FROG STATUE OF «METSAMOR»

FROG STATUE OF «METSAMOR»

At «Metsamor» Historical-Archeological Museum an exhibition of archaeological objects (excavated from 1960 to 2014) has been opened. The collection contains more than 28000 items but only 10000 are presented. The majority of them were discovered during excavations made by devotees of «Metsamor» Emma Khanzadyan and Koryun Mkrtchyan.

The excavations were also conducted in 2010-2015. Ashot Piliposyan (co-leader of the Polish expedition, Deputy Director in the field of scientific activities of the «Service for the Protection of Historical Environment and Cultural Museum-Reservations» NCSO), states that «Metsamor» corresponds with the highest standards in the Middle East. According to him on the first and second floors are presented the exhibits relating from the early Bronze Age to the late Middle Ages and were found in the castle and in the tombs. On the cellar floor are presented unique cultural values which are made out of gold, silver, semi-precious stones, paste and are related to the 3-1 Millennium BC. In special museum repository is stored frog statue which is valuable unique finding. It has dark brown and white veins and is made out of sardoniks. The statuette delivers important information, particularly for the restoration of the details on the transit trade of gold during XVI-XV centuries in the Middle East. The record written in the Babylonian writing style, made on the back, legs and abdomen of the frog says «This is Ulam- Buariashi, Burn-Buariash son’s first record». It is about the successive rulers of the ancient Babylon from the end of the BC XVI century till the first part of the BC XV century.

«Weight unit (1 shekel) investigators (I.Dyakonov, G. Sargsyan, E.Khanzadyan) assume that the frog statuette’s hanging weighs 8.64 g, which corresponds to the Mesopotamian 1 shekel (sikl)»-said the archaeologist.