Teams at TUMO Center for Creative Technologies have carried out high-resolution 3D scans of 46 historical monuments in Martuni, Martakert, Askeran and Berdzor

The TUMO Center for Creative Technologies is expanding its multi-year initiative to capture detailed 3D scans of hundreds of Armenian heritage sites.

In 2018 and 2019, TUMO students made their first 3D scans of Armenian historical and cultural heritage monuments in a series of special learning labs. They used laser scanning and photogrammetry to document sites including the Matosavank monastery in Dilijan National Park, Amberd Fortress on Mount Aragats, the Dadivank monastery in Karvachar, and Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi. Since then, the number of scanned sites has reached 230, and will now expand to include all of Armenia’s important monuments over the coming years.

A team from TUMO using laser scanning and photogrammetry to document sites

TUMO’s digital preservation initiative includes a large number of important monuments in Artsakh. In the weeks immediately following the 44-Day War in 2020, TUMO teams carried out high-resolution 3D scans of 46 historical monuments in Martuni, Martakert, Askeran and Berdzor. These included archeological sites such as Tigranakert, churches and monasteries such as the Tsitsernavank monastery, and historic monuments such as the Hak bridge. In November of 2022, TUMO scanned over 30 additional heritage sites in Artsakh and on Armenia’s borders.

The resulting high-resolution 3D data sets and visualizations make it possible to document and study cultural monuments in detail, contributing to long term preservation. They also provide material for educational and cultural activities as well as digital media production. Just as importantly, they allow scholars and institutions to monitor cultural heritage sites and eventually carry out preservation and restoration projects as needed.

The initiative is now continuing in Armenia at a rapid pace, with multiple sites being scanned every month, both through laser scanning and photogrammetry. It is expected to cover a total of 300 major monuments over the next two to three years. In parallel, the captured data is being processed to produce high-resolution, full-color 3D renderings that users can interact with, walk through, measure, and examine in detail. These interactive renderings, along with historical overviews and other associated data, will be made available on an open-access online platform to be launched in 2024 and continuously updated thereafter.

“It is very important that this digital archive will be available to the public and that it includes detailed documentation of the sites both in Armenia and Artsakh,” said TUMO CEO Marie Lou Papazian. “This will allow experts in the field to better monitor cultural and historical heritage monuments that are at risk of damage and destruction, and will help them in any future work of restoration and reconstruction.”

TUMO will continue to announce project developments, including updates on the publication of the online platform.

Armenia, Cypriot and Greek defense ministry representatives in Yerevan on Dec. 18

Greek and Cypriot defense ministry representatives were in Yerevan on Monday to sign bilateral and trilateral military cooperation agreements with Armenia.

Last week, Armenia announced separate military cooperation agreements with Greece and Cyprus, which also have a three-way component given the Greek and Cypriot relations.

The Head of the International Organizations Section of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, Brigadier General Vasileios Tsamis, led the Greek delegation while the Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Cyprus National Guard General Staff, Colonel Alkiviadis Alkiviadis, headed the Cypriot delegation.

The official ceremony took place at Armenia’s Defense Ministry, with the participation of minister Suren Papikyan.

The three officials reviewed the outcomes of Papikyan’s visit last week to Greece and Cyprus. The discussions, according to a defense ministry statement, focused on the cooperation projects dealing with regional and international security concerns.

Levon Ayvazyan, head of Armenia’s defense ministry’s international cooperation department presented a detailed overview of the ongoing reforms within the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia to his colleagues.

Concluding the consultations, the participating parties formalized agreements by signing the Armenia-Greece, Armenia-Cyprus, and Armenia-Greece-Cyprus Military Cooperation Programs for 2024.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan being interviewed by Armenian Public TV's Petros Ghazaryan on Dec. 19

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that there is no international document that states that the Karabakh conflict has been resolved, adding that the discussion of a document for the resolution of the conflict does not mean that it has been resolved.

Pashinyan made the statements in response to questions posed to him during an interview with Armenian Public Television, presumably in response to separate claims by both Russian and Azerbaijani authorities who have insisted that the conflict has been resolved.

Since the 2020 War, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has claimed on numerous occasions that the Karabakh conflict has been resolved after Azerbaijan’s so-called victory in the war. Following Azerbaijan’s attack on Artsakh in September of this year, and the forced mass exodus of Artsakh Armenians, Aliyev has said that the conflict has “once and for all” been resolved.

Meanwhile, Russian authorities, including President Vladimir Putin, have said that by recognizing Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity—that includes Artsakh—Pashinyan himself has rendered the Karabakh conflict resolution issue moot.

“There has never been any document on table that has stipulated a resolution to the Karabakh conflict in the event of its signing,” Pashinyan said during an interview on Armenia’s Public Television.

“All documents, beginning from the [OSCE Minks Group-proposed] ‘Madrid Principles,’ have stipulated that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has not been resolved,” added Pashinyan.

The prime minister said that there was only one document, the signing of which could have been deemed a resolution to the conflict. He said that was the 1999 document that would have exchanged Meghri for Artsakh—“Meghri is ceded to Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh is united with Armenia.”

Pashinyan said that these documents were specifically worded such so that “the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can remain a dangling sword over Armenia, and maybe even over Azerbaijan.”

Pashinyan explained that he and his government were calling for the “lowering of the benchmark” for the Artsakh negotiations, “because we wanted our ideas about self-determination to become aligned with the international community’s notions about self-determination.”

He said that the notion of self-determination was introduced during a summit in Lisbon in 1996.

Pashinyan also addressed a statement made by Putin, who publicly stated that Armenia had recognized Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan and not Moscow.

“In November and December of 2020, the president of Russia announced that Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijani. Those announcements were public,” Pashinyan said.

“Based on my understanding, that statement contradicted the November 9, 2020 agreement,” Pashinyan added.

He recalled that, after Putin’s announcement, Azerbaijan invaded Armenia’s territory, prompting Yerevan to appeal to the Collective Security Treaty Organization and Russia. Pashinyan added that at the time Yerevan also emphasized that there was “zero reaction” from Russia on that and Azerbaijan’s attack on Parukh in Artsakh’s Askeran Region, where, he said, Russian peacekeepers did not react.

Pashinyan said that it is important that talks on a peace treaty with Azerbaijan are based on principles discussed and agreed to in Brussels by both sides.

However, he faulted Azerbaijan for “artificially delaying” discussions, pointing out that Baku has backed out of four scheduled meetings in the past two months.

“Our negotiation package was delayed because Azerbaijan refused to attend four consecutive scheduled meetings. Even now, however, I believe that the negotiations should continue on the specific points of the peace treaty,” Pashinyan added.

Meeting with the Council of Europe President Charles Michel on Monday, Armenia’s new ambassador to the EU, Tigran Balayan, claimed that Azerbaijan cancelled the October summits as part of its “continuous attempts to derail the peace process.” Balayan also reportedly urged the EU to help ensure “Baku’s return to the negotiation table.”

James O’Brien, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, visited Baku earlier this month in a bid to convince the Azerbaijani leadership to reschedule the cancelled meeting of the foreign ministers. The conflicting sides have not yet announced any agreement to that effect.