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31 August 2010
Armenia : An archeological mission to study the Yererouk paleochristian site
A team from the Laboratoire Archéologie Médiévale Méditerranéenne (Laboratory of Mediterranean Medieval Archaeology, CNRS / Université de Provence) will travel to Armenia on September 4-18, 2010 to study the remains of the paleochristian Yererouk Basilica (5th-6th century AD), located in the northwestern part of the country, near the Turkish border. The site dates from the Armenian paleochristian period (1), which is characterized by the abundance, originality and precocity of its production. The mission's goal is to shed new light on this still little-known chapter of history.
The Basilica of Yererouk stands today in ruins, albeit rather well preserved, with three naves, four corner rooms and three porticoes. Built on a high six-tiered platform, the basilica is flanked on the South by a space of unequalled size in paleochristian Armenia and that was probably used for memorial or funerary purposes. Although the site has been the subject of a number of publications, several key questions remain unanswered: When exactly was the basilica built? What did its roof look like? How did paleochristian Syria influence its design and sculpted decorations? What were the functions of its adjoining spaces and nearby buildings? Indeed, even though the sprawling complex surrounding the basilica had already been subjected to perfunctory studies and excavations during the Soviet period, it still harbors many mysteries. The ruins include, for example, the remains of an imposing rampart, a triple wall that served as a dam, and a small edifice of unknown function. But there are also rupestrian rooms, an abundance of lapidary material and graves that are no doubt paleochristian, as well as a series of dwellings apparently from a later period. The dates and functions of many of these ruins are a matter of hypothesis.
An earlier mission in September 2009 carried out the first survey of the entire site, producing a preliminary stratigraphic sketch of the elevations of its main architectural elements and an inventory of the lapidary material. The researchers began to compile measurements, photographs and descriptions of a total of 167 carved or molded stones and fragments, mostly from architectural and funerary monuments. The results indicate a strong predominance of pieces from the paleochristian era.
The Laboratoire d'Archéologie Médiévale Méditerranéenne (CNRS / Université de Provence) has signed an agreement with Armenia's Shirak Regional Museum, which has authority over the Yererouk site, concerning four joint excavation campaigns to be carried out between 2009 and 2012. Starting in September 2010, several field missions have been scheduled. They will complete the surveying of the site, the mapping of the ruins, the topographical survey of the surrounding areas, the lapidary inventory and the documenting of all significant stones and fragments, not to mention the further archeological study of the basilica itself. Nearby zones will also be investigated, and probes, excavations and sedimentological studies performed to shed light on the site's regional and chronological background.
© © Patrick Donabédian
Saint John the Baptist Basilica, Yererouk. Overview of the southwestern zone of the site.
© © Patrick Donabédian
Yererouk: impost decorated with a Sassanian bird motif and a cluster of grapes.
Notes:
(1) In Armenia the term "paleochristian" is used in reference to Late Antiquity, between the adoption of Christianity in the early 4th century and the region's golden age of the 7th century, in other words the period spanning the 4th to 6th centuries AD.
Contact information:
CNRS researcher
Patrick Donabédian l T 06 50 59 73 30 patrick.donabedian@orange.fr
CNRS press officer
Laetitia Louis l T 01 44 96 51 37
laetitia.louis@cnrs-dir.fr
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