The Control over the Lake and Mountains. a Reconstruction of Settlement Pattern of the Lake Sevan Basin During the Middle Bronze Age
CESARETTI, Andrea
Lake Sevan in Armenia has always had a strategic role in the South Caucasus, as well as Lake Van and Orumiyeh. During the Bronze Age, a dense occupation that changed over time but was always functional to the control of access to the lake and the resources that characterise the nearby mountainous areas, first the gold deposits, can be observed. The paper presents the results of a review of the data relating to the protohistoric period defined as the Middle Bronze Age (first part of the 2nd millennium BCE). The already published data available allowed a territorial analysis aimed at reconstructing the settlement pattern that characterised the Sevan basin during this period. One of the most interesting aspects is the high number of fortified sites that characterised the Sevan area during the Middle Bronze Age, which makes it one of the mountainous regions with the highest number of military sites. This aspect has been linked to the need to control communication routes and resources and to the possible existence of a cultural boundary within Middle Bronze Age communities.
Session 3. Urban and Landscape Studies: Finding Interpretative Approaches [info]