Exploring the Caves of Armenia by the First Official U.S. Caving Expedition (2007-2013)
The first U.S. caving expedition to Armenia, the South Caucasus, by NSS cavers took place in August 2007. Subsequent expeditions took place in 2010, 2011, and 2013, with additional trips planned for the future. The goal is the exploration and photo-documentation of the caves of Armenia, and to incr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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National University Of Architecture And Construction Of Armenia
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Architectural and Engineering Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://jaer.nuaca.am/index.php/jaer/article/view/125 |
| _version_ | 1797807140818124800 |
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| author | Charles G. Chavdarian Smbat Davtyan Samvel Shahinyan |
| author_facet | Charles G. Chavdarian Smbat Davtyan Samvel Shahinyan |
| author_sort | Charles G. Chavdarian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The first U.S. caving expedition to Armenia, the South Caucasus, by NSS cavers took place in August 2007. Subsequent expeditions took place in 2010, 2011, and 2013, with additional trips planned for the future. The goal is the exploration and photo-documentation of the caves of Armenia, and to increase awareness of its underground realms. Although, in the past, there had been a few known caving expeditions to Armenia, overall little information existed. In addition, Armenia’s local caving community is small in number. As a result, this topic was studied and the first official US caving expedition to Armenia was organized in 2007. During the first expedition, four of Armenia’s significant natural caves were explored in the province of Vayots Dzor: Mozrov Cave, Arjeri Cave (Cave of the Bears), Mageli Cave, and Karmir Cave (Red Cave). Man-made caves were also visited. Subsequent trips to Armenia in 2010, 2011, and 2013 included (1) further exploration of Mozrov, Arjeri, and Mageli caves, (2) a cave trip to the neighboring independent Armenian Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh to explore Azokh Cave, and (3) the exploration of several caves in the northeast Armenian provinces of Tavush and Lori. Natural caves consisting of limestone, conglomerate, and lava were explored during these expeditions. Also, a number of man-made caves were visited, some of which were used as churches in centuries past. This article summarizes the four expeditions and discusses both the natural and man-made caves of Armenia. I beleive the article will be interesting to builders, gas pipelines and road engineers. In practice, it can be used by travel agencies and individual tourists, as well as by all lovers of underground monuments of nature and culture.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:18:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e386410896db422daae17f5a92be09f1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2738-2656 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:18:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | National University Of Architecture And Construction Of Armenia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Architectural and Engineering Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-e386410896db422daae17f5a92be09f12023-06-10T08:18:26ZengNational University Of Architecture And Construction Of ArmeniaJournal of Architectural and Engineering Research2738-26562023-06-01410.54338/27382656-2023.4-004Exploring the Caves of Armenia by the First Official U.S. Caving Expedition (2007-2013)Charles G. Chavdarian0Smbat Davtyan1Samvel Shahinyan2AstraZeneca, CambridgeBrusov State UniversityNational University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia The first U.S. caving expedition to Armenia, the South Caucasus, by NSS cavers took place in August 2007. Subsequent expeditions took place in 2010, 2011, and 2013, with additional trips planned for the future. The goal is the exploration and photo-documentation of the caves of Armenia, and to increase awareness of its underground realms. Although, in the past, there had been a few known caving expeditions to Armenia, overall little information existed. In addition, Armenia’s local caving community is small in number. As a result, this topic was studied and the first official US caving expedition to Armenia was organized in 2007. During the first expedition, four of Armenia’s significant natural caves were explored in the province of Vayots Dzor: Mozrov Cave, Arjeri Cave (Cave of the Bears), Mageli Cave, and Karmir Cave (Red Cave). Man-made caves were also visited. Subsequent trips to Armenia in 2010, 2011, and 2013 included (1) further exploration of Mozrov, Arjeri, and Mageli caves, (2) a cave trip to the neighboring independent Armenian Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh to explore Azokh Cave, and (3) the exploration of several caves in the northeast Armenian provinces of Tavush and Lori. Natural caves consisting of limestone, conglomerate, and lava were explored during these expeditions. Also, a number of man-made caves were visited, some of which were used as churches in centuries past. This article summarizes the four expeditions and discusses both the natural and man-made caves of Armenia. I beleive the article will be interesting to builders, gas pipelines and road engineers. In practice, it can be used by travel agencies and individual tourists, as well as by all lovers of underground monuments of nature and culture. https://jaer.nuaca.am/index.php/jaer/article/view/125expeditionsurveycavescave planchurchtourism |
| spellingShingle | Charles G. Chavdarian Smbat Davtyan Samvel Shahinyan Exploring the Caves of Armenia by the First Official U.S. Caving Expedition (2007-2013) Journal of Architectural and Engineering Research expedition survey caves cave plan church tourism |
| title | Exploring the Caves of Armenia by the First Official U.S. Caving Expedition (2007-2013) |
| title_full | Exploring the Caves of Armenia by the First Official U.S. Caving Expedition (2007-2013) |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the Caves of Armenia by the First Official U.S. Caving Expedition (2007-2013) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the Caves of Armenia by the First Official U.S. Caving Expedition (2007-2013) |
| title_short | Exploring the Caves of Armenia by the First Official U.S. Caving Expedition (2007-2013) |
| title_sort | exploring the caves of armenia by the first official u s caving expedition 2007 2013 |
| topic | expedition survey caves cave plan church tourism |
| url | https://jaer.nuaca.am/index.php/jaer/article/view/125 |
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