Historical overview
Historical sources do not preserve any information regarding the fortress settlement.
Some details about the "Isarants" fortress are provided in S. Sargsyan's book The Fortresses of Khachen. In describing the monument, he notes, "According to the testimony of the local inhabitants, it is called 'Ded.'" According to S. Sargsyan, this view is "a legend and cannot pertain to the historical 'Ded' (dtek) fortress mentioned by K. Gandzaketsi
…" (Sargsyan 2002, 61).
The monument is referred to as the "Isarants Fortress-Settlement" in V. Balayan's work, within the list of preserved monuments near the village of Kolatak (Balayan 2020, 395).
Architectural-compositional examination
The fortress settlement, whose remnants of walled structures are sporadically visible, covers an area of more than 1.5 hectares.
In the Certificate of Monuments of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Artsakh and S. Sargsyan's work, the monument is described as follows: “The fortress settlement extends from the southeast to the north-northeast, with its particularly southern and south-western sections bordered by natural rock outcrops. The remnants of the surrounding vaulted structures are preserved in various locations (Fig. 2). The main entrance, 4.3 meters wide, is located on the western side and is constructed of unworked basalt blocks. The fortress settlement comprises approximately 50 chambers, all completely vaulted and covered with vegetation and soil, although isolated remnants of foundation collapses are visible" (Figs. 3-5, Sargsyan 2002, 60, In the Certificate of Monuments of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Artsakh).
On the eastern side of the fortress settlement, the vaults of the mausoleum have been preserved (measuring 4 x 3 meters), around which the cemetery with 12th–13th-century cross-stones is spread (Figs. 3–5; Sargsyan 2002, 60). On the lower part of one of these (measuring 2 x 1.3 x 0.25 meters), the following inscription is visible: "…I erected this cross upon the tomb of [my] father…" (Sargsyan 2002, 61).
