Two Armenian Sites Added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List

PARIS — At the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Paris, two nominations submitted by Armenia—”Urartian Heritage of Yerevan” and “The Garni Archaeological Complex and the Symphony of Stones”—were reviewed and approved for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

The applications were prepared under the coordination and commission of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of the Republic of Armenia, with contributions from the Research Center for Historical and Cultural Heritage and the Service for the Protection of Historical Environment and Cultural Museum-Reserves, involving relevant experts and scholars.

The session is taking place in Paris, France, from July 6 to 16. Armenia’s delegation is headed by Ambassador Aram Hakobyan, the country’s representative to UNESCO. From the Ministry, Harutyun Vaneyan, Head of the Department for the Protection of Monuments of History and Culture, is attending as the coordinator for the 1972 Convention.

The newly listed sites—”Urartian Heritage of Yerevan” and “Garni Archaeological Complex and Symphony of Stones” in the Kotayk Province of Armenia—represent Armenia’s 6th and 7th entries on UNESCO’s Tentative List.

The first four entries were added in 1995 and include:
-The archaeological site of Dvin,
-The Yererouk Basilica and archaeological site,
-Noravank and the upper Amaghu River valley,
-Tatev Monastery, Tatevi Anapat, and the surrounding areas of the Vorotan River valley.

The fifth entry, added in 2024, was the dragon stones (vishapakar) and cultural zone of Tirinkatar.

You can view Armenia’s full list of UNESCO tentative sites at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/am

As of today, Armenia has the following sites inscribed on the main UNESCO World Heritage List:
-The Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin,
-Etchmiadzin Cathedral and Churches,
-Zvartnots Archaeological Site,
-Geghard Monastery and the Upper Azat Valley.

It should be noted that inclusion on the Tentative List is a mandatory and preliminary step before any site can be formally inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Work in this direction remains ongoing.