CHW has made a high-confidence assessment that a centuries-old cemetery in Lachin has been damaged due to construction. Road work encroached into the northeastern and southern areas of the cemetery between October 15, 2022 and April 29, 2023. We geolocated the cemetery using a 2011 plan compiled by the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (and provided by Monument Watch), which defines the conservation zone. Distance and azimuth info allowed us to georeference the area of the cemetery to the satellite image.
The cemetery contains simple 15-16th c. ‘khachkars’, or cross-stones, and an inscribed 14th c. khachkar has also been documented there. Since most of the khachkars are embedded in the ground it is not possible from satellites to determine how many have been destroyed.
CHW calls on authorities in Azerbaijan to assess the damage and prevent further encroachment into the territory of the cemetery
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