H. Martirosyan’s contribution in the development of archaeology in Armenia is enormous. Thanks to his efforts, the archaeology in Armenia reached a new level. As for our article, it is important to mention that the excavations at the necropolis of Lori Berd were initiated and supported by H. Martirosyan, who was the head of the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Soviet Armenia back then. Moreover, he supervised the PhD thesis of S. Devedjyan (one of the contributors of this article).
Long-term excavations at Lori Berd’s burial ground and localised excavations of the settlement revealed a millennia-long habitation of the site by local population, the beginnings of which are evident from the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Through excavations it became clear that the Lori Berd society had already reached a high level of socio-economic status and maintained its positions during the Urartian and post-Urartian periods.
Lori Berd with its necropolis and settlement belongs to the number of the most important Armenian archaeological sites as it reflects the history and development of the cultural peculiarities of North Armenia for almost two millennia – from the last centuries of the 3rd millennium BC up to the 6th -5th centuries BC.
During the 2007-2008 field season seven tombs were excavated at Lori Berd. Four of these date to the end of the Late Bronze Age. One of the largest tombs (Tomb 81) of the site is located nearly in the centre of the cemetery, 70 m south of the Stepanavan-Lori Berd road. The oval (13.5 × 6.1 m) burial mound was composed of stones and soil, measured 0.6 m high. The centre was slightly sunken: it had a flat surface, and was oriented to the northwest – southeast. Sixteen large slabs forming the false vaulted roof of the burial chamber were discovered 0.2 – 0.4 m below the grass-covered mound. The four central stones were placed in the horizontal position, while the parameter stones were leaning towards the chamber.
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