Archeologia Tardoantica E Cristiana

A museum for the history of the Roman Imperial Fora in the House of the Knights of Rhodes in Rome. A new museological and museographic project proposal: contents and routes of the museum.
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The late Antique mosaic of Orpheus decorated a small room, approximately 18 m2 in area, connected with two even smaller ones, in 4 m2 and the other 2 m2 in area, belonging most likely to a small funerary chapel (or tomb) discovered in the ancient necropolis by the Damascene Gate in Jerusalem; it was discovered in 1901 by H. Vincent.
The author proposes a new interpretation of the iconographic program of the Orpheus myth used by wealthy Christians in a sepulchral context (see Olszewski M.T. «Orphée endeuillé de la mosaïque funéraire de Jérusalem», in Rey Mimoso-Ruiz, B. ed., Actes du colloque «Orphée entre Soleil et ombre», à l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse du 16 au 17 novembre 2007, Inter Lignes, numéros spécial – mars 2008, pp. 205-214, 226). He also proposes a new interpretation of the role Orpheus played in Roman funerary art, concentrating on the importance of the play on words and the visual and textual punning that was popular in ancient art and especially in funerary art. He rejects the popular interpretation of Orpheus as Christ in the Roman catacombs and proposes to interpret the image as that of Orpheus, bard of the departed souls, without any ahistorical connection with Christ. The program of the mosaic from Jerusalem is thus explained as a play on the words Orpheus-orphanos and Chiron (Chi-Rho) and Pan [Παν(τοκράτωρ)].The frequently used Christian funerary formula of resting in peace, Christ or the Lord corresponds
perfectly with the mood created around the mythical bard.
Orpheus’ universal role as singer and musician moving even the most stony of hearts, extolling the beloved departed, is absolutely justified in the context of a 6th-century Christian tomb. Orpheus is a popular and neutral figure, meaning that in effect it does not constitute a threat to Christian theology and can be tolerated by the educated Christians of Jerusalem.

More than 20 years after presenting his first interpretation of the mosaic from the House of Aion in a paper entitled “Uwagi na temat mozaiki z Domu Aiona w Nea Paphos (Cypr)” (Meander 9/10, 1987, p. 421-438, in Polish, and translated to English: « The Immortality of the Human Soul and the Dionysiac Mysteries in the 4th Century Allegory [in Connection with the Interpretation of the Mosaic from the “House of Aion” at Paphos in Cyprus]»), where he proposed reading the five mythological panels (1. Leda and Zeus; 2. Dionysus on Mount Nysa; 3. The Dionysian thiasos; 4. Apollo and Marsyas; 5. The Apotheosis of Cassiopeia) as an allegory of the destiny of the human soul and body, starting with conception and ending with the liberation of the soul and its apotheosis, the author now enhances his initial interpretation with numerous reflections concerning the historical context of this work of art, created in the years 320-360.
If, according to the author, the mosaic is a “Hymn” in honour of the pagan gods, Man (his soul) and his place in the (pagan) universe, then at the same time it polemicises with the Christian faith and its God, Jesus Christ.
The author puts forward numerous new solutions relating to the mosaic’s iconography and iconology. Analysis of the mosaic also leads him to propose a solution to the as-yet unanswered question regarding the absence of images of the crucified Christ in Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries, up until 420/430, when the first images of Christ on the cross appear.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Research to-date (recap)
2. Description of mosaic (recap)
2.1. Composition of five mythological scenes
2.2. Brief iconographic description of mythological panels
2.3. Outline of individual iconographic elements and their respective roles
2.4. The pagan gods’ air of majesty and dignity as an expression of piety
3. A few words about the pagan reaction
4. An apology of pious human life according to pagan principles and a polemic on the Christian model of Man and his theological idol, Jesus Christ
4.1. Divine intervention in the act of human conception (allusion to/polemic on the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary)
4.2. The Epiphany of Dionysus (an allusion to the Epiphany of Christ – Theou Pais)
4.3. The procession and dissemination of Dionysian order (allusion to/polemic on Christ’s entry into Jerusalem)
4.4. The error of Marsyas (polemic on/allusion to the error of Jesus the Messiah): arrest, sentencing for arrogance and lack of piety (asebeia) and condemnation to a martyr’s death
4.5. The anabasis (or anagoge psyches) of a ‘beautiful soul’ (allusion to/polemic on the Ascension of Christ)
5. A few words on the mosaic programme prior to final conclusions
Final conclusions

ABSTRACT 
L’obiettivo principale di questa tesi è lo studio della cristianizzazione delle campagne in Italia meridionale, tra il periodo Tardoantico e i primi decenni dell’Altomedioevo. Lo studio, che risente della mancanza, negli studi del settore, di una visione globale del fenomeno, rispetto alla quale sono stati finora privilegiati l'analisi e la comprensione dei singoli casi, ha cercato di fornire, più che una mera e dettagliata catalogazione delle maggiori evidenze archeologiche legate alla prima cristianizzazione degli ambienti rurali, un resoconto dei diversi processi storico-demografici che  sembrano mostrare una relazione con l’andamento della cristianizzazione delle campagne.    La tesi si divide in due parti: nella prima, composta dal primo capitolo dedicato allo status quaestionis, si è cercato di definire i risultati raggiunti dagli studi su un ambito territoriale più vasto di quello che il titolo della tesi sottintende. Lo status quaestionis è stato infatti articolato in tre parti, per aree geografiche e cronologiche: Gallia, Italia settentrionale e Italia centro-meridionale.  Operando su un così vasto ambito geografico si è potuto mediare all’esiguità di dati e alla scarsa conoscenza del fenomeno relativa ai singoli casi regionali, raggiungendo così una più ampia e adeguata visione d’insieme, per un più preciso inquadramento storico del fenomeno della cristianizzazione delle campagne, che viene attuata tra i secoli III e VI d.C.. All’interno di questo primo capitolo trovano spazio anche i numerosi processi storici, economici e demografici che pare abbiano condizionato il diffondersi del nuovo “Verbo” all’interno degli agglomerati secondari; in questo panorama, un ruolo di prim'ordine è stato rivestito dalla fine delle ville tardo-romane, presso cui sorsero piccoli edifici di culto che, oltre ad occuparsi della cura animarum dei rustici, talvolta si sostituivano alle ville nel ruolo della riorganizzazione territoriale e nello sfruttamento del latifondo.  La seconda parte della tesi si compone dei restanti tre capitoli, che esaminano rispettivamente casi di studio di Campania, Puglia e
Calabria, mettendo in evidenza, caso per caso, tempi e strumenti di attuazione di quel complesso processo che è la cristianizzazione delle aree rurali

The publication of the volume Caelius II provides an opportunity to re-examine issues tied to the installation of a martyrial cult in a house of the Late Roman era on the Clivus Scauri, over which was later built the Church of Saints John and Paul (Titulus Pammachi) in the first decades of the fifth century. The so-called “confessio”, or cult center, is at the heart of an iter that goes through the inside of the house, in an arrangement similar to the routes leading in and out of martyr
sanctuaries in the Roman suburbs, suggesting that the shrine was not strictly for private use. What’s more, at the time the basilica was being built above the house by Pammachius, the position of the confessio, containing the relics of three martyrs whose identities are not certain, was preserved with the creation of an altar positioned in quite an unusual manner in the center of the middle aisle, as depicted in a painting of the late fifteenth century. The itineraries of pilgrims of
the mid-seventh century include a stop at this church on the Celian, where they could behold the tombs of the saints venerated in the site. Then, a public cult was certainly addressed to the martyrs in the basilica.

Los 11 conjuntos eclesiales de la Antigüedad Tardía en el archipiélago balear.
LAGARDA MATA, Ferran (2012). Las Basílicas Paleocristianas de las Baleares.
Sobradiel: 2012.
232 Pàgines A4 amb 237 Il·lustracions en color i B/N. Idioma: Castellano. PVP: 50,00 €
ISBN: 9788496810242

More than 20 years after presenting his first interpretation of the mosaic from the House of Aion in a paper entitled “Uwagi na temat mozaiki z Domu Aiona w Nea Paphos (Cypr)” (Meander 9/10, 1987, p. 421-438, in Polish, and translated to English: « The Immortality of the Human Soul and the Dionysiac Mysteries in the 4th Century Allegory [in Connection with the Interpretation of the Mosaic from the “House of Aion” at Paphos in Cyprus]»), where he proposed reading the five mythological panels (1. Leda and Zeus; 2. Dionysus on Mount Nysa; 3. The Dionysian thiasos; 4. Apollo and Marsyas; 5. The Apotheosis of Cassiopeia) as an allegory of the destiny of the human soul and body, starting with conception and ending with the liberation of the soul and its apotheosis, the author now enhances his initial interpretation with numerous reflections concerning the historical context of this work of art, created in the years 320-360.
If, according to the author, the mosaic is a “Hymn” in honour of the pagan gods, Man (his soul) and his place in the (pagan) universe, then at the same time it polemicises with the Christian faith and its God, Jesus Christ.
The author puts forward numerous new solutions relating to the mosaic’s iconography and iconology. Analysis of the mosaic also leads him to propose a solution to the as-yet unanswered question regarding the absence of images of the crucified Christ in Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries, up until 420/430, when the first images of Christ on the cross appear.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Research to-date (recap)
2. Description of mosaic (recap)
2.1. Composition of five mythological scenes
2.2. Brief iconographic description of mythological panels
2.3. Outline of individual iconographic elements and their respective roles
2.4. The pagan gods’ air of majesty and dignity as an expression of piety
3. A few words about the pagan reaction
4. An apology of pious human life according to pagan principles and a polemic on the Christian model of Man and his theological idol, Jesus Christ
4.1. Divine intervention in the act of human conception (allusion to/polemic on the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary)
4.2. The Epiphany of Dionysus (an allusion to the Epiphany of Christ – Theou Pais)
4.3. The procession and dissemination of Dionysian order (allusion to/polemic on Christ’s entry into Jerusalem)
4.4. The error of Marsyas (polemic on/allusion to the error of Jesus the Messiah): arrest, sentencing for arrogance and lack of piety (asebeia) and condemnation to a martyr’s death
4.5. The anabasis (or anagoge psyches) of a ‘beautiful soul’ (allusion to/polemic on the Ascension of Christ)
5. A few words on the mosaic programme prior to final conclusions
Final conclusions
Key words: mythological mosaic, House of Aion, Nea Paphos, Late Antiquity, Roman art, allegorical narrative, allusive language of mythological pictures, wordplay (Marsyas-Messias), Jesus Christ, anti-Christian polemic, Dionysos, Cassiopeia, Apollon, Nereides, Abstract Personifications, Greek Mythology, ΚΥΠΡΟΣ

"This paper proposes three new (and tentatively, another two) identifications of sundials in Middle Eastern mosaics of the 5th – 8th century. The author discusses a vignette from the Holy Martyrs’ Church at Tayibat al-Imâm, central Syria, a mosaic panel from the tomb of Georgia and Theodosia in Jerusalem, two
vignettes of Sebastis and Kastron Mefaa from the St. Stephan’s Church at Umm al-Rasas, and a vignette of Jerusalem from the St. George’s Church at Madaba. These mosaics date, respectively, to 442, to the reign of Justinian (527 –565), and to the Byzantine Umayyad era (718). According to the author, these are probably the latest representations of sundials known to date from the Late Antiquity. Until this study, only six representations of sundials on mosaics from the Roman period were known. This paper adds three new items and two hypothetical ones from Byzantine times. It also offers an interpretation of the function of the famous column in Jerusalem, shown on the map of Madaba and the mega-vignette of the Holy City.
Key words: Sundials, Sonnenhuhren, Meridiane, Cadrans solaires, Relojes de sol."

This book derives from the doctoral thesis of the author. The Molise was a small region of central Italy that has been little studied by archaeologists. This study has attempted to fill the gaps in our knowledge with the collection and systematic comparison of all the historical, epigraphic, archaeological documentation pertaining to Molise in the period comprising the middle to late Roman period and the high middle ages. The aim was to write the first general synthesis concerning the transformations taking place in the cities and countryside in what was a strategic zone close to Rome, and place this in the context of the recently developing debate about the Italian landscape in late antiquity.

Recenti scavi hanno consentito di documentare siti nell'area urbana e subuirbana di Nola, in Campania, databili tra l'età tardo-antica e l'alto medioevo. Si tratta per la massima parte di aree funebri. Fino ad oggi la continuità di vita era chiaramente attestata soltanto presso le basiliche di Cimitile.

Rivista del Dipartimento di Studi Classici e Cristiani dell’Università degli Studi di Bari, si propone come sede specialistica di ricerche, approfondimenti, confronti su temi e problemi relativi alla letteratura e alla storia del cristianesimo dalle origini all’altomedioevo.

""Il centro urbano di Canicattini Bagni si trova a circa 20 Km ad ovest di Siracusa, all’interno del bacino di alimentazione del torrente Cavadonna nel margine più orientale dell’altopiano ibleo. I complessi ipogeici e rupestri di epoca tardoromana e bizantina (IV-IX secc. d. C.), ubicati attorno a Canicattini Bagni per un raggio di 8-10 km in un’area di 140 ettari circa, sono le uniche testimonianze esistenti sulle primitive comunità cristiane che si stanziarono, a partire dal IV-V secolo d.C., in questo lembo dell’entroterra siracusano dove passava una delle più antiche vie di comunicazione tra la metropoli siracusana e la subcolonia di Akrai (Palazzolo Acreide).
Nel corso di due brevi ricognizioni, effettuate tra il 1895 e il 1904, Paolo Orsi e Joseph Führer identificarono in maniera sommaria i resti di numerose necropoli subdiali e ipogeiche nelle contrade Cugno Martino, Tenute del Vicario, S. Giovanni, Cozzo Guardiole, S. Elania, Stallaini e Bagni. Giuseppe Agnello, in occasione del V Congresso Internazionale di Studi Bizantini (Roma, 20-26 settembre 1936), si occupò delle chiesette rupestri di Cugni di Cassaro e della Grotta della Madonna o dei Santi di contrada Petracca. Infine Salvatore Carpinteri, nella sua tesi di laurea inedita intitolata Canicattini cristiana dell’A.A. 1955-56, identificò alcuni ipogei isolati nelle contrade Cavasecca, Bagni e Bosco di Sopra e molteplici cimiteri sotterranei e a cielo aperto in contrada Piano Milo, nella Piana di Cuccilato e nelle Case Grandi di Cugni di Cassaro. Questi monumenti funerari, il cui legame con il culto cristiano è confermato dalla frequente presenza di croci incise o a rilievo e di brandelli di epitaffi e pitture su intonaco, sono stati raggruppati dal Carpinteri in cinque tipologie, le cui forme e dimensioni erano dovute in parte alle caratteristiche della roccia calcarea dei luoghi nei quali furono realizzate e in parte alla disparità delle classi sociali di appartenenza: fosse terragne, tombe a forno o siculo-bizantine, arcosoli, camere ipogeiche, baldacchini o teguria. Le tombe a fossa per bambini arrivano sino alla lunghezza di cm 50 mentre quelle più grandi variano in lunghezza da m 1,70 a 2,70, in profondità da cm 50 a m 1 e in larghezza da cm 45 a m 1; i loculi degli arcosoli canicattinesi sono lunghi da m 1,60 a 2 e larghi da cm 40 a m 1,10 mentre l’arco si innalza su di essi da cm 45 a m 1,05. Dal punto di vista icnografico, gli ipogei hanno pianta generalmente quadrangolare o trapezoidale, tetto piano, ingresso a pozzetto o con breve corridoio anteriore, arcosoli sulle pareti laterali, eventuali baldacchini al centro e singole formae sul piano di calpestio; gli arcosoli sub divo sono sempre monosomi o bisomi mentre quelli ipogeici possono contenere fino a dodici sepolture contemporaneamente
Per quanto riguarda le chiese rupestri, Aldo Messina ritiene che non vi sia alcun elemento che faccia pensare all’ipogeo di Cugni di Cassaro come luogo di culto cristiano mentre la Grotta della Madonna o dei Santi di Petracca risulta essere un complesso catecumenale di incerta datazione. La tesi di laurea del Carpinteri ha il merito di aver segnalato l’esistenza della Grotta dei Santi in Pianette, un piccolo oratorio ipogeico in origine quasi interamente tappezzato di pannelli votivi di modesta fattura e di epoca tarda (XII-XIV secolo). I pannelli pittorici, oggi in pessimo stato di conservazione, erano accompagnati da didascalie in latino e raffiguravano alcuni dei santi maggiormente venerati nel comprensorio ibleo, riquadrati da doppia striscia ocra e rossa con terza banda più interna a crocette equilatere o a motivi geometrici. La modestia architettonica e la tecnica sommaria di realizzazione degli affreschi sembrano collegare la Grotta dei Santi al diffondersi dell’eremitismo tardo-medievale nell’altopiano ibleo.
""

This paper deals with some questions concerning the iconography, iconology and date of execution of the famous mosaic pavement from Sheikh Zoueide in Sinai, now exibited in the Ismailiya Museum. The author analyses both the mythological mosaic with the representation of various subjects, like Dionysiac procession, Nilotic theme, Hippolytos and Phaedra, and another geometric mosaic. The iconological study of all symbolic elements sheds light on the mentality of Nestor who lived in this house and of other inhabitants of the city.  The author sees the great influence of Egypt probably of Alexandria, in the mosaic's style. He also discusses stylistic problems and suggests a date of its execution in the first half of the 5th century.
On the iconological study of the mosaic see also: M.T. Olszewski, Mauvais œil et protection contre l'envie dans la mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï (IV-Ve siècle), published in: Paunier, D., Schmidt, Ch (ed. by), la Mosaïque gréco-romaine VIII. Actes du  VIIIe Colloque international de la mosaïque antique et médiévale, Lausanne 1997 (2001), pp. 276-301.
M.T.Olszewski, Two Late Antique synonymous mosaics from Sheikh Zuweid (Egypt) and Vinon (France) (translated) / Deux  mosaïques  synonimiques  de l’antiquité tardive: Cheikh  Zouède  (Egypte)  et  Vinon  (France) / Dwie późnoantyczne mozaiki synonimiczne z Szeikh Zued (Egipt) i Vinon (Francja) - (in Polish), Światowit IV-A, 2002, pp. 99-105.

Si presentano due catacombe siciliane. L'attenta osservazione dei due complessi ipogei ha permesso di seguire i vari momenti di scavo, di comprendere la realizzazione delle tombe a baldacchino e notarne le differenze tanto che alcuni sono stati finalizzati a battisteri.

The scenes tell the story of the founding of Pella/Apamea and further development of this city on the Orontes river. Three main groups of scenes can be distinguished: (1) the foundation of Pella-on-the-Orontes by the legendary Archippos, (2) the (re)foundation of the city as Apamea-on-the-Orontes (earlier Pella-on-the-Orontes) by Seleucus I Nikator and the simultaneous financial generosity of his wife, Apama, for the development of the new Seleucid colony in 300 BC, and (3) the raising of the town fortifications around monumental public buildings and an illustration of the daily life of a joyous people living in the rich Apamean agglomeration and hinterland. Features of style date the panels to the 4th century AD.

Archaeological research conducted along the south-west coast of Sicily has identified a number of villages situated near river mouths, datable to the 4th/6th centuries AD. These rural settlements, it seems, were part of a network involving coastal shipping activity, which put these villages in touch with more important harbor settlements elsewhere. In the reconstruction offered here, it is suggested that rivers
probably played an important role in the distribution of goods, especially reinforcing the connection between the coast and the interior.
The villages which have been found, located only a few meters away from the shoreline, often show the same lay-out, with rectangular buildings built of pebbles and consisting of several rooms, separated by open areas. They were used as domestic dwellings and also sometimes for the storage of goods.

The mosaic from Sheikh Zuweid on the western coast of North Sinai, discovered in 1913, as well as the mosaic brought to light in 1919 at Vinon near Aix-en-Provence in southern France had to wait until the end of the 20th century for scholarly studies to focus again on their iconography, but also their iconological program. It is the reading of this program that one can truly call sensational. The mosaic from Sinai consists of three panels: Hippolytus and Phaedra, a Dionysian cortege and an inscription surrounded with motifs referring to the fauna and flora of a Nilotic landscape as well as to iconography of the seasons of Spring and Fall. The mosaic from Vinon also consists of three pictures: Dionysus offering Ikarios the grapevine, the Three Graces and a panel depicting a voracious goat defiling the gift of Dionysus. Inscriptions accompany both the mosaics, in Latin at Sheikh Zued and in Greek at Vinon.
Numerous apotropaic symbols and inscriptions are known, but never before has a mythological picture been interpreted as apotropaic. The latest research has shown that the owners of the respective estates had chosen mythological themes in order to protect them and their property from the Evil Eye and Hatred. Dionysian motifs are associated with the putative function of the rooms, where banquets with music and dancing must have been held, and wine must have flowed in abundance. The allusion to the abundance of the Nile was meant to ensure the prosperity and wealth of the house, in similarity to the Dionysian motifs as a matter of fact. Dionysus, Heracles and Venus were patrons of the houses. The interpretation of the two mosaics takes advantage of studies in the field of the history of mentality of the communities standing on the threshold of post-classical times. At the same time, it constitutes a huge step forward in the understanding of this category of finds. The two mosaics confirm what Artemidoros of Daldis (2nd century AD) had to say about the status of pictures: that they could be synonymous in meaning (see: M.T. Olszewski, Le statut de l'image selon Artémidore et l'art romain, in: Morlier, H. ed., IXe Colloque international pour l'étude de la mosaïque antique et médiévale, Roma 5.11.2001-10.11.2001, Collection de l'Ecole Française de Rome 352/2, Rome 2005, pp. 859-880).
See also: M.T. Olszewski, La mosaïque de style naïf de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï, Archeologia (Warsaw) 53, 2002, pp. 45–61, pls III+VI; M.T. Olszewski, Mauvais œil et protection contre l'envie dans la mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï (IV-Ve siècle), in: Paunier, D., Schmidt, Ch (ed. by), la Mosaïque gréco-romaine VIII. Actes du  VIIIe Colloque international de la mosaïque antique et médiévale, Lausanne 1997 (2001), pp. 276-301.

La célèbre mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède, situé au nord-ouest du Sinaï, ainsi que celle de Vinon dans la Gaule Narbonaise ont été découvertes dans les années dix du XXe siècle. Depuis leurs mises à jour jusqu’à la fin du siècle dernier, elles devaient attendre deux réexamens scientifiques qui ont apportés une analyse iconographique plus complète ainsi que deux nouvelles lectures iconologiques que l’on peut sans doute considerer comme sensationelles !
La mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède est composée de trois tableaux superposés. Deux panneaux représentent des scenes mythologiques: procession dionysiaque et Hippolyte et Phèdre. La troisième image comporte une inscription de bienvenue bordée au-dessus et au-dessous d’animaux et de plantes; une allusion aux scènes nilotiques et à la symbolique printanière et automnale.
La mosaïque de Vinon est également composée de trois tableaux qui sont cependant juxtaposés. Ils représentent, au centre, les trois Grâces et deux scènes à caractère dionysiaques. Celle de gauche représente le don de la vigne (grappes de raisins) par Dionysos à Icarios et celle de droite, le sacrilège de la vigne par un bouc. Les deux mosaïques sont accompagnées par des inscriptions en grec et latin. Elles sont datées à la première moitié du Ve siècle.
On connais plusieurs inscriptions, images et symboles de caractère apothropaïque. C’est pourtant la première fois que des images mythologiques ont dévoilées aux chercheurs leurs sens prophylactique et apotropaïque. Les propriétaires de ces deux résidences ornées de belles mosaïques ont choisis ces thèmes mythologiques pour protéger et écarter le Mauvais Œil et l’Envie. Les sujets dionysiaques dans les salles à manger évoquent probablement des fêtes joyeuses arrosées de vin où la danse et la musique constituaient des éléments essentiels. Par contre, l’abondance nilotique évoquait sans doute le bonheur et l’opulence des dons de la Nature sur les tables de la maison; cette signification concernait certainement aussi les scènes dionysiaques. Les maisons ont été protégées par Dionysos, Héraclès et Vénus.
Pour interpréter ces deux œuvres, les auteurs ont utilisé des recherches sur “l’histoire de la mentalité” des sociétés administrées par les Romains. La lecture de ces deux mosaïques confirme ce que l’on vient de découvrir en étudiant le célèbre texte d’Artémidore de Daldis (IIe siècle) sur les images synonimiques (cf. M.T. Olszewski, Le statut de l'image selon Artémidore et l'art romain, in: Morlier, H. ed., IXe Colloque international pour l'étude de la mosaïque antique et médiévale, Roma 5.11.2001-10.11.2001, Collection de l'Ecole Française de Rome 352/2, Rome 2005, pp. 859-880).
Voir M.T. Olszewski, La mosaïque de style naïf de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï, Archeologia (Warsaw) 53, 2002, pp. 45–61, pls III+VI; M.T. Olszewski, Mauvais œil et protection contre l'envie dans la mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï (IV-Ve siècle), in: Paunier, D., Schmidt, Ch (ed. by), la Mosaïque gréco-romaine VIII. Actes du  VIIIe Colloque international de la mosaïque antique et médiévale, Lausanne 1997 (2001), pp. 276-301.

Raccolta di saggi - alcuni del tutto inediti, altri già pubblicati ma ampiamente rielaborati, aggiornati e approfonditi per l'occasione - su temi di archeologia e museologia dell'altopiano ibleo.

Prefazione
Premessa e ringraziamenti

I. Il collezionismo archeologico siracusano tra XVIII e XIX secolo e la nascita del primo museo civico (di Santino Alessandro Cugno)

II. Musei locali, territorio ibleo e patrimonio culturale dell'umanità (di Santino Alessandro Cugno e Ray Bondin)

III. Etnoantropologia e archeologia iblea a confronto: frammenti dell’epistolario e dell’opera di Antonino Uccello (di Santino Alessandro Cugno)

IV. Salvatore Carpinteri e l'Archeologia Cristiana (di Santino Alessandro Cugno)

V. Emergenze archeologiche gravitanti intorno alla Riserva Naturale Integrata Grotta Monello di Siracusa (di Santino Alessandro Cugno e Iorga Ivano Prato)

VI. I cd. "Santoni" di Akrai: alcune note sul santuario rupestre di Cibele (di Santino Alessandro Cugno e Paolo Daniele Scirpo)

VII. Indigeni e Greci nell'entroterra siracusano. I siti archeologici di Cugno Case Vecchie, Cugno Granata e Cava Paolazzo (di Santino Alessandro Cugno)

VIII. I baldacchini rupestri dell'altopiano ibleo (di Santino Alessandro Cugno e Franco Dell'Aquila)

XIX. Il Templon nelle chiese rupestri siciliane
(di Santino Alessandro Cugno e Franco Dell'Aquila)

X. Esperienze di Archeologia Pubblica nella Sicilia sud-orientale: lo studio e la valorizzazione dei castelli medievali dell'altopiano ibleo (di Santino Alessandro Cugno)

Questo elaborato intende ripercorrere i passaggi della lenta diffusione del Cristianesimo in Atene e del suo debole impatto sociale e urbanistico contrariamente a quanto accadeva per i centri coevi della Grecia (come Tessalonica, Gortina e Nicopoli) e, in generale, dell'Oriente Tardoantico: già centro di riferimento culturale del Panhellenion dal II d.C. per volere dell'imperatore Adriano e con la formazione della Scuola Neoplatonica nella seconda metà del V secolo d.C., la società ateniese e il suo ceto dirigente risultavano fortemente imbevuti dei valori dell'Ellenismo e delle pratiche pagane ad esso connesse. Soltanto a partire dal V secolo d.C. il processo di cristianizzazione risulta essere architettonicamente attestato, fino ad interessare la riconversione dei templi pagani più importanti della città negli ultimi anni dello stesso secolo: tuttavia in questa fase di "rinnovamento" urbanistico il ceto episcopale ateniese riuscì a ricoprire un ruolo primario solo dal VI secolo in poi, quando ormai il ceto dirigente cittadino era scomparso e la Scuola Neoplatonica fu definitivamente chiusa per volontà dell'imperatore Giustiniano (529).

It is a well-known phenomenon that the urban defence, since the fifth century, in the West and in the East, acquires Christian codes, with the value of a new identity and protective evocation. In Rome, the of “sacralization” of the Aurelian Walls emerges through various outcomes: the affixing of explicit signs on the gates, the renaming of these with
Saints names and also the construction of churches. In particular, this paper focuses on these buildings near the walls, mainly datable in the 6th-7th century, and it also develops the hypothesis that there were some connections between these churches and oratories with the military positions for the custodia murorum.

"Sommaire:
1. LES PÈRES DE L'ÉGLISE
2. RÉPERTOIRE FIGURÉ DU DÉCOR
3. EXPLICATION DES IMAGES AUX CATÉCHUMÈNES
4. LES SYMBOLIQUES DU PRINTEMPS
5. A L'IMAGE DE LA PERFECTION DIVINE
6. MÉTHODE D'INTERPRÉTATION PAR ANALOGIE
7. CYRILLE DE JÉRUSALEM
8. LES ANALOGIES DE L'ÉVÈQUE CYRILLE
9. ÉGLISE DES SAINTS-APÔTRES À MADABA
10. PREMIÈRE ÉGLISE DÉCOUVERTE À PETRA
11. BASILIQUE DE DOUMETIOS À NIKOPOLIS
12. BASILIQUE DE CHRISTOPOLITISSA À PAPHOS
13. ÉGLISE DE QABR HIRAM
14. ÉGLISE DE PHOTIOS À HOUARTÉ
15. ÉGLISE DE MICHAËLION À HOUARTÉ
16. ÉGLISE DE MIRATA
cf. M.T. Olszewski, L'image et sa fonction dans la mosaïque byzantine des premières basiliques en Orient: l'iconographie chrétienne expliquée par Cyrille de Jérusalem (314-387) / The image and its function in the byzantine mosaics ... : the christian iconography explained by Cyril of Jerusalem (314-387), Cahiers Archéologiques 43, 1995, pp. 9-34. "