Zvartnots

Zvartnots Cathedral which was also called St. Grigor was built by the order of Catholicos Nerses III (nicknamed  the Builder) from 643-652. It was completely destroyed at the end of 10th century. The ruins of Zvartnots remained buried until its remains were uncovered with the help of Toros Toramanyan at the start of the 20th century.
According to the reconstruction of the great architect the 45-meter-high temple was built in tuff from light gray to black in color and had 5 entrances.
The facades of the columns were decorated with ornaments and paintings, which depicted an eagle, grape vines and branches of pomegranate. Catholicos Nerses the Builder turned this stony desert into a garden. He ordered to bring water from Kasakh River, planted trees and grew lush greenery.
Over the course of time the cathedral of St. Grigor became more known as Zvartnots or “Heavenly Zvartnots”. It was called so because in old Armenian the word “Zvartun” meant “an angel”.  The temple was amazingly high, superb and worth its divine honor and name. Its architectural style and beauty became so prominent that later a close copy of the cathedral St. Grigor was erected out in Ani by the order of Gagik I Bagratuni.