BATMAN – Doğan News Agency
A historical tablet with Armenian writings on it was discovered in the ruins of an Armenian church. DHA photo
In the ruins of the Surp Asvadavin Mother Mary Church, which is located on Mount Mereto in the eastern province of Batman’s Sason district, a historical tablet and some historical artifacts have been discovered. The tablet and pieces were delivered to the Batman Museum Directorate.
The ruins of the Armenian church, some part of which was damaged in 2012, were cleaned by the Istanbul-based Sason Armenians Association Chairman Aziz Dağcı with 10 people. They found the historic pieces during the cleaning.
He said they had removed the ruins for restoration under the surveillance of Batman Museum officials. “When we removed the ruins, we found a big tablet with Armenian writing on it. We also found historical horseshoes and some Armenian historical figures,” Dağcı said, adding they had delivered them to the Batman Museum.
The historical pieces will be examined in the Istanbul Armenian Patriarchate, he said. “Our goal is to restore this church, which collapsed two years ago. The church is located on the peak of the 2,973-meter-high Mount Mereto. We estimate that these remains date back to 2,000 years ago. We also applied to the Batman Governor’s Office for the construction of a different road to the church,” he said.
July/10/2014