Armenian tuff

The history and folklore of Armenia show that Armenians are a creative nation. Since ancient times, wherever the Armenians set their foot, they built houses and beautiful structures. Even high mountains and cliffs did not prevent the Armenians from building stable fortresses and castles. Although the stone itself cannot be considered a national value, some types of stones, however, can be national due to their origin and presence in the Armenian Highland. For Armenians, tuff is the national stone. Armenian tuff is the stone with which everything was built, from agricultural buildings to spiritual buildings and castles.

Features of Armenian tuff

Centuries ago, Armenians had been convinced that tuff is a stronger stone than brick. Later it became clear that this stone is homogeneous and it is possible to obtain smooth and even rectangles from it.

Tuff occurs as a result of burning ash and pumice, which were formed as a result of a volcanic eruption. The main advantages of tuff are light weight, fragility, and many color shades. This allowed to create buildings with a beautiful appearance and sculptural decorations.

Machines and modern equipment were not needed to cut the tuff. Just the ax and saw were enough to get equal pieces of stone.

Tuff also has the ability to breathe. The pores on the stones allow the temperature inside the building to remain above 0 degrees in winter and avoid outside heat in summer. Thus, tuff buildings are provided with natural ventilation.

People used to think that tuff is not a very strong stone. So, to strengthen the tuff buildings, they were covered with oil and painted in the color of Vordan Karmir (Armenian red paint). Perhaps because of this many buildings have survived to this day

Types of tuffs

Armenian Highland is a whole tuff mine. It is distinguished not only by the abundance of tuff, but also by its color variety. Here you can find tuff from pink to dark volcanic shades. Of the 28 shades of tuff, purple, red, orange, brown, pink and black are common in Armenia.

Armenian tuff is divided into 5 main types:

• Ani – yellow, orange
• Artik – pink, purple
• Yerevan – black, red
• Byurakan – pink with black spots, dark grey with black spots
• Felsit – patterned

According to scientists, differences in the colors of tuff are associated with the speed of the lava flow, with the place of its completion and oxidation. Pink tuff originates from the upper layers of pyroclastic flows that are widespread throughout Armenia. Pink is the natural color of the oxidized tuff, which form immediately after cooling of the pyroclastic flows.

One of the largest tuff mines in Armenia is located in the city of Artik. This is where the famous pink tuff is processed. From Artik, tuff is exported to many countries.

City of pink tuff

The main feature of Yerevan architecture is tuff. Yerevan is called the pink city for its pink panorama. The city is the brightest at sunrise and sunset and changes its color during the day, depending on where the sun shines from. This was Tamanyan’s dream – to build a city of the sun.

Centuries ago, King Argishti ordered the construction of the capital Erebuni from black tuff, since the black tuff mine was located right in this city. From Erebuni to Yerevan, the tuff has not changed and has not lost its value. And centuries later, the architect Tamanyan, following the traditions of Armenian architecture, decided that the new capital of Armenia should be built of pink and black tuff.

City of black tuff

Just as Yerevan is called a pink city because of its pink tuff, Gyumri is called “Black Tuff City”. The black tuff was widely used in the construction of Gyumri. In the architecture of the city, there is a unique technique called rustication. It is created from a combination of black and red tuff on the walls. In the years 1860-80, the construction of the city mainly used red and black tuff, which was called the Alexandropolian style. And since 1880 the black tuff has become the dominant theme in city architecture.

One of the significant buildings in Gyumri built from black tuff is the Black Fortress. It got its name because of the black tuff used in its construction. The Black Fortress was originally a defensive structure in Alexandropol and served as a prison for soldiers.

Now, this fortress is an important architectural structure of Gyumri.

Tuff jewelry

It is generally accepted that gold and silver turn into jewelry in combination with precious and semiprecious stones. However, in recent years, jewelry is also made of silver and of the most popular stone in the Armenian Highland – tuff. But the price of the jewelry doesn’t decrease, as the production of tuff jewelry is a difficult and time-consuming process. It takes a lot of effort for the master to get small and even pieces of stones from a large tuff. And as a result of this long work we get these unique pieces of jewelry with the most national stone of Armenia – tuff.

You can purchase tuff jewelry at Zndan.

Tuff and cross-stones

In the life of Armenians, tuff was used not only in the construction of cities. It was also widely used in the construction of churches. Most of the churches and monasteries of Armenia are built of tuff. This stone is also the most suitable raw material for creating Armenian cross-stones. It is also suitable for creating sculptures and ornaments for cross-stones. The fragility and lightness of the stone make the process of carving small ornaments a lot easier. Besides that, the use of Armenian tuff in the creation of cross-stones makes them more important in the context of national values.

Perhaps, centuries ago tuff was used in the construction of cities and other structures due to its abundance in the region, its lightness, and practicality. But now, tuff is more than just a convenient and practical stone for Armenia. Today, Armenian tuff is considered a unique national value, from which you can always feel the scent of the native and warm city.

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