Medieval Stone Building Tradition

Dr. Mark Jarzombek, associate dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says Armenia played a strong role in the shaping of medieval stone building tradition and in the spread of stone architecture. Armenian masons worked outside Armenia, from Europe to India, said Dr. Jarzombek. Between 400 and 800 AD Armenia and Syria were the only places in the world where advanced stone masonry was still practiced. Elsewhere the building material was brick (Byzantine Hagia Sophia in Constantinople), wood (India) or stone rubble (Basilica of St. Peters at the Vatican). Armenian masons also built churches in southern France, mosques in Cairo and were taken to India by the Islamic invaders. Armenian architecture was particularly influential during the Seljuk and Fatimid periods.

Dr. Mark Jarzombek, associate dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says Armenia played a strong role in the shaping of medieval stone building tradition and in the spread of stone architecture. Armenian masons worked outside Armenia, from Europe to India, said Dr. Jarzombek. Between 400 and 800 AD Armenia and Syria were the only places in the world where advanced stone masonry was still practiced. Elsewhere the building material was brick (Byzantine Hagia Sophia in Constantinople), wood (India) or stone rubble (Basilica of St. Peters at the Vatican). Armenian masons also built churches in southern France, mosques in Cairo and were taken to India by the Islamic invaders. Armenian architecture was particularly influential during the Seljuk and Fatimid periods.