Our colleague, Liviu Iancu, has recently published an article covering “New Data on Gevork Tiratsy’an’s Activity before his Repatriation to Armenia from Romania in June 1948” in the Armenian journal “Lraber Asarakakan Gitutiunneri / Herald of Social Sciences.” The article presents some of the latest findings concerning the earliest academic and organizational initiatives of the most renowned Armenian specialist in classical archaeology, Gevork Tiratsy’an (1926-1993), a member of the Armenian diaspora in Romania until his repatriation to Armenia at the age of 21. A student of the renowned Boris Piotrovsky, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Armenian Academy of Sciences where he also served as director from 1988 to 1993, Tiratsy’an’s name is linked to important discoveries at archaeological sites such as Armavir and Karmir Blur, as well as to the publication of some 150 scientific works focusing mainly on the Armenian civilisation, from the destruction of the palaces of Urartu to the Christianisation of Armenia in 301 AD. Notable among these writings is his monumental volume on “Ancient Armenian Culture (6th-3rd centuries BC),” published in 1988.
Based on new information sourced from both the “Hayasdanian Geagad” newspaper, published by the “Armenian Front of Romania” pro-communist organization between 1946 and 1950, and the National Archives of Romania, Liviu Iancu’s article highlights that the first scientific communication given by Gevork Tiratsy’an took place on May 9th, 1947, during a Study Circle of the AFR youth organization. At the event, Tirațsy’an, a student at the Faculty of History in Bucharest at the time, gave a presentation on the origins of the Armenian people.
From April 1947 onwards, Tirațsy’an was also a member of the committee that prepared the second great wave of Armenian repatriation from Romania, which took place in June 1948. Gevork Tirațs’yan was himself one of about 1000 Armenians repatriated on this occasion, led by his father, Artașes Tirațs’yan, himself a notable intellectual, the director of the Armenian School in Bucharest and a leading member of the Armenian Front.
Research for this article was carried out under the European-funded Horizon 2020 - Marie Curie Staff Exchange Programme, under grant no. 734645, “Knowledge Exchange and Academic Cultures in the Humanities. Europe and the Black Sea Region.” In his efforts, Liviu Iancu was supported by Arsen Bobokhyan and Nvard Tirats'yan, the daughter of Gevork Tirats'yan, both researchers at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Yerevan, and by Ani Shahnazaryan, from the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran).
The paper is available on the author’s Academia.edu al autorului http://shorturl.at/sACX1, while the full issue of the Lraber Asarakakan Gitutiunneri Journal is available on the Journal’s website, accessible here »»»
