The Vaulted Hall Composition in the Medieval Architecture of Artsakh
The vaulted hall type of religious structure was a particularly widespread architectural composition in Artsakh during the 12th–13th centuries and constitutes one of the distinctive features of the region’s medieval architectural school. This composition was employed in churches forming part of monastic complexes throughout Artsakh, including Bri Yeghtsi, Okhty Yeghtsi, Koshik Anapat, Gtichavank, and others. In other architectural schools of Armenia, by contrast, this type was generally used for chapels and small churches.
The study has shown that churches of the vaulted hall type in Artsakh are characterized by the widespread use of a rectangular sanctuary. Examples include Dadivank, Gtichavank, Khatravank, Yeghishe Arakyal Monastery, Handaberd Monastery, Karmirkar Monastery, and Charektar Monastery. The analysis encompassed both churches in which the bema and the hall form a single vaulted spatial unit and a subtype of churches with rectangular sanctuaries in which the bema is narrower than the hall.
As throughout Armenia, the churches and monumental complexes of Artsakh were constructed of stone — tuff, basalt, felsite, and limestone — using the “midis” masonry technique and lime mortar. Both finely dressed and roughly hewn stone were employed. Finely dressed stone was generally reserved for the principal structural elements of the building, such as wall corners, wall-piers, and arches. The same construction practice was characteristic of monuments belonging to the Syunik architectural school, in the region neighboring Artsakh.
The research was conducted using a comparative analytical method. The results were summarized in tables and presented graphically. The study identified the morphological, metrological, proportional, structural, and artistic characteristics of the vaulted hall type.
It should also be emphasized that although the morphological analysis of the monuments under consideration has previously been addressed in specialist literature, their metrological and proportional analysis is undertaken here for the first time.
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