# Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of the Early Christian Temples of the Roman Fortress of Pitiunt
###### Abstract  
Since 2018, the authors have been working on reconstructing the exterior of the Great Pitiunt Roman fortress in 3D. This article presents the results of the visualization of the exterior and interior of the temple complex. During the study, the dimensions and plans of the site were analyzed, revealing discrepancies in various sources. To clarify the complex's dimensions, aerial photography using UAV was conducted, and photogrammetric models, orthophoto, and digital surface models were created. The research also uncovered previously unrecorded architectural features. During the reconstruction of the temples, much attention was paid to the structural design of the buildings, connections and load distribution. Engineering calculations have been carried out for the clarification of the structural solutions. The article presents the results of a detailed reconstruction of the exterior, interior and structural features of Temple Nos. 1-4, based on preserved archaeological evidence, excavation results, contemporaneous Early Christian sites, and an analysis of the materials and technologies used at the time. The reconstruction of the mosaic floor of Temple No. 2 allowed a realistic visualization of the interior. late antique and early medieval temples; early Christian architecture; eastern Black Sea region; Great Pitiunt; 3D reconstruction and visualization; photogrammetry; UAV +
Footnote †: journal: Applied Sciences  
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to live in. Therefore, when the persecution of Christians intensified under the emperors [PERSON] and [PERSON], Pitiunt became a place of exile for them. In the late third and early fourth centuries, the first Christian communities began to form here, followed by a bishopric being established. Bishop [PERSON] of Pitiunt is mentioned in the lists of participants of the First Council of Nicaea in 325, representing the diocese of Pontus of Polemon along with the bishops of Trebizond and Neocessaria. The first Christian centres in the eastern region of the Black Sea were established within the military fortifications of the Empire. The fortress of Pitiunt served as a centre for the spread of Christianity in northwestern Colchis for a considerable period of time. The study and reconstruction of the appearance of the first Christian temples in the region are of great importance for researching the spread of Christianity and the formation of early Christian architecture on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. The Roman fortress of Pitiunt and its temples are among the best studied sites of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages in the northwestern region of Colchis. The first comprehensive description of the territory of the town-fortress Pitiunt was made by the famous traveller, [PERSON], in 1837 [1]. However, it was not until 1952 that the Bichvina archaeological expedition of the I.A. Javakhishvili Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR, led by Doctor of Historical Sciences, [PERSON], began the first systematic excavations of the territory of \"Great Pitiunt\". The team defined the outlines of the fortress and identified 27 towers, residential and administrative buildings. They also discovered and studied a garrison bath house and a multi-level temple complex in the eastern part of the fortress. The results of this study are presented in the three-volume monograph <<_Great Pitiunt_>> [2; 3; 4]. Subsequently, the site was further studied by [PERSON], [PERSON] and others until the mid-1980s. In the south-western part of the eastern fortification, the expedition uncovered the remains of four early Christian temples, which were built successively on the same site  
Figure 1: Pitiunt fortress on the map. over a period of two centuries [5]. The research made it possible to study the architecture of each temple and the mechanisms of successive transformation of one building into another.