ანტეფიქსები უკანტოლოშის ეკლესიიდან

Abstract

The 24 antefixes were unearthed in 2022-2023 during the cleaning work of the St. Marine Ukantoloshi Church located in the village of Toloshi in the municipality of Aspindza. This is the second time that antefixes of such a number have been discovered on the archaeological site in Georgia.
Ukantoloshi antefixes are the folded part of the channel tiles, which were placed at the bottom of the roof and symbolically and stylistically completed the facades. The reliefs are engraved on them: on thirteen antefixes, there is a composition featuring a lion, a rosette, and a cross, which may symbolize Christ. On three antefixes a holy man is presented frontally with a cross in his hand; on five antefixes, we see a holy horseman; on one antefix there is a cross, on another, a mesh ornament, and one antefix lacks representation. Unfortunately, it is impossible to precisely define who is represented as the horseman or holy man. However, according to some iconographic signs, they might represent Saint George and Saint Theodore. The first two antefixes with images do not have analogues.
The Ukantoloshi antefixes, with their distinct shapes, structures, content, and relief styles, must have been crafted by different artisans, yet during the same era and in the same location. They must have been made in 9^th-10^th centuries, but for their dating it is necessary to consider the date of the temple.
The Ukantoloshi Church is a single-nave building with two annexes on the north and west, built concurrently with the main structure. With stylistic signs and multiple existing parallels, the church might have been erected in the 10^th century. In the Late Middle Ages, after the temple was deconstructed, the surviving Western annex was converted into a chapel. Antefixes have been uncovered on the western and southern perimeters of the temple, indicating that the northern side, the temple’s main facade, must have had similar decorations. The antefixes found on the perimeter were not incorporated into the roof at different times, but were installed simultaneously, creating a symbolically thought-out decoration of the temple facades.