At the 47th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee held in Paris, two Armenian nominations were approved for inclusion in UNESCO’s Tentative List: Urartian Heritage of Yerevan and Garni Archaeological Complex and the Symphony of Stones.
These nominations were developed under the coordination and commission of Armenia’s Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, with contributions from the Research Center for Historical and Cultural Heritage and the Service for the Protection of Historical Environment and Museum-Reserves, as well as involvement from academic experts in the field.
Armenia’s delegation is headed by Ambassador Aram Hakobyan, the country’s permanent representative to UNESCO. Harutyun Vanyan, head of the Ministry’s Department for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments and Armenia’s national coordinator for the 1972 UNESCO Convention, is also participating.
Urartian Heritage of Yerevan and Garni Archaeological Complex and the Symphony of Stones become the sixth and seventh nominations submitted by Armenia to the tentative list. The first four were added in 1995 and include the Dvin archaeological site, Yereruyk temple and site, Noravank and the upper Amaghu River valley, as well as the Tatev Monastery, Tatev desert, and adjacent Vorotan River areas. The fifth nomination was added in 2024 and relates to the dragon stones (vishapakar) and cultural landscape of Tirinkatar.
Currently, Armenia’s officially inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Sites include the monasteries of Sanahin and Haghpat, the Cathedral of Etchmiadzin and surrounding churches, the Zvartnots archaeological site, the Geghard Monastery, and the upper Azat River valley.
Inclusion on the tentative list is a mandatory step before being considered for the full World Heritage List. Work continues toward international recognition of Armenian cultural heritage.
