The 12th Century Arch-gabled Churches in the Southern Region of Old Rus (Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Pereiaslav-Ruskyi) Based on the Materials of the Archaeological Excavations

The article deals with the churches of the 12 th century found out by the materials of the archaeological excavations in Kyiv, Pereiaslav-Ruskyi, and Chernihiv.The study of these materials made it possible to specify the development of the arch-gabled church in the 12 th century.Finding out the porches that complemented the main volume of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv by the archaeological excavations in the 1990s allows to consider this cathedral not only a complete model of the arch-gabled church, but also the initial stage of the development of pillar-shaped church.The peculiarities of Kyiv and Pereyaslav-Ruskyi churches of the second quarter of the 12 th century illustrate the initial stage of spreading Chernihiv variant of the arch-gabled church and thus transforming it from local to interregional.In addition, it is established the emergence of a new variant in the second quarter of the 12 th century in Kyiv on the basis of Chernihiv one.It was Kyiv-Chernihiv variant, which in the second half of the 12 th century became interregional.The characteristic features of the planning solution of Kyiv and Chernihiv churches in the second half of the 12 th century allow the fact that the pillar-shaped church gradually emerged on the basis of the arch-gabled church.