A lemhényi Szent Mihály-templom középkori története az újabb régészeti kutatások tükrében
The Medieval Development of Saint Michael’s Church in Lemnia in the Context of Recent Archaeological Investigations

Summary/Abstract: Saint Michael’s Church in Lemnia is currently one of the most thoroughly researched medieval ecclesiastical buildings in Covasna County. Situated in a location of particular interest from the perspective of the medieval history of the landscape and settlements – on Saint Michael Hill, between Lemnia and Mereni – the church was the subject of recent archaeological investigations between 2020 and 2023, carried out largely in parallel with the restoration works of the complex. During the course of the archaeological investigation, several distinct construction phases of the church were identified. The earliest phase indicates that the initial church erected on Saint Michael Hill was a simple edifice, comprising a slightly elongated semi-circular sanctuary, with internal measurements of 7 × 4.40 meters, and a nave of 6.70 meters in width (its length remaining undeterminable). Although no definitive datable material was recovered, architectural and stratigraphic considerations suggest that this early phase likely dates to the 13th–14th centuries. Subsequent modifications during the 14th century included the addition of three buttresses to the sanctuary of the Romanesque structure and, in all probability, the construction of a sacristy along its northern side. Outside the church, the foundations of the first Gothic sanctuary were documented, dating to the 15th–16th centuries; this structure was later rebuilt, altered, and slightly reoriented along a new axis. Both interior and exterior investigations – including archaeological trenches, utility trenches, and drainage pavement excavations – facilitated the determination of the depth of both extant and newly identified foundations, as well as the overall stratigraphic sequence within and surrounding the edifice. A total of 64 burials were recorded and analyzed during the course of the excavation, the majority lacking grave goods, with the notable exceptions of burials M-10/2022, M-38/2023, and M-41/2023.

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