Sahakaberd fortress (plate IId) is located 4.33km southwest (bearing 139°) of Tsaghkahovit fortress, within the territory of a modern military proving ground (map quad B3i).
The fortress was built atop a moderate rise where the Auzkend stream leaves the rugged slopes of Mt. Aragats to begin a gentle final descent to the Tsaghkahovit plain. While the approaches to the site from the plain are quite steep, the terrain beyond the southern walls is quite subdued until a series of ridges rise up into Mt. Aragats. The site now lies within the territory of a military proving ground and bears enormous scars of use for gunnery practice and other exercises. Foxholes have been dug against the fortress wall and stones have been placed haphazardly atop the existing structures.
The site extends over 8.20ha, merging to the north with an extensive medieval era settlement (Sk Settlement 1). The visible fortification walls enclose a small citadel of 0.20ha.
Although considerably damaged by modern military exercises, a significant portion of the original construction is still visible (map 31, 45). The walls are built of small to medium-sized facing stones surrounding a rubble core with a gateway on the southeastern corner. The most remarkable feature of the fortification architecture is the series of large buttresses on the south wall. These buttresses project between 2.6 and 4.6m from the curtine and are spaced at regular intervals of approximately 8.5m. The appearance of buttresses on only the southern side of Sahakaberd fortress suggests that these features were not extensions of the engineering requirements of the wall itself but rather were features of the defensive system, focused where the topography afforded the least protection. Inspection of the joins between the buttresses and curtine suggest that the former were added subsequent to the initial construction of the circumferential fortification wall.
A single long wall was also recorded on the slope outside the southern wall. It is unclear what relationship this wall has, if any, to the fortress.
Our preliminary examinations of the surface materials from Sahakaberd (n=257) strongly suggested occupation of the site during the Iron 3b, Iron 4, and Medieval eras (figs. VI.12, 34). Some indications were also initially found of an LB/I1 occupation. Further examination of the materials have cast some doubt on the evidence for a 2nd millennium occupation at the site and confirmed the strength of the I3, I4, and Mv activity in the area. Indeed, the fortifications of Sahakaberd also point towards significant construction activity in the Iron 4 period. The layout of the site is highly reminiscent of the architecture at Veriberd, a site located on the west slope of Mt. Aragats. The fortification wall at Veriberd employed wide buttresses similar to those at Sahakaberd (Smith 1996: 127-129). If confirmed, Sahakaberd would be the only site in the Tsaghkahovit Plain with a significant I4 occupation.
See: Avetisyan et al. 2000.
Avetisyan et al. 2000; Smith 1996
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