THE CITY OF DVIN OR DUIN according to its Classical name, is to the north of the ancient Artaxiad capital Artaxata [Artashat], on the left bank of the Azat river, about 35 km south of the Capital Yerevan, in the historic Vostan Hayoc‛ county in the Ayrarat Province of Greater Armenia. In ancient Armenian primary sources the name of the city is almost always given as Dwin or Duin (Pavstos Buzand Vth cen., Łazar P'arpec‛i Vth century, Sebeos VIIth century and other historians). Later authors (Samvel of Ani – Xth century) wrote the revised - Dvin appellation, which is the most common form in the scholarly literature. The city's history began with a thriving settlement that quickly expanded in the forth millennium BC due to the warm climate of the Ararat Valley and the fresh water supplies of