The Culture of the Caucasus. The Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages

The exhibition opens with the archaeological finds (the late 2nd millennium –1st millennium B.C.) from the various regions of Southern Caucasus. The next room is devoted to the culture of the ancient state of Urartu (9th – 7th centuries B.C.) situated on the territory adjacent to lakes Van, Urmia and Sevan. The majority of items date from the 8th and the 7th centuries B.C. and originate from the ancient city of Teishebaini, where the archaeological expedition led by B.B. Piotrovsky from 1939 until 1971 carried out excavations under a hill at Karmir Blur. Of particular interest are the bronze figurines of fantastic creatures, which came from the ancient city of Rusakhinili (present-day Toprakkale). A separate gallery exhibits the unique archaeological finds from the burial ground of the 8th and the 9th centuries located on the high-mountain terraces in the ravine of Moshchevaya Balka in the Northern Caucasus. It includes a unique collection of fabrics, pieces of clothing, objects made of wood and leather, remarkable for their state of preservation.