THE MUSEUM MUST BE CENTER OF RESEARCH

Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
21 July 2006

The Shushi Museum of History and Local Lore was opened on May 28,
1992. The first director, Vehanush Danielian, found a huge stone
mortar when she was digging the soil in her vegetable garden near the
museum. The stone mortar dated 1866 was supposed to be in the yard of
Ghazanchetsots Church, and it was a surprise to find it there. Another
surprise is how women managed to carry the mortar to the yard of the
museum, for it was war, and all the men were fighting. "Well, how
could we win without such women?" asks the present director of the
museum Ashot Harutiunian. "The museum must be a center of research to
preach the history and culture of the nation. With the little funds we
have we do this job. Tourists visiting the museum often change their
perceptions on learning about the history of Artsakh," says Ashot
Harutiunian. Ashot Harutiunian says with the assistance of Tufenkian
Foundations they are partly repairing the building. The director
personally found the place of medieval khachkars and cemeteries,
which are now being studied by the Institute of Archaeology and
Ethnography of the Armenian Academy of Sciences. Shushi Foundation
funds this work. "The government’s powerful assistance is necessary
for the museum to fulfill its duties," says Ashot Harutiunian.

AA.

21-07-2006

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress