Church of St. Pantaleon in medieval Halych in light of the architectural and archaeological research

Abstract

The history of the study and the results of architectural and archaeological research of the Church of St. Pantaleon of the XII century, preserved near Halych on the Dniester River, are considered. During excavations in the inner part of the monument, the crypts with burials of the XVI–XVIII centuries were examined, areas of the foundations of the ancient temple were recorded and other important artifacts were found. A series of 26 survey trenches were excavated at the outer perimeter of the object. Regular foundation projections for supporting the pilasters of the ground walls, as well as two projections at the base of the side wings of the main perspective portal are localized and recorded there. The discrepancy in the planning of the underground and aboveground parts of the building was stated. A unique feature in the composition of the altar part of the church was noticed among the monuments of medieval Romanesque architecture. Based on the analysis of planning, construction-technological, stratigraphic features of the object, well-argued hypotheses of dating, sequence of construction, and use of the measurement module in the construction of the architectural form of the monument are presented. It is noted that the temple was built in a poorly developed area. After the leveling of the area, the strip foundations of the external walls were established on it initially, and before the foundations of the internal sub-cupola columns were built, the plan of the future ground structure was corrected due to the change of the customer of the construction. It is assumed that the strip foundations of the building were established during the first short reign of Roman Msyislavovych in Halych in 1188, and construction was completed before 1193 during the reign of Volodymyr Yaroslavovych. It is established that a measuring foot of 30 cm long was used when planning the ground part of the temple. The importance of the Romanesque monument of European significance is emphasized in the conclusions. The instruction of its protection, preservation, and further comprehensive study is expressed, with the use of fundamental methods of architectural archaeology. Key words: Ancient Halych, Church of St. Pantaleon, architectural and archaeological research, foundations, planning structure, metrology.