_ Dragon Stones:
These unique monuments are distinct and peculiar to the culture of the Armenian Highland. The vishaps (dragon stones
), are huge monolithic steals of basalt, up to 6 meters tall, which were erected amid natural and artificial lakes and springs, symbolizing the unruly elements of nature, an awakening of nature, fertility, and abundance. Vishap stones were put inside burials as well, probably symbolizing reincarnation. According to some scholars, the vishaps were dedicated to the goddess of love, fertility and waters – Astghik (Derceto, Aphrodite). Still, others considered them as monuments dedicated to the dying and resurrecting deity – Ara the Beautiful.
_ The Lake of Dragon:
The lake of Dragon(Vishapalich) is one of the most beautiful and notable lakes of Geghama mountain chain (west of Lake Sevan, Armenia). Lake's height above sea level is approximately ~2620m.
_ Petroglyphs of Geghama Mountains:
During the Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic, 12000-8000BC), a new area of artistic activity emerged in various regions of the vast Eurasian continent – the art of petroglyphs. Petroglyphs are images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art.
The art-historical and archaeological analysis suggests a chronology of rock art emerging in the Armenian Highland around the Mesolithic-Neolithic periods and lasting to the Middle Ages, reaching its apogee in the Bronze Age. The petroglyphs depict both highly symbolized and primitive naturalistic images, figures in static and dynamic poses, individual and thematic compositions encompassing all the important spheres of human activity and perceptions of the universe. #ayrarattour