Mkrtich H. Zardaryan

The paper deals with the first results of the Armenian-German Artaxata Project which was initiated in 2018. The city of Artaxata was founded in the 2nd century BC as the capital of the Artaxiad kingdom. The city stretches over the 13 hills of the Khor Virap heights and the adjacent plain in the Ararat valley. The new project focusses on Hill XIII and the Lower city to the south and the north of it. This area was investigated by magnetic prospections in 2018 and on the basis of its results, in total eleven 5 × 5 m trenches were excavated in 2019. On the eastern part of Hill XIII several structures of possibly domestic function were uncovered. They were laid out according to a regular plan and in total three phases could be determined. According to 14C data, the first phase already dates to the 2nd century BC while the subsequent two phases continue into the 1st/2nd century AD. In the 2019 campaign, the overall layout and exact function of the structures could not be determined and more excavations will be undertaken in the forthcoming years. North of Hill XIII the foundations of piers of an unfinished Roman aqueduct on arches were excavated. This aqueduct is attributed to the period 114–117 AD when Rome in vain tried to establish the Roman province of Armenia with Artaxata being the capital.

In March of 2021, the Berlin-based company cmp continued geophysical prospection works at the ancient city of Artashat-Artaxata (Ararat Province, Armenia). The city was founded by Artashes-Artaxias I in the early 2nd century BC and served as his capital. First magnetic measurements were conducted by the Eastern Atlas company in September 2018. In 2021, during the 5-day survey a total surface of approximately 19.5 ha was investigated by use of the LEA MAX magnetic gradiometer array. This system was configured with seven fluxgate gradiometer probes, similar to the system used in the first survey of 2018. The investigated areas of the Eastern Lower City of Artaxata, located to the south of the investigated field of 2018, had good surface conditions with a moderate amount of sources causing disturbance. However, the general level of the magnetic gradient values measured was significantly lower compared to the 2018 data. Despite the lower magnetic field intensity, a continuation of linear structures towards the south was observed. These lines, most likely reflecting streets and pathways, criss-cross the central part of the Eastern Lower City in a NW–SE and NE–SW direction and exhibit partly positive, partly negative magnetic anomalies. Attached to them, some isolated spots with building remains were identified. The negative linear anomalies point to remains of limestone foundations, as detected in the northern part of the Lower City. The low magnetic intensity and fragmentation of the observed structures are most likely due to severe destruction of the ancient layers by 20th-century earthworks for agricultural purposes. Moreover, the southern part of the surveyed area was affected by major changes caused by modern quarries at Hills XI and XII. In general, the results of the two magnetic prospection campaigns greatly aid our understanding of the archaeological situation in the area of the Eastern Lower City of Artaxata, justifying further investigations that will surely contribute to greater contextualization of the identified archaeological structures. The full data sets are also published in open access on Zenodo.