Archaeologist: Artsakh home to over 60 early Christian inscriptions

Since the 5th century, Artsakh has been recognized as the intellectual center of the Aghvan Church, as best evidenced by its Armenian inscriptions, archaeologist Hamlet Petrosyan, head of the Tigranakert excavation team in Artsakh and chair of the Department of Cultural Studies at Yerevan State University, said at the international forum “Nagorno-Karabakh: Refugees, Rights and Opportunities” held in Yerevan on Thursday.

Petrosyan emphasized that Artsakh is home to over 60 early Christian inscriptions, 30 of which have yet to be published. "I believe these inscriptions offer the most compelling evidence of Artsakh’s Armenian identity," he said.

According to Petrosyan, Artsakh's Hellenistic and ancient culture has a distinct pan-civilizational character. “It is not a mere development of local traditions and serves as the strongest argument that, regardless of Azerbaijan's efforts, Tigranakert cannot be considered Albanian,” he stated.