France 24: Armenia protecting ancient artefacts from war, vandalism

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ever since rockets started falling over Nagorno-Karabakh, a team of historians has worked to bring hundreds of ancient Armenian manuscripts to safety for fear they might be destroyed by artillery or vandalism, France 24 says in a fresh article.

Behind a thick vault door at the Matenadaran cultural centre in Armenia’s capital Yerevan, troves of Armenian manuscripts – some dating as far back as the 13th century – can be found. They have temporarily been moved there from their sister complex in Karabakh amid the war.

“We saw the rocket fire fall on the Ghazanchetsots cathedral in Shushi, since the Matendaran is located next to the monastery complex of Gandzasar. For reasons of security, we decided to temporarily move everything to the Matenadaran in Yerevan,” explains Aram Torosyan, director of the centre.

But he is not just worried about rocket fire. “The manuscripts were removed, given how the destruction of monuments is an ongoing phenomenon for these terrorists – Azerbaijani, Turkish groups, they have this tendency to destroy monuments.”

The manuscripts are an important part of Armenia’s cultural heritage. The Matenadaran in Yerevan is the world's largest repository of Armenian manuscripts.

Azerbaijan launched the war against Nagorno-Karabakh on September 27 and only on November 10 was it possible to reach a deal on the cessation of hostilities.