- Collection: The Early Christian Architecture of Georgia
61 Items
Manglisi Sioni
Manglisi Sioni church dates back to the C5th and was extended and altered up until the C11th. It was initially centrally planned, but has changed shape significantly over time including the addition of a porch at the west end and another narthex, with a small chapel/shrine open to the elements on one side to the south of the church.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C11th, C5th, Church, Georgia, Kvemo Kartli, Manglisi, Manglisi Sioni, Sioni, Zion
Martqopi
Martqopi is monastery in the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia to the north east of Tbilisi. As with several other ancient monasteries, the village named Martqopi is now some kilometres distant from the monastery of that name as the monastery and accompanying settlement have divided over time and the monastery is known as Gvtaeba. The site is named for St. Anton Martqopeli, believed to have been one of the Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers and who is believed to have brought the Holy Tile of Edessa (the Keramidion) to Georgia. Although the Keramidion is believed to be a miraculous imprint made on a tile by the Mandylion, the miraculous cloth that Christ left an imprint of his face on and therefore a secondary icon after the Mandylion, in Georgia this story has become confused and St. Anton is now often said to have brought the Mandylion itself to Georgia. The saint is often referred to as a 'Stylite' as he repudedly lived alone in a tower above the main monastery for some years. This building is now closed to visitors but is referred to interchageably as a 'koshki' (tower) or 'sveti' (pillar or column). As at Ubisa this dwelling resembles a tower house rather than the Syrian-style column found at Qal'at Seman and Semandağ. There is also a modern tomb at this site reorted to be that of St. Anton, replicating the situation across a number of sites associated with the Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers where relatively recent shrines have been constructed.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Church, Edessa, Georgia, Keramidion, Kvemo Kartli, Mandylion, Martqopi, Medieval, Monastery, St. Anton Martqopeli, Stylite, Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers, Tomb, Tower
Matskhvarishi village, Latali community, Svaneti
The Church of the Ascension in Matskhvarishi village in the community of Latali in Svaneti was built in C10th-C11th and, as with much of Svaneti it was built in a distinct and more archaic form of architecture than that in the Georgian lowlands. As with other older churches, there is a semi-open arcade on the south aisle with an apse but in this case there does not appear to be a corresponding aisle on the north side as well.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Ascension, C10th-C11th, Church, Georgia, Latali, Matskhvarishi, Zemo Svaneti
Matskhvarishi village, Latali community, Svaneti
The Church of the Holy Archangels in Matskhvarishi village in the Latali community in Svaneti is C14th. As with other later churches in Svaneti, its relevance to this project is the fact that it preserves and reflects earlier traditions - not least that Svaneti has the largest concentration of frescoes in Georgia with some dating back to the C9th-C10th. This church has remnants of the Svan practice of decorating church exteriors with C16th frescoes still extant on the apse exterior. This is especially unusual given the harsh climate of Svaneti in the winter months.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C14th, C16th, Church, Fresco, Georgia, Holy Archangels, Latali, Matskhvarishi, Zemo Svaneti
Nakipari village, Ipari community, Svaneti
The Church of St. George in the village of Nakipari in the Ipari community in Svaneti is C10th and is known for its animal sculptures on the eastern façade of the building as well as for the interior frescoes painted by Tevdoré.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Animal, Architecture, C10th, Church, Fresco, Georgia, Ipari, Nakipari, Sculpture, St. George, Tevdoré, Zemo Svaneti
Nekresi
Nekresi is a complex of churches in the foothills of the Caucasus near the border with Dagestan. In the valley beneath, archaeologists have found the remains of a sun temple and it is popularly believed that the early Christians appropriated an earlier sacred site, possibly a Zoroastrian high place, in building a church in the C4th at this location. However this belief has been disproved by archaeological excavation which has found no evidence of pre-Christian occupation at the site and has redated the 'C4th' building to the C6th. This structure has entrances on the north, south and east sides and is open to the elements on all sides. It has an undercroft that was used for burials suggesting that this was possibly built as a funerary chapel. The complex also includes a C6th-C7th basilica, known in Georgia as a triple basilica as the narthex opens onto three aisles, but the south aisle does not communicate with the main body of the church and both the north and south aisles are semi-open to the elements with arched arcades to the north and south. There is also an C8th-C9th centrally-planned church that shows a strong Persian influence in its design. The rest of the monastery complex is medieval and a series of early Georgian inscriptions excavated nearby are displayed within them. Nekresi is also associated with one of the Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers St. Abibos Nekreseli who was reputedly martyred for his resistance to Zoroastrianism.
As with Dolochopi and Dzveli Gavazi, a further visit to the site in the company of Professor Nodar Bakhtadze in August 2017 has led to discussion of the relative dating scheme applied to the "three church basilica" and the centrally-planned domed church and raised questions as to whether or not they were necessarily built that far apart in time. As with Dzveli Gavazi, the centrally-planned church at Nekresi is something of an anomaly given the ubiquity of the "three church basilica" type in Kakheti. In fact this church appears to be an experimental early version of a domed "three church basilica" as it has two apsed side aisles to the north and south of the central church. The northern aisle has a window to the east and is closed off, whereas the south aisle and the narthex in the west both have two arches and are open to the elements. The west and south arcades also have pilasters on the internal wall, as encountered at Areshi large basilica and Kindzmareuli. Inside the main part of the church the dome has windows to the east, south and west, but not on the north side. The dome itself is supported to the west by two squinches, whereas at the east there are what can only be referred to as 'proto-pendentives' - an arrangement also found in the later church of Khirsa Stepantsminda. There is also one other window placed in the apse. If this is an early attempt at a domed basilica, then it is likely to pre-date c.630 and the building of Tsromi to the west in Shida Kartli. It also raises questions as to why two variant forms of centrally-planned church were being experimented with perhaps almost at the same time in the same vicinity. Moving on to the "three church basilica" it is a large example of this type and has open arcades of two arches on both the north and south sides. There is a door to the north aisle from the main nave, but a corresponding door on the south aisle seems to have been sealed centuries ago as medieval frescoes now cover the area where the door once stood. As at Shilda, the entire construction took place as one project and the north and south aisles are firmly tied to the central nave. In the sixth century mortuary chapel (referred to in Georgian as the akeldama) it is clear that this was intially tied to another structure in the sixth century - possibly the refectory - and the later intervening space between the ossuary trench and the other building only became used as a burial ground for wealthy patrons and their families in the middle ages. The marani/refectory complex extant today dates from the twelfth century, as do the cells and work area excavated to the north of the main complex. The tower is sixteenth century, as is the tower at Shilda.
Type: Architecture
Tags: (As)Syrian Fathers, Architecture, Areshi, C12th, C16th, C4th, C6th-C7th, C8th-C9th, Centrally-Planned, Church, Dzveli Gavazi, Funerary Chapel, Georgia, Georgian, Georgian Inscription, Inscription, Kakheti, Khirsa, Kindzmareuli, Middle Ages, Nekresi, Shilda, Stepantsminda, Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers, Three Church Basilica, Triple Basilica, Tsromi, Zoroastrian
Nesguni village, Lenjeri community, Svaneti
The C9th Church of the Saviour in Nesguni village in the Lenjeri community in Svaneti.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C9th, Church, Georgia, Lenjeri, Nesguni, Saviour, Zemo Svaneti
Ninotsminda
Ninotsminda means St. Nino and is one of several locations in Georgia named after the evangeliser of Georgia. The church is one of the first four-lobed centrally-planned buildings in Georgia and is seen as part of the evolution of this type of architecture. The church dates from the C6th with alterations continuing up until C10th. The site is now the home to a new religious community who live in a range of buildings around the central church.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C10th, C6th, Centrally-Planned, Church, Convent, Fresco, Georgia, Kakheti, Ninotsminda, Sagarejo, St. Nino
Nokalakevi
Nokalakevi is the modern name for ancient Archaeopolis or Tsikhekuji in western Georgia. There were many churches in the settlement, but a C5th-C6th basilica now dedicated to the Forty Martyrs and restored by the National Agency for the Cultural Preservation of Georgia is still in use. There are two other basilicas in the immediate vicinity of the Church of Forty Martyrs but only the foundations of these survive. The excavations are being conducted by an Anglo-Georgian team and a museum beside the site houses a number of early Christian artefacts.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Archaeopolis, Architecture, C5th-C6th, Church, Forty Martyrs, Georgia, Lazica, Nokalakevi, Samegrelo, Sculpture, Tsikhekuji
Rekha/Mt. Tkhoti
The (As)Syrian Father Tadeoz Stepantsmindeli is also known as Theodosius or Tata and is also referred to as bearing the toponym "Rekhali". This is because he was associated with the church of St. Stephen (Tsminda Stepanos) in the village of Rekha on the slope of Mt. Tkhoti in Shida Kartli. Today it is unclear which of the several ruined sites on the mountainside was Rekha and so Tadeoz Stepantsmindeli is the only one of these figures who does not have an ancient or modern monastery associated with him today.
Type: Landscape
Tags: (As)Syrian Fathers, Georgia, Mt. Tkhoti, Shida Kartli, Tadeoz Stepantsmindeli, Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers