{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.conch-q1245007","code":"thing-q1245007","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1245007/","name":"Conch","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"research-draft","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"In architecture, a semi-dome or half-dome, usually covering an apse or niche, named from Latin concha, shell, because of its shell-like curved shape, found in Roman buildings, early Christian basilicas and Byzantine churches such as Hagia Sophia, where conches buttress the main dome, and often decorated with mosaics of Christ or the Virgin, as in the apses of Ravenna; niches with carved scallop shells are related decorative forms.","purpose":"Let an agent explain the architectural conch, relay form, structure, history and decoration from architectural history sources, and distinguish it from full domes, apses as spaces, niches, squinches and the mollusc called conch.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Half-dome form","Apse covering","Structural buttressing","Decorative focus"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a conch is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a conch in architecture, and how does it differ from domes, apses, niches, squinches and the mollusc?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about a building, construction or decoration?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"forms","name":"Forms","description":"Forms.","findings":[{"id":"forms-finding","name":"Forms","description":"Forms.","questions":[{"text":"How do apse conches, niche conches and exedra semi-domes differ?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific form?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"structure","name":"Structure","description":"Structure.","layers":[{"id":"statics","name":"Statics","description":"Structural role.","findings":[{"id":"statics-finding","name":"Statics","description":"Statics.","questions":[{"text":"How do semi-domes carry loads and buttress domes?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"building","name":"Building","description":"Construction.","findings":[{"id":"building-finding","name":"Building","description":"Building.","questions":[{"text":"How were conches built in brick and stone?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","layers":[{"id":"roman","name":"Roman","description":"Roman origins.","findings":[{"id":"roman-finding","name":"Roman","description":"Roman.","questions":[{"text":"How did Romans use semi-domes in baths and basilicas?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Roman architecture?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"byzantine","name":"Byzantine","description":"Byzantine churches.","findings":[{"id":"byzantine-finding","name":"Byzantine","description":"Byzantine.","questions":[{"text":"How are conches used in Hagia Sophia and Byzantine churches?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Hagia Sophia?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Decoration.","layers":[{"id":"mosaics","name":"Mosaics","description":"Apse mosaics.","findings":[{"id":"mosaics-finding","name":"Mosaics","description":"Mosaics.","questions":[{"text":"What themes appear in apse conch mosaics, such as in Ravenna?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Basilica of San Vitale?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"shell","name":"Shell motif","description":"Shell niches.","findings":[{"id":"shell-finding","name":"Shell motif","description":"Shell motif.","questions":[{"text":"Why are scallop shell motifs carved in niches?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits scallop shell motif?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Identify a conch as a semi-dome over an apse or niche and describe its use in buildings.","Tell the architectural conch apart from the mollusc and from the apse it covers."],"mustNot":["Confuse the architectural conch with the sea snail of the same name.","Treat the apse and the conch above it as the same element.","Touch, clean or restore mosaics and paintings in a conch without conservation authority.","Disturb worship in churches with conches when observing or recording them."],"requiresHuman":["Any conservation or restoration work on a conch or its decoration."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Conches in churches often hold sacred images, so they carry religious as well as artistic value.","Damage to historic mosaics cannot be undone."],"affectedParties":["Religious communities","Heritage bodies","Visitors"]},"owners":{"steward":"The owner of the building, such as a church or state; heritage authorities protect listed buildings.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Heritage and listed building registers"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q695992","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q811979","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"niche","type":"related","note":"in registry terms, and built structure"},{"target":"apse","type":"related"},{"target":"dome","type":"related"},{"target":"squinch","type":"related"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.conch-q1245007","Wikidata: Q1245007 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1245007)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["shape: quarter-sphere note","Hagia Sophia: 537 year - semi-domes buttressing the dome","etymology: Latin concha, shell note"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Semi-dome over an apse or niche","Conch, concha, semi-dome, half-dome","Full domes cover circular spaces; apses are recessed spaces; niches are wall recesses; squinches support domes at corners; conch molluscs are sea snails","A quarter-sphere vault over a semicircular apse or niche, often with mosaic or painted decoration."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain form and structure","relay history and examples","describe decoration","distinguish related elements"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing with the mollusc","Confusing apse and conch","Mosaic conservation damage"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Heritage conservation rules for historic buildings"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Covering apses and niches.","apse conches","niche conches","exedra semi-domes","shell-carved niches"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1245007: Conch","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1245007","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia (de): Konche (Architektur)","url":"https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konche_%28Architektur%29","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should semi-dome be merged with this entry?","How should architectural glossaries be linked?","Should notable conch mosaics be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1245007/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1245007/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T22:37:13Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{},"score":1.0}}