This morning we ascended Aver Berd establish the GNSS points for further mapping and droning. While the GNSS was being brought around the site I was tasked with some light excavation in what is thought to be a room. The visibility was moderate due to fairly tall grass. I removed the grass and opened an ad hoc "trench" and went down about 3cm in a half-meter by half-meter square, and found nothing. Aside from walls the architecture is the most salient feature at Aver Berd. I would very much like to see a more substantial trench started at some point. If this were an LB fortress there would be quite interesting finds here.
The afternoon was dedicated to ground truth work at Berdi Chairer just north of Aragats. It's a very fascinating site with much wall architecture visible throughout the greater slope area, surrounding what appears to be a central fortified structure complete with clear, very well-preserved walls. Our first task here was marking points in a circumferential pattern around the site using spray paint. After exploring the central fortification (I'm not sure if the term 'citadel' would apply here), we dug into a preexisting pit in the center of the fortification area. 1 sherd was immediately found, and another ad hoc trench next to it yielded 3 more sherds in a matter of minutes. Judging by the material output from a more or less casual excavation with just a hand-pick, I would not doubt that a full-scale excavation here would yield a tremendous amount of artifacts. The sherds are not diagnostic, save 1 sherd whose outer face has a faint combing decoration incised on the surface.