Results of the latest interdisciplinary research conducted in the Church of St. James in Sandomierz

Abstract

The article is a summary of interdisciplinary research conducted in the 13th-century Dominican Church of St. James in Sandomierz in May 2022. The research included an archaeological survey located at the junction of the presbytery and the nave, followed by an architectural and historical-artistic analysis of the discovered walls and architectural details. The aim of the work was to obtain new materials regarding the beginnings and subsequent transformations of the church of St. James. In addition to traditional research and documentation methods, digital technologies were used, i.e. digital photography, laser scanning and photogrammetry. The stages of archaeological work recorded in this way could be incorporated into the existing digital 3D model of the entire monastery complex. Archaeological methods, as well as preserved source materials (textual and iconographic) were used to date individual structures. Due to later excavations (related to reconstructions and burials), the relationship between the layers recorded in the excavation did not create a clear sequence and cannot be the basis for findings regarding chronology. The initial dating was therefore based on the relationship between the walls and on the dimensions of the discovered bricks. It was established that the brick foundation marked as k. 43/44 may come from the 13th century and constitute a fragment of the unpreserved choir partition of the church – this hypothesis will require verification in the future. Additionally, a previously unknown, possibly medieval wall with a NS course (k. 3) on the line of pillars between the naves was uncovered, as well as a vaulted ceiling of the vestibule of the crypt under the Martyrs’ Chapel. The discovered architectural details include a fragment of a 13th-century ceramic molding, perhaps coming from the choir partition, and stone floor slabs. The discovered brick structures, architectural details and traces of numerous secondary excavations prove that the examined part of the church has undergone numerous transformations over the centuries and was intensively used for burials.