By Eva Sahakyan

YEREVAN, September 1 — The expeditions in the ancient Armenian city Tigranakert turned out to be very lucrative as archeologists managed to make serious advances, Hamlet Petrosian, head of the Artsakh (Karabakh) expeditions of the Armenian Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, told journalists.

According to five him prototypes of Irish High Crosses were found in Tigranakert. He mentioned that such crosses were found only there. They were discovered during the excavations of a church, a burial ground and in one of the villages near Tigranakert.

Irish High Crosses (also known as Celtic Cross or Irish Cross) are usually made of stone, have various decorations and a stone ring around the intersection. According to Petrosian a number of researchers tried to tie Irish High Crosses with the Armenian culture of khachkars, although there is no connecting link between them.

Ancient coins were also discovered during the expeditions. “The coins are made of copper. One of them was found in the teeth of a dead man, and the teeth have become green from the copper. We also discovered a new region of the city that was unknown before,” Petrosian said.

He also mentioned that the discoveries are now in Yerevan for refinement and detailed study. They will be sent back to Stepanakert, where a special building is built. Some of them will be exhibited in a museum in Tigranakert, while others will be placed in a special storage building.

The expenses of the expeditions will be covered by the Artsakh Republic. Petrosian mentioned that although the Artsakh Republic has undertaken the funding of the project, there  are still some minor financial problems. “For example, I work on my own PC and use my own camera, which is not right at all for such jobs,”  he said.

Tigranakert, founded by the Armenian King Tigranes the Great (95 – 55 BC), was discovered in 2005 by the Artsakh archeological expedition of the Armenian Institute of Archeology and Ethnography. Archeological excavations started in 2006.

Yerevan Report

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