VOSKEPAR
Location. Voskepar Village is situated on the left edge of the highway of Ijevan-Noyemberian, almost adjacent to the present-day Armeno- Azerbaijanian borderline, on the slope of a northfacing gorge stretching on the right bank of the stream Voskepar, 22 km north-west of Ijevan, the centre of Tavush Region, Republic of Armenia, in a straight line (32 km along the highway), at an altitude of 740 to 920 metres above sea level: “...built on a steep mountain slope with a rivulet flowing in front of it...”1.
Name. It remains obscure when the name of the village came into being; nor do there exist any medieval records bearing reference to it.
Despite this, however, it is beyond doubt that its present-day name, which symbolizes fertility and affluence, dates back to the depth of many centuries, and even perhaps, millennia. The Armenian Highland has a number of other places the names of which contain the root ‘voski,’ the Armenian equivalent of ‘gold’: Voskebak in Van-Tosp District; Voskevaz and Voskehat in today’s Aragatzotn Region; Voskevan in Tavush Region, not far from Voskepar, etc.
Population. The vestiges of the old village sites preserved in the vicinity of Voskepar show that the ancestors of its present-day inhabitants changed their place of living for at least three times under different circumstances, every time resettling comparatively close to their former place of residence.
In the Early Middle Ages, Voskepar lay in the neighbourhood of a 7th-century church, which is still preserved standing. In the Middle Ages, namely from the 12th to 13th until the early 19th centuries, it was located right opposite the present-day village, on the south-facing (left) slope of the gorge, after which part of its inhabitants again changed their place of living and came closer to the aforementioned church.
Their last resettlement took place in the 1860s due to the insalubrity of the air, as written in the contemporary records: “...from the village site which is within a verst of this one. The reason for the resettlement was the former’s unhealthy
air...”2 . It should be noted that even the present-day situation of Voskepar was described as not very salubrious in summer-time particularly because of its “...air and climate, which are not so very favourable."3.
The available statistical records relating to the 19th to 20th centuries show that Voskepar, which was purely inhabited by native Armenians, 4 ranked between the largest and smallest places of the district in terms of populousness:
year houses males females total
18445 104 76 180
18866 229
18887 151 105 256
18898 159 109 268
18919 35 172 121 293
190810 606
191411 725
At present the village has ... inhabitants.
Historical Monuments. Voskepar is truly very rich in a wide variety of centuries-old monuments of material culture. Putting aside its archaeological heritage (it can surely be unclosed in the course of excavations and studies, the results of which are expected to be published in future works), we are presenting below all those monuments which are attributed to the period between the Early Middle Ages and the beginning of the 20th century.
Let us start our research from the parish church of Voskepar situated in the centre of the village.
1 Քաջիկեան, Ճանապարհորդական յիշատակարան, «Արձագանք», 1888, 3 ապրիլի, դ 12, էջ 159:
2 Ibid.
3 Բարխուտարեանց Մ., Արցախ, Բագու, 1895, էջ 381:
4 Ibid.
5 ՀԱԴ, ֆ. 53, ց. 1, գ. 3809, թ. 73-74
6 ՀԱԴ, ֆ. 53, ց. 1, գ. 3878, թ. 19:
7 ՀԱԴ, ֆ. 53, ց. 1, գ. 3882, թ. 134-135:
8 ՀԱԴ, ֆ. 53, ց. 1, գ. 3882, թ. 132:
9 Բարխուտարեանց Մ., Ibid.
10 Кавказский календарь на 1910 г., Тифлис, 1909, с. 176
11 Кавказский календарь на 1915 г., Тифлис, 1914, с. 85