Wednesday, 4 November 2026Issue of 1 November
Armeniap. 7 of 12

Gold and an Augustan Coin in Metsamor

Tomb with gold and a coin of Octavian Augustus found in Armenia
Photo: Zartonk

Archaeologists working at the ancient settlement of Metsamor in Armenia’s Armavir province have unearthed gold jewellery, a bronze dagger and a silver coin of Octavian Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, who reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD. The discovery was announced by Zhanna Andreasyan, Armenia’s minister of education, science, culture and sport.

Excavations on a private plot of land near the Metsamor Museum-Reserve began two years ago. At the centre of the plot stands a stone mausoleum with a tomb chamber measuring approximately six by four metres, encircled by a cromlech—a ring of vertical stones about 20 metres in diameter. Judging by the layers, the tomb was in use for 1,500 years. The oldest burial, found at the floor of the chamber, dates to the Late Bronze Age (14th–13th centuries BC). It contained a Lchashen-type dagger, a large amount of pottery, horse bones, belt fragments, bronze items and bell-shaped pendants. Above it lies an Iron Age burial of a single person with offerings and pottery, while the top layer, a 1st-century AD burial, held the Augustan coin and the gold.

Metsamor, located on the Ararat Plain 35 kilometres west of Yerevan, was founded at the turn of the 5th and 4th millennia BC and was inhabited, with some interruptions, until the Middle Ages. In its heyday, during the late Bronze and early Iron Ages, the city covered an area of almost 100 hectares. It lost its former greatness after a military campaign by the Urartian king Argishti I, founder of Erebuni, in the 8th century BC.

The Roman coin is a reminder of a period when Armenia was closely tied to Rome: in 20 BC, Emperor Augustus established a protectorate over the Armenian kingdom. The find confirms that Metsamor stood for a long time on the trade routes connecting East and West. The excavations are ongoing.

From the Moscow Art Theatre to Hollywood

From the Moscow Art Theatre to Hollywood: The story of Akim Tamiroff, the first Armenian actor nominated for an Oscar
Photo: Eric Koch / Anefo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 NL

Akim Tamiroff, the first Oscar-nominated actor of Armenian descent, was born to an Armenian family in Tiflis in 1899. Passionate about theatre from a young age, he studied under Stanislavsky at the Moscow Art Theatre School and performed on its stage.

While touring the US in 1923, Tamiroff decided to stay in America, though he knew no English, starting in Nikita Balieff’s La Chauve-Souris troupe. In Hollywood, he was often cast as villains, generals, and foreigners. He earned his first Oscar nomination for The General Died at Dawn (1936) and a second, plus a Golden Globe, for playing the partisan Pablo in Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943). Orson Welles called him one of the era’s greatest actors, casting him in Touch of Evil and The Trial. Tamiroff appeared in over 140 films.

“Twilight” at the Chamber Music House

On November 6 at 8 p.m., the Mystery Ensemble will perform music from the “Twilight” saga at Yerevan’s Komitas Chamber Music House. The ensemble performs contemporary music in an arrangement for acoustic strings and piano.

The programme will feature themes written for the films by Carter Burwell, Alexandre Desplat and Howard Shore, including “Bella’s Lullaby” and “The Lion Fell in Love with the Lamb,” as well as songs without which the saga is hard to imagine: Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years” and Iron & Wine’s “Flightless Bird, American Mouth.” The concert is organised by the Red Events agency, which holds such evenings in historic mansions, greenhouses and on rooftops in Armenia and Europe. Tickets start at 9,300 drams.

Figure

1,500 years

This is how long the tomb in Metsamor was in use: its lower layer contains a Late Bronze Age burial, and its upper layer a Roman coin from the 1st century AD.

Source: excavation photo: Well-read MountainMan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What you need to know

Metsamor in Numbers

  • The city was founded at the turn of the 5th and 4th millennia BC
  • At its peak it covered almost 100 hectares
  • It lies 35 kilometres west of Yerevan
  • The dagger from the lower burial dates to the 14th–13th centuries BC
  • The coin of Augustus comes from a 1st-century AD burial
  • The stone tomb measures about six by four metres
  • The ring of stones around the tomb is about 20 metres across
  • Excavations at the site next to the museum-reserve are in their second year