Karahunj

Region

Syunik

Distance from Yerevan

206.8 km

Type

Monument/Memorial complex

The popular names for Karahunj include Tsits Qarer (Upright Stones), Dik-Dik Qarer, and Zorats Karer, which means 'Stones of the Days'. Another interpretation of ""Zorats Karer"" is ""Powerful Stones"", emphasizing the energetic strength and magnitude of the megaliths. In the 1990s, the site was named Karahunj by academician and radio physicist Parsam Herouni. Herouni pointed out that the 13th-century historian Stepanos Orbelian mentioned a village called Karunj near Sisian. Herouni interpreted the name ""kar"" (stone) as a ""sounding"" or ""speaking"" stone, drawing a parallel with Stonehenge, whose name also implies ""talking stones."" Similar megalithic structures are found in Scotland, France, Egypt, Ireland, and elsewhere, which have been historically associated with astronomical observations. In the early 20th century, astronomers such as Camille Flammarion (France), William Olcott (USA), and Edward Maunder (UK) suggested that the first astronomical observations and division of constellations may have originated in the Armenian Highlands. This theory implies that ancient observatories existed throughout historical Armenia, forming the basis for the development and dissemination of astronomical knowledge. Karahunj, along with Portasar, the scientific center of Metsamor, astronomical centers at Selim and Sev Sar, ancient star and celestial images, belt calendars, bronze models of the solar system, and medieval Armenian astronomical texts, all support this perspective.