Mitteilungen zur Christlichen Archäologie, Band 28 (2022)
No.:
28
Year of the volume:
2022
1. Auflage, 2022
The journal “Mitteilungen zur Christlichen Archäologie” was founded in 1995 and is published regularly once a year. In addition to the – on average – five scientific articles on topics relating to Christian archaeology, in the broadest possible sense and in the context of classical archaeology, ancient history, art history, Byzantine studies, classical philology and religious studies, it also provides bibliographies of works on Late Antiquity and Christian archaeology in Austria (with an appendix on late antique / early Christian Ephesos). Since Volume 9 (2003), an electronic version of the journal has also been published. Its primary objective is an international orientation, i.e. disseminating new results from research in the discipline of Christian archaeology around the globe. Another aspect is supporting the next generation of researchers. The articles, written in German, English, French and Italian, are written by authors from around the world. Because of the topic of research, the regional focus is on the European and Mediterranean regions, but it is not limited to these areas.
This time we start with two catacombs, the Generosa Catacomb in Rome and the complex of Wignacourt 17 (St Paul's Grotto Complex) in Rabat (Malta). The third contribution deals with archaeological evidence for the cult of relics in the Holy Land, the fourth with probably the oldest archaeologically verifiable diakonia in Ephesus. Then follow the two Pannonian saints (Quirinus and Martin) and their reception in Savaria/Szombathely and, as always, the bibliography on Late Antiquity and Christian Archaeology in Austria (with an appendix on Late Antique-Early Christian Ephesus).
Details
Il pastore di Generosa. Il restauro dell’arcosolio dipinto nel coemeterium ad Sextum Philippi sulla via Portuense
A painted arcosolium in the Roman Catacomb of Generosa, in the Magliana district, was interested by an accurate restoration project, necessary because of a critical water infiltration. The restoration revealed a clear figurative program – already known to Giovanni Battista de Rossi and to Enrico Josi – that shows the stylistic data and the pictorial material typical of the repertoire of the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth century. The scenes of Abraham’s sacrifice depicted on the front and the female praying figure in the lunette are today lost, and the restoration had returned to light the decorations of both sides, that show respectively a shepherd with the syrinx, labelled as Pastor, and an elaborate bucolic scene. The color range, the iconographical project and the characteristic of the style allow us to reflect on the “colored” art of Theodosian-Valentinian era, considered together with the contemporary production of sarcophagi of high patronage and looking to West and East, to Rome and Constantinople.
Keywords: Late Antiquity, Catacombs of Generosa, Theodosian Art, Punic-roman tombs, Catacombs Wall-Paintings, Shepherd, Syrinx
Fabrizio Bisconti
Page 9 - 26 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/micha28s9
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Wignacourt’s Complex 17: An Assessment of New Tombs and Hypogea
It is a well-known fact that the area of Rabat occupying what was once the extra-mural zone of ancient Melite is strewn with burials spanning a long period of use from the Punic, all the way to the Late Roman and Byzantine periods. It is thus no surprise that more and more complexes keep being discovered periodically. This paper will discuss the discovery of a group of burials and features within one of the most prominent complexes, the St Paul’s Grotto Complex, now known as the Wignacourt. This work will take us through how the site was discovered, investigated and finally discussed and interpreted using the limited documentation available.
Keywords: Late Roman and Byzantine hypogea, ancient Melite, St Paul’s Grotto complex, Punic-roman tombs
David Cardona
Page 27 - 44 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/micha28s27
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Archäologische Zeugnisse für den Reliquienkult im Heiligen Land
With the emergence of Christianity in Late Antiquity, a growing devotion of martyrs and saints as well as the cult of their relics spread in the Mediterranean area. A privileged focus of this phenomenon was the Holy Land, where many sacred bodily remains were identified, and then exported in the entire Christian oecumene, thereby becoming an instrument for the dissemination of the cults of saints. Indeed, bones and holy ashes were the prominent objects of veneration, and many churches and sanctuaries were equipped with special liturgical furnishings designed to accommodate the venerated relics. The archaeological evidence of these sacred spaces reveals that a common pattern of strategies was employed by Late Antique churches to place and arrange the sacred fragments they possessed. In order to understand their forms, locations and veneration systems, as well as their use and functioning, the aim of this paper is to pay special attention to the typological definition of the reliquaries found in the churches of the provinces of Palaestina and Arabia. The sacred installations that allowed the visual contact with relics will then be analysed to point out how these holy remains had a peculiar role in framing the liturgical and devotional space of the ecclesiastical buildings. A particular emphasis will be given to the results of the most recent archaeological excavations carried out in the region under examination.
Keywords: Relics, Holy Land, Early Christian Architecture, Liturgical Installations, Christian Devotion
Page 45 - 65 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/micha28s45
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Die älteste archäologisch nachweisbare Diakonie? Neue Überlegungen zum Baubefund der Insula M/1 in Ephesos
Following the results of D. Boulasikis and H. Taeuber, who recently presented the archaeological remains of a Christian diaconia within Insula M/1 in the current journal, this article discusses the early Byzantine charitable institution in its broader context. In comparison to medieval diaconiae, best known from Rome and Constantinople today, and the urban development of the metropolis of Ephesus at the turn of the 5th century AD, the article points to the special position of the Ephesian diaconia as probably the oldest archaeologically attested diaconia of the eastern Mediterranean – yet still scarcely noticed by the scientific community.
Keywords: Ephesus, Christian charity services, diaconia, urban development, Christian sacral topography
Page 66 - 90 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/micha28s66
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Der Heilige Quirinus von Siscia und der Heilige Martin in Savaria/Stein am Anger/Szombathely
The present article not only traces the life of the two Pannonian saints Quirinus and Martin in ancient Savaria, but also demonstrates their presence in the modern city of Szombathely. Unfortunately, many questions remain unanswered, such as the translation of Quirinus to Rome or the localisation of a basilica at the porta Scarabatensis. A German translation of the Acta Beati Quirini Episcopi et Martyris is presented for the first time (in the appendix). St. Martin’s birthplace cannot be located in the cemetery extra muros, which is why the walls found under the apse of St. Martin’s Chapel by I. Paulovics are probably not the remains of the house where St. Martin was born, but ruther the remnant of the Basilica of Quirinus. In spite of the dense city population today, one can only hope for future excavations.
Keywords: St. Quirinus, St. Martin, Savaria, Szombathely, antiquity reception
Page 91 - 118 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/micha28s91
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Bibliografie zur Spätantike und Christlichen Archäologie in Österreich (mit einem Anhang zum spätantik-frühchristlichen Ephesos). 2021 erschienene Publikationen und Nachträge
Page 119 - 122 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/micha28s119
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Mitarbeiter/innen dieses Bandes
Page 123 - 123
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Edition:
978-3-7001-9306-7, Journal, softcover, 08.11.2022
Edition:
978-3-7001-9307-4, eJournal, Digital, 08.11.2022
Edition:
1. Auflage
Pages:
122 Pages
Format:
29,7x21cm
Images:
numerous colour and b/w images
Language:
German, English, Italian
DOI (Link to Online Edition):