Armenia launches online monument archive

On the occasion of the International Day for Monuments and Sites, the Ministry of Culture on Monday announced the launch of an online archive of Armenian monuments.

Speaking at the presentation of the new web resource, Tigran Simonyan, the head of the Ministry’s Scientific Research Center of Historical and Cultural Heritage, described the initiative as a very difficult scientific endeavor that required a great responsibility and care. The website is accessible not only to narrow professional circles but also to scientists and the public at large.

Simonyan said the website contains 24.225 pieces of historical cultural heritage, plus 500 recently uncovered monuments, Armenpress reports.

The website’s coordinator, Hasmik Karapetyan, added that the information is available in three languages: Armenian, English and Russian. In her words, the Armenian edition now contains over 10,000 black-and-white photos.

Simonyan added that the website has already twice faced cyber attacks by Azerbaijani hackers. Fortunately, he said, they managed to block the web content to prevent the loss of information.