MIDDLE EAST HISTORY POLITICS CULTURE XI-XII Middle East | Page 195

settlements. It was caused by a number of factors like the settlements were
inhabited by Muslims, the Armenian monuments were mainly small obelisks,
the cold climate of the area. In this settlement there are preserved
monuments even from the Bronze Age. Unfortunately during the time the
medieval Armenian monuments got various application by Muslims and
gradually dropped out of sight.
In 2015-2016 during our epigraphical researches there are studied not
only the Christian monuments, but also are specified the locations of several
medieval monuments, there are copied new epigraphs by filling the
epigraphical heritage of the region.
From above mentioned four settlements of Eastern shore of lake Sevan
there are in total known 18 epigraphs, including 3 epigraphs from Shorja
which we got from Mesrop archbishop Smbatyants’s studies, 4 other
epigraphs are mentioned by Yervand Lalayan by copin the third one from
Mesrop Smbatyants. And in the IV edition of “Divan of Armenian epigraphy
(regions of Gegharkunik, Kamo, Martuni and Vardenis) there are published 9
epigraphs. We copied another 5 epigraphs, from which the oldest one refers
to XIII century.
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