Karvajar (Kalbajar) province
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DADIVANK (MONASTERY OF ST. DAD)
Basilica and the Parvis
These structures were built upon the completion of Saint Dadi Church and the Cathedral (1214) may be even the bell tower. A single nave basilica and the parvis were attached to the whole southern wall of St. Dadi church. Contrary to its small width (3.75 m) the church was very high (7.30 m up to the centre of the vault). The dated tomb (1293) discovered in the parvis might serve a dating criterion for the parvis, which, in my opinion, was constructed before the end of the XIII cent. Consequently the basilica was also built between 1283-1293 together with the parvis linked to it from the west. "The Hall and Houses"
The vast hall and three small rooms were linked to the eastern side of the "Temple" of 1211. Two of the rooms, which limit the structures from the east, are double storied. Most important within the group of these structures was the library. Other rooms were taken for the scribes studies or monks cells. As strange as it would seem, the building inscription on the southern entrance of the hall was up to now neglected. Meanwhile it narrates that this group of buildings was constructed by priors Grigoris and Athanas, sons of prince Hassan, and the structures were simply named "the Houses and the Hall".
Certainly this inscription does not at all exclude the ruling opinion that this was a library. As regards the date of the building, it may be established with some accuracy owing to other dated references to Father Athanas (as we have said, prior Athanas mentioned in a number of epigraphic inscriptions made between 1263-1291).
Refectory and the Kitchen
These badly worn accommodations linked to the "Temple" from the west were naturally built after 1211. M. Hasratian provided the detailed description of these accommodations. We have only to add that there had been a second floor with vaulted convent cells over the kitchen. Owing to the steep relief the entrances made in the northern wall of the cells opened on the level of the backyard. The cells were provided with fireplaces and numerous niches. Pilgrims Dormitories, Winepress, Cellar, Princely Residence and Chapel. These structures were situated in the southwestern side of the complex. They were linked to each other, but stood a little apart from the religious buildings. There had been at least 5 structures of various assignments. The ground floor of the first double storied building was a pilgrim's house, with the prior's residence over it. The second house consisted of a winepress and a cellar in the basement, and the princely quarters upstairs. A simple small chapel is still preserved in the northern end of the princely residence, i.e. being included into the monastery complex the house had its own chapel for praying in private. Unfortunately the princely quarters are badly damaged. Wide arched windows of its southern facade were still disassembly visible on the photograph taken by Mesrop Magistros in 1911. All these buildings were constructed during the XII-XIII cent. Unfortunately we have no sufficient grounds to date them with more accuracy. The Columnar Hall
The hall with a colonnade, which filled the section of the yard between the cathedral, of 1214, the bell tower of 1283, the basilica and the parvis built before 1293, is the "most unpretentious structure, disproportional wide..." Actually all of the above mentioned structures are far more perfect by their architectural and aesthetic value than the columned. It seems the latter was built in much worser time, as late as in the XIV cent.
Other Houses
There were also a few vaulted houses, one of which was situated in the western side of the complex, and two others were linked to the western facade of the Chapel, It seems they were also built on the verge of the XIII-XIV cent. and might be assigned for dwelling or other economic needs.
The Fortress Wall and the Gates
The main or the large gate is situated within the monastery complex. This indicates that not all the structures were initially enclosed into the wait, or that other structures were built later. The second - smaller gate is in the western side of the Cathedral. The road from this entrance leads to the chapels, situated not too far in the northwest. Although it is impossible to date the gates precisely, two inscribed and dated khachkars fastened into the walls (1181 and 1200) indicate that the fortress walls, as well as the gates should have presumably been built after 1200.
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