Church > Amutegh

Amutegh

Location

Amutegh is located on the namesake mountain (1315 m) in the southern part of the mountains of Artsakh, on the left bank of the Hakari River, north of Urekan village in Kashatagh region of the Artsakh Republic (presently Ghubatli region of the Republic of Azerbaijan) (Figs. 1, 2).

AMUTEKH, EKEKHECI ”AMUTEKH”

Fig. 1 The general view of Amutegh mountain, photo by S. Danielyan.

Fig. 2 The church of Amutegh, photo by S. Nalbandyan.

Historical Overview

The first mention of the church of Amutegh was made by M. Barkhudaryan, who in the description of the namesake castle, as a standing building, speaks as well of this “chapel” (Barkhudaryants 1895, 402). S. Karapetyan in his work “Monuments of Armenian Culture in the Territories annexed to Soviet Azerbaijan” describes this “small church” and dates it to the late 17th or early 18th century (Karapetyan 2001, 198) (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3 The plan of the church of Amutegh, Karapetyan S., Armenian cultural monuments in the region of Karabakh, Yerevan, 2001, page 199.

Architectural-compositional examination

The church is built of limestone and lime mortar. It is a single-nave basilica, vaulted, with a rectangular altar. It has one portal from the west and the only window is from the east. The portal and the lintel are built of hewn stones. The structure has an external ratio of 7.67x4.79 meters (Karapetyan 1999, 199) (Figs. 4, 5).

 

Fig. 4 The church of Amutegh from the south-west, photo by S. Danielyan.

Fig. 5 The church of Amutegh from the east, photo by S. Danielyan.

The condition before, during and after the war

The church of Amutegh was renovated and reconsecrated in 2019. The structure was not damaged during the war.

 

Bibliographic examination

Barkhutaryants, presenting the first evidence about Amutegh, mentions that the water of the rock-cut basin on the eastern side of the structure was healing for those who had skin diseases (Barkhutaryants 1895, 402). And later, the structure was studied by S. Karapetyan (Fig. 6).

 

Fig. 6 The church of Amutegh, photo from "Qashatagh" fb page.

Bibliography

  1. Barkhutaryants 1895 – Makar Barkhutaryants, Artsakh, Baku, 1895.
  2. Karapetyan 2001 – S. Karapetyan, Armenian cultural monuments in the region of Karabakh, Yerevan, 2001.

 

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