Objects in Churches: The Testimony of Inventories

RELIGIOUS SPACE OBJECTS IN CHURCHES: THE TESTIMONY OF INVENTORIES Béatrice Caseau Abstract This article discusses the objects found within churches, using the testimony of inventories. These describe items such as church plate, lighting apparatus, textiles, and censers, not often found in archaeological excavations of churches. Comparison of inventories reveals churches of different status, and also something of their atmosphere. The differing style of these texts includes terms that are far from easy to interpret. It can also be difficult to correlate the items in inventories with real objects in museums, as is shown in a case study of censers. Introduction Inventories are a key source in investigating the objects kept and used inside churches during Late Antiquity. They are, however, both rare and difficult to interpret. P. Van Minnen has counted 11 inventories among Greek papyri and 5 among Coptic papyri or ostraka.1 Searching more widely, M. Mundell Mango has counted 30 inventories or donor lists, of which 20 list objects donated to churches in Rome.2 That leaves only 10 other churches across the Mediterranean for which we have any sort of inventory (usually incomplete), which compares with 12 ecclesiastical treasures found in hoards.3 This article is about both the usefulness of such inventories to picture the liturgical objects kept inside late antique churches; not just cathedrals, but also village churches, such as a 5th to 6th c. inventory from the church of Ibion, 1 Van Minnen (1991) 47–48. I wish to thank Luke Lavan for his numerous and welcomed suggestions. 2 Mundell Mango (1992) 124. The discrepancy between Van Minnen and Mundell Mango’s figures, if we exclude the Roman churches is due to one unpublished papyrus from Prague cited by Van Minnen (1991) 47 n. 25. 3 More treasures could belong to churches, among the 40 or so treasures discovered, but 12 have inscriptions linking the objects to a church; Mundell Mango (1992) 124. L. Lavan, E. Swift, and T. Putzeys (edd.) Objects in Context, Objects in Use (Late Antique Archaeology 5 – 2007) (Leiden 2007), pp. 551–579 552 béatrice caseau in Egypt (discussed in detail in an appendix). Although I am concerned mainly with the internal difficulties of using inventories, reference is made to other sources for church interiors which make the lists easier to understand. Such sources include objects recovered during excavations of churches and also those found in church hoards, such as those in the Metropolitan Museum in New York or the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore (to cite just two examples). Methodological Issues The best written sources listing liturgical objects remain the inventories of church treasures and records of donations, such as the ones made to the Roman churches and preserved in the Liber pontificalis ecclesiae romanae. Among inventories, those written on papyri or sometimes on ostraka are extremely precious because they have not been tampered with through the manuscript tradition. We can assume that the vocabulary they use was common directly at the time of writing. However, when the papyri are damaged, the restitution of words is often necessary and can be hypothetical. Inventories could be formal documents kept inside a church in order to identify objects (a necessary task after the vacancy of a see, for example), or simple lists quickly scribbled by a deacon for his own use. In the latter case, the words used for each object may not have been very precise, as long as they were meaningful to him. In both cases, the first difficulty is to understand the words themselves, especially when they do not appear to be commonly used in contemporary literary sources, or when they are used in completely different circumstances centuries earlier. Moreover, while some words mentioned in late antique ecclesiastical inventories are familiar, at least, in another context, many are simply not otherwise attested. The vocabulary is being created, and it fluctuates, because items of Church plate do not yet have fixed conventional names.4 Some of the words present in papyri and unattested otherwise, may have been commonly used in Egypt and not elsewhere, or they may have been too colloquial to be used in a literary text and thus they have not come down to us. In most inventories, the objects are named, and only described briefly, if at all. Their authors take it for granted that readers will understand what kind of objects they are referring to. The task of the translator is 4 Leader-Newby (2004) 63. objects in churches: the testimony of inventories 553 to come up with a word which will mean something to most readers. The modern word can sometimes be misleading, because the objects have changed in shape or in use throughout the centuries, however the alternative, which is to transliterate the word, does not help modern readers unless some kind of interpretation is provided concerning the shape and the use of such an object. Inventories do not provide an explanation of the proper or common use of the objects they cite but they sometimes provide us with interesting details, for example, concerning the metal used, the weight, or the price of an object. Sometimes, they also reveal if the object is plain or ornamented. Yet, even a precise description of an object does not always indicate what it was used for, or how it was used. The second difficulty is therefore to find out what kind of liturgical use many of the objects cited in the texts might have had. In order to interpret these lists of words, and so produce a meaningful inventory for the reader, we can turn to descriptions of liturgical objects found in ekphraseis (praiseful, encomiastic descriptions of churches), in exegetical commentaries and homilies (especially those alluding to the liturgy), and in canons and liturgical commentaries, which often allude to liturgical objects, but which seldom provide much description of them. We can also turn to the nameless objects recovered by archaeology, the most precious among which eventually end up, cleaned and restored, on display in museums. It is tempting to try to match terms in inventories with these objects. However, this task requires caution and can sometimes be quite daunting because the same name can be applied to different types of objects with the same function, and different names can also be applied to the same objects. For curtains, for example, one can read καταπετάσμα, a word used in the Septuagint and in the New Testament and adopted by many authors, and also παραπετάσμα.5 Attempts to find a difference between them have proved fruitless.6 Regional differences, the flexibility of languages, and the creation of words made up from different roots, all come into play to make this identification task more complex. Still, these texts offer a window on the world of objects inside late antique churches. 5 LXX, Ex. 26:31, 33–35, 37; NT, Mt. 27:51; Mc. 15:38, 23:45; He. 6:19, 9:3, 10:20. 6 Dolores del Amo (1995) 69 suggests a distinction between the two, but authors such as Gregory of Nyssa use both words with a similar meaning. The Thesaurus linguae graecae reveals that the second word is not as frequent as the first, but both are rare, used in reference to the veil of the Temple. 554 béatrice caseau Church Plate We have a number of texts offering lists of liturgical objects donated to various Roman churches in the Liber pontificalis ecclesiae romanae that allow us to glimpse something of their church plate. The words used in these lists are quite similar from one list to another, which probably indicates the hand of the 6th c. compiler. The Liber offers a list of objects supposedly donated by the emperor Constantine and/or by bishop Silvester. If the list itself is genuine and reflects the vessels belonging to the different church buildings, the date of these donations remains the subject of much debate. Some of the objects suggest a later date than the early 4th c., and though it is likely that they were not all from the reign of Constantine, they were recorded as donations under pope Silvester by the 6th c. compiler.7 It is common in the Liber to attribute some decisions or some donations to early popes, although they could not have been theirs.8 The imperial donations to the Lateran church or St Peter’s basilica are quite exceptional, so it is more appropriate to start with the list provided for an ordinary Roman church. For the church he built on the estate of one of his priests, the titulus Equitius,9 bishop Silvester provided all but one object, a gift from the emperor Constantine. The list reflects in all likelihood, the furnishing of the church at the end of Antiquity. List of objects used in the titulus Equitius:10 – A silver paten weighing 20 lb, from the gift of the emperor Constantine [Patenam argenteam, pensantem libras XX, ex dono Augusti Constantini] He also gave [Donavit autem]: – 2 silver scyphi each weighing 10 lb [Scyphos argenteos II, pens. sing. libras denas] – 1 gold chalice weighing 2 lb [Calicem aureum, pens. lib. II ] – 5 service chalices each weighing 2 lb [Calices ministeriales V, pensantes singulos libras binas] – 2 silver amae each weighing 10 lb [Amas argenteas II, pens. sing. lib. denas] – 1 silver chrism-paten, inlaid with gold, weighing 5 lb [Patenam argenteam auroclusam chrismalem, pens. lib. V ] 7 Krautheimer (1967). Geertman (2003). 9 The word titulus itself appears only later in the 4th c. in inscriptions; see Guidobaldi (2002). 10 Lib. Pont. 34 (ed. Duchesne (1955) 170). 8 objects in churches: the testimony of inventories 555 – 10 crown lights each weighing 8 lb [Fara coronata X, pens. lib. octenas] – 20 bronze lights each weighing 10 lb [Fara aerea XX, pens. sing. lib. dena] – 12 bronze candlestick chandeliers each weighing 30 lb [Canthara cerostata XII, aerea, pens. sing. lib. trecenas] Although belonging to an ordinary titulus, the list reveals real wealth. The treasure of the church includes 75 lb of silver, which amounts to 350 solidi, if we use a ratio of 14 to 1 between gold and silver.11 The treasure also contains a gold chalice of 2 lb, which amounts to 144 solidi. Thus, when the value of the bronze objects is also included, the church gleamed with precious vessels worth more than 500 solidi. When compared with the inventory of Ibion, an Egyptian village church dated to the 5th and 6th c., it is grand. The village inventory included three silver chalices and one silver paten [ξέστ(ης) ἀργυρ(οῦς)], as well as bronze flasks, jugs and basins. The village church had little silver and mostly bronze, iron and wooden objects (see appendix). When compared with the donations attributed to Constantine for the Lateran church or for St Peter’s basilica, it is rather modest. The Lateran was offered 17,725 lb of silver, while St Peter’s received 4,780 lb.12 This titulus is a well-endowed urban church, which can give us an idea of what a church, neither poor not extremely wealthy, could possess. Its treasure is comparable to the donation of about 200 solidi given to the church at Tivoli by its founder. One could argue that the list of objects is selective, which is true. Unlike the Ibion inventory, it does not include the most mundane of objects. Yet the number of objects cited for the titulus is comparable to the number of objects discovered in hoards: 54 for the titulus, 56 for the buried Kaper Koraon treasure. The surviving treasure belonging to the Kaper Koraon church amounts to a total weight of 82 lb of silver, a figure close to that of the titulus.13 The titulus Equitius list gives us an idea of what the precious objects were in a standard church. Many of the items listed are also found in buried hoards of church silver. In the treasure of Hama, chalices, candelabra and a cross have been recovered but also wine filters, spoons, phials and lamps.14 From a liturgical point of view, the titulus Equitius list 11 Bertelè (1978). Mundell Mango (1992) 134; Mundell Mango (1986) 3 gives a different figure 10,875 lb. 13 Mundell Mango (1992) 134. 14 Mundell Mango (1992) xxv. 12 556 béatrice caseau is quite easy to understand. It includes patens for the prosphora (Eucharistic) bread, chalices for the wine and numerous lamps. We are in the presence of two sets of objects needed for the Eucharistic liturgy: gold objects or gold inlaid objects, on the one hand, and silver objects on the other. The only gold chalice was probably, if at all, used by the priest serving mass, while the 5 silver chalices were meant for communion. But even in this straightforward list, we encounter difficulties. R. Davis has chosen not to translate the two following words: scyphus and ama. The latter probably refers to a ewer or to cruets. In the Kaper Koraon treasure, and in the Daphne treasure, ewers are present. Yet nothing is clear concerning the possible shape of these particular amae. The word scyphus is also ambiguous: R. E. Leader-Newby proposes to translate scyphus as large chalice,15 whilst M. Mundell Mango considers that it is equivalent to an amphora.16 Is there a way to be sure what kind of object a scyphus was in this particular context? A Classical scyphus or skyphos was a rather small object (5 to 15 cm high), consisting of a deep cup with handles on each side, set on a foot.17 Used to drink wine, or for libations, it was an object commonly known in wealthy houses of the 1st c. A.D.18 These drinking cups were part of what F. Baratte calls “the art of banqueting”.19 Richly adorned examples from Gaul or Italy are numerous. Some scyphoi dated to the 1st c. A.D. have been unearthed at Berthouville, for example, where they had been donated to a temple of Mercury and where they were buried. However, glass cups slowly replaced scyphoi and other silver drinking cups, which are not frequent in finds after the 3rd c.20 They did not totally disappear from silverware, since they are still in the lists of imperial gifts to new magistrates. The scyphus and other drinking cups are among the objects given by the emperor Valerianus to Claudius when he becomes tribune to help him live according to his rank, if we are to trust the Historia Augusta.21 Gifts of silver were common: they were offered not only by the emperors but also by magistrates and by 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 948). Leader-Newby (2004) 61. Mundell Mango (1986) 4. Hilgers (1969) 76–77; 274–76. Strong (1966). Baratte (1989) 84. Baratte (1993) 4; S. Martin-Kilcher (1989) 17. SHA Clod. 14.4: item in cauco et scyfo et zuma pondo undecim (ed. Chastagnol (1994) objects in churches: the testimony of inventories 557 private citizens, as gifts, token of friendship or gratitude.22 How and why, though, was the word scyphus used in a list of liturgical objects? Was it because of its association with wine, or because of its particular shape, with handles? The influence of the Latin translation of the Bible may give us a clue for its lexical transfer from banquets to the eucharist. The use of scyphus is attested in the Vulgate translation of Exodus 37.23 It refers to the shape of the object, which is like a floral cup. Finally, was the function of the scyphus different from that of the chalices cited in the following two lines? It is obviously a much bigger object than the other chalices: it weighs 10 lb, while the chalices only weigh 2 lb. One hypothesis is that it could be used to consecrate wine for a large congregation before transferring this to smaller chalices for distribution among the faithful. The two scyphi may also have been used for blessed water. Finally, they may have been kept in the treasury, as objects of prestige. This is reflected in ecclesiastical inventories, where it seems clear that some of the objects were noted for their monetary value. When they intended a donation to remain in the church, donors preferred to offer prestigious silverware rather than the equivalent in coins. When we consider the scyphi donated to the Constantinian basilica, one of them, at least, falls into this category: made of hard coral, it was inlaid with gold and precious stones, a specially adorned and prestigious object. Naturally, this basilica, being the cathedral, was more richly furnished than other churches in Rome. The two silver scyphi donated to the Constantinian basilicas were even heavier than those of the titulus Equitius, they weighed 15 lb and one other scyphus of 10 lb was made of pure gold. The function of church plate was obviously to celebrate and emphasise the liturgical acts taking place within the building, an idea which is easy for the modern mind to understand. However in late antique society such precious objects had a secondary role: that of storing bullion.24 The silversmiths of late antiquity were as much bankers as craftsmen, and the value of the objects they produced seems to have been primarily derived from their weight rather than their beauty. Silver plate was the preferred way of displaying wealth, but the items 22 Delmaire (1988). Vulgate, Ex. 37:19: tres scyphi in nucis modum per calamos singulos spherulaeque simul et lilia et tres scyphi instar nucis in calamo altero spherulaeque simul et lilia aequum erat opus sex calamorum qui procedebant de stipite candelabra. 24 Sodini J.-P. (1979) 94–97. 23 558 béatrice caseau were not necessarily to be used according to their shape function on a regular basis. Large churches such as Hagia Sophia may have used many chalices or patens during their liturgies, but this is unlikely for smaller churches: thus the three silver chalices of Ibion are perhaps to be understood as representing the savings of the church, and not items which were all regularly used. Architectural Decoration and Lighting In the donations of liturgical vessel recorded in the Life of Pope Silvester, we find not only eucharistic vessel (patens, chalices, cruets), but also lighting devices and precious revetment for major elements of the church furnishing (altars, fastigium . . .). Whilst it might seem odd to mention architectural revetments alongside lighting devices, their connection becomes clearer when one considers the effect that reflected light from such revetments had on the visual experience of the church. Along with coloured marbles, mosaics and textiles, they transformed the churches into spaces shining with expensive materials. Visual displays of wealth were particularly obvious in churches endowed with imperial money. Such, for example, was the Lateran cathedral in the 4th c., and the church of Hagia Sophia, also significantly called the Great Church under Justinian.25 Procopius, Agathias and Evagrius agree that no expense had been spared for Hagia Sophia: it was a thoroughly exceptional church in its display of wealth.26 The altar itself was worth a fortune: it was sheathed in jewel-studded gold and covered with embroidered silk. Alas, we have no inventory for the early period of its history as a church. But a 6th c. ekphrasis on this church by Paul the Silentiarius reveals the care taken to adorn it on festive occasions (it was after all the cathedral where the emperors were crowned, and where they attended mass with their court).27 ‘Everything is clothed in beauty, everything fills the eye with wonder’, exclaims Paul.28 What made this church extraordinary was the magnitude of everything: the size of the cupola, the extensive use of precious metal to cover capitals of marble columns, the ambo, the 25 26 27 28 On the 6th c. reconstruction, see Mainstone (1988). Procop. Aed. 1.1.22–23; Agath. 5.9.2; Evagr. 4.31. Paul Sil. Soph. (ed. and transl. Fayant and Chuvin (1997)). Paul Sil. Soph. 806 (transl. Mango (1972) 89–90). objects in churches: the testimony of inventories 559 chancel screen, the seats of the synthronon, the ciborium; some 40,000 lb of silver could be seen shining inside the church. The riches of other churches were easily surpassed both in size and number in the Great Church. Paul is particularly amazed by the lighting of this divine church: ‘no words are sufficient to describe the illumination in the evening: you might say that some nocturnal sun filled the majestic temple with light.’29 He then proceeds to describe the numerous circular polycandela shedding light above the crowds. Reflected by the gold mosaics, the light of the myriads of oil lamps gave an even, soft and warm illumination.30 For the study of lighting in more ordinary churches we can rely on a few inventory details and the testimony of archaeology.31 The list of the titulus Equitius includes both crown lights hanging from the ceiling and standing lamps such as the candlestick chandeliers: 10 crown lights, 20 bronze lights and 12 bronze candlesticks. The inventory of the church of Ibion includes: 4 bronze and 2 iron lampstands, 6 hand-lamps and 4 lamps in the shape of a boat, along with the following reflective fixtures: one bronze altar, one bronze basin and one bronze tub. Clearly some effort was being made both to light the key ceremonies and to reflect light from major liturgical fixtures. From mosaic depictions we know of lamps present under the ciborium on the altar and at the sides of the altar as standing chandeliers, with polycandela hanging from the ceiling or between columns, sometimes also indicated archaeologically by holes for fixtures.32 Lamps also burned over saints tombs and reliquaries in martyria. Pilgrims took some of the precious oil home, as eulogia, blessing, or as medicine. Lamps played an honorific role at martyr shrines, enhanced by the presence of votive objects in metal, which reflected the light they cast. Votive plaques with Chi-Rho monograms were discovered in the Water Newton treasure.33 In some healing shrines where incubation was practiced, lamps burned all night, partly to honour the saints, partly to protect the living against demons and partly for practical reasons, to provide light to the sick people lying in the church. Oil was expensive. Cheaper wax candles were used at the same time as oil lamps inside some churches, whilst others had to make do with smelly 29 30 31 32 33 Paul Sil. Soph. 806 (transl. Mango (1972) 89). Chuvin (1997). Ross (1962) pl. XXV–XXXI; Durand (1992) 121–22, cat. nos. 68–69. Galavaris (1978). Painter (1977); (1999). 560 béatrice caseau tallow candles.34 In any case, artificial light was an essential aspect of church life. Some services were held during the night. During the Easter vigil, the newly baptised moved in procession from the baptistery to the church, for example. Portable lights were needed for procession within a darkened church. Prayers such as the “phôs hilaron”, were offered when daylight decreased and artificial light was needed. Light held an important symbolic power that the everyday rituals of the late antique Church needed to incorporate, night and day. Windows mattered for that reason. Late antique visitors were impressed by sunlight flooding the Hagia Sophia church from above, as if it was divine light coming to earth. The importance of light was probably also appreciated by the makers of the glass windows of churches.35 Lights served to delineate a hierarchy of spaces inside the church. The central apse, for example, was better lit than other areas of the church, since it had both windows and artificial light. It was the most sacred area, where the altar was often located and where the higher members of the clergy had seats. Seating was a privilege in Late Antique churches. Furniture—Seats Seating in the churches is mentioned many times in the canonical literature, with specific rules of proprietary behaviour: the young should stand up or sit on the floor to let the eldest sit in church. Yet, apart for the synthronon reserved for members of the clergy and a small number of inbuilt stone benches, there are very few archaeological examples of actual seats, although benches built into the lateral wall of the nave are known at some sites. One of the reasons for their absence from records is the use of wood for seating. The church of Ibion inventory confirms the presence of seats, even in a village church. It is one of very few texts mentioning benches, made out of wood, a relatively rare commodity in Egypt. Were the two wooden benches and the three armchairs meant only for members of the clergy or also for the worshippers? If we follow the examples provided by the canonical literature, we understand that seating on a bench, a stool or a seat was indeed a privilege. Seating was 34 35 Bouras (1982). See O’Hea (forthcoming). objects in churches: the testimony of inventories 561 not intended for everyone. We can imagine that the armchairs were meant for the priest and the deacons, serving the church. What about the benches? The two benches may have allowed seating for up to 6 people, depending on their size. John Moschos, who writes during the early 7th c., mentions benches and seating inside churches: Abba Theodoros in Alexandria had nothing except his books and ‘he slept on a bench whenever he came across a church’.36 Another episode of the Pratum Spirituale alludes to a young man sitting in a church, joined by another man who started a conversation about the salvation of the soul.37 The Apostolic Constitutions, dated to the 4th c. but including earlier texts also refer to seating inside churches. The second book copies the Didascalia apostolorum, a text dated to A.D. 230:38 ‘in the church, young people shall sit apart, if there is room, otherwise they shall stand; the elders shall sit following their rank.’39 The Syriac translation of the Didascalia apostolorum reveals that the clergy was meant to sit in the apse or the easternmost part of the church, then the men, then the women. Mothers and young children were seated at the back of the church, close to the doors.40 Sitting was part of the liturgy since the text announces: ‘when you stand up to pray, the leaders may stand first, and after them the laymen, and then also the women.’41 A deacon was in charge of organising the seating for everyone, making sure that the young would leave their seats to the elders, and that poor strangers were welcome.42 Each group was to have a specific space in the church. Whether this canonical view of order was respected is uncertain. However, these texts reveal that seating was relatively scarce: there were fewer seating spaces than worshippers, thus the insistence on those who had to give up their seats. This is consistent with the two benches we find in the inventory of Ibion. Even in a village church, in all likelihood these two benches could not provide seating for everyone. The presence of two leather cushions indicates that privileged seating was also comfortable seating. It may be assumed that the two cushions were meant for the armchairs, and destined to soften seating for the 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Joh. Moschus 171 (transl. Wortley (1992) 140). Joh. Moschus 201 (transl. Wortley (1992) 179). Faivre (1977) 118–19. Const. Apost. 2.57.12. Caseau (2005). The Didascalcia Apostolorum in Syriac 12 (ed. and transl. Vööbus (1979) 131). Canon 52 (ed. and transl. Horner (1904) 195–96). 562 béatrice caseau priest and the deacon. Why do we find two cushions and three armchairs? Who sat in the third cushion-deprived wooden armchair? If the armchairs were in the part of the church reserved for members of the clergy, it could be a clergyman of inferior rank. This inventory was written, by an archdeacon, for an Abba George, who may have been the landlord of the church. We can suspect that he sat on a cushion, when he came to visit. Still, without further information, we are left with conjectures. Whoever sat on the cushion, one thing seems certain: the presence of seats in churches was designed to distinguish individuals according to their liturgical and worldly status. In the law court, the city council or other political occasions, only those of an appropriate rank had the right to sit, other people stood: in the law court this meant everyone except the judges and those of senatorial rank. Seats in agorai and theatres were governed by similar rules, though for people of lower status.43 Thus it is not surprising to find only a few seats set within churches: the benches for the clergy in the synthronon in the apse, and a few wooden seats for the powerful or the elders elsewhere, leaving much space for those obliged to stand. Textiles Textiles were used to give warmth and to mute the acoustics of churches. They also revealed wealth. In some churches, wall hangings replaced mosaics. Although only a small number of church textiles have come down to us, artworks depicting churches reveal that curtains were extremely common, not only at the doors and windows, but also between columns or hanging on walls. The Ibion church inventory records a number of textiles to cover tables and seats, as well as textiles for hanging: – 2 hangings [καταπετάσμ(ατα)] – 23 linen table cloths [μαμπ(άρια) λινᾶ τῆς τραπέζ(ης)] – 5 woollen cloths (table cloths?) [μαμπ(άρια) ἐρεινᾶ)] 43 Seating in the law court: e.g. Lib. Or. 48.16; Lib. Or. 56.4. Seating in the curia: Cod. Theod. 12.1.4 (A.D. 317). Seating in agorai: Lavan (2006) 220 I am grateful to Luke Lavan for these references, which will be treated at greater length in the publication of his thesis. objects in churches: the testimony of inventories – – – – – 6 1 2 1 1 563 door-curtains [οὐηλόθυρα], one other, old hanging woollen curtain [οὐηλάρ(ιον) ἐρειν(οῦν) κρεμ(αστὸν)] leather cushions [τυλάρ(ια) δερμάτ(ινα)] triply (woven?) cloth [ἱστ(ὸς) τριύφ(αντος)] hanging coverlet [στρῶμ(α) κρεμαστ(ὸν)] The Ibion church had curtains specifically made for doors (θύρα): the number 6 probably means that the church had three doors. The seventh door curtain is cited as too old: we can assume that although it had not been discarded, it was out of use. We are not told what material these curtains were made of, but it is unlikely that they were made of wool, as in this case it might have been mentioned as it was for the hanging woollen curtain. A curtain made out of linen and wool is possible. There is an example of such a textile, a tapestry, in the Benaki Museum in Athens. It comes from a monastery at Antinoë in Egypt and dates to the 5th or 6th c.44 The section preserved measures 1.05 by 0.86 m. It shows two praying figures. It is difficult to know what the wool curtain and the hanging coverlet cited in the inventory looked like. Their designs are not described. The fact that they have a special entry is probably due to the fact that they had a specific hanging space in the church. Hangings could either adorn a particular area of the church or separate two spaces. In relatively poor churches, unable to afford marble or mosaic revetment, an embroidered piece of textile could cover and adorn part of the walls. Textiles could also mark and protect specific areas, such as the tomb or reliquary of a saint, or a recess.45 We hear of such a practice in the West, when a man stole a cross in the church of Brioude and wrapped it in the curtains hanging on the walls: ‘He ripped a cross with glittering jewels from the top [of the tomb] and tossed it to the ground; then he gathered curtains and drapes hanging on the surrounding walls. From them he made up a single bundle and put it across his shoulders.’46 44 Fotopoulos (1997) 196–197, n. 331 linen and wool screen curtain, 1.05 by 0.86 cm Bénazeth, Durand and Rutchowskaya (1999) 146. For examples of Coptic hangings, see Lorquin (1999); Koptische Kunst (1963); Schrenk (1993). 46 Greg. Tur. Virt. Jul. 20: (super cancellum beati sepulchri cursu prosilit rapido) detractamque a summo unam gemmis corruscantibus crucem ad terram deiecit, collectique villolis ac palliolis de circuitu parietum pendentibus, unum voluculum facit, impositumque umeris (transl. Van Dam (1993) 177). Duval (2002) 45 suggests that the curtains were rather hanging from rods placed between columns, but there is no mention of columns in the text. 45 564 béatrice caseau The inventory also mentions iron rods, which may have been used to hang curtains. Depictions of such rods are not infrequent on mosaics: they hold the curtains hanging between columns in the mosaic of Theodoric’s palace in S. Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna. The rods were located under the capitals. From mosaic depictions of churches, we can see that curtains adorned doors, sometimes windows, and inter-columnar spaces.47 In the Vienna Genesis manuscript, dated to the 6th c., there is a rod holding a short curtain across the ciborium above the altar.48 Some surviving curtains retain elements to tie them to such rods.49 Another inventory of church property, also from Egypt, but from a slightly later period (7th–8th c.) offers a relatively important collection of textiles.50 On 18 fragments of papyrus, a list of 45 books and a list of around 36 objects can be read. Because it is fragmentary, nothing can be said about missing objects, such as patens and censers. The mention of a silk tunic is enough to make P. Van Minnen, the editor, suggests that this was the inventory of a cathedral church. Silk was indeed a luxury in Late Antiquity.51 Tunics were often made of linen, with the addition of borders, the clavi, where silk could be used. Tunics made entirely out of silk were affordable only for the wealthy, such as members of the aristocracy. Some bishops were often rich enough either by birth or through the wealth of their church to afford such tunics.52 Consistent with the analysis of the silk tunic as belonging to a bishop, the number of books and the presence of gold objects (a spoon and a cross) also point in the direction of an important church. List of textiles cited on the papyrus fragments: – 3 small veils [[στιχαρομ]ᾳφορ(ια) μι[κρ(ά)]] – 1 tiny purple linen covering [[σκέ]πασμ(α) λε[πτουργ(ὲς) ὀθώνι(νον) πο]ρφυρ[οῦ(ν)]] – 1 white linen covering (styles) [[εἰλ]ητον σκέπασμ(α) [ὀθώνι(νον) λευκ(όν)]] 47 48 49 50 51 52 Ripoll (2004). Vindob. Gr. 31, fol. 7, reproduction in Mathews (1971) fig. 94. Durand (2002) 79; Calament (1996). Van Minnen (1991). Morelli (2004); Morrison and Cheynet (2002) 851; Mrozek (1980). Martiniani-Reber (1986) 12–13. objects in churches: the testimony of inventories 565 – 1 light-purple (?) linen covering [σκέπασμ(α) ὀθώνι(νον) λ[ευκοβ] λαττι(ον)] – 1 Isaurian linen covering with a tapestry woven design with . . . [σκέπασμ(α) [ὀθώνι(νον) ἔχ(ον). [. . .]ρ( )᾽Ισαυρικ(ὸν) (καὶ) ἔμπλουμ(ον)] – 1 Egyptian red linen covering with . . . [σκέπασμ(α) [ὀθώνι(νον) ἔχ(ον). [. . .]ρ( ) ῥούσι(ον) Αἰγίπτι(ον)] – 1 small rosy linen covering with a black fringe [σκέπασμ(α) μικρ(ὸν) ὀθώ[ν]ι(νον) ἔχ(ον) μαῦρ(ον) ἀκρούλι(ον) ῥοτόφυλ(λον)] – 1 small . . . linen covering [σκέπασμ(α) μ[ι]κ[ρ(ὸν)] ὀθ[ώνι(νον)] – x . . . coverings – 1 new covering with a painted design [σκέπασμ(α) ζωγ(ραφητὸν) καιν[ούργ(ιον)]] – 1 covering with a painted design [σ[κέπασμ(α) ζ]ωγ(ραφητὸν)] – 1 embroidered covering for a couch [σ[κέπασμ(α)] ἀκκουβιτ(άριον) πλουμαρικ(όν)] – 1 new transparent and embroidered silk tunic [ση[ρ(ικὸν) κ]ροσταλλ (οειδὲς) στιχ(άριον) πλουμαρικ(ὸν)] – 1 embroidered curtain with red tassel [καταπέτασμ(α) ἔχ(ον) πόδ(ας) ῥουσί(ους) πλουμαρικ(όν)] – 2 curtains with a painted design with black tassels [καταπετάσμ(ατα) ζωγ(ραφητὰ) ἔχ(οντα) πόδ(ας) μαύρους] – x curtains with tapestry woven and painted designs [καταπετάσμ(ατα) ἔμπλουμ(α) ζωγ(ραφητά)] The first striking element when comparing this with the previous Greek inventory is the number of details provided for the textiles: the material, the colour, the type of design and details about the fringes are provided along with occasional mention of the size. Compared with the Ibion church, this wealthier church owned a good number of textiles used as coverings. Altars often had two or three altar-cloths of different length and colour superposed.53 Some of these could end with a fringe. Such fringes are attested on some images of table coverings such as one in the famous Codex purpureus Rossanensis, illustrating Pilate’s judgment, or the depictions of the altar between Abel and Melchisedech in San Vitale 53 In San Vitale (Ravenna), the mosaic depiction of the altar has a purple altar cloth falling on 4 sides to the feet of the altar, and a white altar cloth with fringes falling only half way. 566 béatrice caseau (Ravenna).54 The small rosy linen covering with a black fringe may be an altar or a tablecloth if the word ἀκρούλιον, as Van Minnen suggests, comes from ἀκροῦλος ‘woolly’ and refers to a fringe. Tablecloths in linen and silk are mentioned in another church inventory, using terms similar to those from domestic inventories.55 Many of the textiles in the papyrus fragments inventory are described as painted. Unfortunately, there is no description of the subject or designs, so we must look at textiles preserved in museums to imagine what they could have looked like. Scenes from the Old Testament, such as the stories of Joseph, Adam and Eve, David, Jonas, and Daniel, and scenes from the New Testament, such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Last Supper, and numerous miracle episodes, are present on textiles. Depending on their size, some of these pieces are equivalent to an icon, some to a mural fresco.56 Some may be copies of actual icons. M. H. Rutschowscaya suggests that a tapestry, now in Cleveland museum, depicting the Virgin and child surrounded by archangels Gabriel and Michael, copied a painting.57 A number of textiles depict praying figures. Most probably funerary hangings, they may have adorned a church or a private house in memory of the deceased.58 From the details concerning colours in the Leiden papyrus, we can conclude that this must have been a very colourful church: red [ῥούσιον], pink [ῥοτόφυλλον] (if the word is about the colour and not the design),59 purple [πορφύρεος], and light-purple (?) [λευκοβλαττιον] are noted for different linen coverings.60 These are warm colours, and from what is left of either Coptic or Byzantine textiles, we can confirm that reds and yellows dominate, while purple is a sign of luxury.61 Red and gold are often linked to divine glory, to fire and light, but as 54 Fol. 8, Rossano, cathedral treasure, reproduction in Durand (1999) 41. Fournet (2006) 155–65. 56 Baratte (1985). 57 Rutschowscaya (2002). 58 Such is the hanging from the Louvre, inv. E 29307, reproduction and commentary in Bosson and Aufrère (1999) 166, fig. 80; 257–58. 59 Van Minnen (1991) 65: it seems unlikely that the addition of ῥοτόφυλλον should be interpreted in such a way that the covering showed a rose-petal design (non liturgical Coptic textiles do show garlands of roses from time to time). See for example: linen with green stem and red flower, fonds Gayet, inv. AI 49 621, Lorquin (1999) 18, 60; linen with red flowers and birds, Musée du Louvre, inv. AF 6041, reproduction in Durand and Saragoza (2002) 90–94, 80; Goyon (1996) 19–20 notes the pink colouring of some linen clothes and links it to a parasite of the plant. 60 Goyon (1996) 13–22. 61 Cardon et al. (2004). 55 objects in churches: the testimony of inventories 567 L. James has brilliantly shown, colour symbolism is not fixed in Byzantium, it depends on the subject depicted.62 Colours were nevertheless important. Late antique churches were far from the sober ideal of Cistercian churches: they were colourful. The impression derived from these inventories of textiles is that altar and table coverings, doorcurtains and hangings played an important role in adding colour to the church interiors. Textiles were also an immediate indication of wealth for a stranger. They also played an important role in enhancing the comfort and atmosphere of a church. They excluded flies and draughts, welcomed visitors at the door, covered the altar, and transformed the churches into warmer spaces than bare walls or marbles could offer. Texture played a role in this warmth: some of the textiles were quite thick, such as curtains in the loop weave technique, others were precious gossamer like veils.63 After studying textile remains from Maximianon, Krokodilô and Didymoi in Egypt, D. Cardon has noted, “l’étude de tous ces textiles produit une impression visuelle de chatoiement coloré, évoquant une société où la teinture des textiles était un art à la fois largement répandu et techniquement fort développé”.64 Finally, textiles added to the sensory experience of the churchgoers by catching the odour of incense, making it linger inside the churches. Incense and Censers Incense is a neglected aspect in many studies of late antique churches. The presence of incense inside churches is well attested after the end of the 4th c. But identifying objects used to burn incense is not straightforward. Both the words and the objects used as incense burners present problems, providing something of a case study of the difficulties of understanding inventories. If we look at the few surviving church inventories, censers are not often mentioned, even at a date when we know incense was used during the liturgy. The Ibion inventory has no censer, although the list of objects seems quite complete. Was this 62 James (1996) 103–107. Durand and Saragoza (2002) 112–13: la technique du bouclé par la trame est attestée en Égypte, depuis l’époque pharaonique; aux époques romaine et byzantine, elle reste courante et permet d obtenir des tissus chauds et confortables, adaptés aussi bien à l’usage vestimentaire, sur des châles et des tuniques, qu à l’usage mobilier, comme tenture, couverture ou peut-être même housse de coussin. 64 Cardon et al. (2004) 102. 63 568 béatrice caseau Egyptian church deprived of incense? It seems unlikely, since incense arrived from Yemen in Egypt before being redistributed and it was probably affordable enough for an ordinary church. This apparent contradiction can be resolved if we try to reconsider the objects in which incense might have been burned, and to examine their occurrence in texts, images and archaeology. The 1st c. A.D. writer of the Book of Revelation mentions incense burning in phiale, round hollow dishes. It is this kind of object that we should be looking for in church inventories, and not swinging censers. Further proof of the danger of searching for formal censers alone is provided by a 3rd c. fresco from Dura Europos. This scene shows women approaching a tomb, and it is best interpreted as the Women at the Tomb. One of the women carries a bowl from which something dark emanates which seems to be the smoke of incense rising in the air.65 Thus incense was burning in some sort of phiale in this 3rd c. painting. Archaeology suggests that such simple objects might also have been used to burn incense in an ecclesiastical context. In Egypt, 17 bowls on a small foot, decorated both inside and outside with paint, were discovered during the excavation of the Kellia. All but three were dug out of the rubbish dump. The last three came from the level of the last phase of occupation of the south basilica and had been left on the ground. They date back either to the 6th c. or to the end of the 7th and beginning of the 8th c.66 Their shape suggests that they were cups or incense burners. In fact, the presence of carbonised matter or soot is the best criteria for distinguishing incense burners from other objects of similar shape. Soot helped identify alabaster cups discovered in tombs in Nubia as incense burners.67 In the absence of carbonised matter, some ambiguity can remain. Lamps and incense burners can sometimes be confused with each other. In Numidia, the exhumation of a late antique Christian basilica near Aïn-Kercha has revealed a broken clay object identified as a hanging perfume-burner.68 The difference between such an object and a lamp lies in the presence of holes in the sides of the bowl. It is unfortunately impossible to date such a find precisely, since 65 Dura Europos, Fresco from the House church, before AD 256 (Yale, University Art Gallery). 66 Egloff (1977) I 157–60; II pl. 33, 84–85. 67 Emery and Kirwan (1939) 11. 68 Berthier (1942) 99; 187. objects in churches: the testimony of inventories 569 the church was excavated in a slipshod manner, and abandoned soon after its discovery, without further investigations. Thus there is much evidence to suggest that we may need a more flexible approach in looking for incense burners in inventories. Can we find an object in the Ibion inventory, which might have been used to burn incense? Among the bronze objects, we find one λεβης χαλκ(οῦς), that is, a cauldron of the type offered after sports contests in ancient Greece. The other interesting object is a κοκκουμ(ιον) χαλκ(οῦν). An ostrakon found in the monastery of Epiphanius at Thebes also mentions a bronze κουκκούμιον in a list of bronze objects: pots, pans, cauldrons, boxes, etc.69 The only reference to this word listed in the Thesaurus linguae graecae is found in Epictetus, where it is used to give a bath to a child.70 This implies a big enough cauldron for this activity. One last object in this church inventory is intriguing: κυαθ(ος), which designates a sort of bowl or cup, sometimes used as a measure and mainly for drinks.71 There is no doubt that incense could very well burn in one of these objects. The κοκκούμ(ιον) χαλκ(οῦν) is probably a bigger object than the Latin cucumellum found in the inventory of the church of Cirta, during the persecution of Diocletian, in A.D. 303. The list from Cirta, recorded in the Gesta apud Zenophilum, recalls the traditio of Paul, bishop of Cirta. The Gesta apud Zenophilum preserves an account of the objects found in the bishop’s church.72 In A.D. 320, Domitius Zenophilus, governor of Numidia, was in charge of judging the participation of Silvanus, then sub-deacon and now bishop of Cirta,73 in the traditio of books and liturgical apparel perpetrated by Paul. He was presented with the list of confiscated objects written at the time of the confiscation. The inventory includes two chalices in gold, 6 chalices in silver, 6 small jugs in silver, one small pan in silver (cucumellum argenteum), lamps, torches, candelabra and clothing for men and women. Is the small pan in silver what we are looking for? Since it is made of a precious metal, it seems likely that it was used near the altar and not as a cooking-pot. An object of this kind is depicted on the Riha and Stuma patens, on the floor in front of the altar. It is 69 Winlock, Crum and Evelyn-White (1926) II 293, n. 549. Arr. Epict. diss. 3.22.71. 71 Athenaeus reports one other use: buried deep down in a cup (ἐν κυαθῖδι) is a triad of magic spells; Ath. 9.480. 72 Acta Munati Felicis in Gesta apud Zenophilum; Opt. CSEL XXVI. 73 Mandouze (1982) 1078–80. 70 570 béatrice caseau difficult to be sure what its function was, but it could very well be an incense burner. After a first inventory of the objects had been made, Minutius Felix, the flamen perpetuus in charge of enforcing the law against the Christians, ordered bishop Paul to bring whatever objects he might have left behind. His sub-deacon Silvanus brought a capitulata in silver and a silver lamp. Augustine tells the story in the Contra Cresconium.74 The French translator G. Finaert translates capitulata as if it meant a small silver box.75 In a 1912 article, H. Leclercq had already suggested such a translation, but with a question mark: “un coffret (?) d’argent”.76 For the Blaise Dictionnaire latin-français des auteurs chrétiens, the word refers either to a box or to any other vessel in a church inventory, which is far from clear.77 It is possible that this capitulata was some kind of a box, for whatever content was deemed necessary. However, since very few texts mention the word78 and since the context does not reveal what kind of object it is, it looks like guess work to assume it is a box. Can we extract some information from the word itself ? Capitulata evokes an object with a small head. Among possible liturgical objects, two types sometimes have the shape of a head: censers and ewers.79 Ewers were far less numerous than censers; the latter were, in fact, quite common. Censers in the shape of a head are displayed in museums such as the Louvre, or the Princeton Museum of Historic Art or the Royal Ontario Museum of Toronto.80 Some come from Coptic Egypt, others reveal a Graeco-Roman style. Thus from the intended reference to a head, it is possible to deduce that this object could be an incense burner. It was not brought out with the rest of the liturgical objects, because it was not considered religious but rather a domestic commodity. A 9th c. poem written to the saints of Lindisfarne mentions some capitella out 74 August. c. Cresc. 3.29.33. Finaert and De Veer (1968) 333: une cassette d argent. 76 Leclercq (1912) 32. 77 Blaise (1954) 131: cassette ou récipient quelconque (dans l inventaire d une église). 78 The word is found in the Acta Munati Felicis and repeated whenever that text is cited: August. c. Cresc. 3.29.33; August. Ep. 53.4. 79 Louvre, AF 11411. 80 Bénazeth (1992) 97: bronze censer (coptic), Louvre, Paris, AF 867; feminine head (graeco-roman), Brummer Gallery, Baltimore; feminine head (4th or 5th c.), Museum of Historic Art, Princeton; feminine head (Eastern Mediterranean, 5th or 6th c.), Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. For ancient Roman models, see Gavelle (1962) 572, 586, pl. 153: celtic ollae in the shape of a face often dedicated to a Roman god. 75 objects in churches: the testimony of inventories 571 of which the smoke of incense rose: ‘omnibus hic rutilo capitellis undique cinctum/turibulum pendet fabricatum cominus auro’.81 G. Vikan sees in the anthropomorphic incense burner of Princeton a domestic censer, but the Lindisfarne example shows that we should be careful in thinking that such objects could not be used in churches.82 A reading of these inventories proves that if we want to find objects in which incense could be burned, it is easy to find them. Cups and pans served as incense burners, providing they could stand heat. Standardised notions of what an incense burner should be, based on medieval models, are misleading. It is revealing that, in church inventories, objects were named following their shapes and not following their possible usage, in a well-established tradition. Everyone probably knew what a cucumellum looked like and what it could be used for, so that, whatever new usage was introduced, it would not change its name. Many of the objects in church inventories are given a non-liturgical name. Only later did liturgical objects come to be systematically named according to their precise liturgical function. At an early point in the history of liturgical vessels, objects were given the name they bore in ordinary life, at least in the context of inventories, so that they were easily recognisable by anyone, and their name did not disclose the uses that were made of them in churches. Later, the opposite would happen: the word censer could be used for any object used to burn incense and it does not give us any clue about its precise shape. One objection can be made to the previous explanation. We find censers among the gifts of Constantine to the Roman basilicas as well as among the gifts of king Chosroes II, and they are not called bowls or cauldrons. The list in the Liber Pontificalis does not diverge from the other inventories in the sense that it names the objects following their shapes and not by function. There is, however, an exception with the word used for censer: thymiamaterium. The function is provided by the name itself, since thymiama means incense. This is a rare word, a transliteration of a Greek term coming from the Septuagint. It is not commonly used for censers and it has a strong Biblical flavour. The word is used in the Vulgate to refer precisely to the censers of the Jerusalem Temple.83 For this specific object, the compiler of the Liber Pontificalis chose a word 81 De abbatibus et viris piis Lindisfarnensibus; Mabillon (1704) VI 320. Vikan (1989) pl. 17. 83 It is used once in the Vulgate ( Jer., 52, 19) along with the more frequent thymiaterium, and in Ambrose, Ep., 4, 3; De Sacramentis, IV, 1. 82 572 béatrice caseau slightly different from the usual thymiaterion. Was it to show Biblical culture or was it to avoid the imperial connotation of incense offering? If the donation goes back to Constantine, such a reminder might be construed as offensive. Christians had died refusing to offer incense to the imperial image during the Great Persecution. However, it is possible that this choice of word is an attempt at providing Biblical words for liturgical objects, in order to distinguish them clearly from secular objects. The word thymiamaterium is found in the Ordines Romani of the early Middle Ages, a proof that the attempt was successful among Roman clerics.84 It is also an illustration of the new tendency to call liturgical objects following their use and not their shape, something which will prevail in the Middle Ages. We do not know the exact shape of these Roman thymiamateria. But since we are dealing with fixed censers and not with swinging censers at this point, it is only reasonable to think that huge basilicas required high footed censers of the ‘candelabra type’, rather than tiny bowls. It is likely that they were the stable high-footed incense burners known from the Greeks and favoured in Italy since Etruscan times.85 An object of this type, dated from the 5th c., is visible in the Brooklyn Museum. It has a flaring bowl with ventilating rings, a richly profiled balustrade and a broad tripod base.86 There is no validity to the objection that since censers are specifically mentioned in some inventories and not in others, where they are not mentioned incense cannot have been used. We should not infer the absence of incense from the churches whose inventory does not record a thymiaterion, a thymiamaterion, or a turibulum. Incense was burning in different types of objects, depending on the size and wealth of the church. In small churches, a bowl full of incense could surely fill the space with fragrance, but it was not called a thymiaterion, since it had another shape, while in major basilicas, standing incense burners with the ability to perfume a greater volume of air were called for. Movable censers that a deacon could swing became popular objects at the end of Antiquity. They were better suited to perfume the air 84 Ordines Romani, I, 41, Andrieu (1971). Testa (1989). A beautiful example of this type of object is given in Almagro Basch (1964). 86 This precise example was not a Christian censer, since it is marked by a menorah, but it has the elegance and the shape appropriate for our thymiateria; Vikan (1989) pl. 125. For other examples, see Vikan (1982) 30. 85 objects in churches: the testimony of inventories 573 of a church or to honour a particular figure or an object. They are often called thymiateria. Many of these, decorated with scenes of the life of Christ, are on display in museums.87 Their rising popularity shows that churches could now afford and wished to burn incense in specific objects. This does not mean that incense ceased to be burned in clay bowls, but it is likely that these ordinary objects were gradually excluded from churches as insufficiently worthy of God and were increasingly confined to the world of domestic objects. At least, they were not recorded in later inventories. The elaboration of a range of specific Christian censers overshadowed the other objects from which the fragrant smoke of incense could equally have risen. The words used for incense burners and the objects used to burn incense became standardised. By the early seventh century, the swinging of censers was a familiar scene inside churches. Conclusion Can we reconstruct the contents of a church with the help of inventories? The answer is not straightforward. Inventories are precious documents giving us insights into the world of objects present inside a church. They allow us to reconstruct something of the atmosphere of many churches, aspects of their ritual and social practices, and also to identify clear differences in status between different foundations. They do not however give a comprehensive list of objects and often only record precious objects. It is also sometimes difficult to link obscure terms to meanings in other texts and to real objects. To have a better view of the objects inside late antique churches it is necessary to turn to other types of source: notably buried hoards and the stratigraphic archaeology of church sites. Archaeological excavation of well-preserved churches sites also produces large numbers of associated objects, particularly in the East and South Mediterranean, with desert monasteries being particularly rich. On such sites, abandonment and especially destruction deposits produce a record of many mundane objects, shared in part with domestic areas, that even poorer churches might omit in their inventories. They also produce lamps and lampstands, and, from dry areas, curtains, wooden furniture, flasks, 87 Richter-Siebels (1990). 574 béatrice caseau and spoons, as described in the bibliographic essay on religious space in this volume. This article has tried to understand inventories by referring to individual finds on occasion, but this is to avoid touching on a more difficult issue: how to combine the evidence of inventories with stratigraphic artefact assemblages to reconstruct the total probable contents of a church. Here, neither inventories nor stratigraphy can provide a total picture. Inventories are probably generally biased in favour of the richest items, whilst archaeological sites often reflect the opposite tendency: frequently revealing only those objects which were considered of little value at the time of the abandonment of a structure. However, archaeology reveals something of the way that objects were treated over time, with record of use, repair, replacement or ritual deposition. In order to complete the picture, it is necessary to combine literary texts, such as ekphraseis, miracle stories or sermons, with inventories and archaeological finds. But whilst the latter usually privilege high-status contexts, both archaeology, and some inventories, document quite ordinary churches. Their combination can allow us to approach something of the everyday atmosphere of many churches of the period. This is obvious from the detailed inventory of the village church of Ibion, which provides a list of objects which even the most ambitious archaeologist might not hope to recover. Yet, the combination of these very different sources is far from straightforward: for many simple objects it will perhaps never be clear that the local words found in inventories can be matched to what is found on site: a degree of ambiguity must ever remain. Appendix: The Inventory of Ibion This inventory provides us with a list of objects comprising the treasure of an Egyptian village church of 5th to 6th c. date. Preserved on papyrus and written by the archdeacon Elias, it lists objects belonging to the church of Apa Psaius, located in the village of Ibion.88 It is extremely useful, because it is obviously a list meant to cover all types of objects and it includes ordinary objects of relatively little value (boxes, a knife, a ladle, a wooden tray). The translations are hypothetical, as are the 88 P. Grenf. II.111 (ed. and transl. Hunt and Edgard (1970) 432–34). objects in churches: the testimony of inventories 575 uses that we can imagine for many of these objects. We must be cautious before fixing the proper use for each object too strictly. If it seems clear that the chalices, paten and altar served during the celebration of the Lord’s Supper [ποτήρ(ια) ἀργυρ(ᾶ), ξέστ(ης) ἀργυρ(οῦς), βω-¨μὸς χαλκ(οῦς)], what was the use of the marble table? Was it an altar or a table for the offerings? This remains unclear since the list provides a specific entry for a bronze altar. What are we supposed to understand concerning the 23 linen table-cloths? Were they used as a reserve for the altar cloth, or were they intended for another table? Some of the objects could have multiple functions, for different ritual celebrations. The bronze basin [λουτήρ(ια) χαλκ(ᾶ)], for example, could have been handy for baptismal ceremonies or for the feast of the Epiphany, during which quite a large quantity of blessed water was required. Is this basin comparable to the ‘saucepans’ shown in front of the altar with a chalice on the paten of the 6th c. Riha treasure? Depictions of liturgical scenes are another source to consider when interpreting objects cited in inventories. 3 silver chalices [ποτήρ(ια) ἀργυρ(ᾶ)] 1 silver paten [ξέστ(ης) ἀργυρ(οῦς)] 2 hangings [καταπετάσμ(ατα)] 1 iron rod [ῥαβδ(ος) σιδηρ(ᾶ)], 1 small iron rod 1 marble table [τράπεζ(α) μαρμαρ(ᾶ)] the 3 bronze feet of the table [τρίπους χαλκ(οῦς) τῆς τραπέζ(ης)] 23 linen table-cloths [μαμπ(άρια) λινᾶ τῆς τραπέζ(ης)] 5 woollen cloths (table-cloths?) [μαμπ(άρια) ἐρεινᾶ)] 6 door-curtains [οὐηλόθυρα], one other, old 1 hanging woollen curtain [οὐηλάρ(ιον) ἐρειν(οῦν) κρεμ(αστὸν)] 1 hanging coverlet [στρῶμ(α) κρεμαστ(ὸν)] 4 bronze lampstands [λυχνίαι χαλκ(αῖ)] 2 iron lampstands [λυχνίαι σιδηρ(αῖ)] 1 bronze altar [βω-μ̈ὸς χαλκ(οῦς)] 1 bronze basin [λέβης χαλκ(οῦς)] 1 bronze jar [κοκκούμ(ιον) χαλκ(οῦν)] 1 bronze tub (font?) [λουτήρ(ια) χαλκ(ᾶ)] 6 hand-lamps with 6 lamp wicks (nozzles?) [χειρολυχν(ίαι)ς μύξ(αι)ς] 4 lamps in the shape of a boat with 4 lamp wicks (nozzles?) 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