Chabukauri basilica

Chabukauri basilica
ჭაბუკაურის ბაზილიკა
	Chabukauri basilica. Two ruined columns on the northeast.
	41°58′39″N 45°45′25″E / 41.977550°N 45.756810°E
Location	Qvareli Municipality,; Kakheti, Georgia
Type	Three-church basilica

Chabukauri basilica (Georgian: ჭაბუკაურის ბაზილიკა, romanized: ch'abuk'auris bazilik'a) is an early Christian church—now in a ruinous state—in the eastern Georgian region of Kakheti, in the territory of the historical settlement of Nekresi, about 1.5 km northwest of the Nekresi monastic complex. It is a large three-aisle basilica, dated to the 4th to 5th century, making it one of the earliest Christian church buildings in Georgia. It was unearthed in 1998. The basilica is inscribed on the list of the Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia.^[1]

History

The Chabukauri basilica was unearthed in an eponymous plot in 1998 and was dated, on architectural and archaeological grounds, to the 4th or 5th century.

Eastern Roman standards, but the architectural details such as a quadrangular sanctuary and parabemata show affinities with the early churches in Sasanian Iran, such as Hira, Ain Shaia, and Kharg, all dated to the late 4th century.^[4]

Layout

Chabukauri is a three-

pastophoria. The building had three entrances, on the south, west, and north. The main nave appears to have been damaged in an earthquake not long after the church's construction and part of its northeastern sector was converted into the south aisle of a new, smaller building. This new church terminated in two distinctive horseshoe-shaped apses, the larger of which had a synthronon. The church had a wooden roof with ceramic tiles, held in place with nails and antefixes. A number of medieval cist burials have been unearthed across the site. Within the church ruins, many fragments of pottery and two unique bronze oil lamps have been found. To the northwest of the basilica there is a small apsed structure of unknown function, which was covered by a high-quality terracotta tile floor. There is an indication that the walls of the building were once plastered and painted red.^[2]^[3]

References

^ "List of Immovable Cultural Monuments" (PDF) (in Georgian). National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c Bakhtadze, Nodar (2014). "Archeological Research upon one of the Earliest Georgian Christian Basilica". Temporis Signa: Archeologia della tarda antichità e del medioevo. 9: 65–73.
^
ISBN 978-90-04-37531-4
.

^ Plontke-Lüning, Annegret. "Late Antique and Early Christian Art and Architecture in Georgia" (PDF). Winter School: Ancient World and Caucasus. 6-11 March 2017. Tbilisi State University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.

[1] "List of Immovable Cultural Monuments" (PDF) (in Georgian). National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia. Retrieved 25 July 2019.

[NB14-2] Bakhtadze, Nodar (2014). "Archeological Research upon one of the Earliest Georgian Christian Basilica". Temporis Signa: Archeologia della tarda antichità e del medioevo. 9: 65–73.

[ELL-3] 
ISBN 978-90-04-37531-4
.

[4] Plontke-Lüning, Annegret. "Late Antique and Early Christian Art and Architecture in Georgia" (PDF). Winter School: Ancient World and Caucasus. 6-11 March 2017. Tbilisi State University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.

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