“Sakdrisi Committee for Cultural Heritage” calls on the Patriarchate of Georgia to take effective steps to save the X-century cultural heritage monument – Korogho Tower – and take responsibility for this unique monument.
The activists working on the issues related to the protection of cultural heritage note that the rehabilitation of the X-century Korogho complex, a national cultural heritage monument, is in progress with deplorable results.
“In the Khada valley, the tower of the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Korogho is almost destroyed,” reads the statement.
“The “Sakdrisi Committee for Cultural Heritage” considers the assessments and recommendations published by the Chubinashvili Center on November 17 of this year concerning the recent rehabilitation works on the Korogho architectural complex to be alarming.
After the brutal intervention on the Korogho tower, the cultural heritage monument is demolished and destroyed, and the unique relief slab is left in the open air among the ruins. In addition, it is still unclear whether the tower collapsed or was dismantled in this way. According to specialists, if the tower was dismantled, in the current state, these works were carried out in violation of all rules.
The architectural complex of Korogho (Khada Gorge, Dusheti Municipality), which includes the Church of the Virgin Mary (10th-11th centuries), a tower and a small chapel, is an outstanding monument of cultural heritage both in terms of architecture and relief tiles, which cannot be found in Georgian architecture. They depict the compositions depicting the construction process, the builders and the plan of the church.
From the report published by the Chubinashvili Center, we learn that the Korogho tower is destroyed and demolished, and “after the unjustified demolition of the southern gate of the Korogho church, no measures were taken to protect the unique reliefs included in it, which posed a serious threat to the detached relief stones. The design work did not consider the future fate of these reliefs, nor was any plan developed to ensure their protection during the work. Currently, they are left in the open air.”
Thus, while there is still the slightest chance of saving this unique monument, including the relief tiles, which may be damaged and destroyed every second due to carelessness and storage in improper conditions, we consider an active response and action from the appropriate authorities. A special responsibility and role rests with the Patriarchate of Georgia,” reads the statement released by the activists.
Photos taken from a report published by the Chubinashvili Center
