Dating the mosaics of the Durres amphitheatre through interdisciplinary analysis

Elisabetta Neri,Nadine Schibille,Bernard Gratuze

doi:10.1016/j.culher.2017.05.003

Abstract

This article presents the results of an interdisciplinary investigation of the mosaics in the main chapel of the Durres amphitheatre, the interpretation and chronological attribution of which have been the subject of debate. Art historical considerations about the mosaic's cultural and artistic affiliations are combined with in situ assessments of the mosaic techniques and physico-chemical analyses of 111 glass tesserae by means of scanning electron microscopy with an energy-dispersive detector (SEM-EDS) and laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Our results show that the raw glass used for the mosaic tesserae derives from two primary production centres but with evidence of substantial recycling: Foy-2, possibly of Egyptian origin, and Levantine I from the Syro-Palestinian coast. While lead stannate, copper and manganese are colorants found commonly in tesserae from different Mediterranean contexts, cobalt correlated with nickel and lead-tin associated with arsenic and antimony have been attested in mosaic tesserae here for the first time. The chronological range of the raw glasses and colorants provides strong evidence for a sixth- to eight-century CE date for the tesserae. The stylistic and iconographic parallels of contemporary mosaic decorations and the mosaic techniques reflected in the plaster layers, preparatory paint and particular setting of tesserae corroborate this timeframe. In terms of the material provenance and artistic features, the mosaics of the Durres amphitheatre clearly reflect the merging of eastern and western elements, typical of the early medieval Adriatic, while visual references to Byzantine imperial iconography may have served to reassert a link with Constantinople and the Byzantine court. Taken together, the material, technical and artistic data reveal the cultural and economic connectivity that shaped the art of mosaic making in the late antique and early medieval period.

Highlights

A small chapel built inside the amphitheatre at Durres contains the only medieval mosaic that survives in Albania and the only medieval one in a Roman amphitheatre
The mosaics are found in the main chapel that was built into the very fabric of the Roman amphitheatre under the vomitorium of the second elliptical gallery, situated in the western part of the Byzantine wall (Fig. 2)
For the chemical and microstructural analyses, small fragments of the individual tesserae were mounted in epoxy resin and polished. These polished cross-sections were analysed by LA-ICP-MS at the Centre ErnestBabelon (CEB) of IRAMAT (Orléans), using a Thermofisher Element XR combined with a Resonetic UV laser microprobe (ArF 193 nm), which was operated at 5 mJ, with a laser pulse repetition rate of 10 Hz [15,21]

Summary

Introduction

A small chapel built inside the amphitheatre at Durres contains the only medieval mosaic that survives in Albania and the only medieval one in a Roman amphitheatre. The date and interpretation of the three figurative panels are highly controversial. The panel on the west wall presents a large central figure flanked by two angels and two haloed female figures against a white and green background that are identified by inscription as E(IRH)NH (Peace) on the left and CO IA (Wisdom) on the right (Fig. 1a). The possible remains of the A IOC (Holy) epithet to the left of Sophia suggests that the two female figures represent divine attributes. The central figure is almost destroyed and its identification has proved ambiguous. A small female donor is visible to the right of the central figure

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Conclusion