booklet of abstracts - Oxford University Byzantine Society

Session twelve4:15 | Saturday 5 March 2011 | Rees Davies RoomChairSean Leatherburycorpus christi CollegeSigns in the shape of Greek letterson frescos in Roman catacombs:comments on interpretations ofso-called ‘gammadia’Maciej SzymaszekPontifical University of John Paul II, KrakowThe term gammadia refers to characteristicmarkings in Christian art of the first millenniumwhich appear on the mantles of figuresdepicted in catacomb paintings, mosaics,pages of illuminated manuscripts and on goldglass. Previous studies have interpreted thesesymbols as Greek letters which have particularnumerical values and thus have viewed gammadiaas a category of symbols contemporaryto each period, conveying meanings knownto everyone. This paper offers a new look atthe problem and focuses on the earliest worksdecorated by gammadia, created in Romearound the time of Constantine the Great.This paper will perform iconographicand statistical analyses of catacomb frescosin which these symbols appear for the firsttime. These analyses will help determine thefrequency of gammadia, their patterns in variousrepresentations as well as the evolution ofthe shapes of particular signs, which are thefirst components of wider research regardingthe problem of gammadia in relation to historicalsources and surviving textiles from LateAntiquity. Cataloguing the catacomb frecoes inRome which feature gammadia is fundamentalfor the analysis of the other examples scatteredacross the Byzantine Empire, from Greece,Italy and Croatia to Cyprus and Egypt.Maciej Szymaszek is a second-yearMA student working on a thesis entitledSigns in the shape of Greek letters on frescosin Roman catacombs. He is interested in thematerial culture of the Mediterranean fromLate Antiquity until the end of Iconoclasm,Syriac Christianity, art and architecture ofthe region of Tur ‘Abdin and Gertrude Bell’sresearch in the Middle East.The wreathed cross orstephano staurion on sixthcenturymarble chancel screensin the Mediterranean regionBernard MulhollandQueens University, BelfastWhile excavating at the monastery ofBeth-Shan, Fitzgerald noted that ‘betweenthese stones and the apse, we found abroken slab of marble [...] with a cross surroundedby a wreath carved on one side [...].This suggested a clue to the meaning of theword στεφανοσταυρίον (wreathed cross)which is found in both the inscriptions inthe chapel floor.’ There are examples of thewreathed cross or stephanostaurion foundon sixth-century marble chancel screensthroughout the Mediterranean region, andin many cases they are flanked by a pair ofLatin crosses.These stephanostauria exhibit some variationsin composition. For example, thefour-armed cross within the wreath canbe replaced by a six- or eight-armed cross.There are also instances where the four armsof the cross are replaced by fleurs-de-lis, orwhere fleurs-de-lis are interspersed amongthe four arms of the cross. Some piercedchancel screens have intricately interlinkedThe 2011 International Graduate Conference | 33