Kosh Fortress

Kosh, Armenia, Armenia

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Kosh Fortress (also called Aghjka Berd, meaning “Fortress of the Young”) is a medieval Armenian fortress located on a hilltop in the northern part of the village of Kosh in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, about 18 km southwest of Ashtarak and close to the key road that connects Ashtarak with Alaverdi and the Iron Age site of Dvin.

The fortress was most likely founded in the 4th century and later rebuilt in the 13th–14th centuries, and today it is best known for its rectangular plan with angular corners and four circular towers at the corners, built from large, well-cut tuff blocks with rough basalt blocks forming the lower parts of the walls and towers.

It has two main entrances on the north and south sides, each accessed through covered corridor passages that provided extra defense and controlled access to the interior, while the elevated position on the hill gave the fortress an unobstructed view over the surrounding valleys, the Ararat plain, and the distant Ararat massif, allowing its defenders to monitor movement and control the area in times of danger.