Papers in English by Dmitry Karelin
in: C. Sebastian Sommer, Suzana Matešić (eds.) Limes XXIII: Proceedings of the 23rd International Limes Congress Ingolstadt 2015 Akten Des 23. Internationalen Limeskongresses in Ingolstadt 2015. Nünnerich-Asmus Verlag, 2018
The main aim of the paper is to study the architectural features of late Roman fortresses in Egyp... more The main aim of the paper is to study the architectural features of late Roman fortresses in Egypt and to discuss several problems concerning their peculiarities on the examples of the authors’ 3D reconstructions. The preservation of the Roman fortresses in Egypt in whole is worse than in other provinces of the Empire. The most of them preserved only at the level of foundation and the large part of their territories is covered by modern Egyptian cities and villages. The best way to imagine how they could look is to carefully examine the ruins, to compare them with the better preserved fortresses in the other parts of the Roman world and to make their 3D reconstruction.
The paper includes the authors' 3D reconstructions of several fortresses (or their structures) of different types: Luxor, Babylon, Nag el-Hagar, Dionysias and some smaller late forts at Kharga oasis. We think that these examples give the opportunity to discuss several important problems concerning their architecture and construction methods. One of them is a supposition about the walls height in the fortresses for comitates. The question is why some of them could have lower walls (Luxor, Nag el-Hagar) than others (Babylon) and than several smaller forts for auxiliary troops (for example Umm el-Dabadib). Another point is the search of analogies for some architectural elements (arrow slits, parapets) and fortress structures (walls, towers, barracks etc). Next interesting question concerns the gates construction and using the special courts and portcullis in them. Traces of such courts were found in many fortresses in Egypt, while portcullis for sure was used at Babylon fortress and possibly at the Nag el-Hagar western gate. The traces of different building stages with their own architectural peculiarities in some forts are also of particular interest. The discussion on these points and problems gives opportunity to understand the Roman military architecture in Egypt better.
VIRTUAL ARCHAEOLOGY (from Air, on Earth, under Water and at Museum) Proceedings of the International Forum held at the State Hermitage Museum 28–30 May 2018, 2018
This paper is dedicated to the virtual reconstruction of the Late Roman fortress of Babylon, loca... more This paper is dedicated to the virtual reconstruction of the Late Roman fortress of Babylon, located in the district now known as Old Cairo. The fortress has been explored and recorded since the end of the nineteenth century. From the 1990s onwards archaeological investigations have accompanied conservation work and the lowering of the groundwater level in the area, and the results of this work have been published.
Babylon was a typical Diocletianic fortress for Field Army, however it displayed a number of unique features:
• it was constructed over the earlier Trajanic-era stone harbour at Babylon where the Amnis Trajanus joined the Nile. The entrance to the canal was flanked by the massive round towers of the Diocletianic fortress.
• archaeological and historical evidence indicates that a bridge over the Nile led to the western gate of the fortress.
• the massive size and strength of the fortifications were much more solid than those of any other Diocletianic fortresses in Egypt.
The recent archaeological work has shown that much of the southern part of fortress survives today below ground. Above ground the southern gatehouse is preserved largely intact, with the Coptic ‘Hanging Church’ (Al-Mu’allaqa) built over it. The two round towers also survive, one of them within the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George (Mari Girgis).
The aim of the reconstruction is to show the architectural and constructional peculiarities of the southern gatehouse and of the round towers flanking the Amnis Trajanus, and also to present the possible view of the fortress from the Nile. Another special aim is both to classify the corpus of the sources and to show the connection between each source and the reconstruction’s argumentation is visually shown.
Proceedings of the XI International Congress of Egyptologists Florence Egyptian Museum Florence, 23-30 August 2015
The poster was dedicated to the analysis of some architectural features of the Roman imperial cul... more The poster was dedicated to the analysis of some architectural features of the Roman imperial cult temple at Luxor and facts which could show the connection between the temple’s architecture and ancient Egyptian culture. This temple was founded inside the principia of the fortress built around the ancient Egyptian temple at Luxor. The architects used the principles which were common in the architecture of the Tetrarchy. However, they had to solve complex tasks to integrate the new temple into the ancient one with maximal efficiency. Furthermore they were able to use some principles of Ancient Egyptian architecture in this. A 3D reconstruction of the Roman temple is also presented.
Proceedings of the XI International Congress of Egyptologists Florence Egyptian Museum Florence, 23-30 August 2015
The main aim of this contribution is to study architectural features of Late Roman fortresses in ... more The main aim of this contribution is to study architectural features of Late Roman fortresses in Egypt and several problems concerning their peculiarities which are important in terms of their reconstruction. On the whole, preservation of Roman fortresses in Egypt is worse than in other provinces of the Empire. The best way to imagine how they might look is to examine the ruins carefully, compare them with examples that are better preserved, and to make 3D-reconstructions of them. Reconstructions of several fortresses or their structures are presented and these examples provide an opportunity to discuss several important problems concerning their architecture and construction methods.
4th International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on Social Sciences and Arts, 2017
The aim of this article is to demonstrate the significance and theoretical aspects of 3D-reconstr... more The aim of this article is to demonstrate the significance and theoretical aspects of 3D-reconstructions of badly preserved ancient architectural masterpieces for architectural theory and modern architectural practice. The contemporary interpretation of classical architecture is mainly based on the foundation which was created by architects and art historians in the XVIII-XIX centuries. The archaeological discoveries in the first half of the XX century were also important for neoclassic architecture. However modern architectural history is rested on the progress of archaeology which gives new information about badly preserved antique architectural masterpieces. 3D-reconstructions of such monuments based on the modern computer technologies have to increase our conception of ancient architecture and discover the new stratum of Greek and Roman architectural monuments both for architects and for the general public. In the Moscow Institute of Architecture the creation of such reconstructions is a part of educational process and scientific research. The article is accompanied by the author's reconstructions and also with several examples of 3D-reconstructions made by foreign scholars.
Two key points of scientific computer-based 3D reconstructions are the methods of their making an... more Two key points of scientific computer-based 3D reconstructions are the methods of their making and the principles of its visualisation. The discussion about the latter ones is the main aim of the paper. The attention is paid to the modelling methods, aesthetic and didactic demands of such reconstructions. These methods are strongly connected with monuments' features, typology of the reconstructions and their purposes. For example, it could be a reconstruction from specific point of view, a visualisation showing the difference between building stages, a presentation of the important architectural peculiarities of the monument or the type of an architectural object, a visualization of some typical urban or rural environment and so on. The two main points are the selection of view types (from main axonometric or orthographic to particular points of view) and the options of visualization (from hyper realistic renders to schematic views). On the one hand the axonometric view could be the best way to presented main features of a monument by one view. On the other hand the particular point of view could be important to demonstrate the specific peculiarities of a monument and show the real viewpoints seen by the people of that time. The choice between natural, schematic or stylized renders is also connected with the purposes of reconstruction. Furthermore they could give the opportunity to make the graphical visualisation of the reconstruction's argumentation and the degree of its hypothetical character. It enables to use the reconstruction in scientific discussions and as an instrument of verification. The special attention should be paid to the tendency of using the unreal viewpoints unconnected with the architectural peculiarities of the monument as well as in hyperrealism and concentration of the entourage unimportant for presentation of the features of chosen architectural objects.
Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies 2015 (CHNT 20, 2015), 2016
The paper is devoted to the experience of scientific architectural 3D-reconstructions creation wh... more The paper is devoted to the experience of scientific architectural 3D-reconstructions creation which was accumulated in the Moscow Institute of Architecture. The main aim is to demonstrate the reconstruction's typology on the examples of the works made by the authors or under their supervision. It connected with different methods and approaches due to the various tasks. The main method is the historical and architectural analysis of the survived data. This method has been playing the key role in such investigations at the Architecture and Urban History Department more than half a century. During the second half of XX century the traditional instruments for these reconstructions were hand graphics and models of paper. However last 15 years the role of digital technologies for this scientific area was considerably increased and now the making of 3D computer reconstructions is a part of students' yearly essays and theoretical and restoration works of the research fellows as well. The presented reconstructions were made for different scientific tasks. Thereupon the special attention is paid to the necessity of the explanation of the studying object selection. The definition of the criteria of such selection is also very important. The main types of the scientific reconstructions are defined: 1. reconstruction of the original look of a rebuilt edifice, 2. reconstruction of a lost or badly preserved architectural monument, 3. reconstruction of an unrealized project, 4. reconstruction of building stages of an edifice or an ensemble, 5. the reconstruction of architectural and constructional peculiarities of a building or building technology. All these types require the different methodology, approaches and visualization methods.
The architectural decoration of Roman fortresses in Egypt based on the examples of Nag el-Hagar, ... more The architectural decoration of Roman fortresses in Egypt based on the examples of Nag el-Hagar, Luxor, Dionysias and Babylon in Old Cairo is studied in the article. The particular attention in the study is paid to the peculiarities of the orders' compositions and details, its stylistic features and possible prototypes.
The paper is devoted to the supposed image of future Space architecture and analysis of factors w... more The paper is devoted to the supposed image of future Space architecture and analysis of factors which could influence it. In the paper the several examples of new concepts of Space architecture are examined. The main part of futurological concepts which we usually see in movies and TV shows isn't realistic. However there are two clear exceptions - "Interstellar" and "The Martian". The last astronomical discoveries show that there is no chance to visit planets in the other star systems in foreseeable future. However there is the concept by Stephen Hawking to send tiny satellites with weight of around 1 gram to the other star systems using laser as a moving force. On the one hand, even if it will be possible the task to organize human travel to such a distance is much more difficult. On the other hand, there are great dangers for these satellites and larger objects - fast moving small space objects, space radiation from which the Solar system protected by heliosphere etc. All these facts prove that in the foreseeable future mankind will be able to colonize only the Solar system. Several factors are very important for the concepts of Space architecture in the Solar system both in the open space and planets such as Mars, Moon and Europa: the absence of gravitation in the open space and it's another character on the other planets, the necessity to protect the objects from solar radiation and other aggressive factors, the difficulty of the materials delivery and problem of friendliness and comfort of environment for people. We suppose that all of challenges mentioned above will bring to the creating of image of Space architecture. Thousand years ago the human reaction on several challenges formed current face of architecture. For example the necessity to support the weight of tiling roof was one of the factors of order appearance. Now it is possible imagine hypothetically the features of architecture in the space.
This paper is devoted to the study of some architectural principles and types of spatial organisa... more This paper is devoted to the study of some architectural principles and types of spatial organisation that were characteristic of late Roman architecture and expressed some authoritative concepts and later had a great impact on early Christian architecture. A famous art historian A. Grabar proved that many motifs used in late Roman art were influenced by the culture of Near East, which, in turn, influenced early Christian iconography. Before lately the architectural theory was based on the idea by R. Krautheimer and J.B. Ward-Perkins. They thought that the early Christian architecture had no connection at all with late Roman pagan building practice. There are at least three points. Firstly, appearance of halls with apses, typical both for pagan and Christian religious buildings of the 3rd-4th centuries and luxurious palaces and villas of late Roman aristocracy. This tendency could be linked to new political and religious concepts of tetrarchic period. And if we look back, it might also be based on the ideas of ancient Near Eastern kingship. Moreover, the new hierarchical organization of the ruling class that mainly consisted of former military officers was also based on the same ideas. Secondly it is important to examine such an architectural element as the tetrastyle (a four-columned monument usually located on the crossing of the streets of a town or a fortress). It was widely used during the first tetrarchy and was possibly rooted in the idea of concordia – harmony between the four joint rulers. There is a later Christian example of a similar monument built under Justinian with the statues of Evangelists on four triumphal columns. One could suggest that Christians used the tetrarchic iconographical idea for the representation of Evangelists’ figures. It is interesting to note that J. Bogdanovich suggested that this architectural element might have become a prototype for the Christian ciborium. The origin of the latter is of a special interest, and this is the third point of our study. Thanks to a lot of numismatic evidence and numerous masterpieces of Roman art we now know that the baldachin rested on four supports and was covered by a flat roof, a barrel vault or a cupola, and it was one of the symbols of representation of god or a divine ruler. This element might come to Roman culture from architecture of Ancient Egypt or Ancient Near East. The study of these motifs that influenced some peculiarities of early Christian architecture together with authoritative and religious concepts they expressed can be very productive and significant for architectural theory.
The paper is devoted to architectural pequliarities of late Roman principia in Egypt and their po... more The paper is devoted to architectural pequliarities of late Roman principia in Egypt and their possible prototypes.
This work is dedicated to the computer reconstruction of Roman fortress Nag el-Hagar in Egypt. Th... more This work is dedicated to the computer reconstruction of Roman fortress Nag el-Hagar in Egypt. This fortification was situated to the south of Luxor (ancient Thebes), not far from Kom Ombo (ancient Ombos). Apparently the fortress was built during Diocletian’s rule. Its architectural features are similar to other examples of Roman military architecture of the period of tetrarchy in Egypt. We chose Nag el-Hagar for the reconstruction because this fortress is a specimen of the classical Roman castrum which belongs to the period of Diocletian and at the same time it has some original architectural features. The remains of the palace of the Governor or a military commander which we can find inside the fortress are of a great interest to specialists in late Roman architecture. In this work we consider similar examples of late Roman military architecture both in Egypt and throughout the Roman Empire. Their architectural peculiarities give us the idea how the fortress and the palace in Nag el-Hagar could look like. Beside that, we have made an attempt to examine some problems of computer 3D reconstructions in general. This computer reconstruction of Nag el-Hagar shows that a late Roman fortress in Egypt was a majestic ensemble and its architectural and planning features were influenced not only by its military function, but also by the artistic concepts of the late Roman architects who built it.
Papers in Russian by Dmitry Karelin
Аrchitecture and modern information technologies, May 15, 2018
The article is devoted to methods and approaches of the visualization and presentation of 3Drecon... more The article is devoted to methods and approaches of the visualization and presentation of 3Dreconstructions of architectural monuments. Its characteristics versus the aims of the reconstruction are the object of this study. Main theoretical basis of this topic created by Boris Rauschenbach in his research works devoted to visual perception in art. The results of the research is the selection of two different on principle types of visualization images and several
criteria for each type.
Наука, образование и экспериментальное проектирование. Труды МАРХИ: Материалы международной научно-практической конференции 3–7 апреля 2017 г, 2017
The exhibition "Virtual excursion into the past architecture" is described in the paper. The exhi... more The exhibition "Virtual excursion into the past architecture" is described in the paper. The exhibition was prepared as a part of project 15-04-00349 "From a maquette to a virtual model. Scientific reconstruction in the architectural history considering the newest technologies (on the example of "classical" architectural monuments)".
Актуальные проблемы теории и истории искусства : сборник научных статей
The paper is devoted to the experience of developing scientific architectural 3D-reconstruction w... more The paper is devoted to the experience of developing scientific architectural 3D-reconstruction which has been accumulated by the Moscow Institute of Architecture. The main aim is to demonstrate the difference in using several methods and approaches applied to solving various tasks on the examples of the reconstructions made by the authors or under their supervision. The main method is the historical and architectural analysis of survived data. This method has been playing the key role in such investigations by the Architecture and Urban History Department for more than half a century. During the second half of the 20th century, the traditional instruments for these reconstructions were hand graphics and models of paper. However, during last 15 years, the role of digital technologies for this scientific area has considerably increased and now making 3D computer reconstructions is a part of students’ yearly essays and theoretical and restoration works of the research fellows as well. The presented reconstructions were made for different scientific tasks. Thereupon, the special attention has been paid to the necessity of explanation of the studied object selection. The definition of the criteria of such selection is also very important. The main types of scientific reconstructions are defined as follows: 1. reconstruction of the original look of a rebuilt edifice; 2. reconstruction of an unrealized project; 3. reconstruction of a lost or badly preserved architectural monument; 4. reconstruction of building stages of an edifice or an ensemble; 5. reconstruction of architectural and constructional peculiarities of a building or building technology. All of these types require different methodology, approaches, and visualization methods.
The article is devoted to the study of constructional and architectural peculiarities of mausoleu... more The article is devoted to the study of constructional and architectural peculiarities of mausoleums of Maxentium and Tor de' Schiavi and creation of their reconstructions. The main aim is to show spatial structure of the buildings' interior which consists of two connected
elements crypt and upper chamber. The sources, mainly depictions of the monuments made from 16-th to 18-th centuries, let us imagine how did their interiors look and to understand attitude of Renaissance and classic architects to the scheme of a building. This scheme was based on connection of underground crypt with annular vaulting and upper chamber with the cupola.
The article is devoted to the study of a baldachin’s (ciborium’s) evolution.
This process is exam... more The article is devoted to the study of a baldachin’s (ciborium’s) evolution.
This process is examined on the basis of examples from Ancient Egypt to the early Middle Ages, which are well-known due to archaeological and numismatic materials as well as masterpieces of art.
Principia was the central and the most important building of any Roman fortress, where the chapel... more Principia was the central and the most important building of any Roman fortress, where the chapel of standarts, genius castrorum and Roman imperial cult were situated. The aim of the article is to study the architectural peculiarities of these monuments which could be connected with the rising of the Roman imperial cult’s role in the second half of the 3rd century. Undoubtedly this process was started before the reign of Diocletian; however the most important architectural features appeared at that time. Due to this fact the main attention was given to principia in Luxor and Palmyra, which were built during the reign of Diocletian.
The paper is devoted to several architectural principles and building types, which were typical f... more The paper is devoted to several architectural principles and building types, which were typical for Late Roman architecture, reflected Roman political concepts and influenced early Christian architecture. A. Grabar proved that many motifs of Late Roman art, which were inspired by the culture of ancient Near East, influenced the early Christian iconography. However, now the architectural theory mainly rests on the ideas of R. Krautheimer and J. Ward-Perkins that early Christian architecture practically had no links with Late Roman pagan buildings. Nevertheless, it seems that these links could occur in architecture too. It is necessary to take a look at three main points. The first one is the usage of halls with apsidal ends, which were typical both for pagan and for Christian architecture in the 3th–4th centuries and for luxurious palaces and villas of Late Roman nobles. The present tendency could be linked with new religious and political concepts of tetrarchy. In turn, they were probably founded on the ideas of ancient Near Eastern kingship and corresponded with new hierarchical organization of ruling class mainly consisted of former military officers. Secondly, it is important to examine such architectural element as tetrastyle. It had a wide usage during the first tetrarchy and associated with the idea of concordia — harmony between four co-rulers. Thirdly, the origin of Christian ciborium as an architectural element is of peculiar interest. Thanks to the wide numismatic evidence, it is known that the baldachin rests on four supports and is covered by a flat roof. A cylindrical vault, or a cupola, was one of the attributes of God or divine ruler representation. This motif could have come to Roman culture from the architecture of ancient Egypt and ancient Near East. The examination of these motifs, which exercised influence upon some peculiarities of the early Christian architecture with the authoritative and religious concepts, which they expressed, could be very fruitful and important for the theory of architecture.
The article is dedicated to the study of some architectural peculiarities of the late Roman imper... more The article is dedicated to the study of some architectural peculiarities of the late Roman imperial cult temple at Luxor and creating its 3D computer reconstruction. The analysis of its architectural and iconographical features shows that, on the one hand, this temple had a
lot of peculiarities typical of the tetrarchy architecture. Furthermore, the architects who built the monumental Luxor fortress with the imperial cult temple inside borrowed some of its features from the civil temples of this cult. The so called “Kalybe structures” could be the prototypes for the late Roman principia temples and chapels, because they probably were very famous in the late antique Near East. Both had similar architectural features, including the monumentality of their architecture, and both were very important for the urban environment. On the other hand, Roman architects could use some principles of the Egyptian architecture to connect the Roman
imperial cult with the ancient cult of divine kingship in Luxor. Moreover, this monument could be the architectural dominant for Roman Thebes which aim was the glorification of Roman emperors as the heirs of pharaohs. The main result of the project is the 3D-reconstruction of the temple.
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Papers in English by Dmitry Karelin
The paper includes the authors' 3D reconstructions of several fortresses (or their structures) of different types: Luxor, Babylon, Nag el-Hagar, Dionysias and some smaller late forts at Kharga oasis. We think that these examples give the opportunity to discuss several important problems concerning their architecture and construction methods. One of them is a supposition about the walls height in the fortresses for comitates. The question is why some of them could have lower walls (Luxor, Nag el-Hagar) than others (Babylon) and than several smaller forts for auxiliary troops (for example Umm el-Dabadib). Another point is the search of analogies for some architectural elements (arrow slits, parapets) and fortress structures (walls, towers, barracks etc). Next interesting question concerns the gates construction and using the special courts and portcullis in them. Traces of such courts were found in many fortresses in Egypt, while portcullis for sure was used at Babylon fortress and possibly at the Nag el-Hagar western gate. The traces of different building stages with their own architectural peculiarities in some forts are also of particular interest. The discussion on these points and problems gives opportunity to understand the Roman military architecture in Egypt better.
Babylon was a typical Diocletianic fortress for Field Army, however it displayed a number of unique features:
• it was constructed over the earlier Trajanic-era stone harbour at Babylon where the Amnis Trajanus joined the Nile. The entrance to the canal was flanked by the massive round towers of the Diocletianic fortress.
• archaeological and historical evidence indicates that a bridge over the Nile led to the western gate of the fortress.
• the massive size and strength of the fortifications were much more solid than those of any other Diocletianic fortresses in Egypt.
The recent archaeological work has shown that much of the southern part of fortress survives today below ground. Above ground the southern gatehouse is preserved largely intact, with the Coptic ‘Hanging Church’ (Al-Mu’allaqa) built over it. The two round towers also survive, one of them within the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George (Mari Girgis).
The aim of the reconstruction is to show the architectural and constructional peculiarities of the southern gatehouse and of the round towers flanking the Amnis Trajanus, and also to present the possible view of the fortress from the Nile. Another special aim is both to classify the corpus of the sources and to show the connection between each source and the reconstruction’s argumentation is visually shown.
Papers in Russian by Dmitry Karelin
criteria for each type.
elements crypt and upper chamber. The sources, mainly depictions of the monuments made from 16-th to 18-th centuries, let us imagine how did their interiors look and to understand attitude of Renaissance and classic architects to the scheme of a building. This scheme was based on connection of underground crypt with annular vaulting and upper chamber with the cupola.
This process is examined on the basis of examples from Ancient Egypt to the early Middle Ages, which are well-known due to archaeological and numismatic materials as well as masterpieces of art.
lot of peculiarities typical of the tetrarchy architecture. Furthermore, the architects who built the monumental Luxor fortress with the imperial cult temple inside borrowed some of its features from the civil temples of this cult. The so called “Kalybe structures” could be the prototypes for the late Roman principia temples and chapels, because they probably were very famous in the late antique Near East. Both had similar architectural features, including the monumentality of their architecture, and both were very important for the urban environment. On the other hand, Roman architects could use some principles of the Egyptian architecture to connect the Roman
imperial cult with the ancient cult of divine kingship in Luxor. Moreover, this monument could be the architectural dominant for Roman Thebes which aim was the glorification of Roman emperors as the heirs of pharaohs. The main result of the project is the 3D-reconstruction of the temple.
The paper includes the authors' 3D reconstructions of several fortresses (or their structures) of different types: Luxor, Babylon, Nag el-Hagar, Dionysias and some smaller late forts at Kharga oasis. We think that these examples give the opportunity to discuss several important problems concerning their architecture and construction methods. One of them is a supposition about the walls height in the fortresses for comitates. The question is why some of them could have lower walls (Luxor, Nag el-Hagar) than others (Babylon) and than several smaller forts for auxiliary troops (for example Umm el-Dabadib). Another point is the search of analogies for some architectural elements (arrow slits, parapets) and fortress structures (walls, towers, barracks etc). Next interesting question concerns the gates construction and using the special courts and portcullis in them. Traces of such courts were found in many fortresses in Egypt, while portcullis for sure was used at Babylon fortress and possibly at the Nag el-Hagar western gate. The traces of different building stages with their own architectural peculiarities in some forts are also of particular interest. The discussion on these points and problems gives opportunity to understand the Roman military architecture in Egypt better.
Babylon was a typical Diocletianic fortress for Field Army, however it displayed a number of unique features:
• it was constructed over the earlier Trajanic-era stone harbour at Babylon where the Amnis Trajanus joined the Nile. The entrance to the canal was flanked by the massive round towers of the Diocletianic fortress.
• archaeological and historical evidence indicates that a bridge over the Nile led to the western gate of the fortress.
• the massive size and strength of the fortifications were much more solid than those of any other Diocletianic fortresses in Egypt.
The recent archaeological work has shown that much of the southern part of fortress survives today below ground. Above ground the southern gatehouse is preserved largely intact, with the Coptic ‘Hanging Church’ (Al-Mu’allaqa) built over it. The two round towers also survive, one of them within the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George (Mari Girgis).
The aim of the reconstruction is to show the architectural and constructional peculiarities of the southern gatehouse and of the round towers flanking the Amnis Trajanus, and also to present the possible view of the fortress from the Nile. Another special aim is both to classify the corpus of the sources and to show the connection between each source and the reconstruction’s argumentation is visually shown.
criteria for each type.
elements crypt and upper chamber. The sources, mainly depictions of the monuments made from 16-th to 18-th centuries, let us imagine how did their interiors look and to understand attitude of Renaissance and classic architects to the scheme of a building. This scheme was based on connection of underground crypt with annular vaulting and upper chamber with the cupola.
This process is examined on the basis of examples from Ancient Egypt to the early Middle Ages, which are well-known due to archaeological and numismatic materials as well as masterpieces of art.
lot of peculiarities typical of the tetrarchy architecture. Furthermore, the architects who built the monumental Luxor fortress with the imperial cult temple inside borrowed some of its features from the civil temples of this cult. The so called “Kalybe structures” could be the prototypes for the late Roman principia temples and chapels, because they probably were very famous in the late antique Near East. Both had similar architectural features, including the monumentality of their architecture, and both were very important for the urban environment. On the other hand, Roman architects could use some principles of the Egyptian architecture to connect the Roman
imperial cult with the ancient cult of divine kingship in Luxor. Moreover, this monument could be the architectural dominant for Roman Thebes which aim was the glorification of Roman emperors as the heirs of pharaohs. The main result of the project is the 3D-reconstruction of the temple.
architecture. However, modern architectural history is rested on the progress of archaeology which provides new information about badly preserved antique architectural masterpieces. 3D-reconstructions of such monuments, based on the modern computer technologies, let us
broaden our conception of ancient architecture and discover the new stratum of Greek and Roman architectural monuments both for architects and for general public. In the Moscow Institute of Architecture the creation of such reconstructions is a part of educational process and
scientific research. The article illustrated with the author’s reconstructions and also with several examples of 3D-reconstructions made by foreign scholars.
One could suppose that main part of principia in Egypt have more common features with civil Imperial cult temples of the 2nd — 3rd centuries A.D. and their Hellenistic prototypes than earlier examples of these monuments. This fact can be explained by the general tendency of monumentalization of these edifices in the Roman Empire on the whole during the period of the 2nd – 3rd centuries A.D. The architecture of the principia became more luxurious because of increase of the Imperial cult’s significance.
On the one hand, these principia were influenced by the Roman military culture which was connected with creating camps and fortresses. On the other hand they were impacted by the Orient and hellenistic cults of the kings. The architecture of the Roman Imperial cult temple in Luxor was connected with some aspects of the ancient Egyptian cult of divine kingship. The architectural peculiarities of these monuments and iconography of their visual art which appeared in the case of these influences gave some effect on the Christian culture. Such elements as apse, ciborium or baldachin and nimbus got a wide expansion in the Christian art and architecture. Some of these features came to Rome from the culture of the ancient Orient. Therefore temples of the Imperial cult and Genius castrorum in Egypt are examples of the connection between art of the ancient Orient and Byzantine, early Christian and Medieval art and architecture."
caused by climatic, economic and functional factors. Egypt had a significant role in the economy of the Roman Empire. Thus, the Romans built a powerful military system in Egypt for the defense and control of this important province.
Roman military architecture in the Western Oases of Egypt (Siwa, Fayyum, Baharia, Farafra, Dakhla, Kharga) is of special interest. The most significant of the Roman military installations in the Western Oases were established in Kharga, because this oasis was the most southerly and situated on the border of Roman Egypt. The aim of this article is an attempt to compile a typology of Roman fortresses and other fortifications in the Western Oases of Egypt by means of comparative analysis. Consideration of the collected material makes it possible to state that the Romans created in Western Oases of Egypt a complex and well balanced military system which had a clear expression in military architecture. Though all fortresses
have similar planning structures they differ, due different environment conditions and historical background, in several specific features. This gives us the possibility to distinguish
four types of the fortification constructions.
The first type includes standard rectangular fortresses which were situated in important administrative centers of the oases. For example: fort el-Deir (Kharga) and fort in Dionysias
(Fayyum). These forts were, as a rule, the central military installations of the oases. They were built in the reign of Diocletian to defense against Blemmyes and to control the oases.
To the second type belonged temples-fortresses erected on route from center of Kharga to Qasr Douch. Temples-fortresses were a unique occurrence only found in Kharga. The third type incorporates small forts, which were also often built on trade routes, or near state borders (Qasr Labeka, Umm el-Dabadib). To the forth type belong small watch-towers, which preserved at Kharga.
Today no special justification is required for the fact that any work with the monument must be carried out in accordance with the principles of the Venice Charter and modern restoration and archaeology. In this context, we consider a variety of techniques for reconstruction of the monument’s unfinished parts and for reconstruction of its three-dimensional characteristics, ranging from the widely known and used anastylosis to modern unique solutions, which are peculiar "scientific installations". Such techniques can, on the one hand, demonstrate the nature of the monument’s exterior image or interior space to the viewer without claiming historical authenticity, and, on the other hand, form an exposure’s route when it is possible to enter the interior of a preserved archaeological dig.
However, the most interesting aspect of the topic under consideration is what the image of architectural space (against which an archaeological monument will be perceived) should be. We analyzed about 70 archaeological and historical museums built in the 19th-21st centuries and concluded that the main trends in the formation of their architectural patterns are not very different from those of the architecture of this period in general, but there are some peculiarities related to their historical specificities.
The stylistics of the examined museums can be divided into four main directions:
- Development of the heritage, when the archaeological museums’ architecture contains quotes from the cultures that are mainly exhibited inside.
- Creation of neoclassical spaces unrelated to the national color of objects that are displayed in the museum.
- Very simple and functional modernist architecture, which is essentially a neutral background for exhibits.
- Images of the building, formed from postmodernist metaphors, which, in this case, are closely related to the informal redefinition of the museum’s specificities and cultural features.
The main purpose of the report is to consider all the "pros" and "cons" of the approaches described above to the architectural solutions of archaeological museums. It seems that all directions are valid and the choice is always relatively subjective and depends on a variety of factors, including the specifics of the museum exposition, the volumetric-spatial characteristics of the monument, the context surrounding the museum building, etc.
First of all, we single out the depictions on models and medals. Usually they are frontal images of gates or simplified axonometric views of whole cities. The depictions of cites from codices are very similar to the latter ones.
Secondly, we review some models in form of Roman forts: ceramic incense burner from Egyptian museum in Turin and clay model of watch-tower from History museum in Regensburg. Furthermore there are several examples of rectangular bronze braziers. One of them looks like small square castellum with open courtyard, the other one is similar to round tower or Roman mausoleum.
Thirdly, we examine many preserved examples of depictions on frescoes or mosaics. Mainly they are depictions of cities or gates close to those we can see on coins and in codices. However, there are peculiar floor mosaics with images of square wall enclosure. Often they are connected with labyrinth's depictions.
In the fourth place there are rare examples of belts' buckles in form of the gates. One of them, which was found close to Abritus and had been produced in the middle of III century, is of particular interest.
At last we know a lot of sculptural examples of fortifications' depictions. They are reliefs from the Trajan's Column and Column of Marcus Aurelius, so-called City-Gate Sarcophagi as well as early Christian ivory reliefs with depictions of cities' walls as architectural backgrounds.
All the studied groups of architectural backgrounds depictions were examined in detail. For example they are studies on coins (T. Donaldson и N. Elkins) and reliefs from triumphal columns (I. Richmond, J. Coulston и E. Thill). However these studies mainly examines masterpieces of art in сomparison with the similar ones.
The depiction of an city in Roman art and the fact that this motive in what follows came into Christian art were particularly studied in historiography (A. Grabar, E. Smith, S. Casartelli Novelli, F. Bisconti, M. David и M.C. Carile).
Archaeological material on the numerous Roman military fortifications was classified and studied in detail. However we don't use all the presented above depictions in connection with archaeological data for the understanding how the fortresses could look like.
One could suppose than both connection of these depictions with wide cultural context, and their general peculiarities, which connected all the groups of architectural backgrounds studied in this paper, demand further research. Furthermore several new monuments of particular interest were discovered last decades, for example we mean belts' buckle from Abritus.
The examined examples give us more than a little considerable information about design of the Roman military architecture, including some elements and details of particular interest. We can see flat roofs that are comfortable for mounting of artillery in the main part of the Roman fortresses' hypothetical reconstruction, while antique depictions show considerable variations of towers' roofs form, for example, cone-shaped, small domes and the others, there are even rotundas on the towers' tops. In addition we know some depictions of galleries on the walls’ and gate's tops.
One could suggest, that understanding of sacral importance of both city's border (pomerium) and city's territory on the whole can shed light on meanings of the depictions examined in this paper.
Babylon was a typical Diocletianic fortress for comitates; Legio tertiadecima gemina may have been quartered here. However, it displayed a number of unique features:
• it was constructed over the earlier Trajanic-era stone harbour at Babylon where the Amnis Trajanus joined the Nile. The entrance to the canal was flanked by the massive round towers of the Diocletianic fortress.
• archaeological and historical evidence indicates that a bridge over the Nile led to the western gate of the fortress.
• the massive size and strength of the fortifications were much more solid than those of any other Diocletianic fortresses in Egypt, which might be explained by the strategically important position of Babylon at the apex of the Nile Delta.
The recent archaeological work has shown that much of the southern part of fortress survives today below ground. Above ground the southern gatehouse is preserved largely intact, with the Coptic ‘Hanging Church’ (Al-Mu’allaqa) built over it. The two round towers also survive, one of them within the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George (Mari Girgis).
The aim of the reconstruction is to show the architectural and constructional peculiarities of the southern gatehouse and of the round towers flanking the Amnis Trajanus, and also to present the possible view of the fortress from the Nile.
The paper includes the authors' 3D reconstructions of several fortresses (or their structures) of different types: Luxor, Babylon, Nag el-Hagar, Dionysias and some smaller late forts at Kharga oasis. We think that these examples give the opportunity to discuss several important problems concerning their architecture and construction methods. One of them is a supposition about the walls height in the fortresses for comitates. The question is why some of them could have lower walls (Luxor, Nag el-Hagar) than others (Babylon) and than several smaller forts for auxiliary troops (for example Umm el-Dabadib). Another point is the search of analogies for some architectural elements (arrow slits, parapets) and fortress structures (walls, towers, barracks etc). Next interesting question concerns the gates construction and using the special courts and portcullis in them. Traces of such courts were found in many fortresses in Egypt, while portcullis for sure was used at Babylon fortress and possibly at the Nag el-Hagar western gate. The traces of different building stages with their own architectural peculiarities in some forts are also of particular interest. The discussion on these points and problems gives opportunity to understand the Roman military architecture in Egypt better.
On the other hand, the Roman architects could use some principles of the Egyptian architecture to connect the Roman imperial cult with the ancient cult of the divine kingship in Luxor. Furthermore this monument could be the architectural dominant for Roman Thebes for the glorification of the Roman emperors as heirs of pharaohs. These architectural features agree with several theories about the connection of the Roman imperial cult and the ancient Egyptian cult of the divine kingship in the Luxor temple of the Imperial cult.
The main result of the project is the 3D reconstruction of the temple. Despite hypothetical character of some suppositions of the reconstruction it seems that in whole the reconstruction allows to imagine how the Roman temple looked like.