The bridge of Yerkatavork

The bridge of Yerkatavork

Location

The bridge (figs. 1, 2) is located on the Kashuni River in Yerkatavork village, in the Republic of Artsakh's Kashatagh region (Karapetyan 2009, 132). According to Soviet administrative divisions, the bridge was located within the administrative borders of Damrchilar (this name is the translated version of the actual Armenian name) village in the Ghubatlu region (Karapetyan 1999, 192-194).

The village, like the rest of the region, is currently under Azerbaijan's occupation.

Fig. 1 The general view of the bridge. This photo is provided by the RAA Foundation.

Fig. 3 The Bridge’s construction inscription. This photo is provided by the RAA Foundation.

Architectural-compositional examination

The bridge is built of unpolished stones (fig. 4) and lime mortar. It is a single-span bridge. The bridge's width is 3.10 meters, its span is 9.15 meters, and its height above the river level is 5.50 meters (Karapetyan 2009, 132).

Fig. 2 The general view of the bridge, photo by Z. Rkoyan.

Historical overview

The bridge was built between 1912 and 1913, according to the Arabic building inscription on two separate stones (fig. 3). Raffi Kortoshyan, the first decipherer of the inscriptions, provides Arabic readings of the inscriptions. Michael, one of the builders, is mentioned. "Among the selected, there was Michael." Sama's son Mah-Pet ordered the bridge's construction: "The benefactor, Mah-Pet, the son of Sama, built this bridge in 1331 (1912–1913). May God bless him" (Karapetyan, 2009, 132). The bridge was approximately dated to the 17th–18th centuries before reading the Arabic inscriptions (Karapetyan 1999, 192).

Fig. 4 The Bridge’s measurement. This photo is provided by the RAA Foundation.

The condition before, during, and after the war

The bridge was not harmed during the Artsakh wars; it was repaired in 1990 with cement-concrete, which was inappropriate for its historical structure (Karapetyan 1999, 194).

Bibliography

  1. Karapetyan 1999-Kapetyan, S., Monuments of Armenian Culture in the Occupied Territories of Soviet Azerbaijan,
  2. Karapetyan 2009-Karapetyan S., Bridges of Artsakh, Yerevan.
The bridge of Yerkatavork
The bridge of Yerkatavork
The bridge of Yerkatavork
Artsakh