Yakoruda Basilica: An Early Christian Church in Bulgaria
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.8
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Bulgaria
- Primary era
- Classical
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Classical, Medieval
- Civilizations
- Byzantine
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Basilica
On this page5 sections
History
Yakoruda Basilica is an Early Christian church in Yakoruda, Bulgaria, built from the late fifth to the beginning of the sixth century during Late Antiquity, the transition from the Roman world to the early medieval period. It served as the center of a settlement associated with the neighboring Kalyata fortress.
The settlement extended through the Yakorshtitsa valley and continued into the seventeenth century. The church was largely destroyed by the river. It was uncovered in its namesake locality during construction of the Church of Saint George in 1997 and 1998. Excavations by the National Historical Museum exposed masonry from the altar area, while a small burial ground east of the church helped establish the settlement’s chronology and clarify aspects of medieval Yakoruda’s history. The ruins are affiliated with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church-Bulgarian Patriarchate and the Nevrokop Diocese.
Remains
The surviving remains represent a three-nave basilica, a longitudinal church with a central nave flanked by side aisles, and a single apse, the end section that commonly contained the altar. The building measured approximately 12 by 24 metres. Its surviving archaeological evidence includes the altar-area masonry and an adjoining Christian burial ground to the east.
Church and burial ground
Basilica
The church followed a three-nave plan and ended in one apse. Masonry exposed in the altar area was approximately 70 centimetres thick. The remains are preserved as ruins.
Christian necropolis
The necropolis, a burial ground associated with a settlement or religious site, lies east of the basilica. It comprises 29 graves containing 40 Christian burials. These graves provide evidence for the chronology and development of the settlement connected with the church.
