The Agricultural Landscape of Hellenistic Artaxata
Orendi, Andrea · 2025
Orendi reports the archaeobotany of Hellenistic Artaxata, filling a gap she names at the outset: archaeobotanical work in Armenia has run for decades but Hellenistic assemblages are scarce. The material comes from the Armenian-German Artaxata Project's 2018–2022 excavations in the Lower City of the former Armenian capital. Though the charred seed and fruit assemblage is small, it supports inferences about both diet and the surrounding landscape. Cereals dominate, with naked wheat the most common species, and the weed flora points to an open landscape with wet habitats. She concludes that Hellenistic Armenian agriculture worked to minimise the risk of crop failure by cultivating a wide range of crops.
Read the publication ↗Citation
Orendi, Andrea 2025. The Agricultural Landscape of Hellenistic Artaxata. ARAMAZD: Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 18 (2025), pp. 188–208.
What this offers a reader
What ancient Armenians actually grew and ate, from carbonized seeds.
Bioarchaeology from the joint Armenian-German Artaxata Project.
The everyday economy of an Armenian royal capital, recovered from burnt grain.
What archaeologists learned about ancient Armenian farming from burnt seeds at Artashat.
Topics
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