Sometimes at the Cross-roads: Preliminary Results from New Fieldwork on the Southeast Ararat Plain of Armenia

Abstract

The Ararat Plain, part of the upper Araxes River valley system in the South Caucasus mountains, represents the largest expanse of arable land in Armenia today. At the southeastern edge of this plain, the Vedi River valley, a tributary to the Araxes, connects the agricultural zones of the plain with the resource-rich mountains and Lake Sevan to the east. The summer of 2019 saw the initiation of a new landscape-oriented research project to investigate past life and mobility through this valley, particularly in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Extensive survey and test excavations identified and characterized multiple new sites. The primary focus of the season was the start of excavations at a high fortified site with a commanding and controlling view of the valley, called the Vedi Fortress. This multi-period site holds promise to enhance our knowledge about pre- and proto-historic phases of this part of Armenia. Our project interrogates the militaristic landscapes of the Late Bronze and Iron ages and compares the deployment of the same spaces during the Medieval period. This born-digital project deploys 3d capture of contexts and objects towards the goal of enabling comprehensive digital analysis of complete excavation datasets.