The Amaras Monastery, which is located in Martuni Region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh), is one of the best preserved monuments that were built during the early Christianity.
And as a result of archaeological excavations in the area of this monastery, the eastern entrance to the tomb of St. Grigoris—who was ordained as bishop of the Eastern Lands of Armenia, which included Artsakh—was discovered in the St. Grigoris Church, which was built in the early 4th century.
“Of course, the Azerbaijanis had conducted excavations [here] before us [i.e. Armenians],” said archeologist Hamlet Petrosyan. “We also found the 1959 bottle, where it was written that they [i.e. the Azerbaijanis] conducted excavations and found nothing. But we achieved the desired result.”
Petrosyan also noted that the discovered eastern entrance to this tomb has a slab floor, which is not seen in any other Christian structures.
The NKR Ministry of Economy has informed that the museumification of this newly-discovered tomb was conducted in the year past, and by way of installing a glass cover, which is a new phenomenon for post-Soviet Armenia and Karabakh.
The Amaras Monastery is among the sites of early period Armenian architecture in Artsakh.
Source: news.am