Analyses and conservation approach of Laodikeia Church in Laodikeia of Lykos

Denizli is an important city with the natural wonder Pamukkale listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, its antic cities such as Hierapolis, historical buildings and geographical location. The antic city of Laodikeia is one of the important antic cities in Denizli with several types of buildings that are survived until today. The city was among the important intersections and religious centers until its abandonment. The antic city, which is under excavation and restoration works since 2002, was enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage Temporary List in 2013. Together with the excavation works the thesis titled "Analyses and Conservation Approach of Laodikeia Church in Laodikeia of Lykos" has been carried out. Laodikeia Church, which is dated back to Early Christian Era in Anatolia, is one of the few examples that reached today. The fact that one of the seven churches mentioned in Bible was in Laodikeia makes the city center of attraction. The church which extends to large area has an uncommon plan type with the number and location of its apsidioles for its era. Based on the data from exaction works, the city was abandoned in the 7th century because of the earthquake that destroyed the city. After its collapse like the other buildings in city, the architectural elements of the church were moved by people for reuse and Laodikeia Church had not been used since. The structure which was buried underground until its exaction in 2010 kept its originality. This thesis study aims to document the present status of the structure, investigate the status in its era and propose recommendations through the evaluation of present conservation approaches. In the first part of the study; the literature survey, aim of the thesis and hypothesis were presented. In the second part; the historical geography, history of Laodikeia antic city, importance of the city in history and christian activities in the city were stated. In the third part; the details about the location, history and excavation works of the structure were given. In the fourth part; the present status of the church was documented and a restitution proposal was presented. Furthermore, conservation recommendations were proposed by the evaluation of the conservation approaches for the structure This study is aimed to be a detailed source of information about the structure, an example work for the structure belonging to the Early Christian Era in Anatolia and also by this study a research example for documentation and conservation of the structures in antic cities was intended to be presented.