Tsromi

an outstanding monument of medieval Georgian architecture. The structure, a domed church situated near the city of Khamuri, Khamuri Raion, Georgian SSR, is now half in ruins. Built between 626 and 634, it is the earliest example of a Georgian church in which the dome rests on four freestanding columns. On the eastern facade, along the sides of the apse, are two deep triangular niches, later a common motif in Georgian architecture. The church has yielded fragments of a seventh-century mosaic (presently in the Museum of Art of Georgia in Tbilisi) and paintings of the tenth century.