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General Info
Site ID
Ar/Sk.336.01
Site Name
Sahakaberd BC 17
Site Type
Burial Cluster
Landscape
Sahakaberd
Periodization
Late Bronze, Iron 1
UTM Zone
38T
UTM Easting
430066
UTM Northing
4495785
Elevation
2,366m
Association

Sk BC 17 was found 0.34km south (bearing 198°) of SK BC 16 (map quad B3f).

Topography

This large cluster of burials spreads across the summit, eastern, and western slope of the same ridge that also hosts Sk BC 16. The summit is somewhat denuded, with outbursts of eroding bedrock while the slopes provide rather steep grass covered terrain.

General Description

Sk BC 17, like SK BC 16 to the north, is a very large cluster of cromlechs extending across an area approximately 250m north-south and 170m east-west. It is quite possible that Sk BC 16 and 17 are a single cluster. However, a brief hiatus in burial construction for 200 -250m between them suggest they are better categorized as separate clusters. That said, the burials within the cluster and their distribution are quite similar to those in Sk BC 16. The burials include paved, mounded, bedrock, and standard style cromlechs. Those on the slopes of the hill are highly submerged, making a true census impossible. However, a conservative estimate would suggest no less than 110-130 burials within the cluster. Atop the summit, paved style cromlechs predominate along with several mounded cromlechs surmounted by cyclopean capstones (such as that described for Sk BC 13, feature 2). The burials on the slope appear to be primarily standard cromlech burials, ranging from 3-4.5m in diameter and built out of medium basalt blocks. Like Sk BC 16, the burials closer to the water course at the base of the slope are more disturbed. While the upper reaches of the eastern slope appear rather bare, the burials begin again in earnest at mid-slope where a tightly packed "ribbon" of paved cromlechs extends down to the cultivated valley floor below (feature 1). At the base of the hill, a series of more discrete paved cromlechs were recorded.

Features & Materials

A single obsidian flake and two sherds, definable as Group C (Middle Iron IIa through Medieval), were found along a modern vehicle path that cuts across the field below the eastern slope, in the vicinity of the easternmost cromlechs of the cluster. However, the association of these materials with the burials is quite tenuous.

Feature 1: is a densely packed "ribbon" of paved cromlechs that extends from the middle of the eastern slope of the ridge down to the valley floor. A distance of approximately 60m. The paved burials are highly submerged in some places but the overall elements of the feature remain visible. The individual burials appear to be between 2.5 and 4m in diameter and constructed of small to medium-sized basalt blocks.

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