Provider: Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic

TY  - JOUR
JO  - Anthropologie (Brno)
TI  - VIOLENCE AND RITUAL: BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN SACRIFICE AT THE FIRE TEMPLE
(DVIN, ARMENIA)

AU  - Khudaverdyan A Y
AU  - Yengibaryan A A
AU  - Vardanyan SA
AU  - Hakobyan NH
Y1  - 2026
VL  - 64
IS  - 1
PB  - Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic
SN  - 0323-1119
SP  - 11
EP  - 27
KW  - Armenia – Dvin temple – Early Middle Age – Fire temple – Trauma – Decapitations
N2  - 
N2  - This article examines the excavated fire temple in Dvin. Dvin, the capital of medieval Armenia, was located at the crossroads of numerous external trade routes as well as internal commercial networks. During the course of the excavations, the recovered skulls displayed clear evidence of violent trauma. Fractures of the occipital condyles and damage to the left mastoid region were observed at the base of the individuals' skulls. These injuries suggest that the victims were held by the hair, and their heads were struck with a sword. This study explores the potential causes of the observed violence and examines whether these acts may have been connected to ritual practices, specifically sacrificial offerings associated with the fire temple.
ER  -