Kaján Imre (szerk.): Zalai Múzeum 22. (Zalaegerszeg, 2015)
Orha Zoltán–Simon Anna: Adatok az andráshidai római katolikus templom építéstörténetéhez
Adatok az andráshidai római katolikus templom építéstörténetéhez 99 The location where the sanctuary starts closing was observed once again from the outside and we located its exact place inside. The medieval proportioned eaves cannot be seen; presumably the walling itself is missing at this height, as the baroque walling which constitutes the present wall crown is very noticeable. The previous research did not cover the facade of the tower. The tower was built of the same material as the church. Its narrow slit windows, the duo windows at the bell level and the brick-walled helmet with its decorative distinctive headdress-like elements have retained their original design. Medieval facade plaster has not survived anywhere but in many places carefully smoothed mortar - a thin layer of lime were observed between the bricks. Two niches in the south wall of the nave could be seen earlier in the interior. Their forms and the repair work before the baroque reconstruction period were identified. Whitewashed plaster pieces have been preserved from the latter. The northern nave wall was not articulate. The brick pillars of today’s gallery were separated from the nave wall, the place where the southern entrance had been was roofed over. We managed to prove that the extensions of the staircase tower leading to the chancel and the sacristy were added to the medieval walls. During waterproofing works in the autumn of 2013 archaeological expert supervision was performed. We observed the Árpád-era foundations of the building and the surroundings of the former southern entrance; however, we did not get any further data about the one-time gate shape because of the later destructions. At the end of the 2013 excavation project connected to probing wall research was done. During the excavation we found the sections of the wall of the Árpád-era sanctuary starting directly from the nave without the triumphal arch, which was demolished during the reconstruction in 1785. Only the foundation ditch has remained on the site of the closure of the sanctuary. The initial arrangement of the walls and the foundation ditch show polygonal apse shape. We excavated the location of the altar in the sanctuary and a grave in front of it, in the central axis of the nave. The position and the arrangement of the grave suggest the burial of a patron. The church used to have a choir in The Middle Ages; we found the site of one of the bearing pillars of the wooden structure during the excavation. During the excavation process some signs of the renovation work of the year 1746 were found and also the ground level, which coincides with that of The Middle Ages. At that time only the building was made usable, the floor level was lowered to the Árpád-era level. The medieval layers of the church were later removed; only after the analysis of the burnt red wall tissue containing mortar and the bricks scorched black during the Ottoman destruction could we find the location of the 16th-17 th- ground level. The large-scale reconstruction of the building took place in 1785, today’s sanctuary was built then, the top of the nave wall was heightened, new, large windows were opened, the south gate was walled up. Presumably today’s vault was built then. The rubble of demolition and construction activities, as well as the late 18th-century ground level resting on them were clearly observable. On the basis of written sources and historical data the church was surely built in the last third of the 13th century.
