Aisled Tetraconch as a Regional Variation of the Architectural Type in the Northern Balkans (5th–6th Centuries)
Keywords:
Early Christian architecture, tetraconch, Northern Balkans, Lychnidos, Lin, Perushtitsa, Justiniana Prima, pilgrimage architectureAbstract
This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 25-18-00656), https://rscf.ru/en/project/25-18-00656/, and done at the Research Institute of Theory and History of Architecture and Town Planning — branch of the Central Research and Project Institute of the Construction Ministry of Russia.
In the late 5th — first half of the 6th century, a number of aisled tetraconchs were built in the Northern Balkans. The quatrefoil churches in Lychnidos (Ohrid), Lin, Perushtitsa, and Justiniana Prima (Caričin Grad) display a number of characteristic features, the most important of which is the absence of an ambulatory on the east and the presence of a narthex with adjoining rooms. Uncommon for the tetraconchs in Italy, Syria, and Egypt, these traits distinguish the Balkan group as a specific variation of the architectural type. The narthex layout and mosaic decoration of the Ohrid basilicas find close parallels in the region, suggesting they were the work of local artists. The tetraconch in Hadrian’s Library in Athens (second quarter of the 5th century), which served as the first Christian center of the city, is considered as a likely prototype. Its connotations may have influenced the layout of the churches in question, which functioned as important centers of devotion. An analysis of the spatial arrangement of the tetraconchs along the main routes crossing the Balkans (Via Egnatia and Via Diagonalis) and within the urban fabric, in conjunction with certain details of the complexes (presence of a crypt and baptistery, mosaic features), attests to their shared pilgrimage nature.
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