РАНОВИЗАНТИЈСКА ЦРКВА ИЗ СЕЛА ГРАДОЈЕВИЋ КОД КОЦЕЉЕВЕ
EARLY BYZANTINE CHURCH FROM THE VILLAGE OF GRADOJEVIĆ NEAR KOCELJEVA

Summary/Abstract: In 2019 and then in 2020, an early Byzantine church was at first probed and afterwards fully explored in the location of Grad in Gaj, Gradojević village, in the municipality of Koceljeva. The remains of the church are located on a flat section of a slope that descends to the river Tamnava. The church was a one-nave building, with two annexes on the sides, which gave the temple a cross-shaped appearance with total dimensions of 17 m x 15.9 m. The main entrance to the church was located on the west wall, and via two side passages there was communication from the nave with the annexes, which, on the other hand, had direct entrances from the outside on the west side. Along the inner face of the apse there was a sinthronos with a central extension for the Upper Place, and in its central part a rectangular opening for the pedestal of the venerable table. The altar was separated from the rest of the church by a brick groove for the altar partition. The church was built of broken and pressed stone of light gray or whitish color, bound with whitish lime mortar. The findings of imbrexes and tegules indicate that the apse, as well as the rest of the church, was covered with this type of roof covering. The roof structure was wooden, built on two pitches, which was supported by the side walls, over transversely placed wooden beams. For the construction of the church, a well-studied geometrical floor plan with well-placed proportions was used, which would suggest that the designer was a trained architect or someone who had enviable knowledge of geometry. The basic elements for dating the church are provided by the characteristics of its architecture, the method of construction and existing analogies, which is why it is dated to the 6th century. And the movable archaeological material found (finds of glass, stone mortar, ancient pottery and building ceramics) supports this dating. The church was destroyed in an invasion, after which it was never rebuilt. The absence of stone plastic and church furniture indicates the fact that the stone plastic was taken from the church or that most of the church furniture was made of wood.

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