Metsamor Historical-Archaeological Museum-Reserve

Metsamor is a fortified settlement 32 km west of Yerevan, Armenia, occupied from the 4th millennium BC through the 17th century AD. The site is renowned as one of the earliest known metallurgical centres, with smelting furnaces predating those of Palestine, and evidence of copper, bronze, and iron processing. The complex includes Cyclopean fortification walls, temple structures, a ziggurat-observatory, and a necropolis. The on-site museum, opened in 1968, houses over 22,000 artefacts, including an agate weight of Babylonian king Ulam Burariash from the 16th century BC.