Karaunj: World’s ancient observatory

Karaunj is a prehistoric stone monument located in the Armenian Highlands, inparticular, in the Republic of Armenia, located in today's South Caucasus, near the city of Sisian.It consists of hundreds of standing stones, of which 223 were numbered by researchers. 84 stonesof these have precisely made holes with a diameter of 4-5 cm, which look in different directions.Basalt stones, whose height ranges from 0.5 to 3 m, and weight-up to 10 tons. Most of the stoneshave been preserved, although due to erosion they are covered with lichens. The holes are betterpreserved. The stones of Karaunj were brought from the quarry to the gorge of the river Dar,lifted and transported with woven ropes and with the help of animals. And in the observatory,holes of stones were opened and astronomical instruments were prepared. Karaunj consists ofseveral groups of structures and individual stones, which together make up a megalithicmonument. The central circle consists of 40 stones.It has an oval appearance and is directed tothe west with a sharp end, researchers who used sensitive magnetometers found that the naturalmagnetic force inside the Central District of Karaunj looks like a spiral In the middle of themonument, the stones make up the Central Area measuring 35x45 m, from which stone wings110-150 m long stretch in the direction of the north and south, as well as a short north-easternstone. The area of the monument is 7 1hectares.