ABSTRACT
The foundations of the Church of the Tithe, the most ancient monument of Russian architecture, have been studied in detail thanks to the excavations of 1908-1914 and 1938-1939. These excavations showed that trenches were dug equivalent to the width of the foundations in some places, while in others they exceeded it greatly (the trenches were 2.1 m wide, the foundations 1.1 m). In the apses, the ground was dug away for foundations not only under the walls, but also from the whole area of the apses. The bases of the foundation trenches and of the whole area under the apses were strengthened by wooden structures. These consisted of 4-5 groundsels laid lengthways along the walls and reinforced with numerous wooden stakes. Above them, a second layer of groundsels was laid across those of the first layer. The groundsels were either circular or rectangular in cross-section and the stakes were 5-7 cm in diameter and about 50cm long. This wooden structure was covered with a layer of lime and crushed ceramic or brick mortar and above it lay the foundations, consisting of large stones of quartzite and sandstone, also covered with a mortar of lime and crushed ceramic or brick.
