Tukhnakal Palace is located 1 km east of the village of Moskhmhat, Askeran region of Artsakh and 800 meters southeast of Ghevondiats Monastery. The building is located in the village of Tukhnakal, in the historic province of Varanda, on the side of a mountain, close to the forest.

The palace was built at the end of the 18th century. Historical information about the village and the castle has not been preserved. Residents of neighboring villages attribute the estate to the Melik-Dolukhanyan. The surname Dolukhanyan is absent in historical sources from the Melik region, but two 19th-century inscriptions document the high position and power of the Melik-Dolukhanyan in the Varanda province. The building is constructed of local raw limestone. Exceptions are entryway surrounds, windows, fireplace and arches. The Tukhnakal Palace was not damaged during the Artsakh War, but after the Azerbaijani occupation, the Azerbaijani side is carrying out “construction” work near the complex, and the leveling of the land by bulldozers has reached the protection zone of the complex. This is documented by satellite images obtained by Caucasus Heritage Watch

According to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954 and the First Protocol annexed thereto, the occupying power in the occupied territories is obliged to prohibit, prevent and, if necessary, disrupt theft, the theft or misappropriation of cultural property, as well as any act of vandalism against them. According to the same convention, furthermore, Article 9(c) of the Second Protocol of 1999 prohibits any transformation of cultural value, as well as any change in the manner of its use, which aims to hide or destroy cultural values , historical or scientific.

Also UNESCO, ICOMOS and other cultural heritage documents prohibit any modification of the form, elements, function, external and internal nature of the heritage, which undermines the international fundamental principles of authenticity, integrity, cultural significance and exclusivity of heritage preservation.