Carved Geometric Wickerwork from the Excavations of the Crimean Madrasah Indzhi-Bey Khatun

Abstract

During an archaeological study of the madrasah in the town of Staryi Krym (formerly Eski Kyrym, Krym, Solkhat), dating back to 733 AH (=1332/33), numerous architectural details with carved epigraphic ornaments were found. Some of them were reused in the masonry of the support wall of the necropolis of the XVI–XVIII centuries. According to experts, they could belong to the decoration of the portal, the mihrab in the southern iwan, the eastern wall of the building or the entrance exedra. The study found that none of these suppositions has been sufficiently convincingly confirmed yet. An important feature has been identified, that allows us to understand correctly the ornamental composition, and, consequently, to carry out a correct reconstruction of the stone sculpture of the madrasah. This requires the presence of a large smooth surface, that adjacent to the curb on the inside. In particular, therefore, the found architectural details have a low probability of belonging to the portal and mihrab of the building.

Keywords

• archaeology
• crimea
• xiv century
• madrasah
• seljuk style
• carved décor
• stone plastic
• pigraphic ornament
• architectural detail
• spolia