The Bridge of Halivor

The Bridge of Halivor

Location

It is located 2 km south-west of Mets Tagher village of Hadrut region of the Artsakh Republic, on the Ishkhanaget River (Figs. 1, 2).

 

Fig. 1 The general view of the bridge, photo by S. Danielyan.

Fig. 2 The general view of the bridge, photo by S. Danielyan.

Historical overview

The information about the bridge is scarce. According to the 7-line building inscription (Karapetyan 2009, 104) engraved on the slab embedded onto the upstream-looking facade of the bridge, it was built in 1835: “This bridge is in remembrance of Harutyun – son of Gevorg, I built to the memory of my parents, whoever passes let him say God have mercy on them (1834)” (Fig. 3).

It is one of the six bridges built on the Ishkhanaget River and its tributaries, four of which were uninterruptedly maintained and operated until the Second Artsakh War. The bridge connects the villages of Tumi and Mets Tagher.

Fig. 3 The inscription embedded onto the facade of the bridge, S. Karapetyan, The Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan, 2009, p. 105.

Architectural-compositional description

The bridge is single-span, has an accentuated sagittal arch. The width is 5-50 m, the width of the passage is 3 m (Karapetyan 2009, 104). It is built of boulders (the segment of piers), cracked rockstones and limestones, solid lime mortar. The edges of the arches are made of rough stones.

The condition before, during and after the war

Before the war, the monument was mostly complete and operated. No information is available about the bridge during or after the war.

Fig. 4 The measurement and section of the bridge, the inscription embedded onto the facade of the bridge, S. Karapetyan, The Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan, 2009, p. 105, Fig. 35.

Bibliographic examination

Information about the monument is scarce. Until the 1990s it never caught the attention of travelers and researchers. The main information is taken from S. Karapetyan’s work dedicated to the bridges of Artsakh (Karapetyan 2009, 104-106).

 

Bibliography

  1. Karapetyan 2009 – Karapetyan S., The Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan.
The Bridge of Halivor
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