Historical overview
Information on the Surb Astvatsatsin Church of Herher is limited. Bishop Makar Barkhudaryants notes: “In the old cemetery of the village there is an ancient chapel named Surb Astvatsatsin, which is already dilapidated and collapsing” (Artsakh 1895, 106).
Sh. Mkrtchyan merely records the presence of the Surb Astvatsatsin chapel in Herher’s old cemetery (Mkrtchyan 1985, 105; Mkrtchyan 1989, 124). V. Balayan also mentions the chapel, dating it to the 17th century (Balayan 2020, 456).
In the monument certificate compiled by the Republic of Artsakh Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, the site is recorded under several vernacular designations, including “church,” “zham,” “chapel,” and “Asttson.”
Architectural-Compositional Examination
Surb Astvatsatsin is a small, single-nave church with a broad rectangular apse opening. The building is semi-ruined and structurally unstable (Fig. 1). It originally had a vaulted covering. The preserved dimensions are as follows: length-6.4 m; width-3.7 m; height-2.07 m. It is constructed of roughly dressed stone bonded with lime mortar (Fig. 3).
Only the eastern wall and approximately half of the northern wall survive (Figs. 2, 3). The position of the entrance is no longer discernible. The interior is partially filled with collapsed debris.
An old cemetery formerly surrounded the church; today, only a portion on the hillside remains visible (Figs. 4, 5). One tombstone (Fig. 6), dated to the 16th-17th centuries, is a flat slab bearing two incised figures-one larger and one smaller-an iconographic convention usually interpreted as representing a mother and child. According to the monument certificate, the earlier part of the cemetery lay immediately adjacent to the church but is now covered by the village road and surrounding houses.
