All about Armenian tuff

Having visited the capital of Armenia, the city of Yerevan, it is impossible not to pay attention to the wonderful monuments of ancient architecture. Most of them were built using a stone that is ideal in terms of its decorative and technical properties - Armenian tuff.

Tuff is a lightweight cemented porous rock. It is formed as a result of magma substances hitting the surface. Distinguish between calcareous (or carbonate) tuff, siliceous (felsic), volcanic. Calcareous species are something between marble and limestone. Natural deposits of this stone are located in Italy, Iran, Turkey, but most of the world's wealth (about 90%) lies in Armenia.

Armenian tuff belongs to the group of rocky rocks formed from volcanic ash, often its composition and density are heterogeneous, depending on the type of parent rock and intervals of eruption. A common property is always a porous structure, since rocks of the volcanic type consist of sintered medium-sized fragments, ash, and also sand. The porosity gives the stone ideal water and frost resistance. In addition, this material is lightweight and soft, which allows processing without the use of complex construction tools. Usually it is enough to have only an ax and a saw.

The tuffs in the territory of Armenia are amazingly beautiful. It is believed that this stone can have up to 40 different shades.

Armenian tuffs, depending on their natural and mechanical properties, are usually classified into types.

• Ani tuffs. They have a yellowish orange or red tint. It is the lightest type of stone.

• Artik. These tuffs are characterized by pink, brown or lilac color. This is the most famous ornamental type; it is not for nothing that Yerevan is called the pink city because of the abundance of such buildings. The Artik field is one of the largest in the world.

• Yerevan tuffs. They look like beautiful black-brown or red stones. They are actively used in facing works.

• Byurakan. Tuffs with many inclusions of minerals and stones. They are also characterized by spots of various shades, most often brown and yellow-brown.

• Felsite tuffs (Martiros and Noyemberyan). Dense, unlike volcanic, beige stones with yellow or golden-red blotches. Often have brownish brown patterns due to the presence of iron.

Due to its simple processing, porosity, lightness and various shades, Armenian tuff is most often used for construction and cladding. Hard species, in addition to those listed above, have high seismic resistance. Numerous architectural monuments of the ancient architecture of the Armenian people, for example, the Cathedral in Echmiadzin, built in 303 AD, testify to the excellent physical and mechanical properties, strength and frost resistance of tuff. NS. Walls, supports for domes and roofs are made of this stone, floors, ceilings and walls are faced with it.

According to its characteristics, this stone is similar to facing brick, but tuff is more frost-resistant, durable and water-resistant. Houses built of Armenian tuff have good sound insulation and are ideal for all weather conditions: they are cool in summer and always warm in winter.It is used for outdoor masonry, fireplace cladding, window sills and columns, wine cellars are made of it. Due to its decorativeness, it is widely used in landscape design: benches, tables, curbstones, sculptures favorably emphasize the beauty of greenery, flowers and are very durable. Tuff goes well with glass, wood, metal, stones.

There are also architectural structures made of Armenian tuff outside this country.

Armenian tuffs are presented in the video below.