Castelluccia Et Al. 2012 (Kotayk Survey Project).Pdf
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_____________________ Association for Near Eastern and Caucasian Studies THE FIRST SEASON OF THE KOTAYK SURVEY PROJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT Manuel Castelluccia, Roberto Dan, Riccardo La Farina, Arthur Petrosyan, Mattia Raccidi The aim of the Italian-Armenian archaeological expedition to the Kotayk marz (Kotayk Survey Project - KSP) is to conduct an extensive and detailed survey of the upper Hrazdan river basin, between the modern towns of Charentsavan (to the south) and Lchashen (to the north). The project involves collaboration between the Italian “Institute of Ancient Mediterranean Studies” of the National Research Council (CNR - ISMA) and International Association of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies (ISMEO), and the Armenian Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia.1 13th to September 17th 2013 and focused upon the region around Charentsavan, Fantan, Kaghsi, Jrarat and Solak.2 the territory was undertaken using a remote sensing technique, which led to the a careful review of the past literature concerning the area (which is, unfortunately, not voluminous). A precious source of information, however, was found to be the National List of Monuments of the Republic of Armenia, an inventory of all known sites of cultural interest organized according to the municipality in which they are located. intensive survey; each site was recorded with regard to GPS coordinates and altitude and the general features were described. The collected items were all photographed and THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES totally unknown, dating from the Paleolithic to Medieval periods. For three of these, named KSP 006, KSP 016 and KSP 022, topographical maps were also prepared. 1 The authors would like to thank profoundly for their help (in alphabetical order): Dr. Pavel Avetisyan, Dr. Raffaele Biscione, Dr. Yervand Grekyan, Dr. Ara Petrosyan, Prof. Adriano Valerio Rossi, Dr. Paola Santoro, Dr. Marie Claude Trémouille. 2 AJNES VII/2, 2012, p. 28–35 The First Season of the Kotayk Survey Project Stone Age At many sites Stone Age artifacts were found, mostly of obsidian. A total of 26 artifacts were selected from the survey and excavation on the sites this year. Site KSP 009 lies on a hillside 2.5 km north-east of Charentsavan and contained debris, nuclei Some obsidian tools were collected from the section of a low hill cut by construction work, 1.5 km north-west of Fantan, on the right side of the modern Yerevan- Sevan highway (KSP 010). Various obsidian tools were also recovered from KSP 016, a site that consisted mostly of Bronze and Iron Age levels. A few stone artifacts belonging to these periods were also found in KSP 001, near the abandoned village of Avazan, and KSP 015, several kilometers north-east of Fantan. Early Bronze Age/ Middle Bronze Age The Transcaucasian Early Bronze Age is characterized by the “Kura-Araxes” culture with its distinctive pottery; sherds of this type were collected in four sites. KSP 006, located a few km north-west of Hrazdan, is a vast burial-ground containing cist- graves and cromlech kurgans, stretching along the right bank of the Marmarik river. It was partially excavated by A. Mnatsakanyan in the 1950s.1 The pottery collected from the excavated area he dated to the Early and Middle Bronze Age. A cist-grave had been discovered and destroyed during construction work in the rear part of a private house 1 km south of Jrarat, also on the right bank of the Marmarik river (KSP 007). According to Prof. F. Ter-Martirosov the grave dated to the Achaemenid period,2 but the pottery collected, black-slipped sherds without any distinctive features (shown to us by some villagers), dates most probably to the Early Bronze Age. A small quantity of pottery dating to the Early Bronze Age was recovered from KSP 020, a site standing on a rocky spur of the River Hrazdan gorge, 2 km west of Solak. This was a large settlement composed of many stone-built structures. All the visible buildings, however, are dated with the medieval period. The largest amount of Early-Middle Bronze Age pottery, evidence of a substantial settlement in this period, was found at site KSP 022, which stands on a rocky spur on the River Hrazdan gorge, opposite the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age fortress and necropolis of Karashamb. In the western part of the site lie the remains of huge cyclopean retaining walls (Tab. XII/1), while in the eastern section several stone- built structures are clearly visible despite the presence of high vegetation. Much of the pottery collected from both site and hillside dates to the Early and Middle Bronze Age. According to a local villager, the easternmost part of the rocky spur was used in Soviet times as a basalt quarry. Finally, a group of three excavated cromlechs (KSP 019), not yet published, yielded material dating to the Middle Bronze Age. 1 Mnatsakanyan, Tiratsyan 1961: 69ff.; Mnatsakanyan 1965: 95f.; Khanzadyan 1967: 18. 2 29 Manuel Castelluccia et al. Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age Five sites showed clear evidence of Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age occupation. Finds of this period come from the area of the cemetery located in the southern part of Jrarat, on the right bank of the River Marmarik (KSP 006 and KSP 007). Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age pottery is also known from a burial-ground located in the western part of the village of Kaghsi (KSP 012), near the railway.1 It was discovered during construction work in Soviet times and some test excavations were carried out there by A. Mnatsakanyan. Pottery from this period also comes from the surface of KSP 016 “Area B”, which is described in detail below. Although no unambiguously Late Bronze-Early Iron Age pottery was discovered in KSP 022, it is plausible that the cyclopean walls of this site date mostly to this period, since cyclopean fortresses with such masonry are typical of this epoch. Moreover, another site which might date to the Bronze Age is KSP 014. It is located on the top of a hill south-east of the medieval village of Vaghaver and consists of a single possible cromlech with a diameter of approximately 15 m.2 Nearby, other stone structures are visible, perhaps belonging to some funerary complex. Unfortunately, the area seems to have been affected by the action of some large mechanical device. At another site (KSP 023), the remains of a possible cyclopean fortress were seen in the garden of a private house in the village of Solak. The owner of the house informed us diagnostic pottery was recovered from either site. Middle Iron Age Only one site has yielded pottery and architectural remains clearly belonging to this period, which corresponds in Armenia to Urartian rule over the lands of the River Araxes and Lake Sevan basins. The site, named KSP 016, lies on a hill on the eastern side of the modern Yerevan-Sevan highway, 3.5 km south-east of Solak. It is distinguished by the presence of numerous visible stone-built structures covering the hill. Moreover, other buildings could be seen at the base of the high ground. Near these, two early-medieval khatchkars were found. The most important architectural survival on the site is a square-shaped construction located on the top of the southern hill named Area A. It is a stone-built structure (27 × 27 m) whose limits were clearly recognizable, especially along the eastern side. The building is delimited by straight walls made of large basalt blocks. The western perimeter wall still features two corner buttresses and two median buttresses. A single median buttress is also recognizable in the southern large amount of pithos 1 Khanzadyan 1967: 18. 2 In the Armenian highland large kurgans are typical of the Middle and Late Bronze Age. In the Iron Age mounds and graves are generally smaller. It is, however, risky to propose a date on the base of size alone, since several differences and peculiarities are attested. 30 The First Season of the Kotayk Survey Project their decoration with triangular impressions is very similar to that found on material unearthed in the Urartian center of Karmir-blur and other places.1 Trial excavations were performed in this site (these are described below). Hellenistic/ Roman period Pottery from this period was recovered only in two sites. A few Hellenistic pottery sherds were collected from KSP 016, while Roman pot fragments were found on a low the only archaeological evidence obtained from this site (KSP 008). The hill is now covered by a modern cemetery and thus the possible presence of ancient structures was Medieval period As expected, most of the sites showed traces of medieval occupation. Of the nine sites belonging to this period, the biggest is KSP 013, an abandoned medieval village named both Vaghaver and Tezkharab, located 4 km south-east of Fantan (Tab. XII/2). The village covers a surface of approximately 20 hectares. Many of the structures are still clearly visible, with walls built of big stone blocks. Near the village there are two separate cemeteries, while in the center of the village there is a small church which is still in use. At the eastern edge of the village there is a water reservoir named “Aghgyol”, closed by at least two stone-built dams. The numerous sherds recovered mostly date to the 12th -14th century AD. Another important site is KSP 021, located on a rocky spur overlooking the River Hrazdan gorge, 2.3 km north of Alapars. Here there is a large settlement containing many stone buildings that are still clearly visible (Tab. XIII/1). Most of the pottery collected dates to the medieval period.