3,200-year-old tomb, filled with gold treasure, unearthed in Armenia

Scouring an ancient necropolis in Armenia, looters dug up burial sites and kept whatever valuables they found. As the centuries stretched on, once-elaborate tombs were picked clean one by one. For whatever reason, one particular tomb went unopened for millennia.

The Metsamor archaeological site in Armenia, near the border with Turkey, was inhabited from the 4th millennium B.C. until the 17th century, according to a news release from Science in Poland. Layers upon layers of human life have accumulated at the settlement.

The oldest portion of Metsamor was a settlement surrounded by walls with a necropolis, or cemetery, nearby, experts said. A joint team of Polish and Armenian archaeologists decided to excavate the necropolis, according to the Feb. 27 news release.