New Discoveries Intowards the Water Use Systems of the Medieval Baths of the Lore Berd Fortress

The fortress Lore Berd, located in the Lori Berd community of the Lori Province of the Republic of Armenia, is one of the best preserved fortresses in Armenia. This famous fortress of historical Gugark region arose on a high cape formed at the intersection of gorges where the rivers Dzoraget (Tashrajur) and Urut (Miskhana) merge. It is located at an altitude of 1490 m above sea level and together with the suburbs occupies an area of 50–60 hectares (only the citadel takes up 9 hectares). Based on archaeological excavations carried out both in the Soviet Union period and in the 2000s, the cultural image of this famous fortress was revealed.

Excavations of the Lore Berd Fortress resumed in 2022, under a special grant from the RA MoESCS, within the framework of the restoration and development project, the archaeological expedition of the Scientific Research Center of Historical and Cultural Heritage (expedition leader: A. Nalbandyan, archaeologist: M. Khechoyan, assistant: S. Bislamyan). The work was carried out at several sites. They, revealed significant results both in terms of architecture and studying of cultural layers.

Particularly noteworthy are the results of excavations in two baths of the Lore Berd Fortress. The studied lower, earliest layers gave not only a huge number of findings of material culture (ordinary, red-polished, stamped and glazed ceramics, glass bracelets and beads, smoking pipes, coins, various copper objects, etc.), but also led to remarkable discoveries concerning the water supply of baths, the movement/circulation of water and, the floor heating systems. The discovered pools, ditches, clay water pipes and water taps further enriched our understanding of the engineering system of the bathhouses of Lore Berd Fortress.