Our morning was occupied today by the first ever Aragats Foundation archaeology camp. After camp, we had lunch with Salpi at Mirak to inspect the trenches there. While OP2 appears finished, down to bedrock in most its extramural areas, it is clear that a northeasterly expansion will be necessary to clarify the wall situation. Bedrock slopes downward in dramatic fashion as towards the west, a clear clue that the southwestern half of the trench is rather far from a conclusive wall. OP 03 is proceeding downward rather quickly, with rocky, largely undifferentiated soil with moderate frequencies of ceramic and bone materials.
After leaving Mirak we ran errands in Aparan, before heading to Chknagh to inquire about the listed sites of "Horomi Paler" and "Papayi Pal." An old man from the village informed us that neither referred to a fortress. Rather, Horomi Paler marks the stones from which a legendary village girl (Horomi) fell to her death, while Papayi Pal is the name of a specific outcrop-crowned hill above the village. After sorting out that confusion (kind of), we walked the area between the village, its old Kohkhoz buildings, and the more recently installed cell phone towers. There, we found high frequencies of EB pottery and obsidian bleeding out of many surface cuts. We collected 3 bags from the area, three surface collection points, which measures approximately 300 x 150m. I'm convinced that it's a settlement, due to the size and high obsidian frequencies, but because burials are already reported on here (from construction disturbance) both site components are likely already present.