ORIENTAL STUDIES IN ARMENIA VOLUME 3 Արևելագիտությունը Հայաստանում, հատոր 3 | Page 199

results of the excavations once again confirm the existence of a large
settlement and an adjacent necropolis within the site.
The settlement occupies the northern part of the site; it is enclosed by
rough-hewn outer walls that are 2 m high in some parts and has an entrance
from the south. One can discern the remains of rectangular buildings,
rounded constructions, which were most probably used for military purposes,
some caches and utility pits. In all likelihood, they were constantly
reconstructed over the whole period from the Middle Bronze Age to the High
Middle Ages (19 th /18 th c BC–13 th /14 th c. AD).
The necropolis is very close to the settlement; it occupies the southern
part of the site and stretches up to the left riverbank of the Dar, the tributary
of the Vorotan River. Its burial complexes are constructions related to the
Middle Bronze Age, the Late Bronze Age, the Iron Age and the Antic periods.
The Zorats Karer site still contains lots of mysteries. Their revealing,
study and interpretation should be carried out step by step, thoroughly
studying and considering the results of research at similar sites in different
parts of the world (Scandinavia, The British Isles, Brittany and the Iberian
Peninsula, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta, Asia Minor, Iranian Plateau, Altai, India,
etc.). In this context, Zorats Karer can indeed be considered as one of the
initial monuments for the study of the Bronze and Iron Age megalithic
monuments of Ancient Armenia, whole Ancient Near East and neighboring
region.
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