Aghitu

Aghitu (Armenian Աղիտու ), until April 1991 Aghudi, is a village and a rural municipality ( hamaynkner ) in the Syunik province near südarmenischen Sissian. The place is known for an unusual early Christian tomb.

Location

39.51527777777846.080833333333Koordinaten: 39 ° 30 ' 55 "N, 46 ° 4' 51" E

Aghitu is over 1700 meters above sea level on the slope of a ridge above a line running from northwest to southeast deep gorge which is crossed by Worotan. The higher elevations are treeless and rocky, partly the basalt occurs massively produced, forming steep escarpments. The grassy slopes are used for grazing, only at isolated spots in the area thrive apple trees.

A street of Sissian leads on the left bank above the Worotan over after five kilometers through Aghitu and after another five kilometers to the ruins of the monastery Vorotnavank. The long-distance traffic on this old trade route along the river valley is now shifted to the M2 motorway, which runs to the north of the plateau. Between Aghitu and Vorotnavank a side road branches off to the north to the village Noravan, which can also be reached from the M2 between Sissian and Goris. The nearest village of Aghitu, one kilometer behind Vorotnavank down by the river bank, Worotan, which is dominated by the Castle Hill Vorotnaberd is.

History and townscape

There was near except Zorakarer more Late Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements and burial sites (early 2nd to the 1st millennium BC). The ancient Greek residents lived in the 1st century BC, the invasion of Roman soldiers. In medieval chronicles an important monastery is mentioned with a fortress in Aghitu, but of which no remains are left.

The word Aghudi should be derived from agh, " land ", the place have thus belongs to the name in later times to the lands of local rulers. Turkmen ranchers had settled in Aghudi and built a mosque until they fled in the 19th century Armenian immigrants. The mosque has disappeared today. Of the Muslim residents still tells a cemetery with mostly broken grave stones on the hillside above the road on the western edge of town ( at the sign ).

In the census of 2001, the official population was indicated even lower by one-third with 209 compared to the year 2009. In January 2009, lived according to official statistics, 304 inhabitants in Aghitu Another estimate for this year is 500 inhabitants to.

Tomb

The most important monument in the village is an unusual tomb, which is dated to the 6th or 7th century, that was even before the development of significant for the Armenian- Christian culture of remembrance Chatschkare. He is coming from Sissian at the entrance on the right. The lower part is a rectangular, brick-built from basalt blocks building with two arched portals on the western face side, which was probably intended as a mausoleum. On the barrel- vaulted main room, which receives light only through the open portal, just such a small space was built in the north. From the back into the middle of an eight- steep stairs to the podium. On this stands an octagonal column with a Volutenkapitell, passing over the arches to the lateral semicircular wall templates flanking rectangular pylons as the outer limit. It finally follows a structure with two vases -style columns and three arches, this time sideways resting on rectangular pilasters on the outer pillars. The destroyed in an earthquake in 1931, upper part has been restored. As ornaments come before pomegranates, grapes, serpentine and other vegetable pattern. The entire three-tier composition with their stylistically diverse architectural elements and ornamental details looks pieced together. Who was the client and who was buried here is unknown. The only comparable tomb in Armenia is next to the Cathedral of Odsun.

Some Arab and Armenian inscriptions on the tomb are the 9th attributed to the 13th century. North of the grave construction are remains of walls, perhaps to a single-nave chapel from the 10th/11th. Have heard century, and remained in the vicinity medieval grave stones of the once larger overall plant left. Perhaps at this point was a Roman predecessor from the 1st century BC The tomb of Aghitu is depicted on the 1994 come out in 1000 - Dram banknote, which was valid until 2004.

Grave stone on the Muslim cemetery