Ararat Plain Southeast Archaeological Project

In collaboration with the Armenian Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, this project conducts archaeological fieldwork in the Vedi river valley on the southeastern edge of the Ararat plain in Armenia.  The Ararat plain sits within the northern extents of the ancient Near East, a region known for early advances in societal complexity, including the first agriculture, writing, and cities and is an important transportation corridor on the Silk Road. The Vedi river valley connects the fertile Ararat plain with the resource-rich Gegham mountain range, serving as an important route for travel, trade, and communications.  Each summer, an international team travels to Armenia to conduct surface survey and undertake excavations to map and investigate archaeological sites.  The main excavation focuses on the Vedi Fortress, a site with monumental fortification walls situated with a commanding view of the valley. In addition to the major excavations at the Vedi Fortress, the project maps and analyzes settlement patterns, land use, and resource exploitation in the Vedi river valley diachronically. The information we obtain supports an examination of how humans have interacted with and transformed their local environment and how that environment has reciprocally influenced life in the valley.