CIPA 2003 XIX th International Symposium, 30 September - 04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey
- The intersection of the vertical line, representing the azimuth
of the main axis of the two churches, and the line of the
perceptible horizon coincides with the point of sunrise on the 7 lh
January 1368 ± 18 years. This agrees well with the year of
construction (1360 AD).
- The intersection of the vertical line, representing the azimuth
of the line inscribed in the marble stone, and the line of the
perceptible horizon agrees well with the point of sunrise on the
6 th August 1388, when the church was extended.
This implies that the first building, which contains today the
Altar of the “Transfiguration of our Lord”, was originally
dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. This is in accordance with
the traditional rule that the orientation of the church should be
towards the sunrise on the celebration day of the Saint to whom
it is dedicated. When the church was enlarged in 1388, the
founders could not change the orientation of the building, so
they placed this marble plate with the line in order to indicate
the point of sunrise on the new celebration day when the church
was dedicated to the "Transfiguration of our Lord".
5. CONCLUSIONS
The combination of geodetic and astronomical data, measured
using modem digital total stations, allow the determination of
the orientation of a monument with high precision and
reliability. Combining them with historical data referring to the
time of construction, the final interpretation of the orientation of
the monument may be achieved. Furthermore, there is also the
possibility to date a monument by the proper combination of
historical, cultural and geometric data (Pantazis, 2002),
(Pantazis et al, 2003).
This method may be useful for creating a database of oriented
monuments, containing the geometric documentation of each
monument, its orientation with the appropriate historical
evidence, as well as historical documents referring to the
monument. This database will be of great international
importance.
6. REFERENCES
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