Marmashen Monastery (X-XIII centuries) and the ruins of a settlement around it (Armenia)

The photo shows what Armenian settlements looked like in antiquity. In the center, there is a fortified monastery, and around it, the houses, built of poorly worked stones, with earthen roofs.

Previously, such villages existed around every church. Temples (or their ruins) remained, and the settlements completely disappeared, since such buildings are short-lived – for a hundred years they merge with the landscape. As a result, now, Armenian cathedrals stand in an open field.

by Merike Joosep