A Biological Assessment of Exterior Reliefs of Akdamar Cathedral in Van/Turkey: Relief of Birds

Abstract

Historical Akdamar Cathedral is located on an island on Lake Van. The cathedral was built eleven centuries ago. The building has numerous exterior reliefs that encircle the Cathedral and are composed of four levels. They include historical, religious, and cultural compositions along with animal figures. Alongside the human relief sculptures on the building, the bird and mammal figures are very important in terms of reflecting the biological richness of the region. For this study, detailed photographs of the bird reliefs on the exterior walls of the Cathedral have been taken. The description of bird species on the reliefs are compared with the figures of the present-day bird species. Therefore, the similarity between the bird fauna of the region in the past and its current condition and the biological diversity of the bird species at that time are identified. Thus, it is revealed that nineteen species of bird living in the region at that time were engraved and immortalized. © 2019 Editura Universitaria Craiova.