During the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, currently taking place in Paris, two nominations submitted by Armenia — “Urartian Heritage of Yerevan” and “Garni Archaeological Site and Symphony of Stones” — have been reviewed and officially approved for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
The nominations were prepared under the coordination of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia. The process involved the Research Center for Historical and Cultural Heritage and the Service for the Protection of Historical Environment and Cultural Museum-Reservations SNCOs, with the engagement of leading scholars and experts.
The session is being held from July 6 to 16 in Paros, France. The Armenian delegation is led by Aram Hakobyan, Armenia’s Ambassador to UNESCO. Harutyun Vanyan, Head of the Department for Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments at the Ministry, is also participating in the session in his capacity as National Coordinator for the 1972 Convention.
The newly included sites are Armenia’s 6th and 7th entries in the Tentative List. The first four — Dvin Archaeological Site, Ereruyk Cathedral and Site, Noravank and the Upper Amaghu Valley, and Tatev Monastery, Tatevi Anapat and Adjacent Areas of Vorotan Valley — were added in 1995. The 5th site, Dragon Stones and Cultural Landscape of Tirinkatar, was submitted in 2024. The full list of Armenia’s tentative inscriptions can be accessed
here.
Currently, Armenia has the following sites inscribed on the official UNESCO World Heritage List: the Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin, the Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots, and the Monastery of Geghard and the Upper Azat Valley.
Inclusion in the Tentative List is a mandatory step before a site can be nominated for full inscription on the World Heritage List. Armenia continues to actively pursue this process to safeguard and promote its cultural and historical heritage on the international stage.
