Nodar Bakhtadze, Vazha Mamiashvili, Bachana Gabekhadze, Jimsher Chkhvimiani. The Early Christian Churches of the Ancient City of Nekresi. Tbilisi: 2020, 216 pp. (in Georgian)

Abstract

The remains of the ancient city of Nekresi, located in Kvareli municipality, are well known from ancient Georgian historical (Conversion of Kartli, The Life of Kartli, The Life of Vakhtang Gorgasali) and hagiographic sources (The Martyrdom of Abibos of Nekresi, The Life of Shio and Evagre), as well as from other historical documents. In the 1980s, an expedition of the S. Janashia Georgian State Museum began conducting archeological excavations on the territory of the city, led by Academician L. Chilashvili. From 2004, the expedition was led by Prof. N. Bakhtadze. The authors of this monograph are also members of this same expedition. The book consists of an introduction and four chapters. The introduction reviews the historical sources related to Nekresi, and the history of the archeological research of the city. The first chapter is dedicated to the archeological-architectural study of a small memorial chapel of an unusual structure. The second chapter discusses the Chabukauri church complex, which was unearthed by the Nekresi Archaeological Expedition in 1998–2006 and 2015–2019 in the central part of the city. The third chapter is dedicated to the Dolochopi basilica complex. The last, fourth, chapter presents a discussion about the architectural style of early Georgian churches. I believe the  monograph marks an important step forward in the study of the early Christian church architecture in the city of Nekresi.