THE CHURCH OF FORTRESS SAGIRA AND THE DEVELOPMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CROIX LIBRE IN TAO-KLARJETI
Nino Silagadze
Associate Professor in Art History at Faculty of Humanities, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University
Abstract
In 2015-2017 the research project team “Georgian Castles and Fortifications in Tao-Klarjeti” supported by Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation has studied more than 100 medieval Georgian fortifications located in the southern provinces of Georgia - Tao-Klarjeti. Main goal of the project was the measurement, photo and video fixation of architectural monuments. Most important part of the research was also the study of the historical sources concerning these monuments. Besides the ruins of castles, keeps and ramparts, the object of our consideration were the samples of sacred architecture too. Many of them have not yet been studied by the scholars. These are the churches and chapels inside or nearby the fortified architectural complexes. They served the local garrison quartered in the fortresses, the inhabitants of the feudal residences and, in some cases, the local community of nearby villages too. This research proved to be very important: besides their evident value, in some cases, the pattern of religious architecture are the only arguments for establishing the dating of castles. One of these churches is the small cross-shaped, domed church in the fortress of Sagira, of architectural type called in the scientific literature as croix libre. Unfortunately, like the great part of the Georgian medieval monuments in Turkey, the small church and the fortress itself is completely destroyed. The ruins of Sagira fortress are located not far from the medieval fortified town of Artanuji, which was an administrative center and the stronghold of the Klarjeti province. Sagira fortress was evidently the part of its defensive system. The church is outstanding as it is the only known building of simple croix libre in the region. Concerning our research, we have dated it by the 9th c. and considered it as the starting point of the evolution of numerous more complicated cross-shaped buildings of Tao-Klarjeti built in 9th-11th cc.
