The wine press in the village of Ptghni

The village of Ptghni is located in the Kotayk region, 37 km to the southwest of the center of the region. Here, during excavations (archaeologist: Meline Simonyan), a wine press dating back to the developed Middle Ages (12th-14th centuries) was discovered. It is surrounded by walls on three sides, and the fourth wall was demolished during the division of lands. The height of the wall in undamaged areas reaches 280 cm. Here, in the central part of the main wall, at a distance of 230 cm from each other, window niches made of tuff opened with an opening of 60 cm. The floor and adjacent side walls are made of lime mortar, creating a waterproof environment. This is the “sail” site, a place for pressing grapes. The site is divided into two parts thanks to a partition in the central part. In the western part of the “sail”, there is a tuff groove. It is connected to the tank N3 and, through another limestone groove coming out of it, goes into the tank N1. To the east of the “sail” partition is the reservoir N2, which has slightly higher edges and no groove. It is noteworthy that the plate (lid) and plug are present only on the first tank. The monument needs protection and urgent repairs.