Renate Rosenthal-Heginbottom

Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Israel Antiquities Authority, Israel

The so-called “gesture of blessing” — the raised right hand with the palm turned outward — is open to a number of interpretations, depending on the cultural and religious context in which it occurs. It is very ancient and persists until the present day in the visual arts. When excavating at Dura Europos Franz Cumont described it as the ‘ritual gesture of the ancient Semites’; most scholars refer to the gesture of blessing while others define it as gesture of omnipotence, prayer, reverence, plea and wish for protection. Different interpretations will arise from the archaeological evidence with regard to religion and cult, ethnicity, social status and target group.
The areas I shall focus on are Syria, the Nabatean realm, the Parthian Empire, the Byzantine Empire, Egypt and South Arabia. At first glance, it is primarily the Roman political koine and later Christian art which ties these areas together. Stone sculpture and reliefs, sarcophagi, mosaics and wall paintings, clay and bronze figurines, cosmetic containers and coins will be presented and discussed. Male and female divinities, their worshipers, priests, saints, royal and high ranking personalities as well as common people and the deceased are represented within diverse ethnic, religious and social groups in sacral, funerary and domestic contexts. Roman and Christian emperors are often depicted with the raised right hand well into the Middle Ages. The place of this gesture in Christian iconography is well-­documented; it became a predominant gesture as sign of blessing of the Roman Catholic, Greek and Russian Orthodox churches.

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Svetlana Tarkhanova

Research Institute of Theory and History of Architecture and Urban Planning, Russia

The practice of the secondary use of the Graeco-Roman details is well known in plenty of churches of the Late Antique period in Rome, Constantinople, Asia Minor and the Near East. Although it had its prehistory in the art of the Ancient world, it was mostly popular during the Early Byzantine period, as never before. The problem of spolia adaptation in ecclesiastical architecture is well studied, which cannot be said about the research on synagogues. Yet, there were some particular principles and meanings in this parallel branch of architecture. The difference between the two traditions is shown on the basis of the analysis of architectural and decorative features of several churches (Cathedral in Hippos-Sussita, Heptapegon) and several synagogues (Capernaum, Horazim, Baram, Umm-Qanatir). I propose new theories concerning the direct sources, wherefrom Christian builders took the parts for their buildings (columns, capitals, slabs). As soon as the churches are concerned, in aesthetical interpretation of spolia I completely agree with two main ideas of Deichmann and Krautheimer, though they are different (economic reasons and the “rennaissance of antiquity”). As far as the synogagues are concerned, the situation was different: the use of spolia was forbidden, with the exception of the deserted synagogues. Whenever inspite of the ban this practice was used, Graeco-Roman details served as a camerton for the whole architectural ensemble and its decoration. In my view, this phenomenon was formed for several historical and religious reasons. I suppose that it emerged in the time of Julian the Apostate and was conditioned by the complicated self-identification as opposed to the dominating Christianity.

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Haluk Cetinkaya

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Turkey

This work aims at shedding light on excavating an ancient site and post excavation stage: how to restore, expose, and protect the site.
The ancient city of Ulpiana is located approximately 2 kilometres from Gracanica and 12 kilometres from Prishtina city center.
The first Turkish excavations in Europe under my supervision yielded enormous results for Ulpiana within three years between 2012–2014 . Discovery of the large Early Christian church (approximately 20 × 40 metres) with floor mosaics and baptistery were the biggest structures ever discovered in the history of Ulpiana. The church was most probably dedicated to Saints Florus and Laurus who were martyred here.
To excavate is one part of the work but the second part is how to protect the site and expose it. With a limited budget, provided by Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University of Istanbul, excavations were carried out. Locals, who are walking only twenty meters away from the excavation site as they go from one village to the other, are curious of the excavations. The major objective is to inform the locals about the work and its significance in order to have public support. It is impossible for a lay person to visualize how the structures originally looked. For that reason, original appearances of both the baptistery and the church have been made. Upon receiving approval of the local administrators they will be put on display. That may raise public awareness and once locals feel they are not kept out of the circle they may contribute to the site protection. Another important question is, what the significance of the excavated site is and why it needs to be protected. Because of financial difficulties, excavation sites generally do not have enough protection both from nature and from human activities. Ulpiana is not an exception. By excavating, we shed light on human history, on the other hand, disturb the order of current life. By unearthing the monuments and discovering small items enormous information is gathered, but what will happen to the site is the problem. Balance is the key issue. As long as the benefits are far more bigger than potential damages, excavations should be carried out. The most difficult questions are: how to judge before excavating if it is worth excavating and what benefits the excavations bring to the locals?

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Valeria Kuvatova

Russian State University for the Humanities, Russia

This study attempts to examine the distinguishing iconographic features of the painting ensemble of the so-called Exodus Chapel in the Early Christian necropolis Al-Bagawat (Egypt). Some of the extant Early Christian funerary painting ensembles to be found in the late Roman Empire represent a basis for the comparative analysis.
The Exodus Chapel painting is dated to the second half of the 4th century AD. Its iconographic program represents an unusual phenomenon in the history of the Early Christian art. The Al-Bagawat necropolis is located in Kharga Oasis in South-West Egypt, far from the main routes of the Christian cultural expansion. The Exodus Chapel forms part of a very short list of the earliest extant Christian monuments in Egypt. Despite the poor quality of painting, the iconographic program of the Chapel is amazingly sophisticated and unconventional. It comprises generic visual symbols of the late antique vita felix; some Early Christian scenes ubiquitous in the Roman Empire; some regionally specific subjects and the rare scenes found in a few other Early Christian monuments culturally and geographically remote from Al-Bagawat.
The Exodus Chapel does not enjoy extensive scientific attention, the results of scanty studies being rather contradictory in terms of the interpretation of the symbolic scenes. Moreover, the painting ensemble is hardly regarded as such, and the analysis is usually focused on the comparison of the isolated scenes to their iconographic matches. No attempt has been made to compare the painting ensemble of the Exodus Chapel to other extant Early Christian painting ensembles. The present study attempts to address this particular gap in the previous researches and to compare the painting program of the former to the programs of such monuments as the synagogue and the baptistery of Dura Europos domus ecclesiae, the cubicula O and C in the Via Latina catacombs, the Chapel of Peace in Al-Bagawat.

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