Vishapakar (dragon stone) in a mountain field

The photograph shows a vishapakar, one of the oldest stone monuments of the Armenian Highlands. The long, fish-shaped stone lies in a rocky mountain field; at one end a head with an eye is carved.

Vishapakars were erected in the mountains, near springs and waters, as symbols of the worship of water, fertility and the forces of nature. They recall a time when man and nature spoke the same language.