InternationalA city built by King Tigran the Great is unearthed
A 5th–6th–century basilica and the oldest known Armenian writing in the territory of Artsakh are discovered
Published: Saturday September 26, 2009
The fort at Tigranakert. Tatul Hakobyan / Armenian Reporter
Tigranakert, Nagorno-Karabakh - When it was announced in 2005 that one of the Tigranakerts built by King Tigran the Great (r. 95-55 B.C.E.) was discovered in Tigranakert, Artsakh, the reaction from Armenia was one of mockery, while the Azerbaijani side condemned the initiative of Armenian archaeologists as political propaganda.
Independent of the evaluations being made, the city of Tigranakert, built during the Hellenistic period of 70 B.C.E. is being excavated and unearthed and that is a fact. History professor Hamlet Petrossian, who is heading up the team of scientists at the excavation site in Tigranakert, studied the manuscripts of Armenian historians before beginning the excavation. Armenian historian Sebos, and later Movses Kaghankadvatsi left writings in the 7th century, which state that through the decree of King Tigran, the city of Tigranakert was built in Arstakh.
A member of the excavation team in Tigranakert, Vartkes Safaryan, a professor at the university in Artsakh says that studies were conducted over a 10 km territory because the written sources were not precise about the exact location of Tigranakert in Artsakh.
"We can say that we have discovered one of the Tigranakert cities built during the days of King Tigran the Great. All Hellenistic kings built cities and named them after themselves. We have historical facts that in the eastern regions of Armenia, there have been two Tigranakerts, one in Utik and the other in Artsakh," said Safaryan.
It is believed that Tigranakert and the important Armenian settlement around its territory survived until the 15th century. Until the half of the 18th century, no written information was saved about the Tigranakert in Artsakh. Around that time, a fort was built near the springs of Shahbulagh (translation from Turkish means springs of the king) by the fierce enemy of the Meliks, Panah Khan. Armenians called the territory around the springs of Shahbulagh as Tngrnakert (a distorted version of Tigranakert), which makes the assumption that it was here that Tigranakert was located. A researcher in the ruins of Artsakh, Makar Barghudarians, writes, that the lower valley of Khachenaket was called the province of Tigranakert.
It was possible not to trust the information found in historical sources if Tigranakert itself had not been brought out from under the earth.
"This is the fifth season that we have been carrying out our work. The two base walls of the Hellenistic city, the fortress walls have already been exposed. They are for the most part stable; the tower has also been excavated. The city was composed of several sections - this was the citadel. This city was founded around 70 B.C.E. and continued to exist until the 15th century. It is for this reason that we not only have Hellenistic monuments, but also Christian ones," said Safaryan.
A few hundred meters above Tigranakert, at the summit of the mountain, a 6th-7th-century church, Vankasar, is still standing. During Soviet rule, this church, along with other Armenian churches in the Kur-Araks region, were said to be Albanian; the walls of the churches were desecrated and all Armenian writings were removed. On the eastern section of Vankasar, an early Christian Church carved into the mountain is preserved. Seven kilometers north of Vankasar another Armenian Church from the early middle ages has also been preserved in the territory of Gyavurghala (which means the Unbeliever's Fort)
The white city
The excavation is unearthing the remains of a powerful city and details of a rich cultural life that once thrived here. The physical structures and the artifacts being excavated attest to the fact that Tigranakert's city plan was progressive, utilized construction technology that allowed for a wide-open settlement. The city was built using a porous, white local stone and stone waterways were constructed in the rocky terrain. Tigranakert had been a white city.
The excavations are also revealing a rich and beautiful city. The most exciting discovery was the revelation of a round tower, 9 meters in diameter, whose walls are made of polished stone and constructed in the dove's tail (tsitsernagapoch) style. Five stories of the tower have been preserved. The height of the tower soars to 60 meters.
The excavations in Tigranagerd, which began in 2007, is being financed by the government of Nagorno-Karabakh. This year, the government of NKR, created within its tourism agency the Tigranakert Reserve state organization through which it hopes to secure future financing. A sum of 30 million AMD has been earmarked for this year's excavations and work took place from June 16 to August 25.
Historian and archaeologist Lernik Hovhanessian is the director of the Tigranakert Reserve. He said that the fundamental issue is the study of the ruins, the protection of the site and the carrying out of further excavation and scientific study.
"The reserve will be built on a territory of 4,000 hectares. The fort will be renovated, where a museum will also be built. Tigranakert has political significance as well because of the discovery of the 5th-6th-century basilica. It is quite large and similar to other Armenian churches built in the Armenian plateau in the early Christian era. It was here in 2008 where we discovered the oldest written document in Artsakh. All of this shows that this region was one of the early Christian cultural centers and this is very important. Because this shows that the inhabitants in this region were Armenians, that the owners of the homeland are the Armenian people and centuries later, the Armenian people have rediscovered a part of their homeland," Hovhanessian said.
Tatiana Vartanian is overseeing the excavation of the basilica. She said that this is the third year that they have been working on bringing the basilica up from the soil.
