Christian architecture. The peak of economical and cultural development of early mediaeval Cherson fell on the end of the sixth and the first half of the seventh century. Inside the defensive walls, there was large-scale building accompanied with re-planning of living quarters and filling cisterns with ground. The process of creation of a new, medieval city started. Large basilicas and cross-shaped churches were built in Cherson. By the moment, there are remains of 70 churches discovered by the excavations on the site.
The vitrine contains ground plans and graphical
reconstructions of the main types of churches that you can visit on the site.
Austere outward appearance of the churches
sharply contrasted with their magnificent interior, which vividly represented
the idea of Christian teaching about the predominance of the internal
(spiritual) over the external (corporal).
The church as a whole represented an image of the
"Heavenly Jerusalem". All the
architectural decoration: the arches supported by elegant columns, bright
decoration of marble tiles, splendid stone carving, and ornamental patterns,
was aimed to increase the impression of the "miraculously created Heaven on
Earth".
To the left from the vitrine, on the gallery wall
you can see the reconstruction of wall painting from one of Cherson's churches.
To continue the excursion, please go to the next vitrine
number 9+.
In the centre and on the right of this vitrine there are fragments of
relief gypsum frieze and frescoes that decorated the church constructed in the
fifth or sixth century.
In
the left part of the vitrine, there are medieval painter's tools and materials
for making paints. At the bottom on the right, there is stand with paints, and
on the left, there is stone mortar with pestle for grinding the paints. The
remains of golden powder, red and blue pigments remained within the pores in
the mortar.