ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

The Haroba Kosht ruins of ancient Merv in Mari, Turkmenistan, are the earliest remains of an Eastern Christian church in Central Asia discovered to date. Haroba Kosht. ruins were investigated, excavated, and preserved from the 1950s to the 2010s. In 2011, Osmida's investigation discovered coins and sculptures from the Parthian period, a bronze cross from the Seljuk period, and ceramic fragments with Kufic inscriptions related to Christianity, adding to the evidence proving that it is a Christian-related relic from the 4th to 13th centuries. To date, the remains of Christian churches identified in the Central Asian region include the Urgut Church in Uzbekistan and Buildings 4 and 8 in Ak Besim, Kyrgyzstan. In this paper, we compared the existing architectural features of Haroba Kosht. with Christian churches in Asia Minor, Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia from the late 4th century to understand the aspects of Christian architecture spreading to Central Asia. The cross necklace discovered in the Haroba Kosht, cross-related relics from Merv, and ossuaries from ancient cemeteries are found in Central Asia compared to cross relics and ossuaries from Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, Iran, and Armenia, and the Transcaucasus region. We were able to confirm the relics and burial methods used by the local Christian community.

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