RELIGIOUS ART
ART,
METAPHYSICS AND THE HEALING POWERS OF RELIGION IN EARLY CHRISTIAN ARTS.
THE RELATION
BETWEEN THE KATCHKARS AND EARLY VISHAPS STONES AND NEOLITHIC OBELISKS
Photo: Ancient Armenian Obelisks.
Katchkars are not the first carved stones in Armenia. In the pre-historic times of Armenia, sculptured stones existed in the form of a very large and free-standing stone monuments of various forms and designs, usually taking the shape of a fish. They were called: Vishaps, and were referred to as the “dragon stones”. They were regularly found nearby creeks, lakes, rivers and fountains due to their religious and worshiping relationship with water. In fact, early Armenians worshiped Astghik, the goddess of water. Vishaps can still be found in Erevan, nearby Arayr, Mt. Aragats and mountain Geghama. Those sacred carved stones can be traced to Hyskos prehistoric monuments, and more accurately to the 5th millennium B.C. Their earliest roots may be traced to the gigantic polished black Neolithic obelisks Menhirs which appeared as early as 4,000 B.C. around Mokhra Blur near the capital Yerevan and to the colossal stones monuments found at Karahundj which were enigmatic and unique, for they contained perforated holes with telescopic measurements and scientific characteristics. Many astronomers believe that those massive stones are a structural part of one of the world’s oldest astronomical observatory as well as a temple. More intriguing and fascinating features of those obelisks were studied and carefully examined by researchers and scholars. For instance, on those massive obelisks, universal signs of paramount religious and scientific values appeared thousands of years before any other great civilization came to existence and or ever heard of. To name a few:
A-
The sun was represented by a swirling disc or wheel, an ancient Armenian
symbol which first appeared in the Paleolithic period of 20,000 to
12,000 B.C., (a pre-cursor to all the sun symbols in all forthcoming
religions and cults.)
B-
The sign of the zodiac which can be
traced to the 3rd millennium B.C., (a pre-cursor to the
Babylonian and Mesopotamian astrological calendars),
C-
The
sign of the cross (a pre-cursor to the Roman cross, Egyptian
cross, Christian cross).
D- The swastika (a pre-cursor to the Buddhism Nihayana and Mahayana sects).
All those enigmatic signs and symbols were first found on ancient Armenian stones, obelisks, Menhirs, Vishaps, thousands of years before they re-surfaced again on monuments, obelisks, carved columns, temples entrances, tombs, terra-cotta tablets, parchments, scrolls, military equipment, tools, instruments, shields, armors and various other edifices and objects of the world’s most advanced and less privileged civilizations and cultures.