Hartashen Megalithic Avenue

Hartashen Megalithic Avenue is a megalithic monument in Armenia. It has two avenues of megalithic rocks that do not intersect. The avenues are made of basalt stones placed at an angle, and in each the menhirs are arranged in three rows. The purpose of these three rows is unclear, and further research is under way.

The monument has 760 preserved menhirs. Some have been disturbed, and it is estimated there may originally have been up to 1,200. The flat surface between the avenues has an unexcavated funerary monument, but no connection has been found between the avenue and the funerary monuments. The rows of stelae begin at a rocky outcrop and follow the valley topography for 500 metres (1,600 ft). The monument is not astronomically aligned, nor aligned with any features in the topography.

There is no firm dating of the monument. In recent years it has been attributed to anti-tank defences built in the Second World War, and the arrangement of the stone rows was integrated into a modern anti-tank military barrier. As there is no firm date, it is unknown to what extent and in what form the avenues predate this modern use. Recent research favours an interpretation that the site, if not its arrangement, dates to the Neolithic or Bronze Age and perhaps shares a context with the Carnac stones of France. A catalogue entry gives a very broad range, from 4500 BCE to 600 CE.

A megalith is a large stone used to build a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or with other stones. The most widely known megaliths are not tombs, and the main kinds include single stones such as menhirs, and multiple stones such as stone circles and alignments. Hartashen belongs to the alignment kind.

The monument comprises 760 preserved menhirs. Some menhirs have been disturbed, and it is estimated there may have been up to 1,200 originally. The flat surface between the monuments comprises an unexcavated funerary monument. No connection has been discovered between the avenue and the funerary monuments. The rows of stele begin at a rocky outcrop and follow the valley topography for 500 metres (1,600 ft). The monument is not astronomically aligned, nor aligned with any features within the topography.

The arrangement of the stone rows were integrated into a modern anti-tank military barrier. As there is no firm dating, it is unknown to what extent and in what form the avenues predate this modern use.