The Armenian-French-Iranian archaeological expedition that had lately excavated the Erebuni fortress has discovered the oldest known street in Yerevan, Armenia.

The head of the Armenian side of the expedition, archaeologist Mikael Badalyan, said: “This year a nearly 30-meter street paved with beautiful tiles was discovered on a plot near the Khaledi Temple of the Erebuni Museum-Reserve. It is 2700 years old.”

Experts believe that this find completely changes the idea of the civilization of the Van kingdom (Urartu). In addition, during the excavations it became evident that in 7th century BC an earthquake occurred in the area.

The French chief of the expedition, Stefan Duchamp, in turn, attached great importance to the excavations, stressing that they not only have archaeological significance, but also enable the correct organization of the reconstruction of the Erebuni museum reserve.

The city-fortress of Erebuni (Yerevan) was founded by Armenian King Argishti in 782 BC. Excavations of Erebuni became part of preparations for the festive events in honor of the 2800th anniversary of Erebuni, which will be held in 2018.