Recent observations on the marble templon in the church of the Taxiarches, Lokris

Abstract

During conservation works on architectural members from the templon-screen of the church of the Taxiarchs at Agnanti new evidence has emerged which modifies the dating and restoration proposed by A. Orlandos. The marble members fall into two groups, which differ in decoration, craftsmanship and material. The existence of two phases of construction is documented by the mortises for supporting a wooden architrave on the upper surface of the architrave of the central part, which was obviated by the addition of the cornice. The technique and the classicizing decoration of the first group leads to the dating of the building of the church and the constructing of the templon-screen to the first half of the twelfth century, while from the orientalizing decoration and champlevé technique of the sculptures of the second phase the period of its reconstruction can be defined in the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century.