Նյուրա Հակոբյան, Անահիտ Խուդավերդյան - Նորաբաց դամբարան Մայր Աթոռ Սուրբ Էջմիածին վանքի տարածքում/A RECENTLY OPENED TOMB ON THE TERRITORY OF THE MONASTERY OF THE MOTHER SEE OF HOLY ETCHMIADZIN

During the excavations of 20-30 May 2019, an early medieval tomb was discovered near the southern wall of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral. The burial is in the ground in a typical stone sarcophagus facing north-west. The sarcophagus is made of stone, lined with polished tuff slabs. The sarcophagus is covered with unworked massive tuffs. The base of the sarcophagus is strewn with soil. There is no written evidence of when and under what circumstances the remains were reburied. Inhumations were widespread in the Hellenistic, Classical and Early Medieval periods and were oriented in a variety of directions. In Djrvezh, Artashat, Vagharshapat, Garni, in neighbouring Georgia and other places, the practice of burials in stone slabs and inhumations were based on their pagan traditions. According to the testimony of Agathangelos, the direction of the burials has not yet been clearly determined on Christian ideology. Hence, Grigor Lusavorich did not observe the Christian ritual of inhumation of the virgin martyrs of Sint Hripsime. The sarcophagus has been dated to the early 4th century based on its construction, orientation, stratigraphic data and comparable parallels, i.e. before the foundation of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral. “Saint Gregory erected crosses and arranged fences on the sites of the temples to be built, but he did not build an altar because he did not have the honour of a priest” (Ագաթանգեղոսի Պատմության հունական նորահայտ խմբագրությունը 1966, 80). Opening the sarcophagus, we found human remains: a skull and small fragments of bones of the postcranial skeleton. The surface of the bones revealed traces of burning and crystals: the white crystal on the surface bones is the result of a taphonomic event and is not due to a pathological condition.