The Armenian alphabet, invented in the 5th century AD by St. Mesrob Mashtots, Armenia's medieval enlightener . The Armenian alphabet was first probated for teaching purposes in Artsakh's Amaras Monastery , while St. Mashtots was preaching Christianity on the territory of today's Nagorno Karabakh Republic. As in the rest of Armenia, the principal expression of this medieval art has been ecclesiastical architecture.
Volcanic rock is the principal material.
Mixed with lime, it forms the nucleus for the walls which are then covered with facing. The exterior facing can consist of carefully cut blocks for the large buildings in cities or in monasteries such as Gandzasar . But it was also common practice, as in several outlying provinces, to use stone less carefully cut for more modest structures, creating a more rustic appearance. The inscriptions on these facades appear exclusively in the Armenian language and often provide precise dating, the names of the patrons, and sometimes even the name of the architect. There are several monuments which have come down to us from the pre- Christian period and from the early Middle Ages.