Rehabilitation works are being carried out at Bolnisi Sioni by order of the National Agency for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Georgia.
The Agency says the ongoing works include the removal of a basalt floor installed inside the temple in the 1970s, which was laid on a concrete base.
Archaeological research conducted as part of the project has revealed an earlier floor beneath the structure. Sections were identified near the pilaster of the southern wall and in the western part of the southern section of the church, as was a full pilaster base.
The Agency states that the project envisages dismantling the later floor under archaeological supervision and installing a new, light-colored stone floor using a traditional Georgian layout.
It adds that the floor level will be lowered by several centimeters to improve the look and original architectural proportions of the columns and pilasters.
The Agency says that, in some areas, mechanical drilling and milling equipment was used to remove later concrete and basalt layers, noting this is standard practice and does not damage the structure or affect the monument’s stability.
Works are being carried out under the supervision of archaeologists and field specialists, with all stages of the process documented and monitored.
