Karkar :: ARTSAKH LOCATIONS

6 Monuments

NKR (Country) / Shushi (District) / Karkar (City Site)

Historical Introduction

Karkar is the only medieval urban place in Artsakh Province of Armenia Maior, whose name is preserved in the Armenian, Arabic and Georgian sources. Chronologically, it is first mentioned by Arab geographer Ibn Khordadbeh (820 to 912), who writes the following in his work entitled A Book of Roads and Kingdoms («Գիրք ճանապարհների եւ թագաւորութիւնների մասին»): “Kubad (namely, Sassanid King Kavat I) built the cities of Baylakan, Barda’a (i.e. Partaw) and Kabala (i.e. Kapaghak), as well as Sudd-al-Labin (i.e. a brick bulwark). Anushirvan (namely, Sassanid King Khosrov I) constructed those of Shabura, Karkara (i.e. Karkar) and al-Bab (i.e. Derbend).” The continuation of this passage contains some more interesting information: “[Anushirvan] built the city of Sughdabil (i.e. Tsurtaw) in the land of Gourzan (i.e. Virk) and erected his palace there, calling it Bab Firuz Kubad (i.e. Door of Peroz Kavat). In Armenia are situated Khoy, Sannaria (i.e. Tzanark), al-Bak (i.e. Aghbak), Kisal and Abkhaz, as well as the castle of Jardaman (i.e. Gardman or Gardaban?), Khaizan, Shaky and the city of Bab... It (i.e. Caucasia) has strongholds such as Bab Sul (i.e. Chogha Door, i.e. Gate of Chogh), Bab al-Lan (Alanats Door, i.e. Alan Gate), Bab Shaburan, Bab Lazikan, Bab Barika, Bab Samsakhi (i.e. Door of Samtskhe)...”

Արաբական աղբիւրներ, Գ (Օտար աղբիւրները Հայաստանի եւ հայերի մասին, 16), Թարգմ. բնագրից, առաջաբանը եւ ծանօթագրութիւնները Ա. Տէր-Ղեւոնդեանի, Եր., 2005, էջ 448-449 (the text has been a little proof-read by the authors). Cf. Караулов Н., Сведения арабских писателей о Кавказе, Армении и Азербайджане, СМОМПК, вып. XXXII, Тифлис, 1903, с. 15-16.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 43.

Persian geographer Ibn al-Fakih (died after 903), who wrote his works in the Arabic language, states the following in his Book on Countries («Գիրք երկրների մասին»): “Kubad built the city of Baylakan, as well as those of Barda’a, Kabala and Sudd al-Labin... He was succeeded by his son Kisra Anushirvan, who constructed the cities of Shaburan, Maskat and Karkara. Then he founded al-Bab and al-Abuab.” The continuation of the same record says the following, combined with the information reported by al-Balazury: “He (i.e. Kisra) built the gates of Shake and Dudania (i.e. Didoik) in the land of Arran (i.e. Aghvank)... He [also] constructed Durzukia (i.e. Durdzukk), which has twelve doors... in Jourzan he built a city which was called Sughdabil and inhabited it by tribes from Sughdi (i.e. Soghdiana), and the sons of the land of Fars (i.e. Parsk), making it a border troop depot. He also erected Bab al-Lan and Bab Samsakhi, as well as the castles of Jardaman and Samshulda... He conquered the entire country that was under Roman rule, developed and fortified the city of Dabil (i.e. Dvin), also building Nashava (i.e. Nakhjavan), which is one of the cities of Basfurjan (i.e. Vaspurakan). He constructed the fortress of Vays (i.e. Vayk), together with [a number of] castles in the land of Sisajan (i.e. Sisakan)—including that of Kilab and Shahabuns (i.e. Shahaponk)—and inhabited them with his valorous and sturdy Siyasijiyas.”

Արաբական աղբիւրներ, Գ (Օտար աղբիւրները Հայաստանի եւ հայերի մասին, 16), Թարգմ. բնագրից, առաջաբանը եւ ծանօթագրութիւնները Ա. Տէր-Ղեւոնդեանի, Եր., 2005, էջ 495 (the text has been a little proof-read by the authors). Караулов Н., Сведения арабских писателей..., СМОМПК, вып. XXXI, Тифлис, 1902, с. 17.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 43.

In many instances, the information reported by Ibn al-Fakih is different from that conveyed by Ibn Khordadbeh, but it often corresponds to the data found in 9th-century historian al-Balazury’s work entitled Conquest of Countries (§ºñÏñÝ»ñÇ Ýáõ³×áõÙ¦). Let us compare certain passages: “Then Kubad reached him (i.e. his army commander who had been chasing the Khazar) and built the city of Baylakan in Arran, together with that of Barda’a, for all his border fortifications, and Kabala against the Khazar. Then he erected a bulwark of raw brick between Sharvan and Bab al-Lan and founded three hundred and sixty cities on it... Kubad was succeeded by his son Kisra Anushirvan, who built the cities of Shaburan and Maskat, then erected al-Bab, which was named Abuab (i.e. Gates)... These places were populated by a people called al-Siyasijin. In the land of Arran, he constructed the gates of Shakan (i.e. Shaky), Kambizan (i.e. Kambejan) and Dudania... He also erected Durzukia, which consists of twelve gates... In the country of Jourzan, he built a place which was called Sughdabil, being inhabited by people from Sugh and the sons of Persia, and becoming a strongly-built township. In the same land, beyond Roum (?), he built a fortress named Bab Firuz Kubad and another called Bab Lazikan, apart from a third one, Bab Barika, which was situated on [the shore of] the sea of Tarabuzanda (i.e. Trapizon). He also erected Bab al-Lan [and] Bab Samsakhi, together with the fortresses of Jardaman and Samshulda. Anushirvan... developed and fortified the city of Dabil [and] erected that of Nashava, which is in the province of Basfurjan. He built the castle of Vays with forts in the land of Sisajan, as well as the strongholds of Kilab and Shahabuns, and inhabited them with brave and strong men from the race of the Siyasijiyya.” As is clear, al-Balazuri omits only the city name of Karkara—probably, this is just a slip of the pen made by the scribe of the originals of the manuscripts that have come down to us.

Արաբական աղբիւրներ, Գ (Օտար աղբիւրները Հայաստանի եւ հայերի մասին, 16), Թարգմ. բնագրից, առաջաբանը եւ ծանօթագրութիւնները Ա. Տէր-Ղեւոնդեանի, Եր., 2005, էջ 265-266; Баладзори, Книга завоевания стран, Пер. П. Жузе, Баку, 1927, с. 5-7.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 43-44.

It should be noted that the construction of the fortifications of Derbend by Khosrov Anushirvan is mentioned by Armenian historiographer Sebeos (‘40s to ‘50s of the 7th century), who particularly writes: “This Khosrov, during the time of his reign, closed the Passes of the Chor and of the Aluank...” Historian Yeghishe and Archimandrite Ghevond report that under Hazkert II (439 to 457), the defence installations of Chogh (Derbend) were erected: undoubtedly, they mean the ramparts of brick earth that were constructed prior to the construction of those of stone and mortar by Anushirvan.

The Armenian History Attributed to Sebeos. Translated, with notes, by R. W. Thomson. Liverpool, 1999, p. 70.
Եղիշէի Վասն Վարդանայ եւ Հայոց պատերազմին, Ի լոյս ածեալ... աշխատութեամբ Ե. Տէր-Մինասեան, գլ. Գ, էջ 78, գլ. Զ, էջ 129; Պատմութիւն Ղեւոնդեայ մեծի վարդապետի Հայոց, Ս. Պետերբուրգ, 1887, գլ. ԺԲ, էջ 40-41։ Cf. Акопян А., Албания-Алуанк в греко-латинских и древнеармянских источниках, Ереван, 1987, с. 121-122.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 44.

13 c․

An important passage mentioning the city of Karkar is found in the multi-volume Geographical Dictionary by Arab encyclopedist Yakut al-Hamavi (first half of the 13th century), who states: “Karkar... this is a city in Arran near Baylakan, built by Anushirvan.” He also makes reference to the fortress town of the same name situated close to the bank of the Euphrates.

Արաբական աղբիւրները Հայաստանի եւ հարեւան երկրների մասին, կազմեց Նալբանդեան Հ., Եր., 1965, էջ 103; Йакут ал-Хамави, Муджам ал-булдан (Сведения об Азербайджане), пер. с арабского З. Буниятова и П. Жузе, Баку, 1983, с. 30.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 44.

13 c․

An anonymous Georgian author of the ‘20s of the 13th century speaks about the land of Ghargheri (= Karkeri –* Karkar-i), which is undoubtedly identical to the city of Karkar. In the 1200s, the Georgian army made an incursion under the leadership of Zakare Yerkaynabazuk (i.e. the Long-Armed): “...gathering within an hour, they went to Gelakun (i.e. Geghakun District), passed through Khachian (i.e. Khachen) and descended towards the land of Ghargheris, reaching Belaghun (i.e. Baylakan). They devastated the whole of Arez (i.e. the Yeraskh valley) and ascended up to the gates of Gandza... And they passed from Ghargheri to Shankor (i.e. Shamkor) within six days... and returned triumphantly.”

Թորոսեան Խ., «Թագակիրների պատմութիւնն ու գովաբանութիւնը» որպէս Զաքարեան Հայաստանի ու Զաքարեանների պատմութեան սկզբնաղբիւր. բնագրի թարգմանութեամբ եւ մեկնաբանութիւններով հանդերձ, Երեւան, 1992, էջ 398-399։ Cf. История и восхваление венценосцев, пер. К. Кекелидзе, Тбилиси, 1954, с. 54-55.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 44.

Finally, Kirakos Gandzaketsi mentions Karkar among the castles belonging to Prince of Nerkin (Lower) Khachen Hasan Jalal. As the historiographer reports, in 1251 he visited Mongol Khan Batu with the help of the latter’s son Sartakh, who was his friend, and won his favour, returning three of his hereditary estates (indeed, they remained under his possession but for a short time). Gandzaketsi particularly writes: “[Sartakh] took [Hasan] to his father [Batu] who honored him greatly and returned to him his patrimony, Ch'araberd, Akanay, and Karkarhn, which the Turks and Georgians previously had stripped from him. ...Jalal returned to his home joyously, but after some days being harassed by tax collectors and by Arghun, he went to Mongke-Khan. “And Mongke-Khan ruled in the year 700 A.E. [1251].”

Kirakos Ganjakets'i's History of the Armenians. Available at: http://rbedrosian.com/
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 44.

This information, provided by the available primary sources, was not sufficient for researchers to ascertain the exact location of the only city mentioned in Artsakh Province by medieval historians. The reason was the contradiction existing among these records: thus, according to Gandzaketsi, we should have started looking for Karkar within the domains of Hasan Jalal (although in fact, he just strove to make it part of his estates) in the territory of Khachen, whereas the aforementioned Georgian author and Yakut place it outside Khachen, in the direction of Baylakan, and therefore, in the area from Varanda to Dizak in South Artsakh (the border between Central and South Artsakh always extended along the tributary Vararakn and then the river Karkar). In addition, the contexts of the passages by Ibn Khordadbeh and Ibn al-Fakih mention the city among others lying south of Derbend (although it is clear that this might be the result of the writing process). Besides, places and regions of the same name, which is etymologised as meaning A Stony Place or A Heap of Stones (according to Haykazian Dictionary by H. Hubschmann, B. Ulubabian et al), are also known in several other parts of the Armenian Highland such as Eastern Cilicia and Tzopk (two fortress towns named Karkar on both banks of the Euphrates); the south of Vaspurakan (the kaza or small district of Karkar-Gyargyar located south of Van), as well as Mokk, Tashir, Zarevand and Kusti Parnes Districts. These places have villages named either Gyargyar or Karkar, and this has created certain confusion. S. Sargissian compares Karkar in Artsakh with the city of Karkar-Gyargyar located on the southern side of the Yeraskh in Zarevand and mentioned by Hamdallah Ghazvin: the Persian geographer of the 14th century locates it in the tuman of Marand (on the map of Lynch, it is the village of Gargar lying south of Jugha). Prior to the unearthing of the city site, all the existing viewpoints regarding its possible location were simply based on suppositions. In his unpublished Russian map entitled The Feudal State of Georgia in the Early 13th Century, academician S. Yeremian places the region of Karkar in the district of the lakes of Algyol lying a little north of Baylakan. The authors of the Dictionary of Toponymy of Armenia and the Adjacent Areas (in Armenian) identify the city of Karkar (Gargar) with the village of Herher in Martuny District, Republic of Mountainous Karabakh, as the lapidary inscriptions and documents of the 17th century mention it under this name. S. Sargissian and B. Karapetian place it in the site of the fortress town of Shushi, while according to H. Petrossian, it used to be situated in its vicinity. A map drawn by Al. Hakobian contains the toponym of Karkar as fixed north of the Vararakn tributary, namely, on its bank where Khachen is situated, in the site of the future village of Kerkezhan, etc.

Some cities (Partav, Baylakan, Khaghkhagh, Shamkor, Gardman, Gandzak, etc.) the locations of which are either known or not are mentioned in the province of Utik adjacent to Artsakh. For details, see Յակոբեան Ա., Պատմաաշխարհագրական եւ վիմագրագիտական հետազօտութիւններ (Արցախ եւ Ուտիք), Վիեննա-Երեւան, 2009, էջ 306-313.
See Էփրիկեան Ս., Պատկերազարդ բնաշխարհիկ բառարան, հ. Բ, Վենետիկ, 1907, էջ 325-326; Հայաստանի եւ յարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան, հ. 3, Երեւան, 1991, էջ 47-48.
Хамдаллах Казвини, Нузхат ал-кулуб (Материалы по Азербайджану), пер. с английского З. Буниятова, пер. с персидского И. Петрушевского, Баку, 1983, с. 50-51. Cf. Սարգսեան Ս., Խաչէնի ամրոցները, Ստեփանակերտ, 2002, էջ 151.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 44, 46.

2011 y․

On 29 June 2011, while carrying out excavations and cleaning in the sacred site of St. Saribek, belonging to Karashen (Dashushen) Village of Askeran District, Republic of Mountainous Karabakh (within a programme worked out by the Tourism Department attached to the Government of the country), archaeologist Gagik Sargissian, the Head of the expedition, visited an extensive tableland on the opposite bank of the river Karkar accompanied with 70-year-old driver Vazgen Aghajanian, an inhabitant of the same place. The local people called this plateau Tagavoren Tegh, i.e. King’s Place, as if in reminiscence of some remarkable historical fact. According to the driver, the vestiges of old walls were preserved there (the stones had been carried away between the 1960s and 1970s by the inhabitants of Shosh, who used them as ready building material). The result of this visit was the unclosing of the once renowned city of Karkar, which used to be of great significance in the history of Artsakh (Karabakh).

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 47.

The city site which lies on the table-land called Tagavoren Tegh is situated on the upper part of a wooded mountain slope close to a military unit which is at the right extremity of the North-South Highway (it leads from the capital of NKR to Shosh and from Karmir (i.e. Red) Market to Hadrut), on the opposite side of Karashen Village, in the area between Stepanakert and Shushi. The territory now serves as a field plot for the village community of Shosh. The hill of the Citadel (geographical coordinates: N 39° 47.06.0”; E 46°46.01.5”; 1,015 metres above sea level) of the city site rises 2,200 metres south of Mazi Bridge of Stepanakert in a straight line (azimuth: 180°), and 2,600 metres north-east of Yelizavetapolian Gate of Shushi (azimuth: 30°). It extends on a large smooth table-land stretching on a cape of sedimentary rock which is visible from Stepanakert, Shushi, Shosh and Karashen. The plateau, which rises at an altitude of 950 to 1,015 metres above sea level, extends from nearly the east westward and is comparatively easy of access from the north and south. In the east, it is edged by the deep gorge (150 m) of the river Karkar, and in the west, by that of a stream called Zarun Baghi Tzyori Joor (it descends from the elevation of Shushi), which is traversed by perpendicular rocks. The northern slope of the table-land is covered with natural forestland, its top being planted with oak trees in the Soviet period: for this reason, a considerable part of the central quarters of the historical city is covered with a layer of wood. At present the plateau is arid.

The coordinates are presented according to the system of Pulkovo 1941.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 47-48.

Description

The north-eastern extremity of the table-land is weathered and bare of woodland. The smooth and partly bare surface of the rock retains the foundation stones of the retaining walls of the ramparts which constituted the northern defence system of the city. These walls are preserved at a length of about 250 metres, but to the height of a single stone at best: in many parts, even this one block of stone is missing. The ramparts were erected through the application of the so-called “ortostat” technique, when walls are laid with stones of a width of 1.20 to 1.30 metre , placed sidelong in two layers, without mortar, with alumina and crushed stones filling their joints.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 48.

The fortified walls, the total length of which is more than 1,100 metres, run along the border of the slope which extends from the east westward and descends northward from the smooth terrain of the table-land. They stretch from the Karkar gorge to that called Zarun Bagh, thus completely enclosing the central quarter of the city lying in the south. At their eastern extremity, the ramparts divide in two parts, and a straight line starts extending from the circular tower (Excavation Site 1) of the main walls, descending north-eastward, i.e. towards the edge of the triangular cape overhanging the Karkar gorge, where it ends in another round tower guarding the ravine. Towards the west, near the forest layer which begins from the centre of the tableland, the ramparts turn into an almost perpendicular embankment, the main stone-built part of which (if it had any) is no longer visible. In certain points, this embankment has a height of 10 to 12 metres. The edge of its upper level forms the final part of the upper terrace, while that of the lower level is the beginning section of the terrace of the lower level. It is clear that in the course of time, the walls of clay considerably slided down, but they remain impressive even today. The embankment is the comparatively better preserved part of the northern ramparts: it was built of unburnt brick which turned into a homogeneous aluminous mass in the course of time (brick earth is slightly discerned only in two small gullies). Stretching westward in a curved line for more than 400 metres, the embankment is interrupted by the cavity of the recently-laid gas pipeline of Stepanakert-Shushi, and then continues for another 400 metres, merging into the field road which stretches above the gorge of Zarun Bagh. The section of the ditch of the pipe-line clearly shows the contours of the structure of the ramparts of raw brick which were erected at the edge of the cape and had a thickness of about 2.5 to 3 metres.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 48-49.

The northern ramparts, which are built of brick earth, are especially noteworthy for the fact that beneath them is found the ditch forming a remarkable part of the defence system of the city. Today it is discerned as a long trench or road of a concave section dug in a thick forest. The visible width of the ditch does not exceed 3 to 3.5 metres, and its depth is 1.5 metre, but it is evident that its original dimensions were far more impressive. The inner wall of this ditch forms the facade of the embankment, while the outer one makes up a mound of earth which stretches across the flat surface of the lower terrace. The structure of the outer wall of the ditch, the height of which reaches 2 metres in certain sections, is well seen in its destroyed and washed-away parts which also reveal the masonry of the stone-built wall forming its basis. The ditch passes through different horizontal levels of the terrain: in order to secure the stability of water level, ti is periodically interrupted in several points, being closed by means of sluices which are placed on those very points where the ditch level drastically decreases by a degree and continues stretching along the lower, horizontal line up to the next sluice. The highest point of the ditch is in its centre, whence it receives water and gradually descends towards the east and west.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 49.

The central quarter of the city extends on the terraces placed on two different levels south of the northern ramparts and on the smooth terrain lying south of them. The vestiges of numerous walls, houses (the existing pits show their contours), large buildings and removed stones can be seen there. The issue of the southern border of the quarter still remains partly obscure, for on this side, the terrain is bare and has undergone various acts of destruction in contrast to the northern one, where the rampart line and the water ditch lying in front of it are mostly preserved thanks to the natural forest cover. In the middle part of the quarter, where the tableland is horizontally narrower (130 to 150 metres), along the contours of the abruptly-declining sections of the relief on its southern side are seen sections of walls of cyclopean masonry laid with huge blocks of stone. These stones are placed stepwise at different levels of height, in three successive rows, within 10 to 30 metres of each other. In the centre of the quarter, the plateau has a width of 300 metres: here the cyclopean ramparts, which form the southern borderline of the quarter, are seen through a single preserved line, although 110 metres south-east of them, at the edge of the Karkar gorge, the retaining walls of a large stone-built tower are preserved at a diameter of 10 metres. Judging from the principles of fortification typical of those times, this tower should have belonged to the ramparts forming the southern borderline of the city, but later it grew isolated due to the removal of the rampart stones and the turning of the rocks, which were gradually getting barer, into a quarry. Another detached, but rectangular tower, similarly erected through cyclopean masonry, can be seen in the centre of the southern borderline of the relief section. A land mass of a length of about 100 to 150 metres in the southern part of the middle of the central quarter has suffered erosion and entirely slided down, leaving a concave trace on the relief.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 49-50.

Thus, it may be presumed that the southern borderline of the central quarter of the city used to have a defence system of three rows of ramparts, which were laid through cyclopean masonry and comprised brick walls resting on the old Iron Age ramparts. These walls were later weathered and corroded, while the stones of the cyclopean ramparts were moved away (thus, in the mid-18th century, they were carried away to Shushi to be used in the construction of the castle ramparts of the new city). Inside Karkar, and particularly, in the area outside its southern ramparts, can be seen some sepulchres (they were thoroughly plundered in times bygone) which resemble the burial structures of the beginning of the first millennium B.C. by their structure. The city site proper, which is enclosed within the northern and southern ramparts, occupies an area of 35 to 40 hectares, the extent of which is quite impressive. It should be noted for comparison that the early medieval city of Debend had a residential area of 26 to 27 hectares; Bukhara in Middle Asia 35, Termez 20, and Penjikend 13 to 14: they were left behind by only Samarghand (65 hectares), and Merv (200 hectares).

Кудрявцев А., Древний Дербент, Москва, 1982, с. 115-116; Беленицкий А., Бентович И., Большаков О., Средневековый город Средней Азии, Ленинград, 1973, с. 6.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 50.

The Citadel (geographical coordinates: N 39° 47’32.6” E 46° 45’32.9”; 1,105 metres above sea level) of Karkar was unclosed on a hill (about 150 metres long and 60 metres wide) predominating over its surroundings with its height of 10 to 15 metres and rising at the edge of the gorge of Zarun Bagh, at the western extremity of the plateau. A detailed view of the bare surface of the hill enables one to discern a mound of earth formed by the ruins of the wall once encircling the Citadel. It runs in the horizontal line of the middle part of its slopes and encloses the hill. The top of the Citadel retains the vestiges of a large circular building of stone beneath which, within the enclosing wall, the utterly corroded remnants of another, larger one are seen. While observing this last one, you may mentally restore a multi-room complex adjoining an open court. The northern slope of the Citadel preserves—in a comparatively better condition—the remnants of the stone-built walls of numerous structures which were partly saved from weathering and decomposition thanks to the thick forest cover.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 50.

The visual observation of the site showed that the northern ramparts, together with the water ditch at their base, are the last, i.e. fourth, and rear row of the northern fortification system of the city. The front rows were erected north of them, on the mountain slope. Man has turned this extensive wooded slope into three artificial terraces arranged stepwise and smoothened horizontally. Due to the peculiarities of the terrain, their width oscillates between 30 and 90 metres. These terraces are a sort of level “drawers” covered with earth and extending throughout the slanting northern slope of the city site, from a gorge to another, their width equaling the distance between these ravines. These “drawers” are edged with a section of earth which slopes down abruptly, almost perpendicularly, at a height of 3 to 8 metres. Every new terrace begins from the base of the previous one. No traces of stone-built structures are seen on their edges, but the clay structure of the earth where the terraces are cut, and the long, low mounds of earth partly preserved on their borderlines, allow us to presume that they used to be edged with ramparts of alumina (undressed brick). Nor does the ground retain any vestiges of buildings, but the few stones which can be seen here and there attest that this area used to be inhabited and covered with structures. Most probably, it was a suburb—or a rabat, as is customary to call it—of the city. It should be noted that the multi-step structure of the “drawers” located on the northern slope of the tableland is clearly seen from afar.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 50.

The three northern terraces get quite smooth a little west of the slope centre, thus opening space for the old principal road stretching up the city. A small part of the lower section of this road is clearly visible a little above the level area of today’s military unit, where there is a sacred site named Kanach Khach (Green Cross) and consisting of two cross-stones of the High Middle Ages. Unfortunately, the builders of the gas pipeline chose the best way leading up the plateau and designed it as extending over the very historical road, in this way destroying it almost totally. Entering the central quarter of the city, this road ran along the eastern base of the Citadel and then continued in two directions: one of its branches led upwards, viz. to the elevation of Shushi, via the right side of the gorge of Zarun Bagh (the cut-in-rock parts of the road, which were used until recently, are still preserved on this slope of the ravine) and thence probably stretched to Kashatagh, Siunik and Central Armenia. The other branch went downwards, towards the bridge of Shosh erected over the river Karkar, then continued to Varanda, Dizak, the bridge of Khudaperin and Persia. As might be supposed, the “new” highway of Shosh, which is dug beneath the rocks edging the plateau in the east, dates from the Late Middle Ages.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 50-51.

Combining the results of our archaeological research in the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh, and particularly, in the area in question, with the fact of the existence of this newly-unearthed city, we arrive at some very remarkable conclusions. It turns out that traces of man’s active influence on landscape—remnants of walls; hand-cut terraces and capes; retaining walls, vestiges of roads and canals; artificially-smoothened rock tops and summits; sites containing overground pottery of different periods; tombstones; sepulchres and funerary structures—can be seen all over the elevation of Shushi. Similar remains are also observed in Karashen, Shosh and Mkhitarishen Villages, which are located on the right bank of the river Karkar. The fields of tumuli, comprising large burial mounds, and the sites of inhabited places unclosed in the territories of these villages have something in common with the city of Karkar, which had a predominating role in this neighbourhood from a cultural standpoint, and the surroundings of which were one of the most thickly-inhabited regions in Artsakh-Karabakh. Perhaps, it is not by chance that the political and cultural old and new centres of Artsakh were always grouped around Karkar.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 51.

The defence system of Karkar is not confined to only its ramparts and embankments. It also used to have interior defence installations consisting of military bases, vantage-points and vanguard castles serving as patrol units (they were placed on its approaches). They had direct or intermediary communication with the city proper, their function being vanguard defence and rapid alarm-raising. Below we have attempted to represent some of the unclosed installations of this system.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 51.

A small fort (N 39°47’32.6,” E 46°45’32.9”; 1,105 metres above sea level), serving as a military unit, was unearthed on a two-humped hill named Vishki (at present three aerial towers are located there), on the right edge of the highway descending from Shushi to Stepanakert, on the left side of the gorge of Zarun Bagh, 1,010 metres north-west of the Citadel of Karkar in a straight line (azimuth: 300°). At the lofty top of the hill, a watch tower of large volumetric coverage is situated: it is constructed of “cyclopean” stones and has a circular plan (with a diameter of 6 to 8 metres). The middle part of the hillside is enclosed within ramparts laid with stones of smaller dimensions. The overground pottery found in this monument resembles the architectural finds of Karkar, which date back to the early and medieval periods of the history of the city. The results of our excavations lead us to the presumption that the cyclopean tower of the aforementioned castle served as a vantage-point for Karkar in the Iron Age. In the medieval period, it was widened by means of a lower row of ramparts and started being used as a patrol castle.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 51.

Another stronghold, not of large dimensions, named Meliken Duz (it was probably the northern base of the vanguard defence line) was unclosed on a hill opposite the Ministry of Urban Planning of the NKR, on the right bank of the river Karkar, opposite Stepanakert, 2,970 metres north of the Citadel of Karkar (azimuth: 12°, geographical coordinates: N 39°48’40.3,” E 46°46’27.6”; 803 metres above sea level), on its northern approaches. The conical top rising at the eastern edge of the hill, which has an east-westward extension, preserves the ruins of a rectangular stone-built structure (dimensions: 8 to 10 metres) belonging to the Citadel, together with the hardly discernible traces of the ramparts thoroughly enclosing the hill and its base. At the summit of a massive rock, protruding out of the west-facing slope of the hill, can be seen a table-shaped projection on which three round pits are dug, being connected with each other through canals. It resembles a Zoroastrian fire altar, the overground pottery found there dating back to the same period to which the medieval finds of Karkar are attributed.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 51.

The southern approaches to the city used to be guarded by a watch tower erected at the top of the highest hill that rises 370 metres south of the Citadel (azimuth: 200°) and predominates over its neighbourhood. The retaining walls of this round tower, which has a diameter of 5 metres and is laid with large blocks of stone, can be seen here. The only tripod land-surveying point (N 39°46’54,8,” E 46°45’56,4”; 1,062 metres above sea level) of the area is placed at the summit of this hill. Possibly, the function of a vantage-point was also performed by another high hill of level surface which rises directly south of the Citadel, within 600 metres of it (azimuth: 270°). There is a small horizontal level area at its summit which bears traces of artificial smoothening. From the east, the city might have been defended by an old inhabited place (geographical coordinates: N 39°46’54.8,” E 46°45’56.5”; 1,120 metres above sea level) the site of which can be discerned in the village site of Shaghot located in a flat meadow extending on one of the elevations on the right bank of the river Karkar. The terrain where it is situated is quite fit for stationing a vanguard military unit (it is within 2,150 metres of the Citadel of Karkar in a straight line, azimuth: 80°) as there is a natural spring here, and its elevated position makes it possible to have a full view of the plateau where the city of Karkar lies. The ruins of the church of this village site retain a cross-stone of ornamental patterns typical of the 12th to the 13th centuries, but it may also have an earlier cultural stratum.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 51-52.

To sum up, we should note that the descriptions of the monuments comprising the vanguard defence system of the city do not claim comprehensiveness and complete exactness. It is clear that such a large place of great significance must have had a more complex defence system the installations of which are to be unclosed and verified in the future.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 52.

Excavations

Taking into account the great importance of the unclosing of Karkar, the Tourism Department at the Government of NKR procured financial means for the implementation of small-scale excavations and studies in the site (September-October 2011). The expedition was led by archaeologist Gagik Sargissian, also comprising architect Samvel Ayvazian, young archaeologist Armen Dadian (he was to head the group in the excavation site) and workers from the nearby village of Shosh. The aim of these excavations was to find out, as much as possible, the area within the borders of which the city expanded, its stratification, chronology, the existence and strength of its cultural and building strata, the extent of the preservation of its buildings together with their structure, the density of the archaeological finds, etc. It was decided to carry out the work through exploring pits of not large dimensions in excavation sites placed within a certain distance of each other in the territory of the city site.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 52.

A circular tower seen at the north-eastern extremity of the northern ramparts of the city site was selected as Excavation Site No. 1. It was outlined as a mound of earth and stones covered with shrubs and having a slightly-contoured hollow cavity in the centre. The excavations showed that it formed part of the ramparts (it is placed at the top of the vertical corner of the rampart) and was erected parallel with their construction, sharing their design and building technique. The tower, which is round in plan (outer diameter: 566 cms, inner diameter 317 cms), thoroughly juts out of the ramparts towards the north and opens into their southern facade only through a narrow entrance of 85 cms. The walls of the ramparts and tower were laid with small blocks of the local split limestone and are preserved to a height of 120 cms. As a joining substance, well-kneaded clay was used in the masonry without any additional mixtures. The walls, which have a width of 120 cms on average, comprise stones arranged in two layers, with comparatively smaller crushed stones and a clay solution between them. The foundations of the building have not been excavated: it rests directly on an old humus layer of a thickness of 5 to 10 cms preserved beneath the wall stonework (under this layer of black earth, the level surface of the natural rock mass of the tableland is visible). The floor of the tower is made up of a clay layer of small tamped stones. Its interior and surroundings were covered with ruins comprising the stones of its masonry over a circumference of 2 metres. Judging from their volumetric coverage, the tower used to have a minimum height of 3 to 4 metres.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 52-53.

The pottery unclosed in this tower in the course of the excavations is very meagre, mostly comprising tiny fragments of the Middle Ages that are totally washed (they were probably brought here together with the clay taken from, and kneaded in, other parts of the city). Small pieces of glazed pottery and faience fragments, dating back to the High and Late Middle Ages, were found on the ground around the tower, outside the line of its collapse.

Beneath the humus layer of the soil in the wooded, unweathered parts of the city plateau, the rock base is thoroughly covered with a strong stratum of natural fine-grained clay.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 53.

The second excavation site was fixed on the cyclopean wall (ramparts?) visible on the border of the south-facing slope of the tableland, in its central level section, 300 metres south-west of the first one. Parts of walls of similar structure are also seen in the south of the western part of the former city. The selection of this excavation site was motivated by the fact that the wall which is comparatively better seen at this point belongs to a large rectangular building which is partly outlined on the ground surface. A canal, preserved in the form of a long concave trench, stretches along the facade of this building. Its beginning is seen in the west—here the facade of similar cyclopean ramparts is outlined—but then it disappears in the central part, which is corroded, together with the ramparts. Running by the wall of the excavation site, the canal makes an angle and bends towards the north, then continues for 65 to 70 metres, bypasses the round dwelling (Excavation Site No. 3), turns to the north-west, extends for about 100 metres and sharply descends down the terrace towards the water ditch which stretches along the edge of the northern ramparts. This description suggests that the canal provided water for the ditch adjoining the northern ramparts.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 54-55.

A 3-metre-long and 1-metre-wide sluice was placed close to the inner north-facing facade of the cyclopean wall, being lowered into the soil up to a depth of a metre. It mainly yielded finds of the Late Iron Age (7th to 6th centuries B.C.) such as ornamented shining pottery, sardion beads, stone mangles and millstones. While cleaning the outer facade of the same ramparts, we also unearthed fragments of coloured clay vessels of the Late Antique Period and others dating from the Middle Ages (apart from finds of the Iron Age). This cyclopean wall, which has a width of 2.1 metres and consists of two layers, is built with “tailed” blocks of rock broken into large pieces to approximately resemble cubes. The space between the two layers is filled with crushed stones and alumina. The wall, which is preserved to the height of a single stone at this point, rests on the natural soil (alumina). All the stones of its outer facade have slided a metre down the sloping side of the ruined canal, with the exception of a single one the outer edge of which was fortified by another stone.

All the castles in Armenia which have a cultural stratum of the Iron Age (Shamiram, Tzaghkahovit, Geghadir, Horom, Kurtan, Tzovinar, Ljashen, etc.) have walls (ramparts) of the same cyclopean masonry.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 55-56.

The third excavation site was set 60 metres north of the second one, where the aforementioned canal makes an angle and encloses a large round dwelling situated at one of the corners of a residential complex outlined there. This abode was completely shrouded in trees and bushes and was almost invisible. It is not exactly circular in plan (outer diameter: 7.54 to 7.17 metres). Its walls, which rest directly on the natural soil, are preserved to a height of 0.9 metre and have a thickness of 1.21 to 1.35 metre. They are laid with undressed split stones of average size, according to the same building technique which was applied in the ramparts and circular tower of the first excavation site. The dwelling has a single entrance opening towards the south-east, where a building of 3 to 4 adjoining rooms is outlined in the form of hollow pits. In the south and west, this circular structure is adjoined by walls of brick earth, this creating the impression that it is the angular round room-tower of a large residential complex of many chambers. We cleaned a one-metre section of the clay wall abutting on the round structure. This wall is made up of a homogeneous mass of sand and clay, and the lines of the masonry of unburnt brick are not visible here. Unlike the first excavation site, we did not come across fallen stones in this round abode, the interior of which was filled with homogeneous alumina: this suggests that above the unclosed part, its walls were laid with unburnt brick and it was covered with a conical wooden roof of straw leaning on the central pillar. Excavations were also conducted in a part of the canal stretching along the facade of the circular dwelling. Here it is dug beneath the 0 level of the abode, 120 to 130 cms out of the exterior facade of its walls, and is completely in the natural soil (alumina) with its concave section which almost forms a semi-circle. The canal, which has a depth of 0.6 to 0.8 metre, and a width of 1.20 to 1.50 metre, was differentiated during the excavations by the unnaturally rust-coloured and comparatively hard structure of its surface. Opposite the point where the northern clay wall joins the round dwelling, it gets sharply deeper up to a level of 1.3 metre and is half closed by a slanting stone-built wall, which resembles a sluice or a bridge pier. Unfortunately, the lack of financial means hindered us from completing the excavations of the canal, but we hope to resume them soon.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 56.

The work carried out in this excavation site yielded only an early glazed specimen and 3 to 4 insignificant fragments of pottery tracing back to the Early Middle Ages. It is noteworthy that the excavations conducted in the second and third sites, located within 60 metres of each other, on the same canal, unclosed two completely different cultural strata (it should be stressed that both of them comprise only a single layer) encompassing more than a millennium. In order to find an explanation to this unusual fact, further long-term regular excavations are to be carried out in these sites.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 56.

To summarise, we should point out that our excavations and studies proved the existence of the city site of Karkar, attesting that it has at least two building layers: an early one dating back to the Late Iron Age, i.e. the times of Biainele-Urartu covering the period between the 7th and 6th centuries B.C., and a later stratum attributed to the Early Middle Ages and tracing back to the times of the Arshakids and the Sassanids (3rd to 6th centuries A.D.). The latter is dated not so much on the basis of the analysis of the unclosed pottery, which comprises very few specimens, as on that of the peculiarities of the building technique of the structures which is marked with the total absence of mortar typical of the High Middle Ages. These two building layers are observed in just a single stratum in each of the various excavation sites throughout the former city, while the materials found outside the scope of the excavations, particularly, the specimens of overground pottery in the vicinity of the first excavation site and in the trench of the gas pipeline, are more varied and comprise artefacts typical of the period between the 7th century B.C. and the 12th to 13th centuries A.D., this proving that life continued in the city incessantly until the High Middle Ages.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 56.

Historical Introduction

Thus, as already stated at the beginning of the article, Arabic sources attribute the construction of Karkar to the Sassanid period, namely, to Khosrov Anushirvan (531 to 579). Perhaps, the time-span should not be disputed, but we cannot accept the viewpoint that it was founded by this king, for a number of monuments attributed to him, particularly, the stone ramparts of Derbend and the bridge of Khudaperin (they are mostly preserved), were erected with mortar. Instead, well-known are the buildings of brick earth constructed by Khosrov’s predecessors, and the northern ramparts of the city site with their ditch have close resemblance to them. Mention should be made of the clay ramparts of Derbend erected by Hazkert II (dimensions of the blocks of brick earth: 40-43 x 40-43 x 10-12) and the city site of Toprakh-kala near the township of Beliji, situated 18 to 20 kms south of these fortified walls (length of walls: 950 to 1,150 metres): it is considered as a parallel of the city of Shahristan-e Yezdigerd built in the “land of Chol (Chogha)” and mentioned in the Chronology of the Assyrian city of Karka de-bet-Selokh. According to the results of the archaeological excavations conducted in the 20th century, brick earth was also used even in the construction of the ramparts of Baylakan and Partaw (Barda’a) Cities built by King of Kings Kavat I (488 to 496, 498 to 531): this is attested by numerous Arabic sources, including the aforementioned ones. The same building technique is also manifest in the monuments of Eastern Iran (Newshapuh-Nisa, etc.) and the centre of the Sassanids’ reign in Mesopotamia, which may be ascribed to the early Sassanid period. However, city ramparts of brick earth having ditches are often mentioned in Armenia in the Late Antique and Early Middle Ages (the first vivid example of the use of mortar is the royal sepulchre of Aghtsk built in the 360s). This technique was entirely used in the construction of the Armenian capital of Dvin, which came to replace Artashat, under Khosrov Kotak II (330 to 339): archaeologists provide a detailed description of the water ditch running in front of its ramparts of brick earth. According to Movses Khorenatsi, the city of Metzurn (Metzuin), founded by Armenian King Sanatruk in the 2nd century A.D, similarly had ramparts of brick earth with a ditch in front of them.

Hoffmann G., Auszüge aus Syrischen Akten Persischer Märtyrer, Leipzig, 1880, ¿з 50; Гаджиев М., К вопросу о местоположении сасанидского города Шахристан-и Йездигерд, – "Древние и средневековые археологические памятники Дагестана", Махачкала, 1980, с. 111-118; idem, Топрах-кала – сасанидский город-крепость на границе албанов и хонов, – http://www.caucasian-albania. net/?p=32 (2007. Երեւանում տեղի ունեցած աղուանագիտական միջազգային գիտաժողովի նիւթեր); Кудрявцев А., Древний Дербент, Москва, 1982, էջ 83-86:
Тревер К., Очерки по истории и культуре Кавказской Албании, IV в. до н. э. – VII в. н. э., Москва-Ленинград, 1959, с. 265-267.
Юсупов Х., Сходства в фортификации Старой Нисы и Идыкала, – "Ниса – древний очаг развития мировой культуры". Материалы международной научной конференции. 5-7 декабря 2007 г., Ашгабад, 2007, с. 319-320. Ղաֆադարեան Կ., Դուին քաղաքը եւ նրա պեղումները, հ. Ա, Երեւան, 1952, էջ 28-30։ Մովսիսի Խորենացւոյ Պատմութիւն Հայոց, աշխատութեամբ Մ. Աբեղեան եւ Ս. Յարութիւնեան, Տփղիս, 1913, գլ. Բ. լզ, էջ 160 (the father of Armenian historiography refers to the city as ‘Mtzbin’). Cf. Զարեան Ա., Ակնարկներ հին եւ միջնադարեան Հայաստանի քաղաքաշինութեան պատմութեան, Երեւան, 1986, էջ 47-49.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 56-57.

The careful study of the existing sources leads us to the presumption that the early medieval structures of Karkar might be attributed not to any Sassanid king or the Armenian monarchs of the 3rd to 4th centuries, but to the princes of Siunik who acted on the latters’ orders. As attested by the Zoranamak, representing the situation in the country as of the ‘30s of the 4th century, they were in charge of the defence of the “Eastern Gate” of Armenia Maior, namely, its defence from the side of Atropatene. According to the same source, the protection of this part of the country was also vested in the princely family of the Gerezjuny, viz. the principality of Gorozu (* G(o)r(o)zjuny), which was under the command of the prince of Siunik, and the members of which lived in South Artsakh in the Early Middle Ages, their domains extending from the Yeraskh to the river line of Vararakn-Karkar. The Gahnamak (named Nersissian or False Gahnamak with the names of 167 royal and princely dynasties) mentioned in the work by Mesrop Vayotsdzoretsi in 967 speaks about this noble family calling them the Gorozuaik.

Адонц Н., Армения в эпоху Юстиниана. Политическое состояние на основе нахарарского строя, СПб., 1908, с. 251. Cf. Յակոբեան Ա., Պատմաաշխարհագրական եւ վիմագրագիտական հետազօտութիւններ, էջ 281-283, 413-415; idem, «Գահնամակ ազատաց եւ տանուտէրանց հայոց», հետազօտութիւն եւ բնագիր, «Մերձաւոր եւ Միջին Արեւելքի երկրներ եւ ժողովուրդներ», հ. XXVIII, Երեւան, 2011, էջ 62. Адонц Н., Армения в эпоху Юстиниана, Политическое состояние на основе нахарарского строя, СПб., 1908, с. 259. An attempt has been made to show that the princely family of Gorozu was mentioned in the last part of the Gahnamak made up by Sahak Partev (the Parthian): unfortunately, it is missing from the snippet (12th century) of this rare document which has come down to us by chance (see Յակոբեան Ա., «Գահնամակ ազատաց եւ տանուտէրանց հայոց», հետազօտութիւն եւ բնագիր, «Մերձաւոր եւ Միջին Արեւելքի երկրներ եւ ժողովուրդներ», հ. XXVIII, Երեւան, 2011, էջ 62).
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 57.

As is known, after the ruin of the Arshakid Kingdom of Armenia Maior in 428 and the establishment of Governorates (Marzpanutiun in Armenian) in Transcaucasia, Persian kings periodically entrusted the princes of Siunik with the defence of the Caucasian borderline, and especially, its eastern side (the part of Chogh-Derbend - Baghasakan Kingdom), endowing them with the rights of Governors or Vitaxas. Apropos of this, on the western side of the Caucasian borderline, the same function was performed by the Vitaxas of Gugark as early as the Arshakid kings’ times and with the involvement of the armed forces of the Georgian kingdom, from the centre of Tsurtaw-Sughdabil. The defence of the central part of the border was probably carried out by the Governors or Princes of Gardmank with the involvement of the military forces of the kingdom of Aghvank from the centre of Gardman-Jardaman. As already stated above, Arab historiographers attribute the foundation of both Sughdabil and Jardaman to the same monarch, Anushirvan, but in both cases, they deviate from the historical reality by at least a century, for Armenian and Georgian authors mention Gardman and Tsurtav in the 5th century. Thus, 10th-century historian Movses Dasxuranci (also known as Kaghankatvatsi), whose account of the construction of Gardman is mixed with legends, reports that it was founded by Prince Vardan the Brave of Gardman, who was also named Mihranian: “...Vard begat Vardan the Brave (K‘a), who built the fortress of Gardman in three years.” “...Vardan K‘a (‘the Brave’) who believed in Christ—it was not he who built the fortress of Gardman...” He was one of the participants of the meeting of Aghven convened in the early 6th century by the last Arshakid king of Aghvank, Vachagan Barepasht (the Pious, 485 to 523): “...Vardan the Brave, lord of Gardman...” It should also be pointed out that Dasxuranci attributes the construction of Partaw to King of Aghvank Vache II (451 to 461/462) and Kavat I’s uncle Peroz: “A great town Perozapat was built by Vac-e- by order of Peroz, king of Persia, and is now called Partaw.” However, he copied an Armenian-language work conventionally entitled History of 684, in which Partaw is mentioned by the name of Peroz-Kavat for 7 times: it means Kavat the Winner, as translated from Persian, and shows that the Arabic legend on the real founder of Partaw-Barda’a is in fact trustworthy.

Cf. Бархударян С., Страницы из истории Арцаха и армяно-албанских отношений, научн. редакторы: Акопян А. и Асатрян К., Ереван, 2011, с. 126-130.
It was due to this function that in 428 Gardmank-Utik was incorporated into the Governorate (as well as Kingdom) of Aghvank, in contrast to Artsakh, which became part of them only in 450 to 451.
The History of the Caucasian Albanians by Movse--s Dasxuranc.i. Translated by C. J. F. Dowsett. London, 1961, pp. 108, 225. Cf. Յակոբեան Ա., Պատմաաշխարհագրական եւ վիմագրագիտական հետազօտութիւններ (Արցախ եւ Ուտիք), Վիեննա-Երեւան, 2009, էջ 187-188։ The History of the Caucasian Albanians by Movse--s Dasxuranc.i, pp. 25, 54.
The legend relating to “Peroza pat,” which dates from a later period, may, perhaps, be considered the result of the folk etymology of the name of “Peroz-Kavat” on the basis of the association of that of “Vagharsha-pat” (cf. Акопян А., Албания-Алуанк в греко-латинских и древнеармянских источниках, Ереван, 1987, с. 123).
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 57-58.

For the matter under discussion, it is also important to evaluate properly the Arab authors’ aforementioned accounts of the construction of castles by Sassanid kings in Siunik (“Sisajan,” as mentioned in the original). We have at our disposal al-Balazuri’s remarkable account of Kilab, which was located in the vicinity of one of these fortresses, i.e. Gorozu: according to it, it gave refuge to Emir Musafir al-Kassab, who had revolted against the caliphate in Baylakan in the mid-8th century. As for the next castle, “Shahabuns,” some interesting information, mixed with a legend, is reported about it by Stepanos Orbelian: “The castle of Shahaponk built by a Persian named Shahap, and the gorge of Shahaponits called after him: he had come to the patriarchs of Siunik due to an emigration.”

Արաբական աղբիւրներ, (Օտար աղբիւրները Հայաստանի եւ հայերի մասին, 16), Թարգմ. բնագրից, առաջաբանը եւ ծանօթագրութիւնները Ա. Տէր-Ղեւոնդեանի, Եր., 2005, էջ 280։ Cf. footnotes 4 & 5. Ստեփաննոսի Սիւնեաց եպիսկոպոսի Պատմութիւն տանն Սիսական, Մոսկվա, 1861, գլ. Բ, էջ 8։
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 58.

Thus, most probably, the city of Karkar was built (reconstructed) in the very axis of the eastern and north-eastern defensive directions of Armenia Maior; therefore, between the 4th and 6th centuries, namely before the foundation of Partaw in the early 6th century, it might have served as a military base securing the operations led by the princes of Siunik from the interior of the country, and by the Gorozjunies of South Artsakh, who were their inferiors in this matter (their operations were directed to these strategic sides). At the same time, being situated on the borderline between the southern and central districts of Artsakh, on the ancient highway of North to South connecting them with each other, Karkar was also to serve as one of the most important commercial and economic centres of the region for many centuries.

Indeed, it is this family which is mentioned as the Gargaratsik by Moses Khorenats‘i as the last of the four principalities descending from Patriarchs Arran, Sisak and Hayk of the “great and renowned” north-eastern governorship of Armenia Maior (“...from the river Araxes as far as the fortress called Hnarakert”). Moses Khorenats‘i. History of the Armenians. Translation and Commentary on the Literary Sources by Robert W. Thomson. Harvard University Press, 1978; second printing USA, 1980, pp. 139-140. This name derives from an error found in one of the early manuscripts of Armenian historian Agathangelos in which the Vitaxa of the Gugaratsi is called as that of the Gargaratsi (see Համբարեան Յ., Գուգարացի՞ք, թէ՞ Գարգարացիք, «ՀԱ», 1910, էջ 242; Акопян А., Албания-Алуанк в греко-латинских и древнеармянских источниках, Ереван, 1987, с. 65). Now it becomes clear that this renaming is also due to the existence of the city of Karkar (Gargar in everyday speech) in the domains of the princes of Gorozu. It was due to this position that the princes of Khachen made certain claims on Karkar, as is seen from Kirakos Gandzaketsy’s account of the negotiations between Hasan Jalal and the Mongols (see footnote 10).
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 58.

The analysis of the available sources, the results of the archaeological excavations conducted in the city site and the studies carried out in its neighbourhood show that at least its early medieval infrastructure was quite typical of an urban place with all the specific features characteristic of cities, including: i. its location on a most convenient road which was easy of access and lay in a zone of transition from a plain to foothills; ii. the large area it used to occupy; iii. the existence of large monuments (or their traces); iv. its Citadel which is situated on an isolated elevation: it is well-defended and predominates over its surroundings; v. the main road entering the city which is remarkable for the construction activity carried out there; vi. the residential quarters extending outside its main ramparts (called shahastan or rabat); vii. a multi-layer defence system; viii. a structure requiring a high, i.e. state, level of inner organisation and order of society, i.e. the irrigation network with a canal and a ditch in front of the ramparts; ix. a great number of extensive fields of tumuli with several thousand burial structures (according to certain calculations); x. satellite castles/inhabited places in the vicinity of the city, etc.

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 58-59.

Most presumably, Karkar had a municipal status as early as the 7th to 6th centuries B.C., for a considerable part of the aforementioned features had already formed in the Iron Age of Van Kingdom. As attested by archaeological finds, life continued there in the Achaemenid and Hellenistic Periods as well. In the Early Middle Ages, namely, in the times of the late Arshakids and Sassanids, it was reconstructed, expanded and fortified by Persian King of the 6th century Khosrov Anushirvan. It was at that time that its northern ramparts were erected together with the water ditch, the multi-room residential complex in the heart of the city (Excavation Site No. 3), etc. Moreover, it is beyond doubt that the masters of the Early Middle Ages used the already formed municipal infrastructure, expanding and adapting it so that it might fit the new problems and requirements of the place (thus, the ditch of the northern ramparts, which was fed by the canal dating from the Iron Age, was probably supplemented with a new branch to provide water).

The extensive fields of tumuli, unclosed not far from the city, date from the same period. The excavations conducted in two of them, namely, in the tombs of the fields of Sheghasar, Shosh, and Odakayan, Shushi, have unclosed archaeological finds synchronous with the early stratum of Karkar. See Պետրոսեան Հ., Սաֆարեան Վ., Հնագիտական պեղումներ Արցախում, «ՀՀ-ում 1989-90 թթ. դաշտային հնագիտական աշխատանքների արդիւնքներին նուիրուած գիտական նստաշրջան», զեկուցումների թեզիսներ, Երեւան, 1991; Ենգիբարեան Ն., Տիտանեան Մ., Շուշիի երկաթեդարեան դամբարանները, «Շուշին Հայոց քաղաքակրթութեան օրրան» (Շուշիի ազատագրման 15-րդ տարեդարձին նուիրուած գիտաժողովի նիւթեր), Երեւան, 2007.
Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 59.

Monuments

Archaeological monuments in the neighbourhood of Karkar City Site

Castles, Watch Posts

1. Vishki Castle

2. A fortress/habitation site named Meliken Duz

3. A tower/vantage-point named Geodesic Point

4. A fortified cave named Avani Karan

5. A castle named Pulur Tapa

6. A castle/watch post named Jelghavar

Sites of Inhabited Places

1. Kanach Khach (i.e. Green Cross) Village Site

2. Habitation site of Shaghot

3. Habitation site of Odakayan (i.e. Airport)

4. Habitation site named Shushii Seghnakh (i.e. Fort of Shushi)

5. Habitation site/place of refuge named Amaratner

6. Village site of Hewnot

7. Habitation site of Khachin Tap

8. Village site of Hin Mkhitarashen

9. Village site of Hin Shosh

10. Village site of Hin Dashushen

11. Village site of Bozun Tap

12. Village site of Meghoz

13. Village site of Hin Kerkezhan

14. Village site of Meliken Duz

15. Habitation site/sanctuary named Khacher (i.e. Crosses)

16. Village site of Buduru

17. Village site of Khachin Vogh

18. Village site of Jelghavar

19. Village site/sanctuary named Zham (i.e. Church)

20. Village site of Ghaybalishen

Sepulchres, Fields of Tumuli

1. A field of tumuli named Odakayan 1

2. A field of tumuli named Odakayan 2

3. A field of tumuli named Haram Jri

4. Sepulchres named Ghrer

5. A field of tumuli named Noyan Tapan (i.e. Noah’s Ark)

6. Sepulchres named Janshin

7. Sepulchres named Tagavoren Tegh

8. A field of tumuli named Sheghasar 1

9. A field of tumuli named Sheghasar 2

10. A field of tumuli named Kapen Glukh

11. A field of tumuli named Khachvoti Tak

12. Burial mounds named Krasni

13. Sepulchres named Zhami Sar (i.e. Church Mountain)

Sargissian Gagik & Hakobian Alexan, The Newly-Unearthed City Site of Karkar in Artsakh, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, p. 45.

Type Map
View Exterior
Source Non-Specified

Direction From the north
Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

The northern slope of the plateau of Karkar from the north (the city of Shushi is seen on the elevation)

Direction From the east
Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

The same table-land from the east, from the village site of Sheghasar

Direction From the west
Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

The northern slope of the plateau of Karkar from the west, from the road leading upwards to Shushi (from the stronghold of Vishki)

Direction From the south
Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

The Citadel hill and the central quarter of the city as seen from the south, i.e. from the watch tower (the village of Karashen is seen in the distance, with the city of Stepanakert in the left corner)

Direction From the north-east
Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

The Citadel from the north-east, i.e. from the central quarter

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

The surviving base stones of the northern rampart

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

The surviving base stones of the northern rampart

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

Partial view of the ditch extending along the base of the northern rampart

Author GAgik sargissian
Date 2011 y․

Partial view of the ditch extending along the base of the northern rampart

View `
Direction From the north-west
Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

The stronghold called Vishki from the north-west

Type Photo
Direction From the west
Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

The castle named Meliken Duz from the west

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

The altar located in the territory of the castle named Meliken Duz

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

The altar located in the territory of the castle named Meliken Duz

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

Excavation Site N 1. The circular tower of the northern ramparts after the excavations

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

Excavation Site N 1. The circular tower of the northern ramparts after the excavations

Type Measurement
Author Samvel Ayvazain
Source Sketch

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

Excavation Site N 2. The outer and inner facades of the cyclopean ramparts after the excavations

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

Excavation Site N 2. The outer and inner facades of the cyclopean ramparts after the excavations

Type Measurement
Author Samvel Ayvazian
Source Sketch

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

Excavation Site N 3. The circular dwelling of the central quarter before the excavations

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

Excavation Site N 3. The circular dwelling of the central quarter before the excavations

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

Excavation Site N 3. The circular dwelling of the central quarter after the excavations

Author Gagik Sargissian
Date 2011 y․

Excavation Site N 3. The circular dwelling of the central quarter after the excavations

Type Measurement
Author Samvel Ayvazian
Source Sketch

Author Gagik Sargissian

Vazgen Aghajanian, the inhabitant of Karashen who led the archaeologists to the site of Karkar: he is at the northern ramparts of the city site

Type Map

Archaeological monuments in the neighbourhood of Karkar City Site