Hamlet Petrosyan: The process of popularization of Artsakh’s
Tigranakert not easy
17:09 16.11.2012
Alisa Gevorgyan
`Radiolur’
‘$150 thousand is needed annually for archeological works at Artsakh’s
Tigranakert. We have never had the sum, but we stubbornly continue the
excavations,’ says Hamlet Petrosyan, Head of the Tigranakert
archeological expedition group of the Institute of Archaeology and
Ethnography at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia.
The expedition in Artaskah’s Tigranakert is not only a process
targeted at exploring and popularizing our cultural heritage, but also
an important factor to prove the fact of being the master of that
legacy. Hamlet Petrosyan says the fact of Tigranakert’s being located
on the territory of unrecognized Artsakh creates obstacles on the way
of its internationalization and popularization, at the same time
making the process more interesting.
An archeological museum was opened in Panahi castle on the Territory
of Tigranakert in 2010, and the number of people visiting it in the
course of 2.5 years has exceeded 45 thousand. For comparison, about 40
thousand people visit the Armenian History Museum annually.
`This number means something, especially considering that Azerbaijan
and a number of other countries are constantly urging their citizens
not to visit Nagorno Karabakh, Hamlet Petrosyan said. Nevertheless,
according to him, the process of popularization is not easy and the
obstacles are different.
The first Italian scientific conference on archeology was held in
Florence October 23-30. Hamlet Petrosyan presented an extensive report
on `The monument and the society: Artsakh’s Tigranakert.’ A number of
reports on monuments situated in conflicts zones were also presented.
According to Petrosyan, the conference not only underlined the
importance of such expeditions, but also suggested to organize a
scientific conference dedicated only to monuments in conflict zones
and border regions.