Gregory Areshian

Gregory Areshian (13 May 1949 – 2 August 2020) was an Armenian-American archeologist and historian who was a professor at American University of Armenia. He was the co-director of the international team of archeologists who, led by Boris Gasparyan, found the 5,500 years old shoe in and the oldest winery in Areni, of which Areshian said:

For the first time, we have a complete archaeological picture of wine production dating back 6,100 years.

Gregory Areshian taught at 14 U.S. universities and colleges including; the University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Irvine, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin, Platteville, and Amherst College. He is the author of more than 150 scholarly works published in 5 languages in 12 countries, mostly devoted to interdisciplinary studies in social sciences and the humanities with a special focus on the Middle East and Armenia in a broader historical context.

Gregory Areshian received his bachelor's and master's degree from Yerevan State University where he studied from 1966 to 1973. From 1973 until 1975 Gregory Areshian pursued his PhD studies at the Saint Petersburg State University under the supervision of Boris Piotrovsky. His thesis was "Iron in Ancient Western Asia".

Gregory Areshian knew 9 languages; English, Russian, Armenian, German, French, Latin, Turkish, Grabar and Urartian cuneiform.

In 2017 a Festschrift was published in honor of Gregory Areshian under the title Bridging Times and Spaces: Papers in Ancient Near Eastern, Mediterranean and Armenian Studies. The editors of the volume were Pavel Avetisyan, a former student of Gregory Areshian and Yervand Grekyan.

Gregory Areshian died on 2 August 2020 due to complications related to Covid-19 virus in Astghik Medical Center, after having been diagnosed with Covid-19 3 weeks earlier.