The church of the Virgin Mary in Kvemo Machkhaani in Dedoplistskaro Municipality stands on the lands of historical Kambecho and holds two building layers at once. The original part, laid in mixed masonry, is a rectangular apse with a small sanctuary platform, and sources assign it to the 11th and 12th centuries.
In the second half of the 19th century a small hall was added to it, replacing the earlier stonework. It is set mostly in small cobble with the edges drawn in flat brick, and two courses of brick run along the facades to even out the horizontal line. The entrance is cut only in the centre of the west wall.
Inside, the main space is undivided, while the sanctuary is separated by thick walls and consists of a short nave and an egg shaped apse behind a thinner wall. The floor is laid with square brick, and the solea and the sanctuary floor survive, the latter noticeably lower than the floor of the hall. The building is in ruins, and the vegetation growing around it has to be cleared from time to time.
💡 Tip
- Two building layers: mixed masonry and a later small hall
- An egg shaped apse behind a thick sanctuary wall
- The sanctuary floor lies noticeably lower than the hall floor
🚗 Getting there
- Kvemo Machkhaani village, Dedoplistskaro Municipality, Kakheti
- The Build Route button will take you to the spot
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