AND AVAN (ARMENIA) – A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON DECAY AND RESTORATION
Wanja Wedekind1, Emma Harutyunyan2, Siegfried Siegesmund1
IN: SIEGESMUND, S. & MIDDENDORF, B. (EDS.): MONUMENT FUTURE: DECAY AND CONSERVATION OF STONE.
– PROCEEDINGS OF THE 14TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON THE DETERIORATION AND CONSERVATION OF STONE –
VOLUME I AND VOLUME II. MITTELDEUTSCHER VERLAG 2020.
1 Geoscience Centre of the University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
2 National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia, Teryan 105, 0009 Yerevan, Armenia
Abstract
The Zvartnots Cathedral was built from basalts and tuffs in the 7th century. Since the year 2000, it has been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The Avan Cathedral is even older and was built in the 6th century, mainly from tuff. Both monuments are now ruins and have been restored several times with different materials. This applies primarily to the restoration mortar used.
The tuff material used for both cathedral ruins is comparable.While damage to Avan Cathedral is dominated by cracks and static problems, the Zvartnots ruin is primarily damaged by widespread salt contamination.
In this study, the restoration history of both cathedral ruins were worked out and the petro-physical properties of the building stones were investigated. The historical and modern mortars used in both structures were analysed and examined in the laboratory. Onsite object investigations were carried out, which includes damage mapping, surface hardness, electrical conductivity and the sampling of salts. The investigation clarify the high quality and weathering resistance of the historical mortars.
Introduction
The Zvartnots and Avan Cathedrals are two outstanding examples of the high point of Armenian medieval architecture (Fig. 1a). Today both buildings are only preserved as ruins.
Zvartnots Cathedral
The ruins of Zvartnots Cathedral are located near Echmiadzin, about 17 km west of Yerevan. The complex consists of the ruins of a round cathedral, which was built in the mid 7th century and dedicated to Saint Gregory. Beside the cathedral there are also the ruins of the palace of the Catholic Nerses III, who officiated from 641 to 662.
The church of St. Gregory in Zvartnotz was destroyed in the 10th century and is considered to be the oldest and largest tetrakonchos in the Caucasus Region. The structure has been imitated several times with similar forms. The four conches of the central building were surrounded by a circular corridor, the diameter of which was 37.7 meters, with a presumed height of the triple-tiered cylindrical structure of around 45 meters (Fig. 1a).
The Gregory Church is mentioned in several medieval sources and is one of the best-known architectural symbols of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the oldest “self-sufficient” state church in the world.
138Archaelogical investigations and restoration
After the first excavation work in 1901, a systematic archaeological investigation began in 1904 and was lead by Toros Toramanian (1864–1934). He presented a three-stage reconstruction model, that initially raised doubts, but was accepted by most experts as probably the right one in 1906. This model is considered a pilot project of reconstructive restoration work in Armenia (Fig. 1a).
From 1958 to 1967 the remains of the wall were being secured. Further restoration measures were carried out in the 1980 s, with large areas of cement-containing mortar and suspensions being used in both cases (Fig. 2f). The most recent restorations were carried out under the direction of Grigor Nalbandyan using cementless materials.
Avan Cathedral
The Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God of Avan is located in the Avan Yerevan district on the outskirts of the capital of Armenia. The Avan Cathedral is the oldest surviving church within the city limits of Yerevan.
The church was built in the late 6th century, between 591 and 602. Construction began shortly after the Byzantine-Sasan War ended (572–591), which led to the expansion of direct Byzantine rule over all western regions of Armenia.
Figure 1: a) The cathedral ruin of Zvartnots and the reconstruction model by Toramanian with the floor plan of the buildung. b) The cathedral ruin of Avan, a hypothetical reconstruction and the floor plan of the church.
The architectural historian Toros Toramanian (1864–1934) made the assumption that the Avan Church once had five domes (published in Maroutyan 1976). A single larger dome in the middle and four smaller domes over each corner of the church, over the round corner chambers. Thus, Avan would be the first such example of a church with five domes. The church has a four-pass floor plan with an octagonal central bay over which there was probably originally a dome (Fig. 1b).
A low, arched door leads from the west wall into the church and is surrounded by an ornate covering with three-quarter columns, which are decorated with capitals and bezels. A vischap stone from pagan times was used as a lintel above the main portal. Another door on the north wall, which was probably built at a later date, after the church was built, leads to the Catholic Palace. The church is also of immense architectural importance as the prototype of the much better known masterpiece, the St Hripsime in Ejmiatzin, Armenia.
Restoration history
In 1940–1941, 1956–1966 and 1968 restoration work was carried out on the church. Of note here is the oldest restoration from 1940–41, which was carried out according to the then most modern and still current principles of restoration theory (Brandi 2006). Compatible dry slaked lime mortars were used, which also has to be emphasized in terms of materials.
Damage forms and deterioration
The damages observed at Avan Cathedral are dominated by cracks and crackles of single ashlar, back-weathering, scaling and static problems of the top of the single building walls and pillars (Fig. 2c). At the Zvartnots ruins, the damage is primarily caused by widespread salt contamination associated with back-weathering and rounding (Fig. 2d, 4).
Historical photographs from the beginning of the 20th century show, that at some parts of the original walls even the historical whitish plaster was 139preserved (Fig. 2e). Today all the plaster surfaces are destroyed. Many of the stones are damaged by typical weathering forms associated with the presence and crystallization of salt (Fig. 2d, 4).
