Whether There Was a Theatre in Uplistsikhe

The essence of the ancient spectacles was determined by the importance of cult. We can only assume where and how performances were arranged.
Apollonius Rhodius in his Argonautica recalls an arena nearby Cytaea (what is now Kutaisi) noting that “the Colchians held racing and equestrian games to commemorate their heroes”. According to Procopius of Caesarea, the city of Apsaros was furnished with a theatre and hippodrome. The existence of a theatre in the Kingdom of Pontus (4th century BC) was also indicated by Lucian, who noted that
the people, at a fixed time…abandoned all their work to spend time at the theatres”.1
The ancient Greek theatre, the structure of which had already been established by that time, represents an open-type building, comprised of an orchestra - a round square assigned for a stage, a theatron – a seating area, and a skene – an extension for storing clothes and properties. Originally, until the 4th century BC, a theatron and skene were made of wood, however later the Greeks used stone to construct them. Ancient Greek theatre usually held a large number of spectators (the Theatre of Epidaurus seated 13,000 spectators, and the Ephesus Theatre, 23,000).
The Roman theatre marked a new stage in the development of Greek theatre architecture. The fi rst stone theatre buildings appeared in Rome in the 1st century. They played an important role in the development of civil architecture in Rome, as well as in its provinces and colonies. Of this period (Imperial Period) are the Theatre of Pompey (1st century BC), the Theatre of Marcellus (1st century BC),
and the Theatre of Balbus; the Orange (1st century AD) and other theatres dating from a later period, evidence the formation of the final appearance of Roman theatre architecture.
The Georgians had become familiar with the Greco-Roman civilization already in the period of Antiquity. Archaeological excavations have revealed architectural complexes indicating the 1 D. Janelidze, Sakhioba, Tbilisi, 1972, p. 205 (in Georgian) local masons familiarity with the contemporary architecture, as well as construction methods and principles. By that time, Georgia had already adopted the tradition of building with stone (4 th -3 rd centuries BC); different types of secular architecture existed, but the evidence on the presence of performance-oriented architecture can be derived only form historical sources.
Apsarus, a typical Antique city, described by Procopius of Caesarea, should have been located in the surroundings of Gonio. Apart from theatres and hippodromes, it abounded in other buildings as well. Lucian indicated the presence of a theatre in each city of Pontus as well as the interest taken by the local residents in it: “they sat in the theatre for days to view titans, korybantes, satires and shepherds”.2 These notes certainly do not provide enough evidence for reconstructing the design and forms of theatre architecture; however, they suggest certain affinity with ancient Greek theatre buildings, representing a variety of performance architecture. The opinion is further strengthened by the following note: “most part of Iberia, as noted by Strabon, is wonderfully inhabited by cities and villages, so that one can see dwellings, marketplaces and other public buildings designed in line with the art of architecture”.3 Buildings designed for performances, affiliated with the category of public buildings, were constructed according to the rules adopted in the Georgian architecture in that period.
The special focus of scientists in Uplistsikhe rock-carved city was made on the building with a pediment. Completed researches (Sh. Amiranashvili. D. Janelidze) mention the building as the earliest theatre architecture example on the territory of Georgia. The damages of the monument and the scarcity of resources complicate the identifi cation of its precise destination. Majority of scientists talk about roman influence dating the building by the 1st century AD (Dubua, P. Uvarova, G. Chubinashvili, Sh. Amiranashvili, Ir. Tsitsishvili, T. Sanikidze. G. Khipiani).
The building consists of facade with a pediment and the open square with the shape of quarter of the circle. The scientists assumed it to be an orchestra. Stone rows around the square were considered as
seats of amphitheatre that concluded classification of the building. It is important to note, that similar rows can be found in other complexes of rock-carved city but their number is from one to three. The comparative analysis of Uplistsikhe complex and classically established structures of antique theatre architecture will clarify the major issues concerning the building with a pediment.
The three components of antique theatre (orchestra, theatron and skene) have been invariable structural components during centuries. The round square of orchestra was the main performing space for dancers, musicians and choir. It was situated in the center of the theatre and surrounded by spectators (theatron) seats forming the shape of quarter of circle. In typical roman theatre the audience place is reduced to one half of the circle.
In case of Uplistsikhe the square considered as orchestra is one forth of the circle. Two surrounding rows repeat its oval shape. The one forth shape of orchestra and theatron is not common for ancient theatre architecture. The part of complex considered as skene with arches, is placed among the inclined parts of pediment. Continuous complication of drama and performing art was reflected in modification of theatre structure, but even in that case no facades with a pediment is observed. The Greek Hellenistic skenes as well as roman ones have mostly wide forms while in Uplistsikhe we see lengthwise composition.
According to antique theatre architecture norms the length of skene was two times longer then the diameter of orchestra. The rule was equal for large and small theatres. In Uplistsikhe the skene and
the square are almost of the same size. The lengthwise orientation of skene is not familiar to antique architecture.
Proscenium - elevated space from the square - in Greek theatre was rarely used as performing space while in roman architecture it was transformed into the main playing scene. Continuously the back
wall of skene reaches the height of theatron inner gallery and walls of amphitheatre.
These characteristic features of roman theatre architecture are reflected in the reconstruction project of Uplistsikhe. As for the elevated space considered as proscenium (wide 80 sm, height – 20 sm), such kind of spaces, raised by 20 - 25 sm from basic level, can be found in other complexes of Uplistsikhe as well, so this aspect do not essentially typify the building with a pediment. The height of preskenium in antique theatre reaches 1.5 meters.
The historically developed form of skene is surrounded by wings so called paraskeniums that later were transformed into the scene with back stages. The mentioned architectural scheme was unchangeable during centuries but neither such planning was found in Uplistskikhe.
The question of complex destination is still unclear and open for discussion, it can be considered as a church, graves, settlement etc. However, the existence of theatre architecture can not be confirmed by architectural analysis or other significant assumption. It is also important that no historical or literature source mention the existence of such theatre in Uplistkikhe.
The rock-carved interior of Uplistsikhe complex with adjusted yard and seating area point to cult destination of the place that required specific architectural composition of the complex. I assume that in depth research of the topic will ignore previous hypothesis and reveal more varied picture of spectacle traditions in Georgia.
The notes about spectacle spaces in Georgia can be found in different Greek sources. Unfortunately they do not provide any description of forms and simply mention their existence. Based on these sources we can talk about two types of buildings: one is the antique theatre and the second is hippodrome.