Giulia Marsili

The paper aims to shed light on building site procedures linked to the construction of ecclesiastical complexes in the early Byzantine Mediterranean (4th-7th c. AD). Archaeological, epigraphic, and literary sources are reassessed to get novel insights into logistical customs and recurrent dynamics in relation to several aspects of the preparatory and executive phases of ecclesiastical construction sites, focusing on buildings from capital cities (Constantinople, Ravenna) and minor provincial sites as well. Special attention is paid to evidence of project strategies, such as modularity and design traces, as well as to material features of stone artefacts useful to boost our knowledge about workmanship procedures adopted by workshops both to improve and speed up production. In the final section, an architectural energetic approach, rarely deployed in late antique studies, is adopted to further advance the analysis about the impact of stone production and related craftsmanship on the logistics, times, and costs of the construction site. Such a novel and holistic approach turns out to be crucial to get a thorough understanding of a great array of phenomena traditionally claimed in literature, such as technological development, mass production, and rough export of marble elements. Overall, the contribution intends to show the heuristic potential of an integrated approach to ancient constructions in order to unveil their key role in driving both economic and social growth in the relevant contexts.

La ricerca riguarda lo studio del cantiere edilizio protobizantino, con particolare riferimento al ciclo della lavorazione del marmo. Quest’ultimo viene analizzato sotto il profilo amministrativo, tecnico, sociale ed artigianale. L’elemento guida della ricerca sono i marchi dei marmorari, sigle apposte da funzionari e maestranze durante il processo produttivo. Dapprima, fonti letterarie ed epigrafiche, tra cui le sigle di cava e officina su marmo, vengono esaminate per ricostruire il sistema alto-imperiale di amministrazione delle cave e di gestione dei flussi marmorei, nonche l’iter tecnico-artigianale adottato per la produzione dei manufatti. Il confronto con i dati disponibili per la tarda antichita, con particolare riferimento alle cave di Proconneso, evidenzia una sostanziale continuita della prassi burocratico-amministrativa, mentre alcuni cambiamenti si riscontrano nell’ambito produttivo-artigianale. Il funzionamento degli atelier marmorari viene approfondito attraverso lo st...

The paper deals with archaeological and epigraphic documentation from the excavation of via d'Azeglio in Ravenna, with specific regard to some unpublished stamped amphorae. The stamps refer to production contexts located in the South Adriatic area, providing insights into the topic of actors involved in the manufacturing processes of the containers

In ancient societies, the safekeeping of money was a practice of the outmost importance, transversal to the whole population. During Late Antiquity, written, archaeological and iconographic sources allow reconstructing well-differentiated practices for the conservation and transport of money. The typology of containers varied not only according to the preciousness of the amounts kept, but also in relation to the social level of the users. A certain continuity can be traced in the Middle and Late Byzantine period referring to specific practices, such as the sealing of bags of coins not only in the ceremonial context but also in daily life. Despite the clear prevalence of attestations referring to élite contexts, it is also possible to ascertain the persistence of definite practices for the conservation of money within a more stratified and heterogeneous social structure thanks to archaeological and iconographic documentation.

The development of Information Technology and Digital Humanities has brought numerous significant changes to the Cultural Heritage domain. The Digital Humanities has become a dynamic and fertile research field, and new projects and opportunities are constantly flourishing. The BYZART project perfectly fits this context. This project is coordinated by the Department of History and Cultures of the University of Bologna, embracing a wide consortium of partners from Bulgaria, Greece and Italy. It aims at enhancing Byzantine and Post-Byzantine artistic and cultural heritage within the Europeana platform. This project will enrich the existing Europeanacollections with about 75,000 new cultural and artistic multimedia objects relevant to Byzantine history and culture, including collections of digitized photos, video and audio content, and 3-D surveys and reconstructions. We have also established a liaison between the new materials and Byzantine-related content already existing on Europeana...

Spazi di discussione, percorsi di ricerca Atti dell'VIII Congresso dell'Associazione Italiana di Studi Bizantini (Ravenna, 22-25 settembre 2015) a cura di SALVATORE COSENTINO, MARGHERITA ELENA POMERO e GIORGIO VESPIGNANI TOMO SECONDO FONDAZIONE CENTRO ITALIANO DI STUDI SULL'ALTO MEDIOEVO SPOLETO 2019

The paper deals with a particular category of inscriptions – masons’ marks on marble items –, and aims to bring both an epigraphical and an archaeological perspective to the study of this type of documents. These epigraphic signs generally consist of inscriptions composed of single or multiple Latin or Greek letters, carved by officials and workers during the productive process. Throughout the Roman Imperial Period, they were used in the whole Empire and they pertained to the category of quarry marks, long labels especially recurring on colored marble blocks dispatched from Imperial quarries. Around the middle of the 3rd century, this epigraphic system completely disappears, reflecting a substantial change occurred in the quarry administration and in the organization of the building sites. From the 5th century, they re-appear in Mediterranean contexts in the form of simple letters, abbreviated names or monograms
recurring with high frequency on marble architectural decoration and liturgical church-furniture. A huge amount of marks comes from all over the Mediterranean and shows the existence of a shared knowledge
across regional borders. A typological classification is essential in order to provide a correct understanding of marks and their meaning and operating principles. This typo-chronological classification is based on
chrono-contextual criteria, by focusing on the moment and the place of carving, and by a comparative analysis of marks. With such a contextualization, each kind of mark may provide original and precious
information about the spread of artisanal practices in different cultural and geographic contexts.

The paper presents three marble sarcophagi currently exhibited in the Lercaro Collection in Bologna. The first example can be traced back to the “continuous frieze” typology with scenes from the Old and the New Testament, dating from the first three decades of the 4th century. The analysis focuses on its stylistic and iconography features, as well as on the identification of later integrations. The latter ones reflect the approach in the restoration of antiquities that developed during the Eighteen century in Rome. The other two sarcophagi are fine copies of Roman artworks dating back to the mid and late Imperial times. The paper examines their models and seeks to trace the development of iconography discrepancies. The creation of these products fits into the artistic activity of the beginning of the 20th century. They record a phenomenon of counterfeit and imitation artworks that was substantially widespread between the 18th and the 19th century but is still little known.

During Late Antiquity, members of the secular clergy provided a noteworthy contribution in the Christianization of urban and rural landscape and performed an increasingly important social role precisely for their role of builders. In this paper, literary sources, as well as epigraphic documents, are analyzed in order to highlight the role played by religious men in the patronage of architectural enterprises. They reveal managerial skills in order to oversee the construction process. In many cases, members of the lower clergy and laical collaborators support the episcopal authority in auxiliary tasks and the population lays a remarkable role in the effective realization of the building enterprises, too. In such a way, the ecclesiastical architectural yard can be considered as a multi-layered resource for the ancient society, both as a mean of Christianization and as redistribution of economic resources.

The salvage and reuse of building materials is one of the most widespread practices in the Late Antique Mediterranean. Unlike what generally assumed, the process of salvage and recycle of building materials does not appear as a haphazard procedure. Its diffusion is definitely related to remarkable economic benefits, in terms of material supply and professional figures involved. Moreover, specific archaeological indicators show that each of its phases implies appropriate technological devices and solutions. In these terms, the Late Antique reuse of building materials can be defined as a rationally planned procedure. Both archaeological and epigraphical sources allow identifying specific approaches towards disused monuments. They involve every stage of the process, concerning the moment of dismantling, storage and secondary provision of stone products. This paper aims to highlight the rationality of this process, in terms of functions, procedures and manpower involved, as well as the legal framework within which it can be placed.

Many passages from ancient literary sources notice the theoretical and practical training process requested for architects and engineers in Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium. In this paper, firstly we try to explain how Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus the Elder, the famous architects of Saint Sofia in Constantinople, fully embody the pattern outlined by the sources. Furthermore, through the case of the two Isidores, we verify in which terms family relationships affect the transmission of technical and artisanal skills.

The Marzamemi II wreck, discovered around the middle of
the XX century, represents a pivotal case in the studies of Late
Antique art and archaeology. Four of the twenty-seven Corinthian capitals support five masons’ marks, which can be related
to the Constantinopolitan workshops in charge of manufacturing. Aim of this paper is a review of these epigraphic signs, in order to contextualize their meaning and functioning within the building process.

Lo studio dei cantieri in relazione all'architettura antica rappresenta un ambito di indagine solo recentemente approfondito nella letteratura scientifica. Esso offre dati di grande interesse circa la molteplicità di azioni che contribuirono alla nascita di grandi opere edilizie, con riguardo alle tecniche costruttive e produttive, ma anche alla componente umana e professionale coinvolta nelle diverse fasi del lavoro. Il volume si occupa del cantiere edilizio di età tardoantica e protobizantina e ne prende in esame un aspetto particolare, quello del ciclo di lavorazione del marmo. La prospettiva inedita da cui tale attività è indagata è quella dei marchi di lavorazione, sigle tracciate sugli arredi da maestranze e funzionari in diverse fasi del processo di produzione e distribuzione. Si raccolgono qui 3393 evidenze epigrafiche, apposte su un totale di 2951 manufatti, alcuni dei quali siglati più volte. Per esse si propone una classificazione basata su un criterio crono-contestuale, finalizzata a comprendere la funzione dei segni all'interno della filiera costruttiva e mettere in luce il ruolo svolto dalle differenti figure professionali nella fabbrica edilizia. La possibilità di fare convergere sullo stesso tema di ricerca fonti complementari -archeologiche, epigrafiche, storiografiche, agiografiche, legislative- consente la ricostruzione di un segmento del lavoro del mondo antico estremamente articolato, in cui entravano in gioco numerosi attori, operanti a diversi livelli della società. In quest'ottica, le notae lapicidarum offrono un ampio spaccato sul-la vita del cantiere, le istanze tecniche ed economiche in atto e le relazioni tra i gruppi sociali coinvolti. Esse testimoniano l'orizzonte culturale in cui le maestranze si collocavano e gettano luce su una categoria di lavoratori che per tradizione era solita scomparire dietro l'opera compiuta, senza lasciare memoria di sé e della propria individualità.