Upper and Lower Churches on Mount Anakopia: Experience of Virtual Reconstruction of Architectural Decoration

Introduction. The article is devoted to the virtual reconstruction of two churches on Mount Anakopia in the Republic of Abkhazia. The project to create three-dimensional models of two churches was preceded by a long period of study of sources of various kinds (archaeological, ethnographic, historical, iconographic, etc.) using complex research methods (iconographic and stylistic analysis, etc.). Methods and materials. In the summer of 2023, additional field research was carried out (ground-based photogrammetric survey, aerial photography, terrestrial laser scanning, etc.). As a result of photogrammetric processing, a surface triangulation model of the Upper and Lower Church, as well as orthophotomaps and digital models of their surfaces, were obtained. Analysis. The data obtained made it possible to create three-dimensional models of the Upper and Lower Churches, as well as, separately, fragments of their architectural decoration. Results. The appearance of these churches was typical of small temple buildings in mountainous regions or fortresses in the Caucasus, starting from the second half of the 10th century. It combined the features of the “severe” style characteristic of western and central Georgia, South Ossetia, etc. (for example, two churches in Akhalsopeli (near the Trialeti range, Kvemo Kartli) and others, Ubisi (Imereti), Armaz, in fragments – Nadarbazev, Kasagina, Kvaisa, etc.) and decorative motifs that were spreading throughout the territories of the Byzantine Empire from the Greek provinces (workshops of Thebes, Skripou, Peloponnese) and Asia Minor (woven ribbon ornaments, as, for example, on the altar barriers from Hosios Loukas), starting from the 9th century.