Source: The Associated Press.

YEREVAN, Armenia — An Armenian archaeologist says that scientists have discovered a skirt that could be 5,900-year-old.

Pavel Avetisyan, the head of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Yerevan, said a fragment of skirt made of reed was found during recent digging in the Areni-1 cave in south-eastern Armenia. Avetisian told Tuesday’s news conference in the Armenian capital that the find could be one of the world’s oldest piece of reed clothing.

A huge number of fragments of painted ceramics have also been discovered during archaeological excavation at the place of Godedzor near Angeghakot village of Syunik province of Armenia. The ceramics of such kind were also found and are paralleled to findings at South and Northern Mesopotamia. Pavel Avetisyan described the findings as “strange facts” as civilization who settled the territories northern from Arax didn’t practice painting the ceramics and they were used to producing one-coloured and black ceramics.

Pavel Avetisyan said that discovered painted ceramics are more typical for Iranian pieces, and their homeland is Lake Urmia. In line with the preliminary version of experts, the findings came as result of trade relations. After further exploration of osteological materials there were discovered distorted bones of cattle. Referring to this, Pavel Avetisian said: «Specialists and experts find that the bones were distorted not in result of arable works but in result of going for a long way as pack animals.»

Specialists are hazarding a conjecture that local people here were passing a long was and were using cattle as pack animals: they lived in adjoining to Lake Urmia territory in winters, and moved to the north in summers, told media Pavel Avetisian.

Earlier excavation in the same location has produced what researchers believe is a 5,500-year-old shoe, making it the oldest piece of leather footwear known to researchers.

Boris Gasparian, an Armenian archaeologist who worked jointly with U.S. and Irish scientists at the site, said they also found a mummified goat that could be 5,900-year-old, or more than 1,000 years older than the mummified animals found in Egypt.