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Stefania Alfarano
I am currently a post-doc in Archaeology at the Department of Ancient History of the University of Basel within the SNSF-funded project “Urban Biographies of the Roman and Late Antique Worlds: Antinoopolis and Heracleopolis in Egypt, c. 100 – c. 650 CE”. The Projects aims to write “urban biographies” of two important ancient cities in the Middle Egypt in order to rebuild the urban landscape on the long durée, social life, people networks and relationship with the surrounding environment.
Trained in Late Antique, Christian and Medieval Archaeology at the University of Salento, over the past two decades I had the chance to improve my methodological and professional competences from a chronological and geographical point of view, working in Egypt and in several sites in South Italy, covering a dating range from the Neolithic to the post-Middle Ages and collaborating closely with various specialists within international teams. My work focused on the social, cultural, environmental, and religious landscape of Late Roman Egypt, on the building investment, housing and the development of urban and rural settlements patterns in the Late Antique, Byzantine and Medieval Mediterranean basin.
My skills on the Roman an Late Antique Archaeology in Egypt have been further expanded during the four years (2015-2019) of PhD position in “Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures”/“Klassische Philologie” at the International Doctoral Program of the University of Salento in cotutelle with the University of Vienna, under the supervision of Pr. P. Davoli and the co-supervision of Pr. H. Bannert. My PhD dissertation focused on the analysis of public, ritual and private convivial practices in Egypt between the 2nd-3rd and the 4th century CE. I am the Field Director of the Archaeological Mission of the University of Salento at Soknopaiou Nesos/Dime (Fayyum, Egypt), directed by P. Davoli and I am the Deputy Field Directory of the Archaeological Mission of the Institute for the Study of Ancient World (ISAW)/NYU at Trimithis/Amheida (Dakhla oasis, Egypt), directed by D. Ratzan and N. Aravecchia.
Trained in Late Antique, Christian and Medieval Archaeology at the University of Salento, over the past two decades I had the chance to improve my methodological and professional competences from a chronological and geographical point of view, working in Egypt and in several sites in South Italy, covering a dating range from the Neolithic to the post-Middle Ages and collaborating closely with various specialists within international teams. My work focused on the social, cultural, environmental, and religious landscape of Late Roman Egypt, on the building investment, housing and the development of urban and rural settlements patterns in the Late Antique, Byzantine and Medieval Mediterranean basin.
My skills on the Roman an Late Antique Archaeology in Egypt have been further expanded during the four years (2015-2019) of PhD position in “Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures”/“Klassische Philologie” at the International Doctoral Program of the University of Salento in cotutelle with the University of Vienna, under the supervision of Pr. P. Davoli and the co-supervision of Pr. H. Bannert. My PhD dissertation focused on the analysis of public, ritual and private convivial practices in Egypt between the 2nd-3rd and the 4th century CE. I am the Field Director of the Archaeological Mission of the University of Salento at Soknopaiou Nesos/Dime (Fayyum, Egypt), directed by P. Davoli and I am the Deputy Field Directory of the Archaeological Mission of the Institute for the Study of Ancient World (ISAW)/NYU at Trimithis/Amheida (Dakhla oasis, Egypt), directed by D. Ratzan and N. Aravecchia.
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Systematic investigations of medieval archaeological remains carried out in the so-called “Terra d’Otranto” have not led, so far, to an exhaustive
overview of the specific features of residential buildings. Also, they do not make it possible to reconstruct the transformations and evolution of
the building process between the 12th and 14th centuries. This paper conducts a systematic review of the data collected so far, in an attempt to
overcome the lack of coherence in the archaeological evidence, and to outline the various development phases of housing in late medieval Salento.
The process of transition from rural domestic architecture, characterised, as in the early medieval period, by the use of perishable materials, and
with low consumption of economic resources, to ‘built’ dwellings seems to start between the end of 12th and the 13th centuries, with the foundation
of new towns. The change becomes radical between the first half of the 15th and the mid-16th centuries, when the region was subjected to a total
transformation of the settlement pattern, with the abandonment of countless open villages and the creation of dozens of planned, fortified towns.
In all the cases analysed, the use of stone as the material of choice for construction, the planning of spaces, and the adoption of new types of
housing seems to be closely connected with the planning of new urban centres by the central or local authorities.
Keywords: materials, building techniques, construction site processes, houses, late medieval Salento.
such as papyri and the comparison with the archaeological remains.
Boak during his stay at Dime, together with some materials found near the Michigan house in Dime.
Contextual analysis of Late Antique Egyptian sites has already begun to show a pattern of large-scale constructions or restorations and reconstructions in urban centres. By Tracing the development of urban settlements, we can enrich the picture of investment in public and private construction, which intensified especially from the third century and into the fourth century, as evidenced by construction patterns at various sites in Egypt.
In Middle Egypt, cities such as Hermopolis Magna and Antinoopolis, characterized between the second and third centuries by an intense construction activity, were affected starting from the second half-last quarter of the third century by a series of restorations of the structure. In other cases, the archaeological records of other main settlements reflect a significant renovation of the civic city center in 4th century and, as a result, a mass investment in public construction.
In this period the urban development of the cities does not concern only the new buildings but also the inclusion of the spolia in the construction site industry (perhaps also a commercialization). For instance, at Heracleopolis Magna, the temple of Herishef, restored for the last time during the reign of Antoninus Pius, was used as a quarry for building materials for the construction of a late Roman residential neighborhood. According with recent studies on the inscribed marks the reuse of architectural elements for both public and private building works had to be authorized.
This paper will review all the available data concerning building activities and the re-planning of the main urban contexts to recognize how the urban layouts changes over the time, how the built-up area shrinks or expands, how old monuments and new building requirements interact with each other? Is it still possible to define a modus operandi in the remodeling of Late Antique cities? Who are the key actors in these changes and what are the needs? This first review of archaeological data will have to be combined in the future with a contextual study of the written sources to understand better the Egyptian building investment in later Roman period.
Recovered mostly during the excavations led by Albert Gayet at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, this material was found in graves and consist of wall paintings; painted shrouds; wooden mummy portraits and amulets nowadays scattered in various museums around the world. If, in the Roman period, the new residents of Antinoopolis seem to have followed the same practices as other inhabitants of Middle Egypt, typically the mummification of the deceased and burying them in low, vaulted structures near the desert, nonetheless distinct elements in this funerary record from Hadrian’s foundation beg for more analysis. This papers reviews this vast repertoire of material remains (burial assemblages) and, when possible, brings these finds back into their archaeological context.
After a brief presentation of the Urban Biographies project, Stefania Alfarano will first give an overview of the burial assemblages with an emphasis on the reused objects found in tombs; François Gerardin in the second part will examine funerary portraiture and contrast it with the information found in papyri on the Roman-period inhabitants of Antinoopolis. What is the interaction between traditional practices and “Greco-Roman innovations” and what are the meanings underlying the interweaving of different cultural traditions within a tomb? In grappling with such questions, this paper will build on the works of Dunand and Lichtenberg (1998), Riggs (2005), and Venits (2016) and contribute to the study of Greco-Roman funerary rites in ancient Egypt.
The first expedition in search of papyri was carried out in 1889 by a German mission led by Ulrich Wilcken. He published a useful report of his work on the site and the first archaeological map where were placed all the buildings visible on the surface. Between 1890 e the first years of XVIII century Egypt Exploration Fund financed 3 new seasons of archaeological investigations in the site directed by Naville and Petrie. Despite stone-robbing and sebbakhin activities in this period there were still big mounds belonging to the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic Periods. To better understanding the archaeological record, today largely disappeared, and to reconnect and recontextualize the papyri found by Wilken it was necessary to analyse the archives of the historical excavations carried out in this settlement. Letters, diaries and all the notes written in this period are very important to reconstruct both the urban layout of the settlement in the Roman and Late Antique period and his long-term development.
This contextual approach is part of the project Urban Biographies of the Roman and Late Antique Worlds: Antinoopolis and Heracleopolis in Egypt, c. 100 – c. 650 CE financed by Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and started at the University of Basel on August 1st 2021.
L’esiguo numero di evidenze riconducibili a strutture abitative ascrivibili a questo periodo è sicuramente condizionato dalla scarsa attenzione prestata finora allo studio dei contesti domestici, posti per lungo tempo in secondo piano rispetto all’analisi di complessi monumentali ed ecclesiastici o dei sistemi di fortificazione, sviluppatosi solo in una fase piuttosto recente della ricerca. Un altro fattore di particolare rilievo è la natura stessa della trama insediativa del territorio in questo periodo: una rete di villaggi rurali (casali) composti da case sparse disposte senza un apparente pianificazione con ampi spazi aperti intorno ai vari edifici. Inoltre, i pochi edifici rinvenuti evidenziano, come già per il periodo altomedievale, la costruzione di edifici abitativi in materiale deperibile, principalmente mattone crudo, ricavato dalla terra rossa, e intelaiature lignee. Si trattava per lo più di case strutturalmente autonome che potevano essere facilmente spostate, abbattute oppure modificate in base alle esigenze della famiglia proprietaria. In soli due casi, ad Apigliano (Martano) e Muro Leccese sono stati rinvenute in crollo coperture in laterizi di edifici abitativi (databili rispettivamente al XIII e agli inizi del XIV sec.).
Il processo di transizione da una architettura domestica rurale, caratterizzata dall’impiego di materiali deperibili e di minor dispendio economico, ad una edilizia residenziale in materiale più resistente risulta evidente a partire dal XIII con la fondazione ex novo di alcuni centri abitati (es. Cesarea Augusta-La Strea, Roca Vecchia). Le nuove fondazioni testimoniano un’evoluzione del processo costruttivo in stretta connessione con la progettazione urbanistica degli abitati. Il cambiamento diviene radicale tra la prima metà del ’400 e la metà del ’500, quando il territorio salentino è sottoposto ad una totale trasformazione del sistema insediativo, con l’abbandono di innumerevoli villaggi aperti e la creazione di decine di terre fortificate pianificate, le così dette agrotown (o Terrae). In molti di questi casi è l’impianto regolare degli isolati a determinare la tipologia di case a schiera che venivano costruite a lotti man mano che cresceva la popolazione. Gli edifici avevano in genere una pianta rettangolare e alzati in pietre rozzamente sbozzate di varia pezzatura ed erano apparecchiate in filari piuttosto irregolari con terra rossa legante e inzeppature.
Nella penisola salentina, il processo di trasformazione delle tecniche costruttive utilizzate per l’edilizia domestica sembra avere inizio nel XIII secolo con l’utilizzo di materiali più resistenti e vede la sua massima espressione dalla metà del XIV fino al XVI secolo.
In architettura non è solo il modello di interazione uomo-ambiente a condizionare la materia da cui nasce il processo costruttivo. Esso è infatti definito da un insieme di fattori: il legame delle risorse del territorio, quindi della scelta dei materiali da costruzione, con le funzioni, la durata e l’estetica delle costruzioni; la trasmissione del “saper fare”; lo sviluppo tecnologico, il contesto insediativo e sociale e lo sforzo economico destinato all’azione costruttiva. Nei casi analizzati la transizione d’uso tra i diversi materiali, l’organizzazione degli spazi domestici e l’adozione di nuove tipologie di strutture abitative sembra essere strettamente connessa con la pianificazione di nuovi centri urbani. La crescita esponenziale, soprattutto di quelli a continuità di vita, con le conseguenti occupazioni degli spazi vuoti all’interno della cinta muraria e le successive lottizzazioni dei territori circostanti, comporteranno nel tempo ulteriori variazioni dei modelli costruttivi residenziali.
Le indagini archeologiche hanno permesso di comprendere le relazioni sia funzionali sia gerarchiche di questo spazio esterno alla casa con gli ambienti interni e di esaminare in maniera contestuale i materiali associati alla celebrazione del convivium rinvenuti all’interno della struttura abitativa. Inoltre, grazie ai dati raccolti e ai confronti con le strutture rinvenute sia in siti limitrofi sia in altre zone dell’impero, è stato possibile realizzare un’ipotesi ricostruttiva della sala da banchetto in ambiente virtuale. Lo studio ha preso in esame l’ambiente dal punto di vista architettonico insieme con tutti gli elementi relativi all’allestimento dello stesso. L’analisi del vasellame ceramico, dei sistemi utilizzati per l’illuminazione, dei vari utensili e dei resti osteologici dei pasti consente di ricostruire il cerimoniale seguito e le modalità di svolgimento dei banchetti, le modalità di distribuzione del cibo ai convitati e le loro abitudini alimentari.
Il rinvenimento di uno stibadium in un contesto domestico così periferico dell’impero conferma la capillare diffusione, tra la fine del III e il IV d.C., di questa nuova forma di divano in tutto il bacino del Mediterraneo. La mancanza di studi specifici sull’assorbimento dei modelli architettonici e culturali legati alla convivialità nell’Egitto tardoantico è sorprendente, soprattutto alla luce dei numerosi rinvenimenti effettuati sul territorio egiziano.
Since 2004, the intensive field surveys and stratigraphic excavations in the temple area have brought to light a considerable quantity of different classes of glass and faïence objects dated to the Hellenistic and Roman periods. However, only the recent stratigraphic excavations and the study of these materials, in association with the different types of pottery found on the site, allow to date all the objects analyzed between the 1st and the 3rd century CE.
The analysis of glass and faïence finds was able to identify several types of objects, like jewellery, amulets and vessels, and permit to study the different techniques applied in the production of these artefacts.
Finally, these classes of objects have been compared to those found in Dime between the end of 1931 and the beginning of 1932 by the archaeologists of University of Michigan. This comparison allows to point out the different use cases of the faïence and glass materials both in a religious and domestic contexts.
Systematic investigations of medieval archaeological remains carried out in the so-called “Terra d’Otranto” have not led, so far, to an exhaustive
overview of the specific features of residential buildings. Also, they do not make it possible to reconstruct the transformations and evolution of
the building process between the 12th and 14th centuries. This paper conducts a systematic review of the data collected so far, in an attempt to
overcome the lack of coherence in the archaeological evidence, and to outline the various development phases of housing in late medieval Salento.
The process of transition from rural domestic architecture, characterised, as in the early medieval period, by the use of perishable materials, and
with low consumption of economic resources, to ‘built’ dwellings seems to start between the end of 12th and the 13th centuries, with the foundation
of new towns. The change becomes radical between the first half of the 15th and the mid-16th centuries, when the region was subjected to a total
transformation of the settlement pattern, with the abandonment of countless open villages and the creation of dozens of planned, fortified towns.
In all the cases analysed, the use of stone as the material of choice for construction, the planning of spaces, and the adoption of new types of
housing seems to be closely connected with the planning of new urban centres by the central or local authorities.
Keywords: materials, building techniques, construction site processes, houses, late medieval Salento.
such as papyri and the comparison with the archaeological remains.
Boak during his stay at Dime, together with some materials found near the Michigan house in Dime.
Contextual analysis of Late Antique Egyptian sites has already begun to show a pattern of large-scale constructions or restorations and reconstructions in urban centres. By Tracing the development of urban settlements, we can enrich the picture of investment in public and private construction, which intensified especially from the third century and into the fourth century, as evidenced by construction patterns at various sites in Egypt.
In Middle Egypt, cities such as Hermopolis Magna and Antinoopolis, characterized between the second and third centuries by an intense construction activity, were affected starting from the second half-last quarter of the third century by a series of restorations of the structure. In other cases, the archaeological records of other main settlements reflect a significant renovation of the civic city center in 4th century and, as a result, a mass investment in public construction.
In this period the urban development of the cities does not concern only the new buildings but also the inclusion of the spolia in the construction site industry (perhaps also a commercialization). For instance, at Heracleopolis Magna, the temple of Herishef, restored for the last time during the reign of Antoninus Pius, was used as a quarry for building materials for the construction of a late Roman residential neighborhood. According with recent studies on the inscribed marks the reuse of architectural elements for both public and private building works had to be authorized.
This paper will review all the available data concerning building activities and the re-planning of the main urban contexts to recognize how the urban layouts changes over the time, how the built-up area shrinks or expands, how old monuments and new building requirements interact with each other? Is it still possible to define a modus operandi in the remodeling of Late Antique cities? Who are the key actors in these changes and what are the needs? This first review of archaeological data will have to be combined in the future with a contextual study of the written sources to understand better the Egyptian building investment in later Roman period.
Recovered mostly during the excavations led by Albert Gayet at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, this material was found in graves and consist of wall paintings; painted shrouds; wooden mummy portraits and amulets nowadays scattered in various museums around the world. If, in the Roman period, the new residents of Antinoopolis seem to have followed the same practices as other inhabitants of Middle Egypt, typically the mummification of the deceased and burying them in low, vaulted structures near the desert, nonetheless distinct elements in this funerary record from Hadrian’s foundation beg for more analysis. This papers reviews this vast repertoire of material remains (burial assemblages) and, when possible, brings these finds back into their archaeological context.
After a brief presentation of the Urban Biographies project, Stefania Alfarano will first give an overview of the burial assemblages with an emphasis on the reused objects found in tombs; François Gerardin in the second part will examine funerary portraiture and contrast it with the information found in papyri on the Roman-period inhabitants of Antinoopolis. What is the interaction between traditional practices and “Greco-Roman innovations” and what are the meanings underlying the interweaving of different cultural traditions within a tomb? In grappling with such questions, this paper will build on the works of Dunand and Lichtenberg (1998), Riggs (2005), and Venits (2016) and contribute to the study of Greco-Roman funerary rites in ancient Egypt.
The first expedition in search of papyri was carried out in 1889 by a German mission led by Ulrich Wilcken. He published a useful report of his work on the site and the first archaeological map where were placed all the buildings visible on the surface. Between 1890 e the first years of XVIII century Egypt Exploration Fund financed 3 new seasons of archaeological investigations in the site directed by Naville and Petrie. Despite stone-robbing and sebbakhin activities in this period there were still big mounds belonging to the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic Periods. To better understanding the archaeological record, today largely disappeared, and to reconnect and recontextualize the papyri found by Wilken it was necessary to analyse the archives of the historical excavations carried out in this settlement. Letters, diaries and all the notes written in this period are very important to reconstruct both the urban layout of the settlement in the Roman and Late Antique period and his long-term development.
This contextual approach is part of the project Urban Biographies of the Roman and Late Antique Worlds: Antinoopolis and Heracleopolis in Egypt, c. 100 – c. 650 CE financed by Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and started at the University of Basel on August 1st 2021.
L’esiguo numero di evidenze riconducibili a strutture abitative ascrivibili a questo periodo è sicuramente condizionato dalla scarsa attenzione prestata finora allo studio dei contesti domestici, posti per lungo tempo in secondo piano rispetto all’analisi di complessi monumentali ed ecclesiastici o dei sistemi di fortificazione, sviluppatosi solo in una fase piuttosto recente della ricerca. Un altro fattore di particolare rilievo è la natura stessa della trama insediativa del territorio in questo periodo: una rete di villaggi rurali (casali) composti da case sparse disposte senza un apparente pianificazione con ampi spazi aperti intorno ai vari edifici. Inoltre, i pochi edifici rinvenuti evidenziano, come già per il periodo altomedievale, la costruzione di edifici abitativi in materiale deperibile, principalmente mattone crudo, ricavato dalla terra rossa, e intelaiature lignee. Si trattava per lo più di case strutturalmente autonome che potevano essere facilmente spostate, abbattute oppure modificate in base alle esigenze della famiglia proprietaria. In soli due casi, ad Apigliano (Martano) e Muro Leccese sono stati rinvenute in crollo coperture in laterizi di edifici abitativi (databili rispettivamente al XIII e agli inizi del XIV sec.).
Il processo di transizione da una architettura domestica rurale, caratterizzata dall’impiego di materiali deperibili e di minor dispendio economico, ad una edilizia residenziale in materiale più resistente risulta evidente a partire dal XIII con la fondazione ex novo di alcuni centri abitati (es. Cesarea Augusta-La Strea, Roca Vecchia). Le nuove fondazioni testimoniano un’evoluzione del processo costruttivo in stretta connessione con la progettazione urbanistica degli abitati. Il cambiamento diviene radicale tra la prima metà del ’400 e la metà del ’500, quando il territorio salentino è sottoposto ad una totale trasformazione del sistema insediativo, con l’abbandono di innumerevoli villaggi aperti e la creazione di decine di terre fortificate pianificate, le così dette agrotown (o Terrae). In molti di questi casi è l’impianto regolare degli isolati a determinare la tipologia di case a schiera che venivano costruite a lotti man mano che cresceva la popolazione. Gli edifici avevano in genere una pianta rettangolare e alzati in pietre rozzamente sbozzate di varia pezzatura ed erano apparecchiate in filari piuttosto irregolari con terra rossa legante e inzeppature.
Nella penisola salentina, il processo di trasformazione delle tecniche costruttive utilizzate per l’edilizia domestica sembra avere inizio nel XIII secolo con l’utilizzo di materiali più resistenti e vede la sua massima espressione dalla metà del XIV fino al XVI secolo.
In architettura non è solo il modello di interazione uomo-ambiente a condizionare la materia da cui nasce il processo costruttivo. Esso è infatti definito da un insieme di fattori: il legame delle risorse del territorio, quindi della scelta dei materiali da costruzione, con le funzioni, la durata e l’estetica delle costruzioni; la trasmissione del “saper fare”; lo sviluppo tecnologico, il contesto insediativo e sociale e lo sforzo economico destinato all’azione costruttiva. Nei casi analizzati la transizione d’uso tra i diversi materiali, l’organizzazione degli spazi domestici e l’adozione di nuove tipologie di strutture abitative sembra essere strettamente connessa con la pianificazione di nuovi centri urbani. La crescita esponenziale, soprattutto di quelli a continuità di vita, con le conseguenti occupazioni degli spazi vuoti all’interno della cinta muraria e le successive lottizzazioni dei territori circostanti, comporteranno nel tempo ulteriori variazioni dei modelli costruttivi residenziali.
Le indagini archeologiche hanno permesso di comprendere le relazioni sia funzionali sia gerarchiche di questo spazio esterno alla casa con gli ambienti interni e di esaminare in maniera contestuale i materiali associati alla celebrazione del convivium rinvenuti all’interno della struttura abitativa. Inoltre, grazie ai dati raccolti e ai confronti con le strutture rinvenute sia in siti limitrofi sia in altre zone dell’impero, è stato possibile realizzare un’ipotesi ricostruttiva della sala da banchetto in ambiente virtuale. Lo studio ha preso in esame l’ambiente dal punto di vista architettonico insieme con tutti gli elementi relativi all’allestimento dello stesso. L’analisi del vasellame ceramico, dei sistemi utilizzati per l’illuminazione, dei vari utensili e dei resti osteologici dei pasti consente di ricostruire il cerimoniale seguito e le modalità di svolgimento dei banchetti, le modalità di distribuzione del cibo ai convitati e le loro abitudini alimentari.
Il rinvenimento di uno stibadium in un contesto domestico così periferico dell’impero conferma la capillare diffusione, tra la fine del III e il IV d.C., di questa nuova forma di divano in tutto il bacino del Mediterraneo. La mancanza di studi specifici sull’assorbimento dei modelli architettonici e culturali legati alla convivialità nell’Egitto tardoantico è sorprendente, soprattutto alla luce dei numerosi rinvenimenti effettuati sul territorio egiziano.
Since 2004, the intensive field surveys and stratigraphic excavations in the temple area have brought to light a considerable quantity of different classes of glass and faïence objects dated to the Hellenistic and Roman periods. However, only the recent stratigraphic excavations and the study of these materials, in association with the different types of pottery found on the site, allow to date all the objects analyzed between the 1st and the 3rd century CE.
The analysis of glass and faïence finds was able to identify several types of objects, like jewellery, amulets and vessels, and permit to study the different techniques applied in the production of these artefacts.
Finally, these classes of objects have been compared to those found in Dime between the end of 1931 and the beginning of 1932 by the archaeologists of University of Michigan. This comparison allows to point out the different use cases of the faïence and glass materials both in a religious and domestic contexts.
Particular attention was given to the “Architecture of the convivium”, i.e. the analysis of the settings and furnishings used for the celebrations of banquets in the different domestic, public, religious and funerary contexts.
In 2010, the excavation of a double-pillar dining room with masonry stibadium (sigma couch) at Amheida (Dakhla Oasis) carried out by the Archaeological Mission of The New York University, points out the absence of previous studies about the Roman banquet in the Egyptian cultural field. The sigma couch and the private dining room in Amheida (second half - third quarter of the 4th century CE) represent the main research case, however, the study focuses as well on the systematic collection of archaeological evidence found in Egypt dated between the Late Roman, Late Antique and Byzantine periods.
The architectonic plans and shapes, the decorative elements and the peculiar setting of the dining rooms and couches documented so far suggest a certain standardization of the architectural schemes and the introduction of models and traditions coming from the Graeco-Roman world. These models are often combined with local building elements, recognizable especially in the planimetric organization of spaces and in the building materials.
The collected data point out different degrees of use of the convivium elements perhaps influenced by the different degree of “Romanization” of the regional contexts, a local strongly rooted building tradition and the social membership of the owners.
This paper focuses on the study of convivial practices in domestic, public, religious and funerary Egyptian contexts through the analysis of two kinds of sources: the archaeological remains and the written sources such as papyri.
The dining rooms and couches documented by the archaeological excavations are characterized by specific architectonic plans and shapes, decorative elements and a peculiar setting. These elements suggest a certain standardization of the architectural patterns and the introduction of models and traditions coming from the Graeco-Roman world.
At the end of the 3rd century a new type of banquet couch, the stibadium, spreads throughout the Roman Empire and is documented in all Egyptian functional contexts: private houses, public buildings, cemeteries but also temples both pagans and Christians. However, these stibadia show a particular horseshoe-shape which is not common in other regions of the Mediterranean basin.
The comparison between the different kinds of texts analysed and the architectural evidences identified in several Egyptian sites, show that a perfect match between the terms used in the written sources and the types of dining rooms is not always possible. Despite the large amount of texts on papyrus found in Egypt, the archaeological evidence provides more information to define the main features and patterns used in this region for the celebration of formal banquets.
Urbes clariores aliis - Urban Transitions in Roman Egypt from the Third to the Fourth Century CE
Istituto Svizzero in Rome, May 11-12, 2023
Organizers: Stefania Alfarano, François Gerardin, Sabine Huebner