An early Christian church had no doors, archaeologists think they finally know why

A 2,000-year-old Polish church, long baffling historians with its lack of an entrance, has revealed its secret. Image Credit: Wikipedia

Imagine walking through the historical cobblestone ring of Krakow, Poland, and coming across a 2,000-year-old stone church. It’s small, round and remarkably preserved. However, as you stroll through its sandstone walls that have weathered, there is something that seems off. There’s no entry point. A grand archway is not present, nor is a side door, and certainly no evidence of a doorway that was ever present at the ground. Over the years, the architectural ghost story about Wawel Hill has caused archaeologists to scratch their heads. How did they get into the building, which seemed to be sealed off?Since its founding, the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary has been a major puzzle for historians. It was built in the 10th century and is one of the oldest stone structures in the nation. It is only 20 feet tall and still a silent wall guarded by a mystery that was believed to be impossible to solve. There are some experts who suggest that the individuals may have used an old wooden ladder up to an additional story, while others speculate about hidden underground tunnels or crypts. A new angle has finally shed some light on the mystery of this long-standing puzzle.A hidden connection to royaltyA groundbreaking study by Klaudia Stala, who is an associate professor and archaeologist from Krakow University of Technology. Kraków University of Technology has revealed that we’ve looked at the church in a different way. Her research was released in the International Journal of Conservation Science. Stala suggests that the church wasn’t designed to be an isolated entity. Instead of being a unison place of worship, the rotunda could have been just a small piece of a more complex puzzle, namely the royal palace complex.With the help of high-tech instruments such as ground-penetrating radar as well as thermal imaging, Stala was able to observe beneath the surface without affecting the site. She was able to see the remains of a massive rectangular structure situated in front of the church. The structure was attached to the walls of the rotunda, which suggests that the “missing door” was not missing in the first place. It was merely an internal entrance. In this way, the church was the royal chapel of a private nature. The royal court was able to walk directly from their residences to the church using an enclosed walkway. The layout could have eliminated any need for doors, thereby keeping the royal worship in the King’s palace in a private and secure.

New research suggests the rotunda wasn’t a standalone structure but part of a royal palace complex. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Debunking the myth of the second floorBefore the finding, the oldest and most talked about theories centred on a “floating” entryway. It was believed by historians that churchgoers used stairs that were external stairs to access an entrance on the second level. People who advocated this notion focused on the windows of the church that are sunk into the ground. This suggests that the present-day ground was previously much higher. They suggested that a buried first floor, also known as the crypt, could have existed beneath.The research of Stala, however, disproves this belief. Thermal imaging did not indicate a crypt hidden or even a lower-level buried. Additionally, she highlighted an architectural fact that most have missed. The wall of the rotunda’s turrets comprises light slabs of sandstone, which are held together by cement-based mortar. The walls of the rotunda were weak enough to support the load of a massive second-story or strain of the structural load from an enormous exterior staircase.In comparing the Krakow rotunda with other small circular churches found in Croatia as well as Italy, Stala showed that low-set windows were the most common architectural style in the period and don’t necessarily mean the existence of a floor that was buried. The irregularities found in ground-penetrating radar scans are perfectly aligned with the outline of the other medieval Polish palaces, like the royal compound that was recently discovered in Poznan.The discovery alters the way we think about the early Polish historical events. It provides a glimpse of the sophisticated lifestyle of a royal family that utilised architecture to provide seamless, intimate passages between home and holy. The mystery surrounding the doorless church reminds us that often, the solution to a puzzle isn’t always found simply by examining what’s missing, but instead by looking at what was there. The church did not need doors to the world, as it was already a part of a house.