Many years ago Tosya Gharibyan, a resident of the Arinj village in Kotayk Province, asked her husband to dig her a potato cellar in their home’s basement.

That request, made in 1985, changed the future direction of Levon Arakelyan’s life.

A builder by profession, Levon proceeded to dig and dig singlehandedly for the next 23 years until his death.

Today, curious visitors travel to Arinj to see the underground cave/museum dug by Levon.

Tosya says that Levon saw a vision and heard a voice from the midst of a white fog tell him, “Levon, you will perform one singular miracle in this world. You will become sick. Do not fear any illness. What images you see before your eyes, you will reproduce exactly.”

After this, master Levon decided to dig the potato cellar deep and wide.

Master Levon at work Levon’s self-portrait on the courtyard wall

The underground cave goes 21 meters deep into the earth. The museum has seven rooms that are interconnected by a maze of corridors and steps. The floor space of the cave is 280 square meters and is located beneath the yard of the two storey house.

Tosya Gharibyan says the temperature in the cave remains a constant 10 degrees Centigrade, in both summer and winter.

The cave is festooned with numerous stone carvings made by Levon. The underground museum is also illuminate by electric lights.

Portions of Vigen Chaldryan’s film “Priestess” were shot here.

Levon’s only tools were a hammer and chisel. He didn’t believe in power tools. The master builder never rested, working almost every day and digging through successive layers of black earth, touf and basalt.

Tosya Gharibyan descending into the cave Levon’s portrait of his wife

“My husband would only catch 3-4 sleep a night. In the latter years of the project, visitors would come with food to offer him. Levon would complain and say they were interrupting his work. From the very beginning, he’d fill up a bottle of mineral water and take it down the cave. That’s what sustained him. That and his untiring spirit and love for what he was doing. If he didn’t love what he was doing, he’d never achieve all this. And there I was chiding him, ‘Get out of there. It might collapse on you’. Luckily, he never listened to me.”

The first floor of the house has been transformed into a museum as well, displaying the clothes worn and tools used by Levon. There are also press clippings of the cave and a visitor’s sign-in book. And the cave/museum has been a spot for many a curious visitor – whether from Armenia, the diaspora or non-Armenian tourists.

In the yard, you can see flower pots that Levon made from the shards and pieces of stone from the dig. There are also two stone mosaics on the wall of the courtyard – one is of Levon, holding his hammer and chisel, the other is Tosya, potato in hand.

Master Levon’s tools Planters in the courtyard made of stone shards

Levon Arakelyan passed away suddenly four years ago at 67. He was working on the day he died.

“He would say, God has instructed me to do this and God will tell me when to stop.” says Tosya.

Levon and Tosya have four daughters and 12 grandchildren.

Tosya says that in this age of modern tools and equipment, no one will continue the work of master Levon. His hammer and chisel remain silent, on display for all to see.