excavations in 2007-2008 uncovered 3 pot burials in the rear chamber o the cave.  Ilka pot contained a Copper Age human skull wi nae associatit grave guids. Aw skulls belang sub-adults o 9–16 year auld.  Thae are currently bein analysit bi the team's biological anthropologist. Remarkably, ane skull conteened a piece o a weel-preservit harn tissue.  This is the auldest kent human harn frae the Auld Warld.

The cave haes affered surprisin new insichts intae the oreegins o modren ceevilizations an aw, lik evidence o a wine-makkin enterprise an an array o culturally diverse pottery.  Excavations yieldit an extensive array o Copper Age airtifacts datin tae atween 6,200 an 5,900 year syne an aw. The new discoveries athin the cave muive early bronze-age cultural activity in Armeni back bi aboot 800 year.  Additional discoveries at the site include metal knives, seeds frae mair nor 30 kins o fruit, remains o dozens o cereal species, rape, claith, strae, gress, reeds an dree'd grapes an prunes

In Januar 2011 airchaeologists annooncit the discovery o the earliest kent winery, the Areni-1 winery, seiven month efter the warld's auldest leather shae, the Areni-1 shae, wis discovered in the same cave. The winery, which is ower sax-thoosan year auld, conteens a wine press, fermentation vats, jaurs, an cups. Airchaeologists foond grape seeds an vines o the species *[[Vitis vinifera]]* an aw. Patrick McGovern, a biomolecular anthropologist at the University of Pennsylvania, commentin on the importance o the find, said, "The fact that winemakkin wis awready sae weel developit in 4000 BC suggests that the technology likely gaes back hintle earlier." 

## Gallery

Image:Map of Noravank.gif|Cairt o Areni an surroondin region
Image:Areni church.jpg|S. Astvatsatsin Kirk o 1321
Image:Areni-1_cave_entrance.jpg|Entrance o the Areni-1 cave complex
Image:Chalcolithic leather shoe from Areni-1 cave.jpg|The 5550 year auld Areni-1 shae


## See an aw
* Areni-1 shae
* Areni-1 winery
* Areni Kirk
* Noravank

## References

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* World Gazeteer: Armenia &ndash; Warld-Gazetteer.com
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