Amberd

## Ambred

**Amberd** (Armenian: Ամբերդ) is a 7th-century fortress located 2,300 meters (7,500 ft) above sea level, on the slopes of Mount Aragats at the confluence of the Arkashen and Amberd rivers in the province of Aragatsotn, Armenia. The name translates to "fortress in the clouds" in Armenian. It is also the name incorrectly attributed to Vahramashen Church, the 11th-century Armenian church near the castle. The village of Byurakan is 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) from the site of Amberd.

## History

The site started as a Stone Age settlement. During the Bronze Age and Urartian
 periods, a fortress had been built that is now obsolete. Some sources
say that Amberd used to be a summer residence for kings. The castle of
Amberd and some sections of walls were constructed in the 7th century as
 a possession of the noble House of Kamsarakan.

Four centuries later the fortress and surrounding lands were purchased by the House of Pahlavuni and rebuilt by Prince Vahram Vachutian Pahlavuni, as is recorded in the manuscripts of Grigor Magistros Pahlavuni.
 Vahram built the Church of Surb Astvatsatsin in 1026, fortified the
complex with thicker stone walls, and added three bastions along the
ridge of the Arkhashen canyon. Despite being unusual for a military
installation, a bath house was built in the same period and has remained
 moderately intact along with the water supply system.

Amberd was invaded in the 1070s by the Seljuq Turks who turned it into a military base. In 1197, a joint-army of Armenians and Georgians led by General Zakaria Mkhargrdzeli
 liberated the fortress. Under Zakarian control during the 12th and 13th
 centuries, the walls were structurally reinforced and the castle and
outer buildings were renovated.

The noble Vacheh Vachutian purchased Amberd in 1215, making it a key defensive site in the region. Within a short period of time, the Mongols
 captured and destroyed the fortress in the year 1236. The site remained
 abandoned and untouched until the 20th century, when reconstruction and
 archaeological excavations began.

## Architecture

### Fortress

The castle ruins of Amberd comprised an area of 1,500 square meters (16,000 sq ft). Its walls are constructed of roughly hewn basalt
 blocks set in place with mortar. Tower walls are inclined to have made
it easier to fire on invaders below. The interior of the castle had
three-stories, each floor separated from one another by wood planks
clinched on logs. There were five rooms in the first and second floor,
each arranged in a row where one would enter each room through the
previous room. An irregularly shaped hallway was separate from the three
 internal rooms by an internal wall.

On the third floor were the reception areas and private rooms for its
royal inhabitants. The structural configuration is thought to have not
changed since it was first built in the 7th century. Excavations have
shown that the interior of the castle and rooms were quite lavish with
elegantly carved decorations in the rooms, oil lamps, incense holders,
and walls decorated with silks and brocades, and with bronze, gold and
silver ornamentation.

### Water supply

At Amberd, a constant water supply was crucial for its inhabitants. The
fortress' primary viaduct was a terracotta pipeline that had been laid 4
 to 5 kilometers (2.5 to 3.1 mi) from the fortress to dammed reservoirs
which collected sources of spring water from higher elevations and
melting snow. In the event that the fortress was under attack, it was
likely that the pipeline would be destroyed. Therefore, another more
secret water supply would need to ensure a constant flow of water to its
 inhabitants to keep them from dying from thirst. A covered passageway
that led from the fortifications along a steep pathway descending down a
 cleft in the rocks to the Arkashen River performed such a task.

### Bath house

The bath house
 south of the fortress was built between the 10th and 11th centuries.
Its twin bathing rooms each with a single dome are still moderately
intact. At one time it had used hypocaust
 heating as had originated in Roman times, to heat the floors. Pipes
that ran through the floors and walls of the structure were heated by a
fire built under the floor, which then forced the heat throughout the
bathing rooms. Metal pipes supplied hot water to the baths.