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Вопросы строительной истории Спасо-Преображенского собора в Переславле-Залесском в свете новых открытий
Researchers of the Transfiguration Cathedral in
Pereslavl’-Zalessky have long been trying to prove the authenticity
of the building’s exterior. With the exception of
several small details introduced by later additions and renovations,
the facades of the cathedral have been believed
to survive in their most pristine form. In 2015, the pre-restoration
clearing revealed some graffiti on high-elevated
blocks, some blocks with mesh ornaments (located in no
special order) and hewn-off semi-columns, a number of
blocks with fresco fragments and a carved fragment in the
backfilling. All of the finds brought us back to the original
question of the cathedral’s authenticity. Studying the cathedral
walls from the scaffolding and the use of a photorealistic
3D model has allowed the authors to find traces
of a fire on the surface of the blocks. Also discovered were
a network of holes from the original scaffolding and some
previously unseen features of the masonry, such as joints,
grips and leveling courses. Seen together, all of these finds
prove that the facades are homogenic and thus genuine.
The elements of the décor which do not match the cathedral’s
known exterior survive from its earliest design never
to be completed. At an early stage of construction, it must
have been rejected - a decision which fashioned the cathedral
we know, with its well-known laconism of style.