Some farmers and soldiers might have cared deeply about the cultural legacy of antiquity. But most farmers and soldiers were preoccupied with the task of producing the large quantities of building materials needed for houses, government offices, and churches. The large cut stones and marble slabs of existing walls and foundations - no matter their state of ruin - presented a far more attractive alternative than purchasing fresh materials from local or foreign quarries.

As a result, a proliferation of ruins was an unintended consequence of the construction of estates and towns across the peninsula, from Evpatoriia to Kerch.