Aghchka Berd (Kosh Fortress): A 13th-Century Armenian Fortification
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Armenia
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Armenian
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
History
Aghchka Berd, also known as Kosh Fortress, is a 13th-century fortress in Armenia. It stands on a small hill in the northwestern part of Kosh, and its ruins extend to the cemetery east of the village. The hill provides views across the surrounding plain in every direction.
The fortress has a rectangular plan oriented south, with circular towers at all four corners. Its walls and towers are made of tuff, a rock formed from compacted volcanic ash, with rough basalt, a volcanic rock, in their lower sections. The tuff blocks are large and finely dressed, and some stone may have been reused from older buildings. The northern entrance is ruined. A vaulted passage sits at the center of the south wall, with a walled corridor adjoining it on the inner side. Nearby to the south stands a 6.8-metre-high khachkar, an Armenian carved cross-stone, made of red tuff and dated to 1195.
