What was the spatial and social organization of highland Bronze Age communities on the north-eastern coast of Lake Sevan (Armenia)? How did they react to rapid and profound economic and political changes in the transition to the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2500 BCE)? 

Around 2500 BCE, the egalitarian and sedentary communities of the Early Bronze Age (EBA / Kura-Araxes) disappeared and were replaced by more nomadic and hierarchic groups of the Middle Bronze Age (MBA). Archaeologists have long debated whether this transition is caused by large-scale migration of mobile pastoral groups, climate change, or internal socio-economic factors.

The profound changes during the Bronze Age are central to a new collaboration between the Universities of Bamberg and Halle-Wittenberg, and the Armenian National Academy of Sciences. Funded by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung, the Artanish Landscape Archaeology Project (ALAP) sets out to investigate the cultural, environmental, and spatial context of the Early Bronze Age settlement of Artanish 9. The massive stone fortification walls of this hilltop settlement (0.6 ha) set it apart from the typical small-scale, undefended, open villages of this period. It was inhabited during the later phase of the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2900-2500 BCE) and, like many contemporary sites, abandoned at the onset of the Middle Bronze Age. Why was Artanish 9 fortified – and why did its inhabitants leave, apparently without violent disruptions?

To answer these questions, we apply a multi-method non-invasive approach to investigate the wider landscape around the site. Intensive field walking and geophysical surveys are implemented to map previously uninvestigated Bronze Age hilltop settlements along the Lake Sevan coast. We want to know whether there are more fortified settlements: was Artanish 9 really an exception to the rule? The site-oriented geophysical surveys also inform us on the spatial organization inside the settlement. Drone-based photogrammetry is used to map the morphologies of these places, their direct surroundings, possible enclosures and access routes. In combination with off-site geophysical surveys, this work informs us of how space was organized outside the settlements. We are interested to know whether there are designated functional areas for workshops, livestock, and burials. Systematic collections of surface artefacts combined with material studies inform us of the chronology and intensity of use of different zones in and around the settlements. Finally, extensive fieldwalking in the areas between these sites helps us to better understand the land use and infrastructure of this mountain landscape. 

Together, these approaches aim to reconstruct settlement organization and landscape use, providing new perspectives on social transformation at the Early–Middle Bronze Age transition in the Armenian highlands.

Read more about Artanish 9 (open access): De Neef, W. Kunze, R., Ullrich, B., Bobokhyan, A. 2026, A fortified Early Bronze Age settlement in the Southern Caucasus. Antiquity Vol. 100 Issue 412: 938-957.