Lori Berd Fortress

🔍 Research history

Since the beginning of the XIX century the fortress-town has always been in the sights of European travelers and topographers. The archaeological studies of the Lori fortress began in 1966, with the efforts of the Chair of Archeology of the Yerevan State University (director: I. Gharibyan), which continued until 1974. As a result, the monograph dedicated to the history and excavations of the fortress was published in 2009. The excavations of the monument were resumed by the expedition of the “Scientific Research Center of the Historical and Cultural Heritage” in 2009 (project director: H. Simonyan, director: I. Gharibyan), which continued until 2013.

Taking into account the historical and cultural role and importance of Lori fortress and the need for its further study and preservation, according to the RA Government No. 1426 decision, September 16, 2010, this area was given the status of historical and cultural reserve of “Lori Berd”, including it in the Service for the Preservation of Historical Environment and Cultural Museum-reservations” SNOC.

🧱 Archaeological description

Location
The citadel is located at the tip of the promontory formed between the Dzoraget and Miskhana rivers. Remains of the two baths, a “civic building”, and ruins of a chapel-mausoleum have been preserved in the territory of the fortress.

Architecture
Lori was founded by Davit Anhoghin (989-1048), King of Tashir-Dzoraget, the representative of the Kiurikian branch of the Bagratunis of Ani.

The citadel was originally a fortress occupying an area of about 9 hectares. Later, after Lori was declared the capital of the Kiurikian kingdom (50-60s of the XI century), it was turned into a citadel. Unlike other Armenian medieval cities, Lori citadel is not elevated, but it is surrounded by deep gorges on three sides making it impregnable. A fence stretching from Dzoraget Gorge to the edge of Miskhana was built in the accessible part. The length of the wall is 214m, the thickness on the Dzoraget side is 18-20m, and on the Mishkhana side it does not exceed 7-8m. The length of the citadel from north to south is 400m in the longest place, the width is 280m from east to west. On the north-western side of the rampart is the only entrance to the castle with its arched structure. To the left of the entrance are four quadrangular towers, well preserved in the site. The ramparts and towers are built of almost rough local basalt, with only one face smoothed stones, bound together with lime mortar. As part of an additional defense system, there was a moat on the outer side of the wall. To ensure a constant supply, water was brought to the cave through an open canal from the north-western side of the fortress, from a distance of about 5-6 km, where there was a fairly abundant mountain spring. Drinking water was also brought from here, but through a closed pipeline. The fortress has a secret passage leading out to Miskhana Gorge.

The “civil building” is located 80m away from the wall, on the south-eastern side. It is the only standing structure in the entire citadel, which has a commanding position over the surroundings. The structure is quadrangular in plan. Its interior is divided into six parts, covered by domes resting on spherical ceilings, which were placed under a two-sloped common roof. The structure also served as a religious structure in different centuries. Remains of two baths have been preserved in the area of the citadel, the larger one- relatively in a good condition- is located to the south of the citadel entrance, and the smaller one is on the edge of the Dzoraget gorge. It consists of heating, bathing and dressing rooms. Their construction is attributed to the prosperous period of Lori – XI-XII centuries. Water supply was carried out with clay pipes. The roads connecting the suburbs of the city passed through the bridges built over the Dzoraget and Miskhana rivers, one of which stands on the Miskhana, and the remains of the other bridge are preserved near the confluence of the Dzoraget and Miskhana rivers.

🔨 Findings

During the excavations, many findings of pottery, metal, glass, and bone were found. Excavations of the castle revealed the largest collection of pipes – about 200 incomplete and complete examples.  

🌍 Significance

Lori fortress-town is a unique monument of its kind in the territory of Armenia. By visiting it, you see the fortifications and social life of the small medieval kingdom’s capital.

📜 Traditional legends 

Like many other fortresses in Armenia, the construction of Lori is also attributed to the Armenian king Ashot II Yerkat (the Iron) (914-928). However, in fact, the fortress was built about a century after the reign of Ashot B Bagratuni.

📚 Sources

Literature

1. Gharibyan 2009, Lori fortress-town and its excavations, Yerevan, “Science”, 290 pages.
2. Simonyan, I. Gharibyan, H. Badalyan, T. Aleksanyan 2015, Lori fortress-town (preliminary results of excavations in 2009-2013), Monument Yearbook, Z, pp. 29-56.
3. Khalpakhchyan 1971, Civil architecture of Armenia, Moscow, Ed. Literature on construction, 245p.

List of monuments.
Historical and cultural reserve of “Lori Berd” city center

📷 Gallery

1. Fortress of Lori. The displacement of the ancient site (Gharibyan 2009, 51).
2. The plan of the “Civil Building” (Gharibyan 2009, 95).
3. Plan and section of the chapel-tomb (Gharibyan 2009, 135).
4. The entrance and towers of the citadel (photo by T. Aleksanyan).
5. The entrance to the citadel before and after restoration (photo by T. Aleksanyan).
6. A view from the wall (photo by T. Aleksanyan).
7. “Civil Building” (photo by T. Aleksanyan).
8. The first bath (photo by T. Aleksanyan).
9. One of the rooms attached to the wall from inside after the excavations in 2011. (photo by T. Aleksanyan).
10. Some examples of cigarettes (H. Simonyan and others 2015, ag.11).