Ughtasar Southeast Lava Field Petroglyphs
Ուղտասար Հարավ-արևելյան դաշտ · Ughtasar SE Field Armenia · Tsghuk Southeast
Early to Late Bronze via Early Iron·Kura-Araxes, Trialeti, Lchashen-Metsamor, Urartian fringe·🇦🇲 Syunik Province, Sisian highlands, Mt Tsghuk south slope, Ughtasar crater SE lava field 3150 m, Armenia
About
About Ughtasar Southeast Lava Field Petroglyphs
Southeast basalt lava field 1.1 km southeast of the classic Ughtasar crater-lake petroglyph concentration (iconic black volcanic boulders with 2000+ panels at 3300 m), extending the site down-slope to 3150 m on pahoehoe slabs. The southeast field contains 380+ boulders with Bronze–Iron Age petroglyphs — wild goats, long-horn cattle, anthropomorphic 'orants' and wheeled cart motifs — distinct for preserved cart-wheel ruts and 'dragon-stone' vishap-like stelae reuse as petroglyph canvases. Discovered 2019 drone survey, the field triples the known extent of Ughtasar and links the high crater to the Sevkar seasonal drove road.
Why it mattersExtends classic Ughtasar crater lake corpus 1.1 km down-slope, with rare cart and vishap-associated panels at the high lake circuit margin.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Attribution of vishap stelae as petroglyph boulders
- 02Cart typology vs Trialeti wagons
Theories
- 01Highland drove-road pilgrimage circuit 3300 m
- 02Trialeti chiefly hunting ground marking
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.3000–700 BCE (Early Bronze to Urartian)
- Period
- Early to Late Bronze via Early Iron
- Culture
- Kura-Araxes, Trialeti, Lchashen-Metsamor, Urartian fringe
- Builders
- Syunik highland pastoralists and Trialeti chiefs
- Purpose
- Volcanic crater pilgrimage and drove-road marking at 3300–3150 m lake circuit
- Abandoned
- c.700 BCE Urartian eclipse
- Rediscovered
- 1968 discovery crater lake; 2019 Birmingham-Gor is drone SE field; 2022 vishap study
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.2500 BCE
Kura-Araxes ibex and orant peak
c.1400 BCE
Lchashen cart and long-horn cattle phase
2019
Drone discovery of SE field
On the ground
Structures & features
39.6800° N · 46.0800° E · 3150 m · 2 mapped features
SE Lava Field — Cart and Vishap Boulder (Boulder SE-47)
petroglyph panel1.2-m pahoehoe slab with two-wheeled cart, draft zebu and adjacent vishap serpent head boulder
39.6810° N · 46.0810° ESE Lava Field — Orant and Ibex Frieze (Boulder SE-112)
petroglyph panelBlack basalt boulder with line of 5 orant anthropomorphs with raised arms and ibex herd above
39.6790° N · 46.0790° E