4care-artefacts – 4care

4CARE-ARTEFACTS

ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID	1453
TM ID	TM 119961
Findspot (DEChriM ID)	44 (al-Iskandariyya)
Class	Textual
Material	Stone, Plaster
Writing medium	Dipinto, Inscription
Text content	Documentary
Language	Greek
Description	IGChrEg 33 a-g: Seven inscriptions from the Christian Catacombs of Alexandria The now-ruined Christian funerary crypt still showed traces of numerous illustrations, some with legends. The legible inscriptions were fragmentary, and a selection of seven (a-g) was included in Lefebvre 1907. In vestibule F: • a): On the right-hand panel of a three-part fresco located in the apse (G), the legend below three figures reclining while eating (accumbentes) reads τὰς εὐλογίας τοῦ Χ[ριστο]ῦ ἐσθίοντες. The scene was assumed to depict the Eucharist. • b): A figure is painted on each side of the entryway leading into room H. One of the two is an angel accompanied by the legend ]ουδιλ[…] σοφια ιησους χριστος (nomina sacra ΙϹ ΧϹ with supralinear stroke). In arcosolium K: • c): Beneath a figure crushing two snakes (assumed to be either Mary or Jesus), the legend reads ἐπὶ ἀσπίδα και βασιλίσκον ἐπιβήσῃ (Psalm 90,13). • d): Close to c), an inscription above a figure (Mary?) reads [Χριστι]ανῶν ἐλπίς. In arcosolium I: • e): A large cross pattée containing ΙϹ ΧϹ ΝΙ ΚΛ (or ΚΑ = ιησους χριστος νικα) between each of its arms. In arcosolium L: • f): A previous layer of stucco is visible, which contained an inscription on several lines. Μ[…]ΧΟ ΤΟΝ ΑΜΑΡ[τωλόν?] Ϲ ΚΟϹΜΟ[ is legible. • g): A painted scroll, held by a depiction of John the Baptist in the corner, reads Φ[ωνὴ] βοῶντο[ς] ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ • ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδό[ν] Κ[υρίο]υ, εὐθ[ε]ίας ποιε[ῖτε (Matthew 3,3 or Mark 1,3). Wescher 1864 notes the iotacism εὐθίας for ἐυθείας.
Selection criteria	Literary genre (Biblical), Christian terms/formulas/concepts, Christian symbols/gestures/isopsephy, Nomina sacra, Archaeological context associated with Christian markers
Date from	200
Date to	399
Dating criteria	Archaeology of the find site; Christian context.
Absolute/relative date	Relative date
Archaeological context	The Christian funerary chapel in which the inscriptions were placed was discovered in the plateau between Karmūz and Mīnā al-Baṣal in 1858, and visited by Néroutsos (1860) and Wescher (1864). Of the Christian catacombs dug in the West of the plateau, this chapel was the only one not destroyed by rock mining, spared by order of the government (see Néroutsos 1875). It deteriorated already during the 19th c. and is today ruined. As pointed out by de Rossi 1965a, several layers of stucco were superimposed on top of each other. These multiple stages of decoration indicate a use over several generations.
Accession number	Lost

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editio princeps
• Lefebvre, Gustave. 1907. Recueil des Inscriptions Grecques-Chrétiennes d’Egypte. Cairo: Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale. 7-8, No. 33 a-g.

Additional bibliography (in chronological order)
• Wescher, Carle [Carl]. 1864. “Rapport sur la Mission Accomplie en Egypte.” In Archives Des Missions Scientifiques Et Littéraires. Choix de Rapports et Instructions. Tome 1, Série 2. Paris: Imprimerie Impériale. 179-191: 190.
• de Rossi, Giovanni Battista. 1864. “Notizie.” Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana. Del Cav. Giovanni Battista de Rossi 2(11): 88.
• Wescher, Carl and Giovanni Battista de Rossi. 1865. “Un ipogeo cristiano antichissimo di Alessandria in Egitto.” Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana. Del Cav. Giovanni Battista de Rossi 3(8). 57-61.
• de Rossi, Giovanni Battista. 1865a. “Commento sulla precedente relazione del ch. sig. Wescher.” Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana. Del Cav. Giovanni Battista de Rossi 3(8): 61-64.
• de Rossi, Giovanni Battista. 1865b. “I simboli dell’Eucaristia nelle pitture dell’ipogeo scoperto in Alessandria d’Egitto.” Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana. Del Cav. Giovanni Battista de Rossi 3(10): 73-77.
• de Rossi, Giovanni Battista. 1866. “Nuove osservazioni sul nome d’una delle immagini dipinte nella catacomba d’Alessandria scoperte dal Wescher, ossie le lucerne istoriche della chiesa alessandrina.” Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana. Del Cav. Giovanni Battista de Rossi 4(5): 72.
• Néroutsos-Bey, Tassos. 1875. “Séance du 30 Avril 1875.” Bulletin de l’Institut Egyptien 13 (Année 1874–1875). 207-237: 208-222.
• Néroutsos-Bey, Tassos. 1888. L’Ancienne Alexandrie. Etude Archéologique et Topographique. Paris: Leroux. 42-51.

Authors

Victoria G. D. Landau, 2022

Suggested citation

Victoria G. D. Landau, 2022, "Artefact ID 1453", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/1453

Json data

External links

TM 119961 PHI – IGChrEg 33 a-g (ed. Lefebvre)

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