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Code
SB17.01
Season
2017
Narrative

Today we spent the day ground truthing points around Lusagyugh. The first point was to the north east of the village somewhat on top of a nearby peak. There was a road near the church of Tugh Manouk that lead all the way to the fortress that was marked there on the Monuments Commission list, Aver Berd. On the way to the fortress, just below it, we found an artifact scatter with obsidian (a nucleus and flakes) and a potsherd. The fortress itself consisted of two semicircles that ran along the southern slope of the peak. The northern slope was sheer rock outcrop and walls wouldn't have been needed or possible to build. On the way back down, nearly to the church, there was a series of corrals constructed from nearby scree and quite possibly they are still in use. After this long hike, we ground truthed a monastic complex that was in ruins a little further east from Lusagyugh. The remains included one arch, a doorway, and some apse-like portions of wall. To the north of the church was also a medieval cemetery associated with the complex. As we descended into the modern village we stopped by a 19th c. church and recorded it as well as an early modern cemetery that had been mostly destroyed by a later road further west in the village. Finally we spent some time on a road we had surveyed around in 2015 and 2016 hoping to identify further ground truthing locations. some nearby hills look promising. This road extended north from the western boundary of the modern village of Lusagyugh.