Vagharshapat Historical and Ethnographic Museum

The museum was established in 1964 according to the decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The collection was completed both as a result of excavations and collection work. The archaeological fund includes about 11,000 exhibits dating from the Neolithic to the Late Middle Ages. Objects found from the excavations of Teghut, Aknashen, Aratashen, Tsaghkunk, Mokhrablur, Shresh hill settlements, Etchmiadzin, Vagharshapat, Aygeshat, Tziatsan Shahumyan, Aragats, Oshakan, Shamiram, Aknalchi, Aghavnata, Tsaghkalanji burial grounds as well as pottery, weapons, jewelry, samples of ancient sculptures from Aygeshat, Teghut, Tsaghkunk, Shamiram are presented.

The ethnographic fund contains household items of the XIX-XX centuries: work tools, objects related to the processing and preservation of agricultural products, furniture, musical instruments, weapons, jewelry, antique books, manuscripts, photographs, rugs, carpets, sleeping bags brought from different parts of historical Armenia. The numismatic collection is part of the museum fund.

 The exhibition is presented in three halls. Materials and photographs related to the history of the city, as well as the most significant exhibits related to archeology and ethnography are presented in the lobby. In the archeology section materials are arranged chronologically from the Neolithic-Eneolithic period to the Middle Ages. The exhibits of the Bronze-Iron Age period were excavated from the burial grounds of Aragats, Etchmiadzin, Aygeshat. The model of the tomb of Aygeshat is presented.

Among the medieval exhibits the sarcophagus with a primitive cross is worth to mention. The ethnographic section presents materials dedicated to the life and culture of Etchmiadzin in XIX-XX . The townhouse and headquarter have been reconfigured.