Βυζαντινή και μεταβυζαντινή Αξιούπολη : πρώτες πληροφορίες
Part of : Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και στη Θράκη ; Vol.20, No.1, 2006, pages 551-566
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551-566
Parallel Title:
Byzantine and post-byzantine Axioupolis : initial findings
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The historical importance of the Axioupolis area in the Byzantine and post-Byzantine eras is attested not only by the archaeological sites that have been found but also the area’s surviving post-Byzantine churches, which are living reminders of the region’s cultural tradition.The archaeological sites that are known to exist in the area are few in number, have not been excavated and therefore cannot be identified with certainty. Early Christian sites have been found in the wooded region of Phanos, in the Gorgopi area and also in a field near the entrance to the village of Skra. On “Monastiri” Hill near Playia, very close to the west bank of the River Axios, survive remains of a fortification that probably dates to the time of Justinian I, while in the “Monastiri” locality near Ryzia survives the north-east comer of the prothesis of a three-aisled basilica with an embedded niche. At the same site various architectural members, a bronze scyphate coin of Theodoras Komnenos Doukas (1227/8?) and a wealth of sherds from the Late Byzantine era have also been found. Late Byzantine sites have also been located in the Koupa area and in the “Karmila” locality near Gorgopi.The information we have about this region during the Ottoman period is limited since few travellers visited the area on account of its remoteness. Thus the only information we have consists of data provided by Ottoman registers from the second half of the 15th cent. (1478/9) and some useful accounts by the teacher D. Plataridis (1873) and the traveller Nicholas Th. Schinas (1881-1886).Today, within the boundaries of the Axioupolis municipality, six post-Byzantine churches from the 19th cent, survive. However, older architectural remains embedded in the masonry or lying scattered around some of the churches indicate that these were built on the same site, or in the same vicinity, as earlier churches. All of the churches function both as parish and cemetery churches and are built on the edges of settlements. They all take the form of a timber-roofed three-aisled basilica with a narthex and a gallery, usually possess a semicircular bema apse, and are covered by a wooden tiled roof truncated at the narrow ends. In chronological order, these churches are as follows: St. Nicholas at Gorgopi, St. Demetrios at Axioupolis, the Dormition of the Virgin Mary at Koupa, St. George at Kambochori, SS Constantine and Helen at Valtotopi and the Hagioi Anargyroi at Dervino. In contrast to their generally plain exteriors, the interiors of these churches are adorned with tall templa, pulpits, episcopal thrones and icon-stands, whose carved wooden decoration is combined with painted motifs, similar to those found in urban architecture. However, with the sole exception of St. Demetrios at Axioupolis, mural decoration is either absent or confined to certain parts of the church, whereas icons, on the other hand, are much more frequent.Most of the morphological and typological features common to these six churches characterise Macedonian church architecture in the late Ottoman period and stem from the favourable conditions created for Orthodox church-building by the Ottoman Tanzimat reforms (1839 and 1856, respectively). It should be noted that the above churches belong to a larger group of 18 churches that survive in the Paeonia region, a fact which indicates the area’s historical importance during the post-Byzantine era.
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Κιλκίς
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