Polyconchal early Christian basilica near Imaret
See the basilica's interior and its exquisite mosaics.
The polyconchal basilica got its name after the specific structure made up of a number of conchae. It is a three-naval church with a room called catechumenum, and a baptisterium.
The room was named catechumenum after the catechumens (ready to be baptized), people under instructions in the rudiments of the Christianity.
The early Christian basilica, whose original name is unknown, is opulently ornamented by floor mosaics, whose excavation started in 1961 and ended several years later. The most beautiful are those located in the baptistery. The scenes on the mosaics are related to water. There are three representations of the fountain of life, each having a pair of animals. On the angles the four Eden rivers are depicted in the shape of human figures (with water flowing out of their mouths). The church was probably built and decorated in the V century, during the period when Lychnidos was an important early Christian centre and the diocese seat of the province of Lychnidos. Its dimensions and opulence match the most monumental early Christian shrines from that era.
Systematic excavation of the structure revealed immense dimensions of the church. Anonymous painters decorated it with magnificent mosaics. The founders noted their outstanding donation by an inscription in the eastern part of the room (to the north from the main church), without mentioning their names and rather unpretendingly: "Built for their blessing by those whose names are known to God only."
This early Christian shrine was built of large white and red stone blocks that weighted up to several hundreds kilograms. Also parts of the nearby Classical theatre's seats were used as a construction material. The church was probably destroyed at the beginning of the VI century in a disastrous earthquake that leveled the towns of Skupi and Stobi to the ground.
