Early Christian Basilica Research Articles

Uwagi dotyczące miejsc kultu w okresie starożytności chrześcijańskiej

The Church Fathers’ view of Christian temples is linked to their Christocentric worldview, which was reflected in patristic biblical exegesis. The most important symbol is the cross of Christ. The Church Fathers refer to the cross and the quadrangle in connection with the four rivers that flow out of paradise and irrigate the church and the mountain. Noah’s Ark in the NT is a figure of the Church because it was formed from a square. Another ideal of a Christian temple is the Heavenly Jerusalem, whose length is equal to its width and which is a square. The plan of the early Christian Basilica often reflected the shape of the cross, which was placed in the geometric figure of a rectangle or square. A completely new element in such a plan was the T-shaped transept, which intersected the nave, or the always odd number of longitudinal aisles. Thus, the cross inscribed in a square, reflects the concept according to which the world is created for man, and man is born to sing God’s glory: outstretched arms (horizontal line) and straight body (vertical line) form a square. Numerous forms of circular cult buildings were also known. They were connected with the figure of the octagon and the symbolism of the numbers 8 and 100. The number 100 was a symbol of the highest perfection, as well as a symbol of the glory achieved by martyrs and virgins. This was reflected in the application of the principle of modus, species, ordo. In Christianity, geometric figures combine to create symbolism relating to Christ and the cross. It can be said that the thought of the Church Fathers had not only symbolic, but also practical significance for sacral structures.

Material Analysis of the Remains of a Wooden Chest from the 4th Century and a Proposal for Its Reconstruction

A stone chest found in 1971 near one of the largest early Christian basilicas in Northern Dalmatia (Croatia) contained brass tiles decorated with various biblical scenes. An archaeological study confirmed the thesis that the fragments of brass tiles are most likely the remains of a wooden chest made in the 4th century AD, and that this is one of the best preserved archaeological finds of its kind in the world as one of the biblical scenes shows Mary, together with a record of her name (Maria). Based on the preserved brass tiles, a reconstruction of the wooden chest was made in 1973 with tiles glued onto a plastic frame. Subsequent studies have shown that such a reconstruction was not adequate, as some of the brass tiles were destroyed (disintegrated), and they were not connected properly into a whole that could represent the original. For the new reconstruction of this archaeological object it was necessary to carry out a material analysis, including the chemical composition of the brass tiles, as well as to find a solvent for the glue which could be used to remove the brass tiles from the plastic framework without any additional destruction. Based on extensive investigations and material analyses including the following techniques (SEM, EDX, FTIR, DSC), the starting points for the restoration process of the wooden chest with brass tiles were set, as well as the proposal for the appearance of the new chest.

On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th c.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2)

This article examines several mosaic tesserae from the mosaic panel of the exonarthex of the early Christian basilica No 2 in Parthicopolis (today’s town of Sandanski).The studied mosaic tesserae are made of glass, brick and stone - marble and sandstone. After the analysis: micro- and macroscopic, method applied: EDS; XRD analysis of the mineral phases and others. The composition and possible production of glass for the smalta tesserae has been established, the composition of the brick tesserae; of two types of white marble tesserae, of sandstone tesserae has been determined.In antiquity, and especially in the early Byzantine period, several marble quarries of very good quality were exploited in the Middle Strymon area. It has been established that the stone tesserae were mined from deposits around the ancient and early Byzantine city, quarries Ilindentsi (‘The marble quarries of Trajan’), and the glass is imported. An assumption has been made about the possible production on site in the city of a type of glass tesserae - with a degree of crystallization. The chemical and structural analysis of the tesserae reveals the origin of the material, stone and glass, the latter in the form of a finished product distributed as an import by Thessaloniki merchants and undergoing only the final stage of heating, cutting and polishing in local workshops. Although research on the origin of tesserae from mosaic panels from the early Christian basilica complexes in Parthicopolis is only in the beginning, research proves the origin of tesserae materials, the supply of mosaic workshops mainly with local stone material, and trade in imported glass for enamel mosaic and its final stage of in situ preparation in Particopolis.

Late Antique burial vault (tomb), church and necropolis at the site of Studena Česma in Donji Vakuf

This paper deals with the Late Antique site Studena česma in Donji Vakuf. Based on field reconnaissance and in a literature, the area of Donji Vakuf municipality is defined as a potentially rich area in respect to archeological remains from different epochs. Until recent research in Donji Vakuf, only the early Christian basilica in Oborci was excavated. Continuity of settlement of narrow and wider area of Donji Vakuf municipality can be determined by a whole series of remains from the Medieval and Ottoman period. The finds of the research done in 2005 and 2006 at this site, include a late antique burial vault, remains ofa church and early medieval necropolis. As far as the grave vault and a building in its immediate vicinity are concerned, it can be concluded that it’s a religious object from the period between 4th and 6th century. Alongside the object of that kind, there was also a larger cemetery, which according to the mentioned finds, and also according to people’s testaments, canbe confirmed. Namely, almost every day, in the large area gravitating towards the archeological site, a huge number of human bones, skeletons and skulls are being found. On one occasion, a golden ring was found. Ubication of the exact places where skeleton remains are being found indicates that the entire area of the present settlement Studena Česma, i.e. the hill, duringthe Late Antique and the Early Medieval period was an area reserved for cemetery and religious complex. Very similar analogies to late antique basilica were found in walled grave vaults with barrel roof and a church at the site of Oborci. The similar field configuration of sloped hill, as well as proximity of these two sites, indicate the nature and purpose of the entirecomplex in the settlement of Studena Česma. Archaeological material found (earrings, pearls and a ring) indicate a presence of early medieval burials at a place which did not lose its function of the Christian religious place and cemetery, even duringthe Early Medieval period. The significance of the discovery and scientific processing of the walled grave vault with a barrel roofshould be especially stressed. This type of the object is not unknown in the area of Central Bosnia. The excavation of the grave vault becomes even more important with the fact that until now, the highest number of discovered tombs of this type, due to a series of reasons, has remained scientifically unexplored.

The Spirit of Place and its Ghost.Edoardo Tresoldi’s creative Restoration


 
 
 Abstract: the paper considers the creative restoration of an early Christian basilica in Siponto, Apulia, realized by Italian artist Edoardo Tresoldi. Tresoldi resorts to the wire mesh as an artistic material: the restored basilica thus results in a monumental but evanescent building. After an introduction describing the public artwork, the paper will unfold in two main sections. In the first one, the focus will be on the concept of genius loci as a distinctive character of Tresoldi’s poetics. Through an Heideggerian lens, the stress will be put on the existential value of dwelling, which is highlighted by the restored church. The second section will focus on the ghostly and uncanny (unheimlich) appearance of the basilica. Thanks to authors such as Derrida and Didi-Huberman, it will be shown that a genius deloci is at work in the site as well, calling into question the different temporalities that animate the basilica. Genius loci and genius deloci will prove as a conceptual couple capable of providing us with an access to the artwork; nevertheless, they will not be understood as a dichotomy, i.e. as mutually exclusive concepts, but as opposite notions that “haunt” each other and that cannot but be used together, in the postmodernist fashion of double-coding.
 
 

The Basilica Ulpia, Early Christian Churches and the Roman Double Truss

ABSTRACTThe most prominent and long-lasting of the timber truss-roofed buildings from imperial Roman times was the Basilica Ulpia, the interior of which has been reconstructed by recent writers but with little agreement regarding the upper sections. The reconstruction that best passes the test of engineering viability is shown here to be the one published by James E. Packer in 1997, but Packer’s reconstruction is unconvincing with regard to the roof. The argument advanced now is that the roof was constructed with double trusses of the kind once found in the early Christian basilicas of Old St Peter’s and San Paolo fuori le Mura, and then recorded in the eighteenth century by Jean-Baptiste Rondelet, which were very similar in size to those used for the Basilica Ulpia. The spacing of roof trusses was determined by the nave column spacing. Engineering analysis determines that the trusses had sufficient capacity to support the roof and that the double-truss arrangement was critical to avoid overloading the stone architraves. The article speculates that doubling the Roman truss may have been a previous innovation. It argues that the later early Christian basilicas relied on the Roman double truss because of its proven performance, and that this continuity was recognised by Auguste Choisy and others who considered their use to be a reflection of earlier Roman practice.

The Veneration of spolia: the Madonna della Colonna in St. Peter’s in Rome

In the context of the history of planning, designing and constructing new St. Peter’s the concepts of renewal and continuity can be insightful. Renewal was the essence of the plans of Pope Julius II (1503-1513) of around 1505, since the wording in documents points to renewal instead of replacing the old church completely: words like reparare et exornare, rehedificare and instaurare were used. When in the early 17th century pope Paul V decided to tear down the remainder of the old basilica, the chapter feared that many of the monuments, altars and tombs in the old basilica would disappear, which would diminish the visibility of the continuity of the basilica and its chapter. One of those objects was the so-called Madonna della Colonna, a fresco of the Virgin and Child painted on the third column on the left in the old basilica. This miracle-working image became increasingly popular in the last quarter of the 16th century was officially recognized when in 1578 an altar was installed to direct the cult. This underlines the situation where the remaining eastern part of Old St. Peter’s still functioned as the important basilica, while to the west the new building was gradually being constructed. Both the history of planning and designing the renewal of St. Peter’s and the continuous functioning of the remaining eastern part of the early Christian basilica shows that both renewal and continuity were crucial here. One of the elements judged necessary to ensure continuity was the Madonna della Colonna, which was thus transferred to a new altar in new St. Peter’s.

The LA3M Archaeological Mission in Yereruyk. Main results from the 2009-2016 campaigns

The LA3M Laboratory of Aix Marseille University (France), in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Armenian Academy, represented on the ground by the Regional Museum of Shirak, has carried out, from 2009 to 2016, an archaeological survey of the early Christian and medieval site of Yereruyk. The project was aimed at a multidisciplinary approach of the complex, combining armenology, history of art and architecture, building archaeology, classic archaeology, archaeological anthropology, and geo-archaeology.One of the purposes was to better understand the reasons why such a large ensemble had been established in a space now deprived, at the northwestern tip of the country. The complex includes the vestiges of several buildings, among which an early Christian basilica, a vaulted construction which served perhaps as a mausoleum, the remains of a “false rampart”, and of a series of parallel walls corresponding, at a certain period, to a dam, two underground halls, and numerous fragments of sculpted stones. A special attention was paid to the basilica and to the cemetery, where twenty-seven tombs were studied in detail. Another objective was to try to clarify the absolute and relative dating of the main buildings, as well as the function of many of them, which was still unclear. The mission also sought to specify the relationship which must have existed around the year one thousand between the religious complex and the medieval capital Ani, from which it is only some kilometers away.

Liturgy, Space, and Community in the Basilica Julii (Santa Maria in Trastevere)

The Basilica Julii (also known as titulus Callisti and later as Santa Maria in Trastevere) provides a case study of the physical and social conditions in which early Christian liturgies 'rewired' their participants. This paper demonstrates that liturgical transformation was a two-way process, in which liturgy was the object as well as the agent of change. Three essential factors - the liturgy of the Eucharist, the space of the early Christian basilica, and the local Christian community - are described as they existed in Rome from the fourth through the ninth centuries. The essay then takes up the specific case of the Basilica Julii, showing how these three factors interacted in the concrete conditions of a particular titular church. The basilica's early Christian liturgical layout endured until the ninth century, when it was reconfigured by Pope Gregory IV (827-844) to bring the liturgical sub-spaces up-to-date. In Pope Gregory's remodeling the original non-hierarchical layout was replaced by one in which celebrants were elevated above the congregation, women were segregated from men, and higher-ranking lay people were accorded places of honor distinct from those of lesser stature. These alterations brought the Basilica Julii in line with the requirements of the ninth-century papal stational liturgy. The stational liturgy was hierarchically organized from the beginning, but distinctions became sharper in the course of the early Middle Ages in accordance with the expansion of papal authority and changes in lay society. Increasing hierarchization may have enhanced the transformational power of the Eucharist, or impeded it.
 Keywords: S. Maria in Trastevere, stational liturgy, tituli, presbyterium.
 On cover:Monks singing the Office and decorated initial A[sperges me.]. Gradual Olivetan Master (Use of the Olivetan Benedictines), illuminated manuscript on parchment ca. 1430-1439. Italy, Monastero di Santa Maria di Baggio near Milan, Ca 1400-1775.Beinecke Ms1184: The olivetan Gradual. Gradual. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Revealing Mithras’ Color with the ICVBC Mobile Lab in the Museum

The National Museum of Rome has an important collection of Mithraic sculptures found in the years 1973–1975 during the archaeological excavation under the early Christian basilica of Santo Stefano Rotondo on the Caelian hill in Rome. The sculptures excavated from this Mithraeum show many traces of gilding and polychromy, whose best example is the great bas-relief with Mithras slaying the bull discussed in this work. The analysis was conducted during a scientific campaign in the museum with portable instrumentation of the Institute for Conservation and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage, ICVBC mobile laboratory following a completely non-invasive approach. By means of a protocol based on the use of multispectral imaging, microscopy, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), this study allowed to better understand the technique used and to make comparisons with other representations of Mithras slaying the bull.

Tracing ancient fingerlines: Applying micro-XRF to signatures on Laconian roof tiles in Late Antique Arethousa, Paliambela (Greece)

This study uses chemical analysis (micro-XRF) to study a group of ceramic roof tiles from the Early Christian basilica in Paliambela (N Greece) that carry a number of different fingerline signatures, in order to collect compositional data on the provenance of the tile materials. It analyses the interrelatedness of the signatures and discusses alternatives for their meanings. Based on the results of the chemical composition of the tiles, the fingerline signatures on the roof tiles seem to be related to the internal workings of a single workshop, as opposed to representing different workshops.

La chiesa canonicale di San Giorgio (Sant'Elena) nel complesso della cattedrale di Verona: qualche riflessione sulla fabbrica Carolingia e sulle trasformazioni di epoca romanica

Next to the northern side of the cathedral of Verona was built, during the Carolingian period and in connection with the remains of two early Christian basilicas, the canonical church of Saint Geor...

Symbolism of the architectural space in early Christian basilicas in the Odessos region

After accepting the Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, the construction of temples serving the new faith began. Church chroniclers claim that Odessos is one of the first cities in Lower Moesia to accept Christianity. The significance of the city as an Episcopal center is confirmed by the found of over ten early Christian basilicas on its territory. The Early Christian Basilica in the Odessos region experienced its prosperity in the IV-VI century. The open basilicas are of two types - a basilica with a wooden roofed roof ("Hellenistic" type) and an arched basilica. In a symbolic aspect the holy building is a space that is a real image of the inhabitants as an inner space used by man and it is the most immediate form of expression of his personality or in the case of the general consciousness.

Rimske komunikacije u sjeveroistočnoj Bosni sa posebnim osvrtom na novootkrivenu dionicu puta na planini Bišini / Roman roads in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina with a focus on newly discovered road section on the mountain Bišina

In this paper we are processing a newly discovered Roman road which is located on the mountain Bisina, in the northeast Bosnia. The road is paved with large stone blocks and it’s long about 2,2 km. Approximate road width is about 2,5 and 3,5 meters. Namely, it is very difficult to determine the exact width because the curbs are missing on both sides of the road, while in some places the Roman road is partially covered with layers of soil. One local Roman road, visible in a length of about 550 m. connected the Roman settlement formed around Gradina in the village of Mramorka, where an early Christian basilica was discovered, with the mentioned Roman route. The remains of the Roman roads on Bišina can not be identified, based on written and epigraphic sources, with some of already confirmed Roman roads. Nevertheless, mentioned road can be approximately integrated into the network of Roman roads on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In my opinion, this direction is a continuation of the road that led from Salona to the interior of Dalmatia. It is the road that has been made during the administration of Publius Cornelius Dolabella, who connected the capital of the province of Dalmatia with the settlement of HE [....?] ASTEL [....?] DAESITATIVM. Findings on the ground indicated that one sequel of this Roman road has lead to the north. The assumed direction of the Roman road is: Breza / Dabravina – mountain Zvijezda – Konjuh – Kaštijelj – Bišina – Pantelići – Šeher – Matkovac – Caparde – Kulina – southeastern slopes Majevica – the valley of the river Sapna. This direction was the shortest communication between Salona and Sirmium. The discovery of the Roman road on the Bišina Mountain is very important because it indicates that inaccessible mountain massifs, which are now uninhabited and difficult to pass, were not an obstacle for the Romans during the construction of roads, as previously believed. Also, the discovery of the road indicates that we are still so far from the complete reconstruction of the Roman road network in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Internal arrangements in some early Christian basilicas of the eastern Mediterranean

This paper would suggest how -despite the apparent resemblance- the perception of the interior of three aisled basilicas were very different to each other; this is because there were different categories of clerics and faithfuls and who were asked to follow certain paths or/and to hold a certain position before or during the celebrations. These positions or common movements were driven by the presence of fixed or mobile separations and certain liturgical furnishings such as ambos and secondary tables. Consequently, the various positions, together with the disparate revetments used into the spaces derived from these divisions and their degree of brightness, could completely change the perception of the inner space of the different categories of the faithful who moved in these spaces.

Augustine's Attack on Apocalypticism

Augustine's Attack on Apocalypticism Bernard McGinn The Roman city of Salona, the birthplace of the Emperor Diocletian, is on the Dalmatian coast not far from Split in modern Croatia. The city boasts the remains of no less than three early Christian basilicas. The ruins of the fifth-century church of St. Domnius, the local martyr and patron, still contains the remains of the original lintel stone, which has the inscription "Deus noster propitious esto rei publicae romanae" ("May our God be favorable to the Roman State"), a phrase that is an apt summation of the providential theology of history linking the destinies of Rome and Christianity. This lucky survival is a striking coincidence because it was to Hesychius, the early fifth-century bishop of Salona, that Augustine of Hippo addressed one of his two most extensive treatments of the end of history, the treatise De fine mundi, or Letter 199.1 The other major treatment, of course, is in the De civitate Dei, especially books 18–20, which deal with temporal eschatology.2 [End Page 775] Augustine's theology of history, more than two decades in the making, was crafted to respond to two popular fourth-century views that attempted to deal with one of the most remarkable changes in Western society of the previous two millennia: Constantine's conversion and the subsequent growing alliance between the Roman Empire and the Christian Church.3 Thus, in slightly more than a century (303–427 CE), three major Christian theologies of history were created. The first was due primarily to Constantine's court theologian, Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. 260–340), while the second was the work of the Christian rhetor Lactantius (ca. 250–325), who educated Constantine's son, Crispus. The Eusebian imperial theology of history was providentialist and optimistic, even messianic, in its view of Constantinian Rome as the fulfillment of prophetic texts of both the Old and the New Testaments. In his Divinae institutiones, Lactantius, on the other hand, took a pessimistic view of the future of the Roman Empire by combining elements of early Christian apologetics and apocalyptic expectations into a new synthetic format. Augustine was familiar with the writings of these two theologians4 and, at least up to about 400, shared some of their views. But the bishop's maturing thought on the nature of temporality,5 his explorations of the proper exegesis of scriptural prophecy, and his meditations on the shock of the sack of Rome in 410 led him away from what he came to think of as facile solutions to the meaning of history,6 hence the long composition of the De civitate Dei (ca. 413–427) and his epistolary exchange with Hesychius around 418–419. I will [End Page 776] look at Augustine's responses to Eusebian providentialism and to the apocalypticism of Lactantius and those who believed that the Bible provided a clear and predictable account of the course of history and its imminent end, especially his response to the latter.7 To see how Augustine positioned himself in the great fourth-century debate over sacred history, we can start with a brief account of his reaction to the imperial theology of history pioneered by Eusebius.8 From the late second century on, Christian thinkers had begun trying to fit the sacred history of the Bible into the secular chronology of classical historians in order to demonstrate the greater antiquity of God's people and to show the superiority of the Christian view of universal history based on the centrality of the Incarnation.9 The creation of a Christian theology of history involved first of all establishing a framework for universal history, something that Eusebius worked out in his Chronica, a book that became the basic source for world history for centuries to come.10 In the second place, such a theology required a theological vindication of God's providential plan for salvation, especially in the last age initiated by Jesus Christ. This was something Eusebius explored in several works, but especially his Historia ecclesiastica. Throughout his writings, notably in his Vita Constantini and De laudibus Constantini (the Tricennial orations of 335/336), Eusebius lauds the manifest destiny...

Romani et Barbari in der Keszthely-Kultur

In the light of new, well-documented excavations, the Keszthely culture can be divided into two distinct phases. The first phase flourished in the last third of the sixth century and the earlier seventh century, and its centre can be located to the Fenékpuszta fort. The grave goods suggest that in addition to a surviving late antique population, we can reckon with the presence of Balkanic and north Italian population groups who fled to the Avars in the face of the Slavic advance as well as with smaller Germanic groups who had joined the Avars in the hope of booty. The burial rites and the continued use of the Early Christian basilica at Fenékpuszta suggest that this population was Christian. The Fenékpuszta fort was destroyed around 630 and it remained unoccupied for some two decades. The elite disappeared. New cemeteries were opened around the mid-seventh century. The westward expansion of the Avar Khaganate led to the isolation of the population of the late Keszthely culture. In addition to typical late Avar material, the finds of this population include jewellery items and various costume accessories that are only known from the Keszthely area. Both phases warrant the use of the label “culture”. The first settlement of the culture’s late phase was investigated at Hévízdomb, where both sunken and above-ground timber-framed houses were excavated.

The Astronomical Orientation of Ancient Greek Theatres in Relation to the Topography and the Greek Mythology

The study of the astronomical orientation of monuments in Greece has been strengthened over the last decade by the development and application of contemporary methods of measurement and analysis. The study has highlighted important findings related to monuments from the Antiquity up to the modern era. This study includes monuments of the classical antiquity, early Christian basilicas, Byzantine temples and mosques. However, an equally important Monument category is the ancient theatres. These monuments due to both their size and usefulness became the subject of study in this paper. This paper presents the results of a systematic research concerning the determination of the astronomical orientation of six ancient theatres in Greece. At the same time, the interpretation of their orientation and their possible relation to the mythology, the position and movement of constellations and the topography of their site is also studied. The geometric data produced with modern accurate methods of measurement and analysis certainly contributes to a more thorough study and interpretation of the placement and orientation of such large ancient constructions. This systematic research is carried out for six of the most important theatres in Greece. These are the ancient theatres of Dionysus, Delphi, Epidaurus, Ancient Epidaurus, Argos and Sicyon.

The Study of the Early Byzantine Architecture of Chersonesos in the Сrimea: Progress or Dead End?

The Early Christian basilicas of Chersonesos in the Crimea have been studied for over a century and a half. There are about 20 monuments known today; almost all of them were discovered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite this, they remain poorly studied. Anatolij L. Yakobson’s book “Early Medieval Chersonesos” (1959) remains the only generalizing work in which the architecture, the mosaic and marble decor of the churches are examined together and in the context of the history of the city. This outcome is due largely to the way in which Chersonesos has been studied. During the last decades of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, the main role was played by the St Petersburg Archaeological Commission. Unfortunately, it never succeeded in assigning professional archaeologists and architects to the works in Chersonesos. Because of this, we don’t have exact information regarding the current location of many of the finds; also absent is a precise documentation (plans, secti...

Раннехристианские базилики Северной Далмации и островов Кварнера: проблемы типологии

Раннехристианские базилики Северной Далмации и островов Кварнера: проблемы типологии