First time in the historiography, this article analyses and summarises the information about 10 small churches uncovered on the plateau of Eski-Kermen and a semi-circular carved pit in front of the city gate, which is called the “apse” of the “gate church” that does not survive (III). However, the cult purpose of this carved structure remains questionable. The small churches belong to the same time with a single nave (naos) and a semi-circular apse. The narthex, probably of a later date, appeared only in 2018–2019 church (XI). The construction and structural characteristics of the churches in question are also very similar. Their builders used the foundations cut into bedrock, or the “beddings.” There was two-face masonry with the core of fine stones, broken pottery, clay, and soil. The churches were covered with tiled roof on wooden rafters. There is a church featuring remains of plinth pavement (IX), and another one with the pavement of polished stone slabs (XI). The destruction layers of four churches contained the remains of fresco paintings (VII, VIII, IX, XI). Some of the churches were adorned with architectural details with incised geometrical ornaments, sometimes with crosses. Most of the small churches of Eski-Kermen have preserved the remains of the altar and altar screen. Two churches (IV, VI) have small niches of prothesis in the wall to the left of the apse. Therefore, most or possibly all the small churches of Eski-Kermen were adapted for liturgy. Almost all the churches were also used for funeral and commemorative rituals, as different kinds of graves, including ossuaries, occurred in their complexes. The appearance of small churches atop of the plateau of Eski-Kermen has been dated to the ninth and tenth centuries and related to the intensification of urban life. Four churches (I, II, IV, V) were located at the access road and near the main town gates. Three churches (IV, V, VI) were built at the sites of former fortifications. Quarter churches (VIII, X, XI) are uncovered in three town quarters. According to the archaeological materials, one of them (X) dates from not earlier than the mid-tenth century, and another (XI) one at the turn of tenth and eleventh centuries. The latest is the cemetery church (IX) constructed in the fourteenth century at the ruined cathedral basilica, where the cemetery appeared after the destruction of the town by a raid of Nogay’s horde. A great part of the small churches probably perished along with the town in the late thirteenth century. The churches in the access road area (I, II, IV) were probably destroyed earlier, in result of an earthquake. Small above-ground churches are also known in the vicinity of Eski-Kermen. The remains of one of them occur in the fort of Kyz-Kule on a promontory to the north-west of Eski-Kermen. Presumably, there was another church at the foot of this mountain.
mountainous Crimea, Eski-Kermen, ecclesiastical architecture, small churches
1. Aybabin A.I. Osnovnye etapy istorii gorodischa Eski-Kermen // MAIET. 1991. Vyp. II. S. 43-51.
2. Aybabin A.I. Gorodische na plato Eski-Kermen v period gospodstva hazar v Krymu // MAIET. 2010. Vyp. XVI. S. 214-239.
3. Aybabin A.I. Gorod na plato Eski-Kermen v XIII v. // MAIET. 2014. Vyp. XIX. S. 240-277.
4. Aybabin A.I. Raskopki usad'by 2 v kvartale I na plato Eski-Kermen // MAIET. 2018. Vyp. XXIII. S. 277-304.
5. Aybabin A.I. O date podchineniya Gotii tataro-mongolam // MAIET. 2020. Vyp. XXV. S. 493-512.
6. Aybabin A.I., Hayredinova E.A. Pozdnesrednevekovaya chasovnya na plato Eski-Kermen // MAIET. 2011. Vyp. XVII. S. 422-457.
7. Aybabin A.I., Iozhica D.V., Hayredinova E.A. Stenovaya rospis' odnonefnogo hrama iz kvartala 2 na plato Eski-Kermen // ΧΕΡΣΩΝΟΣ ΘΕΜΑΤΑ: imperiya i polis. XIII Mezhdunarodnyy Vizantiyskiy Seminar (Sevastopol' - Balaklava, 29 maya - 3 iyunya 2021 g.). Materialy nauchnoy konferencii / otv. red. N.A. Alekseenko. Simferopol': Arial, 2021. S. 21-30.
8. Aybabin A.I., Hayredinova E.A. Kvartal'nye hramy srednevekovogo goroda na plato Eski-Kermena // ADSV. 2020. Vyp. 48. S. 310-326.
9. Aybabin A.I., Hayredinova E.A. Gorodische Eski-Kermen v XIV veke // ΧΕΡΣΩΝΟΣ ΘΕΜΑΤΑ: imperiya i polis. XII Mezhdunarodnyy Vizantiyskiy Seminar (Sevastopol' - Balaklava, 25-29 maya 2020 g.). Materialy nauchnoy konferencii / otv. red. N.A. Alekseenko. Simferopol': Kolorit, 2020. S. 25-30.
10. Alekseenko N.A. K voprosu o deyatel'nosti Hersonesskogo monetnogo dvora v XIII stoletii // Hersonesskiy sbornik. 1996. Vyp. VII. S. 187-191.
11. Armarchuk E.A. Hristianskiy hram na gore Saharnaya Golovka pod Adlerom: planirovka i stroitel'nye osobennosti // TGE. 2010. T. LIII. Arhitektura Vizantii i Drevney Rusi IX-XII vekov: materialy mezhdunarodnogo seminara 17-21 noyabrya 2009 g. S. 180-195.
12. Beleckiy D.V., Vinogradov A.Yu. Hristianskaya arhitektura Alanii. Tipologiya, geografiya, hronologiya // TGE. 2010. T. LIII: Arhitektura Vizantii i Drevney Rusi IX-XII vekov: materialy mezhdunarodnogo seminara 17-21 noyabrya 2009 g. S. 196-213.
13. Bodaninskiy U.A. Cherkes-Kermenskoe ukreplenie Kyz-Kule po razvedkam 1933 g. // IGAIMK. 1935. Vyp. 117. Materialy Eski-Kermenskoy ekspedicii 1931-1933 gg. S. 81-87.
14. Veymarn E.V. Shematicheskiy plan Eski-Kermenskogo gorodischa, sostavlennyy v 1936 g. // NA BIKAMZ. F. 22. Op. 1. D. 8.
15. Veymarn E.V. Srednevekovoe gorodische Eski-Kermen. Peschery zapadnogo kraya // NA BIKAMZ. F. 22. Op. 1. D. 9.
16. Veymarn E.V., Choref M.Ya. «Peschernye goroda» Kryma // NA BIKAMZ. F. 22. Op. 1. D. 80. Papka 4.
17. Veymarn E.V. Oboronitel'nye sooruzheniya Eski-Kermena (opyt rekonstrukcii) // Istoriya i arheologiya srednevekovogo Kryma. M.: Izd-vo AN SSSR, 1958. S. 7-54.
18. Veymarn E.V. Zhilye usad'by Eski-Kermenskogo gorodischa // ADSV. Vizantiya i ee provincii. Sverdlovsk, 1982. S. 69-88.
19. Vinogradov A.Yu. Hramik nad glavnymi vorotami Eski-Kermena i srednevekovaya tradiciya nadvratnyh cerkvey // MAIET. 2016. Vyp. XXI. S. 174-192.
20. Vinogradov A.Yu., Gaydukov N.E., Zheltov M.S. Peschernye hramy Tavriki: k probleme tipologii i hronologii // RA. 2005. № 1. S. 72-80.
21. Golofast L.A., Mastykova A.V. O polivnoy chashe v kontekste ogrebal'nogo obryada srednevekovoy hramovoy grobnicy v Gorzuvitah // MAIET. 2018. Vyp. XXIII. S. 359-395.
22. Golofast L.A., Ryzhov S.G. Raskopki kvartala H v Severnom rayone Hersonesa // MAIET. 2003. Vyp. H. S. 182-260.
23. Dneprovskiy N.V. Kul'tovyy kompleks u yuzhnyh vorot Eski-Kermena // Materialy po arheologii i istorii antichnogo i srednevekovogo Kryma. 2011. Vyp. 3. S. 148-186.
24. Dneprovskiy N.V. Dozorno-hramovyy kompleks na ustupe yugo-zapadnogo obryva Eski-Kermenskogo plato // Prichernomor'e. Istoriya, politika, kul'tura. 2013. Vyp. XI (IV). Seriya A. S. 68-94.
25. Dneprovskiy N.V. K voprosu o suschestvovanii monastyrya u yuzhnyh vorot Eski-Kermena: hramovyy kompleks nad pod'ezdnoy dorogoy // Prichernomor'e. Istoriya, politika, kul'tura. 2013. Vyp. XI (IV). Seriya A. S. 95-118.
26. Dneprovskiy N.V. Iz arheologicheskogo naslediya E.V. Veymarna: «ritual'nyy kompleks» na zapadnoy okraine Eski-Kermena // Materialy po arheologii i istorii antichnogo i sredne vekovogo Kryma. 2014. Vyp. 6. S. 417-455.
27. Zavadskaya I.A., Golofast L.A. Keramicheskie kompleksy hozyaystvennyh vyrubok v kvartale 1 na gorodische Eski-Kermen (raskopki 2006 i 2007 gg.) // MAIET. 2018. Vyp. XXIII. S. 305-358.
28. Zavadskaya I.A. Osobennosti chislovyh proporciy plana Eski-Kermenskoy baziliki // MAIET. 2021. Vyp. XXVI. S. 143-155.
29. Ioannisyan O.M. Odnonefnye hramy v arhitekture Armenii i Vizantii (Konstantinopol', Malaya Aziya, Pont, Greciya, Kipr). Funkcii i tipologiya // TGE. 2013. T. LXIX: Vizantiya v kontekste mirovoy kul'tury. S. 64-116.
30. Mavrodinov N. Ednokorabnata i krestovidnana c'rkva po B'lgarskit' zemi do kraya na XIV v. Sofiya, 1931. 188 s.
31. Parshina E.A. Raskopki na gorodische Eski-Kermen v 1979 g. // Nauchnyy arhiv Instituta arheologii Kryma RAN. Papka № 169. D. 94.
32. Parshina E.A. Raskopki na gorodische Eski-Kermen v 1980 g. // Nauchnyy arhiv Instituta arheologii Kryma RAN. Papka № 1083.
33. Parshina E.A. Eski-Kermenskaya bazilika // Arhitekturno-arheologicheskie issledovaniya v Krymu / Otv. red. S. N. Bibikov. Kiev: Naukova dumka, 1988. S. 36-59.
34. Repnikov N.I. Razvedki drevnego vodoprovoda v Eski-Kermene v 1931 g. // Soobscheniya GAIMK. 1931. № 11-12. S. 62-65.
35. Repnikov N.I. Eski-Kermen v svete arheologicheskih razvedok 1928-1929 gg. // IGAIMK. 1932a. T. XII. Gotskiy sbornik. S. 107-151.
36. Repnikov N.I. Ostatki ukrepleniy Eski-Kermena // IGAIMK. 1932b. T. XII. Gotskiy sbornik. C. 181-212.
37. Repnikov N.I. Pod'emnaya doroga Eski-Kermena // IGAIMK. 1935. Vyp. 117. Materialy Eski-Kermenskoy ekspedicii 1931-1933 gg. S. 18-42.
38. Repnikov N.I. Otchet o rabotah na Eski-Kermene v 1936 g. // RO NA IIMK RAN. F. 2. Op. 1, 1936. D. 268.
39. Repnikov N.I. Gorodische Eski-Kermen // Arheologicheskie issledovaniya v RSFSR. 1934-1936 gg. Kratkie otchety i svedeniya / Red. V.V. Gol'msten. M., L.: Izd-vo AN SSSR, 1941. S. 277-282.
40. Ryzhov S.G. Malye hramy-chasovni Hersonesa // Drevnosti-2004. Har'kov, 2004. S. 160-166.
41. Sedikova L.V., Ryzhov S.G. Malye odnonefnye hramy srednevekovogo Hersona (Hersonesa) // Trudy VI (XXII) Vserossiyskogo arheologicheskogo s'ezda v Samare. T. II. Samara, 2020. S. 274-275.
42. Hayredinova E.A. Arheologicheskie raskopki central'noy chasti goroda na plato Eski-Kermen v 2018-2020 gg. // Itogi arheologicheskih issledovaniy central'noy chasti goroda na plato Eski-Kermen v 2018-2020 gg.: sb. nauch. st. / Red. A.I. Aybabin, E.A. Hayredinova. Simferopol': Antikva, 2021. S. 26-143. (Materialy Eski-Kermenskoy ekspedicii. Vyp. I).
43. Shmit F.I. Otchet Eski-Kermenskoy ekspedicii // Soobscheniya GAIMK. 1931. № 7. S. 25-29.
44. Shmit F.I. Eski-Kermenskaya bazilika // IGAIMK. 1932. T. XII. Gotskiy sbornik. S. 213-253.
45. Ernst N.L. Eski-Kermen i peschernye goroda Kryma // ITOIAE. 1929. T. III (60). S. 15-43.
46. Yakobson A.L. Rannesrednevekovyy Hersones. Ocherki istorii material'noy kul'tury. M, L.: Izd-vo AN SSSR, 1959. 364 s. (MIA. № 63).
47. Franzois V. La vaisselle de terre a Byzance. Catalogue des collections du Musye du Louvre. Paris: Musye du Louvre editions, Somogy editions d’Art, 2017. 456 p.
