Renowned Archaeologist Samvel Karapetyan Has Died

Renowned Armenian archaeologist, historian, folklorist, and president of the Foundation for the Study of Armenian Architecture (FSAA) in Yerevan, Samvel Karapetyan, has passed away. He was born on July 30, 1961, in the village of Berdagh in the Arjesh region.

Karapetyan graduated from Yerevan's number 48 school named after Misak Manushyan in 1978. Starting in 1975, he traveled across the Armenian SSR to study nature, and since 1978, he has been photographing, measuring, and documenting Armenian monuments throughout historical Armenia.

Over three decades, he researched and cataloged thousands of examples of Armenian architecture in historical Armenia. Karapetyan was known for his criticism of the treatment of Armenian monuments in neighboring countries. He believed that the authorities in Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia were deliberately implementing policies to destroy Armenian monuments.

He presented his findings to the U.S. Congress in 2007 and to the European Court of Human Rights in 2008.