The archaeological investigations of Project ArAGATS have been ongoing since 1998.\u00a0 Our work to date has had three major research phases:<\/p>\n
Phase I<\/strong>\u00a0(1998-2000): Regional Investigations, including systematic pedestrian survey, test exavations at major fortresses and cemeteries, and subsurface soundings guided by analysis of extant remotely sensed data.<\/p>\n Phase IIa<\/strong>\u00a0(2002-2003): Intensive excavations at Tsaghkahovit Fortress coupled with expanded soundings at Gegharot.<\/p>\n Phase IIb<\/strong>\u00a0(2005-2006): Intensive exacations at Gegharot Fortress joined by expanded investigations at Tsaghkahovit focused on the Late Bronze Age and Iron 3 period settlements at the base of the fortress hill.<\/p>\n Phase III\u00a0<\/strong>(2008-2012): The third phase of our investigations concentrated on dramatically expanding our excavations at Gegharot and Tsaghkahovit while continuing to welcome new directions in our investigations stimulated by dissertation projects centered on the sites of Aragatsiberd, Tsaghkahovit Burial Cluster 12, and the Medieval caravanserai at Arai.<\/p>\n Phase IV<\/strong> (in development): The next phase of Project ArAGATS’s work is currently in development. \u00a0Our focus will be on working outward from the Tsaghkahovit Plain in order to generalize from our research “laboratory” to other areas of the South Caucasus. \u00a0Our focus will be on tacking between scales–from the site, to the area, to the region–in order to study variability in the social and political dynamics shaping life in the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The archaeological investigations of Project ArAGATS have been ongoing since 1998.\u00a0 Our work to date has had three major research phases: Phase I\u00a0(1998-2000): Regional Investigations, including systematic pedestrian survey, test exavations at major fortresses and cemeteries, and subsurface soundings guided … Read more