Statement by the “Yerkir” Union of Non-governmental Organizations For Repatriation and Settlement on the results of the first phase of archeological excavations of the city of Tigranakert in Artsakh
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Through an initiative and the financing of the “Yerkir” Union of Non-governmental Organizations for Repatriation and Settlement, an expedition of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences (headed by Hamlet Petrosyan) achieved from August 3-18, 2006 the first phase of the archeological excavations of the city of Tigranakert and its surroundings, built in Artsakh by the Armenian king Tigran the 2-nd, better known as Tigran the Great. Prior to the excavation works themselves, the same team of researchers had visited and studied the area in March 2005, to determine the exact location of the city of Tigranakert.
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Excavation works led to the discovery of the fortified outer wall of a citadel, as well as the supporting wall of one of the terraces, a basilica of the 5-6 centuries, and hundreds of archeological artifacts. A church complex carved in the rock has also been studied in the valley of Khachenaget, in the vicinity of the city. |
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The preliminary study of the findings has shown that since its foudation in the 1-rst century B.C. until the 13-14 centuries A.D., the city of Tigranakert has continued to exist without interruption. The discovered buildings and pottery are similar to the ones found in other Armenian areas, and in particular, to those discovered in the plain of Ararat, a fact which corroborates once more the testimony of Armenian medieval historians concerning the Armenian ownership, the Armenian nature of the city of Tigranagert and of its surrounding areas. The excavations also confirm that this area is part of our Homeland, or in other words, part of that territory, where the Armenian people has been formed and has built its history. |
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The findings have an exceptional historical, cultural and religious value not only for Armenians, but also internationally speaking, in terms of mankind’s patrimony. For example, the remains of the early medieval basilica of the 5-6th centuries found in the inhabited neighbourhoods of the city and the church complex carved in the rock prove that Tigranakert has been one of the centers of the oriental christian civilization. |
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The study of the findings will follow the excavation works, and the results will be published in an illustrated book. |
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“Yerkir” Union will ensure the pursuit of the excavation works in Tigranakert, as well as of the study of the findings. |
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Photos from Tigranakert excavations (August, 2006)
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