Magnetic survey in the investigation of sociopolitical change at a Late Bronze age fortress settlement in northwestern Armenia

Abstract

The construction of large stone fortresses across much of northern Armenia during the Late Bronze Age (ca.1500^1150 BC) represented a shift away from centuries of nomadic pastoralism, and also marked a profound transformation in the constitution of political authority and how social orders were mediated through the built environment.To date, however, little archaeological attention has been given to Late Bronze Age (LBA) settlements located outside the fortress citadels, partlydueto the difficultyin detectingthem fromthe surface.Inthisreport wehighlight resultsandobservations from a magnetic gradiometry survey in northwestern Armenia where we test the hypothesis that an extensive LBA domestic complex existed at the base of the fortified hill at the site of Tsaghkahovit. The study surveyed four grids in the settlement area at the base of fortress. Three test units were excavated in three of the four survey areas to test selected anomalies. Two of the test units confirmed the presence of subsurface LBA deposits, including basalt stone walls, burned features, and a storage pit, appearing in the data as large dipoles.The spatial configurations of buildings revealed by the gradiometry surveys elucidate the extent of theTsaghkahovit settlement and the formal differentiation of domestic and institutional spaces as new architectural traditions emerge during the Middle to Late Bronze Age transition. However, targeted subsurface tests also hint at the ephemeral nature of the domestic constructions suggesting the retention of mobilityamong subject populationsunder the authorityof settled fortress elites

Understanding Northeastern Plains Village sites through archaeological geophysics

“…The collected resistance and magnetometry data were processed in Geoplot and later imported into Surfer for final map production (Creekmore, 2010; Lindsay et al . 2010). The down‐hole magnetic susceptibility data was processed in Microsoft Excel and later imported to Surfer for the final images.…”

4 Mobility, Territorial Commitments, and Political Organization among Late Bronze Age Polities in Southern Caucasia

“…While much of the dearth of settlement archaeology can be attributed to the lack of systematic archaeological survey in the Caucasus region, Lindsay's ongoing research indicates that the investigation of residential areas has also been impeded by the ephemeral nature of LBA settlements, making them difficult to locate through traditional archaeological reconnaissance (Lindsay ; Lindsay et al. ). Below we present preliminary data from excavations at Tsaghkahovit's LBA domestic settlement situated at the base of Tsaghkahovit Fortress (the only such data set thus far available on LBA residential contexts in Armenia), offering a window on the variety of activities under way at the plain's LBA settlements and their incorporation into wider relationships of trade, transport, and communication.…”

“…While farming and fortresses are defining characteristics of the LBA, however, several lines of evidence suggest that mobile pastoralism continued to play a persistent role in the region's political economy (Lindsay ; Lindsay et al. ; Smith et al. ).…”

Archaeological Investigation. Martin Carver, Routledge, 2009. No. of pages: 480. ISBN: 978‐0415489195. The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from earliest times to the twenty‐first century. John Hunter and Ian Ralston (eds). Routledge, 2009. No. of pages: 480. ISBN: 978‐0‐415‐47717‐8

“…Whereas it may be clear to our community that non-invasive data can answer problems that excavation would take many more years to achieve, especially in the landscape arena, it is also true that spatial or social analysis of sites can be achieved using these data. Papers by Benech (2007) and Lindsay et al (2010) amply illustrate this type of analysis.…”