Conservation Problems of Wall Paintings Within the Architectural Heritage

The Armenian legislation is currently protecting and preserving architectural monuments, archaeological sites, and minors’ artistic forms of art like xač‘k‘ars. Unfortunately, there are several cases of precious wall paintings preserved inside religious buildings (Tat‘ev, Lmbatavank‘, K‘obayr, Mastarà) being damaged during architectural monument restoration. In recent years, there has been a lot of interest in study, conservation, and restoration of wall paintings in Armenian churches; however, there is one terrible reality to report: the neglect and abandonment of the protection and safeguarding of visible wall paintings for many bureaucratic and logistical reasons, as well as reasons for complete indifference for the destiny of the frescoes. A significant illustration of this negative attitude is the chapel of the Armenian monastery of K‘obayr. After many years of abandonment, the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport made a move and began a campaign of studies and restorations in collaboration with the Polytechnic of Milan, to restore the buildings and wall paintings. Restoration work on the K‘obayr chapel has been put on hold since 2013 due to inadequate administrative administration. As a result, the chapel's single nave's double-pitched roof, which is incomplete has remained exposed for the past 10 years, and rainwater infiltration formed a lovely part of the wall paintings. Our four years of endless reports and reminders have yielded nothing. The purpose of this article is to show once again, that the wall paintings in Armenian churches are historical monuments that must be safeguarded and are an inseparable key component of each existing church's monumental architectural heritage; consequently, they must be protected.