Kumurdo

a village 12 km west of the city of Akhalkalaki in the Georgian SSR. Kumurdo is famous as the site of a cruciform domed church that was built in 964 by the architect Sakotsari. This church is one of the most significant monuments of medieval Georgian architecture. Distinguished by the refinement of its proportions and the restraint of its decoration, the church has an original plan, consisting of five semicircular apses and a rectangular western arm that are inscribed in the outlines of the cross. The dome, which has not been preserved, rested on six powerful pillars attached to the walls. Reliefs depicting historical figures have been preserved on the eastern pendentives. There are fragments of a tenth-century wall painting at the altar.