Our work today focused initially on 2 km transect portions of the area southwest of Aparan Settlement 1, moving again between the southern Aparan and northern Kuchak survey quadrants. After completing more than half of our first (southbound) transect, Karen reported encountering a defensive mother wolf, so we spread out for a new northbound one to the west. My own transects encountered only clearance, although Salpi and Elizabeth recorded several small pieces of architecture/settlement along theirs.
We then moved to record one sites identified from satellite imagery (Aparan Settlement 03), and in the course of that effort recorded another as well (Aparan Settlement 04). Settlement 03 is a half moon-shaped, approx. 1.5 ha, collection of multi-room buildings located on a moderately sloped hilltop due west of the 4 ha Settlement 01, along the same drainage. There are a few rectilinear rooms, but the majority of the settlement consisted of curvilinear, larger rooms of which 2-3 courses were extant, backed by and attached to smaller semi-subterranean constructions, of which upwards of 6-8 courses were visible. The upslope position and elevation (2,200 m) of the settlement suggests a potential summer residence, possible dating to the Medieval period. Unfortunately, lack of surface materials and soil cuts made the recovery of any datable wares impossible.
While Settlement 03 was obvious from the Pleiades data, Settlement 04, a more disordered conglomeration of rectangular and curvilinear rooms just below and northwest of Settlement 03, was easily overlooked as it presents an overall more ambiguous picture both on the aerially and on the ground. Again, no surface materials were available from this site (also measuring approx. 1.5 ha in size), however the more submerged and less formalized nature of the architecture suggests that it is quite possibly later than that of Settlements 03 and 04.
Following lunch, we moved north of the Settlement(s) drainage and began to walk transects NS, intending to link up with the completed Nigavan quadrant areas 2 km to the north. Rain forced us to perform 1 km transects up and back instead, followed by a slightly early end to the day.