The three-day international obsidian conference IOC-2026, titled “From Magma to Artifact: The Geology and Archaeology of Obsidian,” has commenced.

On September 28, the three-day international obsidian conference IOC-2026, entitled “From Magma to Artefact: The Geology and Archaeology of Obsidian,” commenced in Yerevan. It was organized in Armenia jointly with the international IOC Scientific Committee by the Institute of Geological Sciences and the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography.

On the first day, the scholars who had arrived in Yerevan from different countries were welcomed by Arsen Bobokhyan, Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, and Khachatur Meliksetyan, Director of the Institute of Geological Sciences. Before the beginning of the first session, the participants visited the Geological Museum of the Institute of Geological Sciences. The first session was chaired by Ruben Badalyan, archaeologist and researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, who also presented a paper entitled “The Use of Obsidian in the South Caucasus (Armenia): History and Results of Provenance Studies.” Khachatur Meliksetyan presented a paper entitled “The Geochemical Composition of Obsidian in the Armenian Highland.” Researchers from abroad also delivered presentations dedicated to Voskeblur, a Kura-Araxes culture settlement located within the administrative territory of the village of Hayanist, Ararat Province, Republic of Armenia. During the two days of the conference, approximately 40 archaeologists and geologists from different countries—including Hungary, the United States, Armenia, the Russian Federation, Cyprus, Georgia, Australia, Japan, France, and others—presented their research. On the third day of the conference, excursions are planned to various locations in the Republic of Armenia where obsidian sources are present.