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Employees of Artsakh’s State Service for the Protection of Historical Environment have discovered a khachkar (cross-stone), among others, during their recent trip to the Koshik Anapat monastery in the Martakert region of Artsakh.

The khachkar with an inscription can be considered newly discovered, since it is not registered in the state lists and is not represented in the works of authors-topographers, the monument watch said in a statement on Tuesday.

The monument is made of brown-pink stone (dimensions: 82 × 46 cm). In the central part of the khachkar there is a large sculpture of a large carved cross, surrounded by a floral woven ornament and other ornaments. Noteworthy is the inscription on the reverse side of the monument, according to which Grigor, the grandson of Hasan (Hasan), erected this cross to save his soul in the days (times) of Heghine.

“It is known that Heghine is considered a saint in Artsakh. In Christianity, she is known as Queen Heghine, Srbuhi, mother of the great Konstantin, who is credited with the invention of the cross in 327.  And the most important thing is: ‘Mrs. Heghine Hayots Metsats, from Agvan, wife of Prince Grigor Mamikonyan’,” the statement said.

Koshik Anapat is one of the main spiritual centers of the Khaghbakyan princes from Artsakh, about which there is a number of accurate historical data.