Chabukauri Basilica

This article discusses the site of Chabukauri Basilica, one of the largest such structures in Georgia dated to the 4th-5th centuries AD, and situated in the medieval town of Nekresi, Kakheti. Its dating is based on architectural features and artefacts found within the church, which have parallels with material culture from other regions of Late Antique Christendom. The basilica appears to have been built over a previous pagan temple, and is located near the mysterious Nekresi "fire temple" and near a similar basilica at Dolochopi. The scale of the Chabukauri basilica challenges previously held notions about the development of churches in Georgia, while its spatial context raises questions about the nature of Georgia's Christianisation process.