EXPERIENCE IN THE STUDY OF THE ARCHITECTURAL ASPECT OF CAVE DIGGING IN THE PRIDNESTROVIE AND PRIOSKOLYE

Cave temples and monasteries are quite a rare phenomenon and have attracted a lot of attention from researchers and scientists in various fields of science for a considerable time. The experience of exploring the cave monasteries of Pridnestrovie and Prioskolye begins at the end of the XIX century, but in recent years, interest from architecture has increased and has great potential. The architecture of Christian cave temples and monasteries predetermined the development of certain principles of temple building up to our time, therefore these objects can be considered the precursors of the construction of ground-based works of temple architecture. The research process is divided into three periods: pre-revolutionary, Soviet, and modern. The correspondence of the number of published materials on the study of the cave monasteries of Pridnestrovie and Prioskolye to time periods and certain fields of science is graphically presented. The number of submitted and published materials from various fields of science for the entire period of the study of the cave monasteries of Pridnestrovie and Prioskolye is determined as a percentage, which shows the degree of study of this issue. This analysis showed an insufficient amount of materials from the field of architecture. For a more complete study in order to preserve and adapt to modern conditions of use of cave monuments as a set of archaeological, historical, architectural, etc. values require classification, identification and characterization of the spatial structure, determination of the typology and architectural features of cave temples and monasteries in a given area. It is advisable to carry out this theoretical work specifically for specialists in the field of architecture, urban planning and technical sciences, which will complement and develop the materials already obtained for a comprehensive study of historians, archaeologists, speleologists, local historians and other scientific specialists.