Հիշողությունը և տրավման տապանագրային ու սգերգային ժառանգության համատեքստում

This article examines cemeteries formed after the 1988 Spitak earthquake as unique cultural archives that have preserved multi-layered narratives of personal and collective memory, grief, faith, and identity. Drawing on local fieldwork, photographs, and ethnographic data, the study examines how cemeteries have become sites of memory, reflecting not only individual tragedies but also the process of rebuilding public identity. For the first time, the epigraphic and oral funeral legacies of Gyumri are combined, viewing them as a complementary memory system that unites material and non-material culture. This approach allows us to identify models of post-disaster memory formation that can be applied to other regions. Methods and materials: The research uses an interdisciplinary approach, combining the methods of cultural and narrative analysis to reveal the interrelationships between personal memories, symbolic images, and the formation of public memory. During the research, we used field folklore materials recorded by us /-K.S. and R.H./, which include local traditions, artistic inscriptions on tombstones, and oral narratives of disaster memory. Field studies were conducted after the 1988 earthquake in the old and new cemeteries of Shirak and Gyumri. Analysis: Within the framework of narrative analysis, the texts of tombstones, their symbolism, and iconography were studied. Results. The results of the analysis show that the epigraphic and oral funeral heritage of Gyumri reflects not only the general patterns of post-disaster cultural memory, but also a unique local model, which can be characterized as a dual memory system. This system is formed by the complementary interaction of material and non-material memory. Authors' contribution: They jointly wrote and systematized a large amount of material related to cemetery culture, tombstone art and oral narratives, conducted a study to find out how cemeteries, as cultural archives, preserve our identity and memory.