Lernapar (plate IVd) is, in many respects, the most isolated of the fortresses recorded in the Tsaghkahovit Plain. The promontory on which the fortress was built overlooks the headwaters of the Kasakh river and a small, eponymous village to the east. Two small creeks at the base of both the north and south slopes join near the eastern tip of this east-west oriented promontory to forge the Kasakh. The nearest fortress is Berdidosh, 3.34km to the east (map quad F2d).
Lernapar fortress is built atop a triangular, prow-shaped promontory extending from west to east. The north slope drops dramatically down a steep grade to the creek at the base. The southern slope is gentler, though still significant, descending more gradually. The western flank of the site is the gentlest, rising only slightly from the surrounding elevated terrain that marks an ascent into the northwestern passage into the Shirak plain.
Lernapar fortress is oval in plan (maps 29, 36) with an 80m elongated axis oriented to a bearing 30° south of east. The short axis of the site is irregular but averages approximately 40m. Except on the western side, the fortification walls, like those at other sites in the plain, follows closely the crest of the promontory's natural topography. The western wall cuts across more gentle terrain in a well-carpentered straight line bearing 212°. Evidence remains of a small curvilinear tower on the northeastern corner of the fortification walls.
No surface materials.
The lack of surface materials at the site is troubling and precludes a clear assessment of the site's periodization. One possibility is that the place is not a fortress but a giant corral. This would certainly explain the lack of surface materials. But would not account for the remarkably well-built walls or the presence of several large cromlech cemeteries in an area generally devoid of other identifiable archaeological places. Given the very low surface densities at other sites in the region, such as Mirak, it is not entirely unprecedented for a fortress to have such low densities of surface materials. The question then is to what period can the fortress be provisionally assigned based on the visible architecture and associations. The conspicuous cluster of cromlech cemeteries along the southern flank of the fortress suggests the strong likelihood of a LB/I1 presence at the site. However, close architectural parallels for the plan and masonry of the fortification walls to those at Hnaberd, on the south side of the plain, suggest the possibility of later rebuilding. The curvilinear tower on the northeast corner of the fortress certainly suggests the possibility of rebuilding at the site during the mid-1st millennium BC.
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