habitat rupestre.pdf - Società Friulana di Archeologia

NOTES ON SOME RUPESTRIAN CHURCHES OF ORTAHISARCRHIMA-CINP projectmental arc, with prothesis and diaconicon; in the 19 th centurythe apse was adorned with a cornice and some curved stairs.These elements are similar to those of the Emine Bagci churchin Urgup. The traces of housings on the apse’s corners testifythe presence of a wooden iconostasis. The remaining wallscontain pictorial cycles from different ages. The traces on thefloor and on the walls reveal that the architectural plant hasbeen modified many times. The walls beside the apse containtwo moulded clypei enclosing a cross. The nave gives accessto the funerary parecclesion. The inscriptions in the parecclesionand other elements of the nave suggest that the churchwas built in the 6th century, while the pictorial cycles wererealized in the 9th century.Pére de Jerphanion interpreted an inscription around a crossedclypeus on the entrance, and he supposed that the church wasdedicated to St. Theodore.Fig. 30 Church of Pankarlik. Interior view. (photo: C. Giustiniani)Fig. 31 Church of Pankarlik. Interior view. (photo: C. Giustiniani)Two churches of the Balkan’s Monastery (coord. 38.612434;34.85335)San Pietro e Paolo Church. The Church of Saints Peter andPaul in Balkan is a funerary church, with arcosolia carved outof the walls and ditches that extend to the entire floor area. Ithas a Greek-cross plan and its center is crowned by a frescoeddome, which is raised on a simple frame square base.The dating of the church is back to the VIII-IX century, becauseit preserves important remains of iconoclastic decorationaround the arches, at the base of the dome and especiallyon the walls. Examples of these decorations are the two redcrosses: one of them presents a very detailed elaboration,while the other, which is inserted within a large linear redframe, is very simple.The decorations around the arches and the base of the domeare composed by geometric motifs in red and white trianglesor diamonds. After the iconoclastic period, the church was enhancedby a rich pictorial decoration, which was ruined in itsFig. 32 Church of Pankarlik. Interior view. (photo: C. Giustiniani)volumeRicerca_OK_2012-11-15.indd 266 16/11/2012 15:04:36