A cross-section of rock-cut buildings. The survey of pinnacle church 33/v in the area of Göreme.

The report presents the complex of Church 33/V in Göreme, which is part of extensive research that has the aim of acquiring knowledge concerning life in rock habitats. The research is a PRIN project (Project of Relevant National Interest) funded by the Ministry of Education, University and Research. The research project was carried out on the headland between the Valleys of Göreme and Kılıçlar in Cappadocia, Turkey, which has been listed as a world heritage site since 1985. The landscape of this area belongs to the natural – urban habitat. It did not undergo an urbanisation process built in masonry and preserves examples of settlements, which are useful for understanding the development of rock settlements. The buildings carved into the rock still exists in symbiosis with the extraordinary landscape. Thus the documentation and representation of the territory at a landscape scale is an integral part of the research. The research unit carried out the architectural surveys using a 3D phase-shift scanner and other photogrammetric restitution techniques, whereas the landscape survey was executed with a VZ400 scanner with T.O.F. technology. The experimental investigation covered an extensive area, from the Göreme Open Air Museum to the promontory bordered by the valleys of Göreme and Kılıçlar (approximately 2.00 km x 0.6 km). This promontory is eroded and in an advanced stage of its natural destruction process. The research and its documentation contribute to the knowledge and promotion of the rich heritage of the area, which is characterised by primary connotations that will be lost with time and permit the classification and typological study of the distinctive features of the buildings and life in caves. In particular, this report presents the pinnacle of Church 33/V, whose buildings provide a cross-section of cave life. It contributes, with its graphics and descriptive data, to knowledge about sacred buildings and residential structures, such as a refectory, food storage premises and stables. Church V is particularly interesting: it shows the architectural influences of the nearby Tokalı Church, one of the most beautiful found at the Open Air Museum in Göreme. The rooms carved from the rock are also remarkable. These spaces are halfway up the face of the rock and were initially protected by other rooms which have collapsed. The documentation is significant in terms of the data collected; indeed, numerous fractures threaten these buildings and their rock facades which each year risk collapsing due especially to freezing (thermal stress).