Horekavank Monastery :: ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Horekavank Monastery 13 c․

NKR / Martakert / Talish

Location

Horekavank is situated on the north-facing side of a wooded mountain slope, about 5 km south-west of Talish Village, Martakert District (Metzkoghmank District of the historical Armenian province of Artsakh), present-day Republic of Artsakh.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 1.

Historical Introduction

There are no trustworthy records regarding its foundation. The available sources contain references to the village of Ureka (or Urekan) once existing in the neighbourhood of the monastery: thus, Movse-s Dasxuranc.i mentions “...a certain Step‘annos, the pious priest of the village of Ur.ekan...” Presumably, Horekavank (literally translated as Horek Monastery), which is the second name of the monument (the first one was Glkho), derives from the name of this village, which used to be located in one of the fields of the present-day village of Talish.

Movse-s Dasxuranc.i, The History of the Caucasian Albanians (London, 1961), 6.
Դիվան հայ վիմագրության [A Corpus of Armenian Inscriptions], vol. 5 (Yerevan, 1982), 101.
Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 1.

Urekan, the existence of which dates back to the Early Middle Ages, is mentioned in a story about the discovery of the relics of Eliseus the Apostle, the disciple of Thaddeus the Apostle, who had suffered martyrdom while preaching Christianity. According to it, his bones were found by a group of people, including the aforementioned Priest Stepannos from the village of Urekan.
This story contains an indirect reference to a sacred site once existing in Urekan, and that might be the present-day monastic complex of Glkho or Horekavank. Unfortunately, the excavations have unclosed no traces of any early medieval building. The sanctuary of the church of Horekavank is traced back to the 5th century.

Movse-s Dasxuranc.i, The History of the Caucasian Albanians (London, 1961), 6.
This priest seized his skull and hurried away to his village, whence it was later transferred “...to the holy monastery of Nersmihr which is now called rvštik...” (Dasxuranc.i, ibid). Later the monastery of Jervshtik was also named after Eliseus the Apostle (Dasxuranc.i, ibid).
Մկրտչյան Շ., Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի պատմաճարտարապետական հուշարձանները [Sh. Mkrtchian, The Historical and Architectural Monuments of Nagorno Karabakh] (Yerevan, 1985), 73.
Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 1.

Horekavank is mostly mentioned by Dasxuranc.i in connection with the discovery of a relic of the Holy Cross. While disseminating enlightenment in Caucasian Albania, Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet, had a piece of the Holy Cross with him, but for fear of persecution, he buried it in the township of Gis in the historical district of Utik. Later, in the 7th century, a hermit whose name was Israel learnt its location in a vision and persuaded the bishops of Caucasian Albania to find it. After its discovery, he transferred it to Glkho Monastery, which suggests that it already existed as early as the 7th century.

Movse-s Dasxuranc.i, The History of the Caucasian Albanians (London, 1961), 130-134.
Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 1.

The oldest preserved buildings of Horekavank trace back to the 13th century. According to the dated construction inscriptions of its church and narthex, preserved on their entrance tympanums, they were built in 1279 and 1284 respectively. As for the belfry adjoining the narthex in the west, judging from its composition and building technique, it traces back to the Late Middle Ages. The Armenian letter è, engraved on the northern pylon of the belfry, suggests that it was erected in 1551.

Դիվան հայ վիմագրության [A Corpus of Armenian Inscriptions], vol. 5 (Yerevan, 1982), 101.

In the 17th century, the meliks (princes) Beglarian, the rulers of Gyulistan, took up residence in the neighbourhood of Horekavank and constructed a huge fortified palace, comprising a wide variety of rooms and structures, about 60 metres below its central complex, to the north-west (some of its semi-ruined buildings are still preserved).
The Beglarians’ family graveyard extends east of Horekavank. Most presumably, they also carried out some renovation activities in the monastic buildings, their traces being still visible on the church and narthex.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 1.

The central complex of Horekavank consists of a uni-nave basilica, a narthex abutting on it in the west and a belfry rising in front of the western entrance of the narthex. In their vicinity, namely in the west as well as on lofty mountain slopes in the south and on some lower ones in the north, building traces are preserved (their outlines can only partly be discerned): they were considerably damaged due to the enlargement of the cemetery of Talish that came into being around the complex (it still exists nowadays). Opposite the western facade of the central complex, within about 20 metres, a vaulted guest house of four rooms stands in a semi-ruined condition: it dates back to the early 19th century.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 2.

The neighbourhood of Horekavank used to be densely populated. The ruins of Urek (Urekan) Village, which traces back to the High Middle Ages, are located on both sides of a forest way leading from Talish to the village site of Yeghaker, about 100 to 150 metres west of the complex. In this part, particularly on the ground and along the road, the traces and walls of numerous buildings can be seen together with pottery pieces.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 2.

A cemetery older than that of the Beglarians used to be situated in the small area in front of the western facade of the complex. Its eastern and northern extremities have slided downwards, while the southern section is partly covered with earth that has slipped from the slope.
Horekavank did not have fortified walls.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 2.

As reported in the construction inscription carved on its entrance tympanum, the church of the monastery was built by Father Hovhannes in 1276, in the days of Catholicos Stepanos. It represents a uni-nave basilica which is rectangular outwardly, with a widely-opening rectangular apse and a double-centred vault which is unusually high. The width of the sanctuary is smaller than that of the hall by only 15 to 20 cm. The one-metre-high bema is covered with earth, with its front wall apparently erected later. Two lateral stone steps lead from the hall to the bema. We were amazed at the height of the western and eastern windows of the church and at that of the niches in the northern and southern walls of the bema: their unusual loftiness makes them totally inaccessible for one standing on the present-day bema. Below the recess of the northern wall of the bema, there is another with a finely-dressed front part: undoubtedly, it traces back to the period between the 18th and 19th centuries. We were even more puzzled at coming across another detail in the inner composition of the church: the eastern wall of the bema retains the traces of two contiguous vaults below each of which an east-looking window opens. It is beyond doubt that the sanctuary and bema that have reached our days have undergone changes so that we do not deal with their primary structure. The church, which is built with split stones and mortar, is inwardly plastered.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, pp. 2-3.

Architectural Description

Eight years after the construction of the church, the aforementioned ecclesiastical figures also constructed its narthex (1284), this event being commemorated in an inscription engraved on its tympanum. Abutting on the western facade of the church, it is a structure of an almost square plan, erected with the same building technique. It has four intersecting arches without a yerdik (an opening in the ceilings of Armenian buildings for illumination and smoke removal). Unlike all other similar monuments, the square in the centre of the intersecting arches is not surmounted by a rotunda, and instead, it is covered with a ceiling of a spherical surface. The criss-cross arches rest not on pilasters but on built-in-wall capitals that jut out of the upper contours of the walls. The arches are not laid with whole large blocks of finely-dressed stone, as is the case in other similar buildings, but are built with the stone used in the entire monument, being accentuated in the smooth ceiling surface by 5- to 10-cm lofty cornices that are made only with plaster in some parts. Given all this, the impression is that the intersecting arches of the narthex do not have a constructive function (namely, the creation of a yerdik and the bearing of a rotunda) and are only decorative elements.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 3.

Historical Introduction

The narthex floor is entirely covered with clergymen’s tombstones, which shows that it also served as a funerary structure.
The belfry, which was constructed later, differs from both the church and narthex in its building technique as well as in the colour and dimensions of its stones. Likewise, the renovated parts of the church and narthex differ from their original sections. Presumably, the construction of the bell tower and the repairs of the church and narthex were carried out simultaneously, in the times of the meliks Beglarian, between the 18th and 19th centuries, and not in 1551, as might be supposed. This is also attested by the tiling unclosed from beneath the earth covering of the roofs of the church and narthex, which is typical of the times specified.
The belfry was built as abutting on the narthex facade without junctures. It is a narrow, slender and tall building alien to the entire monastic complex due to its composition, colour and structure. It used to be surmounted by a four-pillar rotunda which has not reached our days. Erected right in front of the narthex entrance, it touches its wall in its upper section and a juncture is found only in a small upper part. Because of its vertical stretch and unsteady foundations, the belfry has slanted, thus going far from the narthex facade and creating a wide crack which puts it in an emergency state.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, pp. 3-4.

Excavations

The condition of the monastic complex was not enviable before we started the excavations: it was shrouded in big trees and bushes which made it almost entirely invisible from all directions. Only its western facade was more or less open although the bushes growing at the southern extremity of the open square (35 to 40 sq. metres) in front of it were thoroughly covered with hanging rags and handkerchiefs of different colours, size and forms left by pilgrims, this creating rather a disagreeable scene. Besides, the area also teemed with the stinking remains of sacrificed animals and birds. The rosehip trees growing close to the northern facade of the complex did not allow us to even approach the wall and photograph the two big cross-stones set in it. There was only a narrow path around the church by which we could go round the complex and peer at certain facade sections through the trees. The roots of two big trees rising near the southern facade of the church and narthex had grown into their foundations, while their branches lay right on their roofs. Considerably huge trees had also grown on the earth-covered roofs of the narthex and church: most presumably, the decomposing influence of their roots hastened the collapse of the church vault.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 4.

We started clearing activities by cutting down all the bushes and small trees in front of the western and northern facades of the complex. The huge trees rising close to the southern facade were cut down only partly so that their branches should not fall on the monastic buildings. We avoided uprooting them as their roots had grown into the wall and any such action might bring about some collapse. We also carefully cut down the trees and bushes growing on the roof, trying to do so from below, as much as possible. The stumps were treated with herbicide which impedes the further growth of vegetation.4.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 4.

From among the heaps of ruins accumulated close to the northern facades of the church and narthex, we selected the stones that might be used as building material and gathered them together at one of the corners of the square. As for the earth, it was poured into its northern section, thanks to which, it was widened and smoothed. In this part we unclosed four hitherto unknown tombstones, three of which were inscribed.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, pp. 4-5.

After the trees close to the southern facade had been removed, the nearby area was partly smoothed and some cross-stones were unearthed there. We re-erected a large, sculptured and inscribed tombstone that had slipped down the slope.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 5.

The monastic complex contains a memorial wall of three cross-stones the central of which lay facedown: we re-erected it, too although it was entirely decomposed because of the friable, poor-quality sandstone of which it was made. Only the contours of its once big cross could slightly be discerned. The first, larger khachkar of the memorial wall, which was displaced, leant against the western facade of the narthex, but we did not move it due to some technical difficulties and temporarily replaced it with another cross-stone lying nearby, on the ground.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 6.

While clearing the western facade of the narthex, we unearthed a cross-stone of the 17th century. We also found another khachkar in the territory of the cemetery and placed it beside the previous one.
We carried out a probe of the narthex and church roofs in three different sections in order to find out the structure and building material of their earlier roofs. In all of them we unclosed decrepit rows of semi-circular tiles of a later period, each of them placed into the preceding one, right on the slabs and mortar covering the roof.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, pp. 6-7.

As far as the tiling of the monument is concerned, special mention should be made of the lowermost tile, which has a projection of about 2 cm in its lower section: it enters right the mortar, thus enabling the tile to more solidly cling to the roof. We did not come across tiles of an earlier period which resemble table-shaped pans although we found their fragments amidst the ruins and can state with full conviction that they are the vestiges of the original, 13th-century roofs of the monastic buildings.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 7.

The northern half of the church vault had almost entirely collapsed around a year before the start of the excavations, and the stones, heaps of soil and tiles hanging above threatened to tumble down at any moment. The church floor and bema were entirely covered with ruins. Inside it, we first of all removed these ruins and the stones hanging above: putting aside the stones that might be used as building material, we poured the earth into the extremity of the western square, thus considerably expanding it. This enabled us to unclose the interior of the church in the state preceding the collapse: we photographed and measured it in detail, after which we started excavations in the bema.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 7.

First of all, we began work in the section of the ruined vaulted vestry in the northern half of the bema, the surface of which contained backfill of tamped soil comprising pebble, building stones, tile fragments, few pottery pieces, remnants of plaster of thick mortar and fragments of articles of everyday use: in a word, the bema teemed with debris among which we also found a small inscribed stone fragment.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 7.

In the middle part of the backfill, we unclosed tiny pieces of candlesticks of iron, brass and melchior together with items of recent periods. This attests that formerly some digging was carried out in the bema section. Almost beneath its surface, we unclosed a partition which divides the bema in two equal parts, itself rising through the juncture of the vaults visible on the eastern wall. Only some small vacant space remains between this partition and the facade of the newly-erected bema. At a depth of about 0.4 metres, we unearthed the upper part of a khachkar lying facedown. After the rectangular room had been entirely unclosed, we carefully re-erected it in its former place, below the eastern window (as discerned on the plaster of mortar on the wall), by means of a rope and a hoisting mechanism of wood. This ornamented inscribed cross-stone of grey limestone, which is in a good state of preservation, is dated back to 1457.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, pp. 7-8.

We also conducted excavations in the area in the south and unclosed another rectangular chamber which exactly resembles the aforementioned one with the only difference that in this second one, the cross-stone placed close to the eastern wall was found intact in situ. It dates from almost the same period, namely 14th to 15th centuries, and resembles not a freestanding khachkar, but a relief of two crosses carved on the front of the tetrahedral altar. It remains obscure why 15th-century cross-stones were placed in chapel-vestries of the 13th century and what they came to replace: it is only evident that the cross-stones serving as holy altars and the plaster fastening them to the wall are the results of subsequent acts of renovation carried out there.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 9.

After some clearing work in these two newly-unclosed chambers, we found out that they were prayer rooms or, to put it in other words, chapel-vestries. Their walls are plastered with mortar. Plaster also covers the floors of these rooms which rest right on the soil. In each of them, at the eastern extremity of the floor, opposite the cross-stone serving as a holy altar, the bema of the prayer hall may be discerned as accentuated with a plaster layer of 3 to 5 cm. The floor plaster also indicates the threshold of the entrance. The chapel-sacristies are open and do not have proper entrances as such. Their entryways are just formed through the open space between the partition and the rear walls of the steps adjoining the northern and southern walls and ascending towards the original bema.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 9.

After a detailed study of the walls, vaults and plaster junctures of the chapel-vestries, we may state with firm conviction that they were built parallel with the church, according to the same project, constituting an integral part of its original image. The older bema of the church, which is 220 cm higher than the hall floor, used to rest on a smooth covering resting on their vaulted roofs. Access to it was possible through ascending two lateral steps of stone. The unusual slenderness of the church as well as the surprising height of the windows and niches of its sanctuary are due to this elevated position of the bema.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 9.

The double-floor structure of the church sanctuary is something rare in Armenian architecture: it is found in Sourb Astvatzatzin (Holy Virgin) and St. Gevorg Churches in Ayrk Village, Gegharkunik Region, Republic of Armenia.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 9.

After its destruction, the original bema of the church of Horekavank was not restored to its primary state. It might have been ruined in the aftermath of some invasion in the 16th century: the blackened parts on the floors and plaster of the main sections of the walls in the chapel-vestries and the thin layer of ashes indirectly speak about this. Presumably, the vaults of the chapel-sacristies were reduced to decrepitude and then to ruins as a result of the plunder committed in the monastery and the fire it suffered. The demolished prayer halls were filled with debris and smoothed as probably it was either impossible or inexpedient to restore them. As for the bema, it sank into its present-day state. It is not improbable that the ornate set-in-wall cross-stone of the northern prayer hall, which was quite tall protruding from the floor of the newly-built bema, was deliberately removed and placed on the soil in a lying position.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 9.

In order to work out a restoration project for the monastic complex of Horekavank, we opened three exploring shafts (1 x 2 m) beneath the outer walls of the church, narthex and belfry to find out the condition and depth of their foundations. All these pits unearthed cist graves and burials mostly with child remains, right in the earth, just beneath the walls. Below the eastern facade of the church, at a depth of 0.5 to 0.8 metres, we unclosed smooth level burial slabs comprising a cemetery of the 13th century.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, pp. 9-10.

We unearthed an inscribed tombstone in the south-western part of the narthex.
A dated cross-stone was unearthed from beneath the southern wall of the church.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 10.

During the renovation of the roofs of the church and narthex, in the 17th to 18th centuries, a number of stone slabs, part of them inscribed and many others bearing cross reliefs of an earlier period, were placed below the tiling. The excavations unclosed similar slabs with crosses that had been displaced and were in ruins.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, pp. 10-11.

To summarise, let us point to the main results of the excavations and clearing activities carried out in Horekavank:

1. The complex overgrown with vegetation was cleared of it, becoming visible for pilgrims, visitors and tourists.

2. The interior of the monastic church and its outer facades were cleaned of the earth layer and ruins, the nearby squares being expanded and smoothed.

3. We found out the structure and building material of the roofs of the complex buildings.

4. The structure and solidity of the foundations of the monastic buildings were clarified.

5. Eight inscribed funerary memorials, including three khachkars and five tombstones, were unclosed.

6. The existence of an old cemetery was revealed and the depth of its location ascertained.

7. We cleared up everything connected with the heretofore strange composition details of the church and clarified the original appearance of its interior sections.

Ayvazian Samvel & Sargissian Gagik, “The Excavations of Horekavank” in: "Vardzk", 2013, N 9, p. 11.

Author Sasun Danielian
Date 2019 y․

Author Raffi Kortoshian
Date 2011 y․

Author Sasun Danielian
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Direction From the north-west
Author Samvel Ayvazian
Date 2012 y․

Author Samvel Ayvazian
Date 2012 y․

Type Measurement
Author Samvel Ayvazian

View Interior
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Author Samvel Ayvazian

View Interior
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Author Samvel Ayvazian
Date 2012 y․

Author Samvel Ayvazian

Author Samvel Ayvazian
Date 2012 y․

Author Samvel Ayvazian

Type Copied Lapidary Inscription

Author Samvel Ayvazian

Author Samvel Ayvazian
Date 2012 y․

Author Samvel Ayvazian