Team Will Survey Ancient Turkish Church in October
International specialists will document the 1,100-year-old Nuka Sakdari Church to enable future stabilization work.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Geography
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Beginning October 7, 2026, an international team will survey the Nuka Sakdari Church in Turkey's Artvin Province. The project aims to create technical documentation required to secure repair permits and funding for the deteriorating structure.
Why it matters
The lack of modern architectural records currently prevents critical conservation efforts for the site. By generating precise site plans, the team intends to unlock the legal and financial pathways necessary to address the building's structural decay.
Specialists will use laser-scanning and drone photography to overcome the challenges of an inaccessible site with no electricity. This effort will generate the comprehensive site plans necessary to assess the damage caused by a partial stone roof collapse.
The players
Nikolai Marr
An explorer who documented the site in 1904, providing the last known comprehensive visual record of the church.
The details
The expedition will utilize manual measurements alongside laser-scanning to map the interior, while drone-based photogrammetry will survey the exterior. This process replaces legacy documentation methods, as the site has remained largely unstudied since Nikolai Marr captured photographs there in 1904. The team intends to use this data to bridge the gap between historical presence and modern heritage requirements, as the area lacks both vehicle access and electrical infrastructure.
Timeline
1904: Nikolai Marr photographed the building.
October 7-20, 2026: Specialists will produce plans and survey the site.
2027: Stabilisation work is scheduled to begin.
The Tech Race
The expedition follows a broader effort to document historic sites across the Tao-Klarjeti region. It represents a shift toward using digital scanning to navigate complex regulatory requirements for ancient preservation.
The project will produce a 10 to 20-minute documentary film to provide public insight into the remote site. While the location remains inaccessible to visitors, the resulting digital documentation will serve as the foundation for the site's future preservation.
The takeaway
The lack of modern documentation is the primary obstacle to the survival of this 1,100-year-old structure. Readers should watch for the planned start of structural stabilization work in 2027, which will be contingent on the permit approval from the Erzurum heritage authority.
What happens next
The team will submit technical documentation to the heritage authority in Erzurum following the completion of the survey on October 20, 2026. Stabilization work is tentatively slated to commence in 2027.
Further reading
For more on how modern surveying is changing heritage conservation, see the latest updates in Geography.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Basilica.
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