Zariadris
|
Armenian megaliths & rock art on YouTube
Apr 08, 2008, 05:04
|
Hey folks,
Hope this finds you all well. I recently started uploading some of my work to youtube, and I thought you might be interested in checking out my short film, Embers of the Sun, a kind of love letter to Armenia's stone circles, menhirs, petroglyphs and the landscapes they inhabit, which I've spent much of the past 8 years studying.
I made this film some time ago, but the beauty of YouTube is that I can finally get it out to people who are actually interested in megaliths, and Armenian ones to boot!
The film is not a documentary per se. There's no narration, etc. Just sound and image. I've tried to evoke something of the alien grandeur and beautiful, almost terrifying desolation that these remote places hold. Unfortunately I had to break it into 2 parts, and thus interrupt the flow of the piece, which moves from dawn to dusk. The low resolution on YouTube is another drag, but the sound isn't bad, so turn it up!
Part one is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCDRZryeE6A
And part two is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhB-3N0B_4s
Thanks, and enjoy.
Z.
|
FourWinds
|
Re: Armenian megaliths & rock art on YouTube
Apr 08, 2008, 05:47
|
Just had a look at them. Some lovely things. I didn't know about the petroglyphs, so many thanks for that.
The film is very nice, but a bit too much art and not enough stone for me.
|
Zariadris
|
Re: Armenian megaliths & rock art on YouTube
Apr 08, 2008, 06:16
|
|
FourWinds wrote: Just had a look at them. Some lovely things. I didn't know about the petroglyphs, so many thanks for that.
The film is very nice, but a bit too much art and not enough stone for me.
Thanks man. Armenia, like the American Southwest where I currently live, is more about rock art than menhirs, which is interesting considering the similar elevation and landscapes. The huge piles of volcanic upchuck near the dormant sacred mothers are Sistine chapels of cosmographic art.
Having said that, I made this just before I had a chance to discover the so-called vishap, or 'dragon', monoliths (see my avatar), which are probably the most distinctive form of prehistoric monument in Armenia. They really are superb. I've since tracked down a great deal of them, most in super far-flung places where only Yezdis go in the summer months. The Yezdis tell wonderful stories about them, stories once popular among Armenian villagers before they went all modern. I've got many hours of this material, but have yet to put it all together.
Cheers again FourWinds.
|
tiompan
|
Re: Armenian megaliths & rock art on YouTube
Apr 08, 2008, 08:36
|
|
Thanks Z. really enjoyed the film . Looks like a an area for archaeoastronomers . I was wondering if among the rock art there were any non-figuartive markings i.e. cup marks ? . The reason I ask is that neighbouring Azerbaijan (maybe I shouldn't mention that ) has figurative and abstract rock art . Music was great too .
|
fitzcoraldo
|
Re: Armenian megaliths & rock art on YouTube
Apr 08, 2008, 08:58
|
Hi Z
wonderful stones and carvings beautifully filmed and backed by gorgeous music.
Thanks, you've made my morning a lot brighter.
fitz
|
Zariadris
|
Re: Armenian megaliths & rock art on YouTube
Apr 08, 2008, 09:20
|
|
tiompan wrote: Thanks Z. really enjoyed the film . Looks like a an area for archaeoastronomers . I was wondering if among the rock art there were any non-figuartive markings i.e. cup marks ? . The reason I ask is that neighbouring Azerbaijan (maybe I shouldn't mention that ) has figurative and abstract rock art . Music was great too .
Thanks tiompan. Yeah, you're absolutely right. Archeoastronomy is a big deal in Armenia, though much of it is sketchy. In particular, there is one quack, a physicist named Paris Herouni, who has pretty much co-opted the most important, and well known, megalithic site in Armenia, known as Zorats Karer. Julian talks about this site in Modern Antiquarian. It features in the opening of Embers of the Sun. Because of its rows of holed stones, this guy has come up with an elaborate theory whereby ZK was a prehistoric observatory in the 7th millennium BC, since certain stars would've aligned through the holes at that time. Archaeologists have dated it much, much later, to the mid 2nd millennium BC, based on remains in the tomb field which surrounds the site. Herouni was once in touch with Gerald Hawkins, and he often brandishes a letter of support from him as proof of his theory. My major objection to Herouni is that he had the audacity to catalog the monoliths by painting huge numbers on every single one of them in indelible white paint! It's like a dog marking his territory. I had a hell of a time framing shots so the numbers don't appear. I even had to resort to plastering a couple with cow shit. At the wrong angle the stone rows look like a petrified sports team.
Basically, every generation sees in the megaliths those values they hold dear. I see the interrelatedness of the landscape and crazy harvest rituals; Soviet era materialists like Herouni see prehistoric Einsteins in white deer skin coats plotting the course of stars in the name of scientific progress. There is a nationalistic bent to it as well. In short, the current debates over Zorats Karer echo the great controversies in Britain a century ago. The public have bought into it though, and most people will tell you that ZK is the world's oldest observatory.
As for Azerbaijan, just 'cause I'm Armenian doesn't mean I spite the Azeris for having petroglyphs too! I believe in keeping prehistory out of modern politics. To answer your question: yes, in Armenia there are many purely abstract designs among the rock art I've seen in person and in books. Some indeed very similar to those in Britain.
Peace.
|
Zariadris
|
errata
Apr 08, 2008, 09:23
|
In particular, there is one quack, a physicist named Paris Herouni, who has pretty much co-opted the most important, and well known, megalithic site in Armenia, known as Zorats Karer. Julian talks about this site in Modern Antiquarian. [/quote]
Correction: I meant Megalithic European.
|
Zariadris
|
Re: Armenian megaliths & rock art on YouTube
Apr 08, 2008, 09:32
|
|
fitzcoraldo wrote: Hi Z
wonderful stones and carvings beautifully filmed and backed by gorgeous music.
Thanks, you've made my morning a lot brighter.
fitz
Thanks very much brother. I'm really glad you liked it.
It's 3 in the morning here, so I'm off to bed.
You all have a great day, and be well.
Z.
|
tiompan
|
Re: Armenian megaliths & rock art on YouTube
Apr 08, 2008, 09:32
|
|
Z ,
|
tiompan
|
Re: Armenian megaliths & rock art on YouTube
Apr 08, 2008, 09:43
|
|
tiompan wrote: Z ,
oops dunno how that happened .I did notice a 19 painted on one monolith
that says it all . Similarly having Hawkins as an ally is hardly helpful considering his reputation .
|
