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Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association (CYSCA)
January 25, 2012
Contacts:
Cheryl Shushan, President, [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
Jack Medzorian at 781 729-6457, [email protected]
[email protected], or
Joseph Dagdigian at 978 772-9417 @ [email protected]
CYSCA Adopts Shengavit Preserve Project
The Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association (CYSCA) at a recent
meeting of its Board of Directors voted unanimously to adopt a program
to help preserve and renovate the Shengavit Historical and
Archaeological Culture Preserve in Yerevan.
The Shengavit Preserve includes an archaeological site dating to the
4^th millennium BC which was continually occupied from between 1,000 to
2,000 years. Archaeologists differ on the duration of occupancy. There
is a small museum next to the archaeological excavation containing some
of the artifacts recovered from the site. Other Shengavit artifacts are
on display at other museums within Armenia. The Shengavit settlement was
part of the so called Kura-Arax culture which had trade relations with
cultures far beyond Armenia's borders. This culture is believed to have
played an important role in the formation of the Armenian people.
The director of the Shengavit Preserve is Vladimir Tshagharyan, an
architect and archaeologist with extensive experience managing
archaeological sites in Armenia. He was also a participant in a U. S.
State Department funded"Community Connections"training project sponsored
by CYSCA for /Cultural and Historical/ /Preservation/ specialists from
Armenia in the greater Boston area in May/June 2003.
Shengavit was initially excavated in 1936 by Joseph Orbeli (1887-1961)
and Eugeni Bayburtyan (1898-1938). Orbeli was the director of the
Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Bayburtyan, an Armenian
archaeologist, was arrested by the Soviet secret police in 1938 for
being too nationalistic. Most recently, in 2011, a team of Armenians and
archaeologists from the U.S. led by Dr. Mitchell Rothman, Professor of
Anthropology and Archaeology at Widener University in Pennsylvania,
examined the site. Following is a portion of a recent comment by Dr.
Rothman:
/"The site of Shengavit in the hills above the Ararat Plain is one set
of remains of an ancient culture called variously Kura Araxes, Early
Transcaucasian, Karaz, Pulur, Shengavitian, etc. Its full time period
is still much under debate, but probably it starts somewhere around 3500
BC and ends 2500-2200 BC. The homeland of this culture is in the
Southern Caucasus, the current countries of Georgia, Armenia, and
Azerbaijan, along with a section of current northeastern Turkey from
Erzurum through Kars provinces. To fully understand the importance of
this culture, its place in its contemporary world is essential to
comprehend. Its beginning is co-terminus with the establishment of the
first states in southern Mesopotamia and the founding of the first
international trading system, which covered an area from the Persian
Gulf to the North Caucasus from modern western Iran to the Mediterranean
Sea..."/
The Shengavit site has three employees, including its director, all of
whom receive token salaries. There is, however, no budget for the
preservation, maintenance and enhancement of the site. Immediate needs
include visitor amenities such as bathrooms, running water, and a
pavilion to provide shade from the glare of the hot summer sun. Next are
required fencing and security for the site and repair, and ultimately
replacement, of the museum building which dates to 1920. The site also
needs landscaping appropriate for an archaeological site and most
importantly preservation of the site's archaeological structures and
artifacts.
The Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association was formed in 1986 and is
a member ofSister CitiesInternational. Since its inception CYSCA has
participated in numerous exchanges and training programs with Armenia
inmany diverse fields, such asenvironment, business, medicine,
education, tourism, public health, social work, aviation,culture, etc.In
1994 CYSCA was awarded a certificate forthe most outstanding youth
exchange nationally by the Sister Cities International.Over the past two
decades, CYSCA has sponsored 10 youth exchanges and conducted 19
professional development training programs for specialists from Armenia.
CYSCA was incorporated in 1987 as a non-profit organization and given
501(c)(3) status by the IRS. Donations to this organization are
deductible for Federal Income Tax Purposes. Donations for CYSCA's
Shengavit project can be sent to: CYSCA, PO Box 382591, Cambridge, MA,
02238-2591. Please include a note indicating that the donation is for
the "Shengavit" project.
For more information about CYSCA please visit www.cysca.org
or contact: Cheryl Shushan, President,
[email protected] ; or Jack
Medzorian at 781-729-6457, [email protected]
. For more information about Shengavit please
contact Joseph Dagdigian at 978-772-9417.
January 25, 2012
Contacts:
Cheryl Shushan, President, [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
Jack Medzorian at 781 729-6457, [email protected]
[email protected], or
Joseph Dagdigian at 978 772-9417 @ [email protected]
CYSCA Adopts Shengavit Preserve Project
The Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association (CYSCA) at a recent
meeting of its Board of Directors voted unanimously to adopt a program
to help preserve and renovate the Shengavit Historical and
Archaeological Culture Preserve in Yerevan.
The Shengavit Preserve includes an archaeological site dating to the
4^th millennium BC which was continually occupied from between 1,000 to
2,000 years. Archaeologists differ on the duration of occupancy. There
is a small museum next to the archaeological excavation containing some
of the artifacts recovered from the site. Other Shengavit artifacts are
on display at other museums within Armenia. The Shengavit settlement was
part of the so called Kura-Arax culture which had trade relations with
cultures far beyond Armenia's borders. This culture is believed to have
played an important role in the formation of the Armenian people.
The director of the Shengavit Preserve is Vladimir Tshagharyan, an
architect and archaeologist with extensive experience managing
archaeological sites in Armenia. He was also a participant in a U. S.
State Department funded"Community Connections"training project sponsored
by CYSCA for /Cultural and Historical/ /Preservation/ specialists from
Armenia in the greater Boston area in May/June 2003.
Shengavit was initially excavated in 1936 by Joseph Orbeli (1887-1961)
and Eugeni Bayburtyan (1898-1938). Orbeli was the director of the
Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Bayburtyan, an Armenian
archaeologist, was arrested by the Soviet secret police in 1938 for
being too nationalistic. Most recently, in 2011, a team of Armenians and
archaeologists from the U.S. led by Dr. Mitchell Rothman, Professor of
Anthropology and Archaeology at Widener University in Pennsylvania,
examined the site. Following is a portion of a recent comment by Dr.
Rothman:
/"The site of Shengavit in the hills above the Ararat Plain is one set
of remains of an ancient culture called variously Kura Araxes, Early
Transcaucasian, Karaz, Pulur, Shengavitian, etc. Its full time period
is still much under debate, but probably it starts somewhere around 3500
BC and ends 2500-2200 BC. The homeland of this culture is in the
Southern Caucasus, the current countries of Georgia, Armenia, and
Azerbaijan, along with a section of current northeastern Turkey from
Erzurum through Kars provinces. To fully understand the importance of
this culture, its place in its contemporary world is essential to
comprehend. Its beginning is co-terminus with the establishment of the
first states in southern Mesopotamia and the founding of the first
international trading system, which covered an area from the Persian
Gulf to the North Caucasus from modern western Iran to the Mediterranean
Sea..."/
The Shengavit site has three employees, including its director, all of
whom receive token salaries. There is, however, no budget for the
preservation, maintenance and enhancement of the site. Immediate needs
include visitor amenities such as bathrooms, running water, and a
pavilion to provide shade from the glare of the hot summer sun. Next are
required fencing and security for the site and repair, and ultimately
replacement, of the museum building which dates to 1920. The site also
needs landscaping appropriate for an archaeological site and most
importantly preservation of the site's archaeological structures and
artifacts.
The Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association was formed in 1986 and is
a member ofSister CitiesInternational. Since its inception CYSCA has
participated in numerous exchanges and training programs with Armenia
inmany diverse fields, such asenvironment, business, medicine,
education, tourism, public health, social work, aviation,culture, etc.In
1994 CYSCA was awarded a certificate forthe most outstanding youth
exchange nationally by the Sister Cities International.Over the past two
decades, CYSCA has sponsored 10 youth exchanges and conducted 19
professional development training programs for specialists from Armenia.
CYSCA was incorporated in 1987 as a non-profit organization and given
501(c)(3) status by the IRS. Donations to this organization are
deductible for Federal Income Tax Purposes. Donations for CYSCA's
Shengavit project can be sent to: CYSCA, PO Box 382591, Cambridge, MA,
02238-2591. Please include a note indicating that the donation is for
the "Shengavit" project.
For more information about CYSCA please visit www.cysca.org
or contact: Cheryl Shushan, President,
[email protected] ; or Jack
Medzorian at 781-729-6457, [email protected]
. For more information about Shengavit please
contact Joseph Dagdigian at 978-772-9417.