Sk BC 22 was discovered 0.46km south (bearing 183°) of Sk BC 17, along the same north-south ridgeline (map quad B3f).
As noted, Sk BC 22 lies atop the same linear ridgeline that also hosts Sk BC 16 and 17. The ridge shows signs of considerable erosion on the summit and this is particularly the case in the area of Sk BC 22 where burials appear to be tucked in between erupting formations of natural bedrock. Given the sprawling extent of these clusters and their shared topographic situation, they may well represent a single very large cluster. However, small differences in the burials themselves, as well as intervening empty areas between them, suggest that they are likely distinct places.
Sk BC 22 spreads across a large area 350m north-south and 75m east-west. Despite the local conditions that make counting the burials difficult, it is estimated that there are no less than 130 burials within the cluster. Most are bedrock, standard, stepped, spiral (feature 2), or paved clusters, sometimes packed into dense lines or "ribbons". However, several kurgans were also noted in the cluster, including a line of three that were looted (feature 1). The majority of the burials range between 3 and 6m in diameter and are built of medium, shaped basalt blocks. Only a handful boast the kind of cyclopean basalt capstones seen in other clusters within the western Sahakaberd quadrant. A small sub-cluster on the southern edge of Sk BC 22 are particularly small, ranging in diameter from 1.0 to 1.7m in diameter. These are made by small, worked basalt blocks set in a ring around medium-sized, shaped basalt capstones.
No surface materials.
Feature 1: is a line of three kurgans aligned north-south and a total of 23m in length and 6m wide. All three burials show signs of having been looted, most likely within the last 1-5 years as the overgrowth was composed of primary weeds. The cobbles of tuff and basalt that once sealed the burials now lie strewn across the area. Only in the southernmost of the constructions is an interior chamber now exposed. This chamber was lined with basalt slabs on three sides, defining a chamber approximately 1.2m x 0.95m. Despite the apparent looting, no materials were found suggesting either the tombs were empty or the complete contents were removed intact.
Feature 2: is one of only a handful of clear spiral cromlechs recorded in the Sahakaberd quadrant. It is 5m in diameter with a spiraling outer ring that begins on the northwest edge and terminates at a central, large shaped capstone at the center. The building stones are medium-sized, shaped, and unworked basalt blocks.
None.
No Entities