BARSGHISHEN AND THE VICINITY
Barsghishen is situated on the altitude of 1650-1740 in, 2 km southwest of Hanshagh, on the Southern slope of the canyon of a small left tributary to the Lev.
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The only written testimony of this village is the cadastre of Dadi Vank estates, composed in 1763.
The Kolani Kurds that established here by the end of the XIX cent. have actually simply distorted the historical toponym, pronouncing it as Baghrsagh.
The villages Tala and Ghamishli are situated nearby, first 2 km southwards, on the woody eastern slope, and the second is in the Lev River valley, at its right bank. The walls of residential houses in these villages were built of numerous khachkars, or processed stones of secondary usage, even the inscribed tympanum of the church entrance was reused. Apparently to provide the building material for their houses, the shepherds used the nearby Armenian churches and cemeteries as a quarry.
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Barsghishen |
It seems reasonable to suggest that this cross, as well as many other uninscribed khachkars (all of them rather simple) belonged to the same church and were taken from its facing.
The fragmented tympanum is of extreme historical value. The inscription contained on its two fragments belonged to the princess Arzu Khatun.
The church situated between the villages Barsghishen and Ghamishli seen from southwest.
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1.5 km of Ghamishli up by the course of the Lev, there is an obviously old bridge called "Shahi" (the King's), which bears traces of numerous repairs and renovations. There had been another larger bridge over the river in the southern edge of the village. Its pylon was still standing in the beginning of the eighties, but later it was totally destroyed by the flood.
The walls of a little beautiful church between Barsghishen and Ghamishli. closer to the latter (only 0.6 km to the east) are still preserved though the upper part of the walls alongside with the vault have totally collapsed. The only entrance is in the western wall. The church was built of coarse stone and mortar.
Votive crosses covered many of the facing stones. Two of them had brief inscriptions, one on the western, and the other on the southern facades.
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The interior of the church was plastered. The altar was quadrangular. Its external dimensions were 5.68x4.22 cm.
A small cemetery surrounding the church consisted of several rectangular, processed, uninscribed tombstones. Based on their compositional and stylistic peculiarities they may be dated by the XIII-XIV cent.
Another partially destroyed small basilica (only walls have been preserved) is standing in I km southeast of the above-mentioned settlement, in the forest on the northern slope of Tzaghikants. Several finely carved khachkars are preserved in situ. One of the facing stones adorned with a cross (XIII-XIV cent.) has now been delivered to the village Ghamishli.
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