Early Christian Painted Tombs In Crimea

ÖSTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTENPHILOSOPHISCH-HISTORISCHE KLASSE

INSTITUT FÜR KLASSISCHE ARCHÄOLOGIE DER UNIVERSITÄT WIEN

VEREIN ZUR FÖRDERUNG DER CHRISTLICHEN ARCHÄOLOGIEÖSTERREICHS

MITTEILUNGENZUR CHRISTLICHEN ARCHÄOLOGIE

Schriftleitung:Renate PillingeR und ReinhaRdt haRReitheR

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(Foto: Mihailo Milinković)

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INHALTSVERZEICHNIS

VORWORT ................................................................................................................................................... 5

I. ABTEILUNG: Beiträge

gudRun kieweg-VetteRs

Eine Codexdarstellung des 3. Jahrhunderts aus der römischen Villa von Bruckneudorf (Burgenland) ..... 9

Mihailo Milinković

Frühchristliche Reliquiare und Kapseln in Serbien ..................................................................................... 27

iRina anatol’eVna ZaVadskaya

Early Christian Painted Tombs In Crimea ................................................................................................... 41

noRbeRt ZimmeRmann

Lebendige Bilder. Unbekannte Foto-Dokumente aus der Forschungsgeschichte der römischen Katakomben ................................................................................................................................................. 69

II. ABTEILUNG: Literaturbericht

ReinhaRdt haRReitheR – Michael hubeR – Renate PillingeR Bibliografie zur Spät antike und Frühchristlichen Archäologie in Österreich (mit einem Anhang zum Spät antik-frühchristlichen Ephesos). 2012 erschienene Publikationen und Nachträge .......................................................................................... 95

MITARBEITER DIESES BANDES ......................................................................................................... 103

i R i n a a n at o l’e V n a Z aVa d s k aya

Early Christian Painted Tombs In Crimea1

Crimea, located on the north coast of the Black Sea, was known in ancient times as Taurica or the Tauric peninsula. In spite of its border position between the Ancient and Barbarian Worlds Crimea was in the political, religious and cultural sphere of influence of Greco-Roman civilization and later of the Byzantine Empire. The policies of Byzantium as well as constant contacts, primarily with centers of the western and southern Black Sea coast determined the early history of Christianity on the peninsula to a considerable degree and, as a result, also the development of Christian culture and art.

The first Christian communities and dioceses appeared in two important Ancient Greek centers of Tau-rica: Panticapaeum, the capital of the Bosporan Kingdom, which was later called Bosporus (now Kerch), and Chersonesos, which was also called Cherson after the 4th century (now Sevastopol) (fig. 1). The diocese of Bosporus was created by the year 325 AD, when Bishop Cadmus represented it at the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea2. The diocese of Chersonesos was established by 381 AD, when its Bishop Aetherius took part in the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople3.

The earliest material evidence of Christianity in these cities was discovered in Late Antique necropo-lises. The earliest Christian gravestone found in Bosporus contained a cross and an epitaph: “Here sleeps Eutropi(o)s – 601”; year 601 of the Bosporan Era corresponds to 304 AD (fig. 2)4. In Chersonesos the earli-est known Christian burials are from the second half of the 4th century5. Tombs with remnants of wall paint-ings bearing Christian symbols were found in both necropolises, but the character and style of decoration of those in Chersonesos differ greatly from those in Bosporus. The Bosporus Tombs had depictions performed by one or two painters in the so-called “geometric” or “primitive” style, as well as Tombs with walls cov-ered by red crosses; two Tombs contained crosses and sacred texts. In Chersonesos the Tombs were painted

1 I am most grateful to Dr. hans buchwald for his great assistance in my work and the English editing of this paper. 2 Ю. А. КулаКовСКий [yu. A. kulakoVskiy], Керченская христианская катакомба 491 года [The Kerch Christian Catacomb

dating to 491]. МАР [MAR] 6 (1891) 28; В. Н. Бенешевич [V. N. benesheVich], Синайский список отцов Никейского первого вселенского собора [Sinai List of Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea]. ИАН [IAN] 6/3 (1908) 295; A. A. VasilieV, The Goths in the Crimea. Cambridge/Massachusetts 1936, 10 – 13; A. I. ajbabin, Archäologie und Geschichte der Krim in byzanti-nischer Zeit (Monographien des RGZM 98). Mainz 2011, 40.

3 С. П. шеСтаКов [S. P. shestakoV], Очерки по истории Херсонеса в 6 – 10 веках по Р. Хр. [Sketches on the History of Cherso-nesos in the 6th–10th Centuries]. In: Памятники христианского Херсонеса [Monuments of Christian Chersonesos] 3. Москва [Moskwa] 1908, 25; n. Q. king, The 150 Holy Fathers of the Council of Constantinople 381. StudPatr 1 (1957) 639; К. цуКерМан [c. ZuckeRman], Епископы и гарнизон Херсона в 4 веке [Bishops and a Garrison in Cherson in the 4th Century]. МАИЭТ [MAI-ET] 4 (1995) 547 – 548; a. i. ajbabin, Archäologie und Geschichte der Krim in byzantinischer Zeit, 45.

4 в. в. шКорПил [V. V. shkoRPil], Три христианские надгробия, найденные в Керчи в 1898 г. [Three Christian Gravestones found in Kerch in 1898]. ЗООИД [ZOOID] 22/5 (1900) 59; П. Д. ДиатроПов – и. а. еМец [P. d. diatRoPoV – i. a. emetZ], Корпус христианских надписей Боспора [Corpus of the Christian Inscriptions from Bosporus]. Эпиграфический вестник [Epigraphic Bulletin] 2 (1995) 12, № 14. The gravestone of Eutropi(o)s is kept in the Kerch Historical and Cultural Preserve.

5 в. Ф. МещеряКов [V. f. mescheRyakoV], О времени появления христианства в Херсонесе Таврическом [About the Time of the Appearance of Christianity in the Tauric Chersonesos]. In: a. M. лeCКoB (Ред.) [a. m. leskoV (Ed.)], Актуальные проблемы изучения истории религии и атеизма [Actual Problems of Studying of History of Religion and Atheism]. Ленинград [Lenin-grad] 1978, 132; П. Д. ДиатроПов [P. d. diatRoPoV], Распространение христианства в Херсонесе Таврическом в 4 – 6 вв. [Spread of Christianity in the Tauric Chersonesos in the 4th–6th Centuries]. In: и. С. СвенцицКая (Ред.) [i. s. sVentsitskaya (Ed.)], Античная гражданская община [Antique Civil Community]. Москва [Moskwa] 1986, 137; и. а. ЗаваДСКая [i. a. ZaVadskaya], Христианизация ранневизантийского Херсонеса (4 – 6 вв.) [Conversion to Christianity in Early Byzantine Chersonesos (the 4th–6th Centuries)]. МАИЭТ [MAIET] 10 (2003) 407.

MITTEILUNGEN ZUR CHRISTLICHEN ARCHÄOLOGIE 19, 41 – 67© 2013 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Wien

IrIna anatol’evna Zavadskaya42

Fig. 2: Gravestone of Christian Eutropi(o)s of 304 AD (601 of the Bosporan Era) (Foto: i. a. zavadskaya)

Fig. 1: Map of Crimea. Panticapaeum-Bosporus (Kerch), Chersonesos-Cherson (Sevastopol) (drawing: i. a. ZaVadskaya using several other plans)

Fig. 3: Bosporus. Plan of Tomb 1901 (according to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], 412, fig. 76 – 78)

Early Christian Painted Tombs In Crimea 43

with polychrome motifs. These monuments make it possible to trace the main stages of development of Christian funerary décor of the Early Byzantine period.

TOMBS WITH “GEOMETRIC” PAINTING IN BOSPORUS

A tradition of painted burial structures existed in the Bosporan Kingdom from the end of the 4th century BC to the 2nd century AD: a whole series of magnificent polychrome funeral paintings was created in various styles which replaced each other successively6. However, after the 2nd century AD multicoloured paintings no longer occured on the walls of local Tombs.

In the Late Antique necropolis of Panticapaeum/Bosporus, located on the northern slope of Mount Mith-ridates, the walls of some Tombs were decorated with very schematized, primitive drawings of plants, ani-mals, birds, people, geometric ornament and other images executed, as a rule, in red or black (rarely blue) paint on a clayey background without plaster. Twelve Tombs with such paintings are currently known. Nine of them were excavated in the second half of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries: Tombs 18737, 1890/1, 1890/2, 1894, 1897, 1901, 1904, 1905 and 1912. Detailed descriptions and analyses of the monu-ments were published by M. I. RostoVtseV, who considered their images to be primitive and of a “barbar-ian character”, a reflection of the epoch, and called them “paintings of the geometric style”8. Most of them were studied again in the 1990s and 2000s under the guidance of E. A. Zin’ko, and three new Tombs with geometric paintings were discovered: № 2 and № 11 in 2000, № 46 in 20059. E. A. Zin’ko dates all of these Tombs between the last quarter of the 3rd and beginning of the 5th centuries AD10.

All the Tombs with “geometric” paintings were carved out of the dense clayey ground and belonged to the same type: a rectangular dromos led to a rather large rectangular or trapezoidal chamber with large burial niches, as well as small niches probably for lamps and other ritual objects in the walls (fig. 3). As a rule, the paintings in these Tombs do not have a clear, well considered scheme or composition; rather, they give the impression of spontaneity and randomness in the placement of some of the motifs. The main picto-rial motifs were concentrated on the back wall, opposite the entrance, close to the central burial niche and the small niche on its right11: this was the center of the decorative program. All images of the “geometric” paintings were very schematic and simple; above all they were symbolic and were a kind of cipher which transmitted ideas. However, decoding these symbols is difficult because of their universality, since they were used both in pagan and in Christian art. Thus the religious interpretation of these paintings is disputed. М. i. rostovtsev related all of them with the cult of Sabazios disseminated in Thrace and Asia Minor12. e. a. Zin’ko believed in the “Christian orientation of these paintings”13. l. g. khRushkoVa expressed doubt

6 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Атлас [Antique Decorative Painting in the South of Russia. Atlas]. Санкт-Петербург [St. Petersburg] 1913; id., Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст 1: Описание и исследование памятников [Antique Decorative Painting in the South of Russia. Text 1: Description and Researches of the Monuments]. Санкт-Петербург [St. Petersburg] 1914, 10 – 375.

7 The titles of the Tombs consist of the year of their discovery. 8 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 401 – 434. 9 Е. А. ЗиньКо [E. A. Zin’ko], Проблемы исследования позднеантичных боспорских расписных склепов [The Problems of In-

vestigating Late Antique Bosporos Painted Vaults]. МАИЭТ [MAIET] 8 (2001) 72; ead., Культовая символика в росписи нового склепа Пантикапейского некрополя [Cult Symbolism in the Painting of a New Vault in Panticapeum Necropolis]. БИ [BI] 2 (2002) 249 – 253; ead., Вопросы хронологии раннехристианских склепов Боспора [Questions of Chronology of Early Chris-tian Tombs of Bosporus]. In: В. Ю. Зуев (Ред.) [V. yu. ZueV (Ed.)], Боспорский феномен: проблемы хронологии и датировки памятников. Материалы Международной научной конференции [Bosporus Phenomenon: the Problems of Chronology and Dating of Monuments. Materials of the Proceedings of the International Conference] 1. Санкт-Петербург [St. Petersburg] 2004, 309 – 318; еad., Христианские склепы некрополя Боспора 4 – 6 вв. [Christian Vaults of Bosporus Necropolis of the 4th–6th Cen-turies AD]. МАИЭТ [MAIET] 13 (2007) 62 – 63.

10 е. а. ЗиньКо [e. a. Zin’ko], Вопросы хронологии раннехристианских склепов Боспора, 311. 11 М. И. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 427; Е. А. ЗиньКо [e. a. Zin’ko],

Христианские мотивы в росписях пантикапейских склепов [Christian Motifs in the Wall Painting of Panticapeum Vaults]. МАИЭТ [MAIET] 10 (2003) 78 – 79.

12 М. И. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 428 – 434. 13 E. A. ЗиньКо [e. a. Zin’ko], Христианские мотивы в росписях пантикапейских склепов, 78 – 89; ead., Вопросы хронологии

раннехристианских склепов Боспора, 318.


Fig. 6: Bosporus. Painting of Tomb 1901. Back wall (M. V. faRmakoVskiy; accord-ing to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная деко-ративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], pl. 97)

Fig. 4: Bosporus. Painting of Tomb 1905. Back wall (according to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], pl. 99, 1)

Fig. 5: Bosporus. Painting of Tomb 1912. Back wall (Foto: a. a. gun’ko, yu. a. dolotoV http://pro-speleo.ru/blog/kerch_zakoulki_mitridatskogo_nekro-pol ja/2009-09-11-27)


that the monuments were Christian14. However, despite the “complete unity of technology and style” which was already noted by m. i. RostoVtseV, the fact that the motifs of the geometric paintings differ in some Tombs may have an important significance for their interpretation15.

Between three and eight similar anthropomorphic figures with raised hands, bell-shaped bodies and, as a rule, birds’ heads are painted in four Tombs (1873, 1890/2, 1905, 1912) (fig. 4, fig. 5). The majority of these figures hold round objects in one hand and an elongated object in the other hand. One of the figures in Tomb 1912 holds two round hollow objects, perhaps wreaths or musical instruments; in Tomb 1890/2 the figure holds a bow and arrow; in Tomb 1905, a long narrow arched object which m. i. RostoVtseV interpre-ted as a snake; in Tomb 1873, it holds a bunch of grapes or a pine cone16. In different Tombs these figures, on foot or on horseback17, were depicted accompanied by between one and nine birds with lifted wings. In three Tombs (1873, 1890/2, 1905) some of the niches were surrounded by ornamental borders of triangles typical of almost all the Tombs with geometric paintings. Other decorative motifs are rare: for instance, a branch with leaves and perhaps fruit in Tomb 1873; a horse in Tomb 190518. M. I. RostoVtseV interpreted these scenes as ritual ecstatic dances accompanied by weapons or musical instruments which were typical of mystical cults, including the cult of Sabazios19. l. g. khRushkoVa also emphasized the ritual character of these scenes, which expressed worship of an unknown syncretic deity20. e. a. Zin’ko is inclined to see batt-ling warriors with shields and spears or swords in these figures21. In any case, paintings with ritual or battle scenes are not likely to be related to Christian symbolism. The painting of Tomb № 2/2000, opened and investigated by e. a. Zin’ko, can also hardly be Christian since the depictions include: schematic images of two anthropomorphic faces, a human figure with a sword, a ship with two masts, a bird on a palm branch, an ornamental border, and a bukranium above the entrance, probably the symbol of a syncretic chthonic deity22.

In the paintings of Tombs 1890/1, 1894, 1897, 1901, 1904 and № 46/2005 scenes of ritual dances or battles are totally absent. The richest composition, executed in red paint, was depicted in Tomb 190123. The entrance, three burial niches and three small niches were framed by borders of triangles and also by schema-tized grapevines with bunches of grapes. The back wall, with the main burial niche was entirely painted with depictions of numerous motifs (fig. 6): an eagle with raised wings on a palm branch between the remnants of two human figures; a tree with triangular fruit (probably cones); a large two-handled vessel sprouting a grapevine with grapes; rectangles with ornamentation perhaps imitating marble facing. Two sitting birds, stylized garlands, a stag with horns and a schematic drawing of a horseman which resembles a Christogram were represented above, near a small niche. To the left of the entrance there were depictions of birds, palm branches and two animals with horns (probably goats); to the right, a ship under sail with the crew; under-neath, two human figures, probably with haloes (fig. 7). Drawings of a ship without sails and of a circle with four crossed lines were preserved below the left burial niche, and a circle with crossed lines under the right burial niche. Two circles with cross-shaped figures, a bird on a palm branch and stylized garlands were

14 Л. Г. ХрушКова [L. G. KhRushkoVa], О живописи раннехристианских склепов в Крыму: сто лет после Михаила Ивановича Ростовцева [On the Paintings in Early Christian Tombs in the Crimea: One Hundred Years after M. I. RostoVtseV]. In: В. Н ЗалеССКая (Ред.) [V. N. Zalesskaya (Ed.)], Византия в контексте мировой культуры. К 100-летию со дня рождения А. В. Банк 1906 – 1984. Материалы Международной научной конференции [Byzantium within the Context of World Culture. Dedica-ted to the 100th anniversary of A. V. BAnk’s birth 1906 – 1984. Materials of the Proceedings of the International Conference] (ТГЭ [TGE] 42). Санкт-Петербург [St. Petersburg] 2008, 124 – 126.

15 И. А. ЗаваДСКая [I. A. ZaVadskaya], Христианские расписные склепы Крыма в контексте развития погребальной росписи в ранневизантийский период [Christian Painted Vaults of Crimea in the Context of Funeral Painting Development in Early Byzan-tine Period]. МАИЭТ [MAIET] 15 (2009) 101 – 104, 124.

16 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст (as note 6), 403, 406, 419, 422. 17 In Tomb 1890/2 – six pedestrians and one horseman, in Tomb 1912 – three pedestrians and four horsemen. 18 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 403, 420. 19 Ibid., 428. 20 Л. Г. ХрушКова [L. G. KhRushkoVa], О живописи раннехристианских склепов в Крыму: сто лет после Михаила Ивановича

Ростовцева, 125. 21 е. а. ЗиньКо [e. a. Zin’ko], Воины в росписях ранневизантийских склепов некрополя Боспора [Soldiers in Wall-Paintings of

Early Byzantine Crypts of Necropolis of Bosporus]. МАИЭТ [MAIET] 14 (2008) 80 – 84. 22 ead., Культовая символика в росписи нового склепа Пантикапейского некрополя (as note 9), 250 – 251. 23 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 412 – 416.


Fig. 7: Bosporus. Painting of Tomb 1901. Entrance wall: a – on the left side; b – on the right side (according to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], pl. 98, 1, 2)

Fig. 8: Bosporus. Painting of Tomb 1890/1. Part of the back wall (Foto: a. a. gun’ko – yu. a. dolo-toV <http://pro-speleo.ru/blog/kerch_zakoulki_mitridatskogo_nekropolja/2009-09-11-27>)

Fig. 9: Kytaia. Painting of Tomb № 2/1929 (according to V. F. gayduke-Vich, Некрополи некоторых боспор-ских городов [as note 27], 229, fig. 99)


depicted in Tomb 1890/124 (fig. 8) and a ship with a single mast, a garland and two trees in Tomb 189425. In Tombs 1897 and 1904 there were images of birds on palm branches and on garlands, and in Tomb 1897 the image of a large vessel with two vine branches26. Similarly, a red cross in a circle above a ship under sail and a human figure were depicted in Tomb № 2/1929 of the first half of the 4th century in Kytaia, one of the cities of the Bosporan Kingdom, located 40 km south of Kerch27; fragments of letters including “alpha” were preserved under the circle with a cross in a small niche the left of the entrance (fig. 9) and the name “Sabagus” (ZABAΓOC) the right of the entrance.

Thus, in addition to the ornamental bands of triangles, which are characteristic of almost all Tombs with geometric painting, the most typical motifs in the paintings of this group of Tombs were, above all, vegetal motifs (grapevines, palm branches, trees, garlands) as well as birds usually sitting on branches, animals and, more rarely, ships under sail. All these motifs had symbolic meanings either for pagan cults or for Christi-anity28. That applies also to the circles with crossed lines and cross-shaped motifs in Tombs 1890, 190129, which could be either solar signs of pagan cults or Christian symbols.

Thus in spite of their primitive character, the paintings of the geometric style of the Bosporus Tombs contain complicated decorative programs with a dual symbolism. Although technical and stylistic unity indicate that these monuments were created in the same cultural environment, the differences between the motifs of the two described groups of Tombs permit the hypothesis that their owners belonged to two dif-ferent religious systems: possibly these monuments reflect a difficult process of conversion of parts of the local, most likely barbarian, population from pagan cults to Christianity.

TOMBS WITH POLYCHROME WALL PAINTINGS OF THE CHERSONESOS NECROPOLIS

Tombs with polychrome wall paintings were created in a very different cultural and artistic tradition at the necropolis of Chersonesos. It was the major outpost of Imperial power on the peninsula and had been con-stantly in the sphere of influence of Greco-Roman culture for many centuries. It thus willingly adopted the art forms of Late Antiquity and it is not surprising that the funeral paintings of Chersonesos are the earliest and most striking monuments of Late Antique Christian provincial art on the peninsula. The majority of painted Tombs of Chersonesos are located in the southern part of the necropolis near the Cruciform Church and on the banks of Quarantine Bay; two Tombs are west of the city gate (fig. 10). Currently 11 Tombs with the remains of Christian wall paintings are known. Each was carved out of rock and had a similar layout: a dromos and a rather small rectangular or trapezoidal chamber with large burial niches. This Tomb type was one of the most widespread in Late Antique and Early Medieval Chersonesos30.

Eight of the eleven Tombs were excavated in the second half of the 19th and beginning of the 20th cen-tury: Tombs 1853 (1904), 1903, 1905, 1907 (1), 1907 (2), 1909, 1912 and the Tomb found on the property of N. I. tuR southwest of the city in 1912. Detailed descriptions and stylistic analyses of these monuments were published by m. i. RostoVtseV31; floor plans, drawings and graphic reconstructions of the majority of the paintings by the artist m. i. skubetoV were included in the monograph. No additional research con-

24 Ibid., 405 – 406. 25 Ibid., 408 – 409. 26 Ibid., 410 – 411, 417. 27 В. Ф. ГайДуКевич [V. F. gaydukeVich], Некрополи некоторых боспорских городов [Necropolis of some Bosporus Cities]. МИА

[MIA] 69 (1959) 229, fig. 99; е. а. ЗиньКо [e. a. Zin’ko], Христианские мотивы в росписях пантикапейских склепов (as note 11), 85, fig. 4d; Е. А. Молев [E. A. moleV], Боспорский город Китей [Bosporus City of Kitaia]. In: А. И. айБаБин – в. н. ЗиньКо (реД.) [A. I. aybabin – V. n. Zin’ko (Eds.)], Боспорские исследования [Bosporus Studies] Suppl. 6 (2010) 98.

28 А. С. уваров [A. S. uVaRoV], Христианская символика [Christian Symbolics]. Москва [Moskwa] 2001, 143 – 245; е. а. ЗиньКо [e. a. Zin’ko], Христианские мотивы в росписях пантикапейских склепов, 78 – 89.

29 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст (as note 6), 405 – 406, 412 – 416; е. а. ЗиньКо [e. a. Zin’ko], Христианские мотивы в росписях пантикапейских склепов, 87 – 88.

30 В. М. ЗуБарь [V. M. ZubaR’], Проникновение и утверждение христианства в Херсонесе Таврическом [Penetration and Confir-mation of Christianity in Tauric Chersonesos]. In: П. П. толочКо (Ред.) [P. P. tolochko (Ed.)], Византийская Таврика Сб. науч. тр. (к 18 конгрессу византинистов) [Byzantine Taurica. Collected Papers (to 18th Congress of Byzantine Studies]. Киев [Kiev] 1991, 9 – 10.

31 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 449 – 507.


Fig. 10: Plan of Chersonesos and its N

ecropolis: a – excavated lots of necropolis; b – painted Tombs. 1 – C

ruciform C

hurch; 2 – Tomb 1903

(№ 1494); 3 – Tom

b 2003/2006; 4 – Tomb 1905 (№

2086); 5 – Tomb 1853/1904 (№

2114); 6 – Tomb 1/1998 – 1999; 7 – Tom

b 2/1998 – 1999; 8 – Tom

b 1/1907 (№ 2270); 9 – Tom

b 2/1907 (№ 2445); 10 – Tom

b 1912; 11 – Tomb 1909; 12 – Tom

b on the property of N. I. t

uR (draw

ing: i. a

. ZaVa

dsk

ay

a using several other plans)


cerning these Tombs has been undertaken and indeed, the exact locations of only three of the eight Tombs (1903, 1853/1904 and 1905) are known at present32. Two other painted Tombs were found and studied in 1998 – 1999 by the Ukrainian-Austrian joint expedition under the scientific direction of R. PillingeR and V. ZubaR’33. In addition, a Tomb with Christian painting was discovered in 2003 and studied in 200634. Also in 2006 a Tomb was studied with Christian graffiti representing ships, crosses, a Christogram, Greek epi-taphs and inscriptions35.

The polychrome paintings covering walls and ceilings of Tombs were applied on plaster usually in the al fresco technique. Separate compositions and architectural components such as edges of walls and ceilings, corners and niches were outlined with red borders. When they were studied a considerable portion of the paint layers of the majority of the Tombs had been lost. The painted remains of only five of the eight Tombs published by m. i. RostoVtseV give a more or less complete idea of the decorative system employed.

A Tomb discovered in 1903 (№ 1494) had a burial niche on each of the three walls. According to the reconstructions of the paintings by m. i. skubetoV the lower parts of the walls, under the burial niches, con-tained black rectangles with inscribed lozenges and circles (fig. 11). The spaces between the rectangles and lozenges were filled with imitation marble executed in yellow, brown and red. Black trees with brown leaves were painted on yellow backgrounds inside the circles. Violet-blue pigeons with red and yellow tails, wings, heads and red legs were depicted in rectangular frames on both sides of the central burial niche, in the cor-ners of the Tomb; the pigeon on the left perches on a tree, the pigeon on the right holds an olive branch in its beak and above it there is a little blue bird with a black contour. Part of the red border which outlined the ceiling was preserved36.

In Tomb № 2114, which was discovered twice, in 1853 by Count A. uVaRoV37 and again in 1904 by K. K. kostsyshko-ValyuZhinich and M. I. skubetoV38, one burial niche occupies the right wall and two burial niches, one above the other, the rear and the left walls. The right wall, with the main burial niche, was painted completely (fig. 12). The left part of the wall contained a red grapevine with grape clusters (as interpreted by M. I. RostoVtseV) or a tree with cones and round fruit (as interpreted by M. S. skubetoV). The burial niche was closed with slabs decorated by trees with round yellow fruit and below the burial niche the wall contained imitation marble facing of red on a yellow background. On the back wall of the burial

32 М. В. СтуПКо – Е. Я. туровСКий – А. А. ФилиППенКо [M. V. stuPko – E. ya. tuRoVskiy – A. A. filiPPenko], О судьбах расписных склепов первых христиан Херсонеса [About the First Christian Chersonesos’ Painted Vaults]. In: Н. А. алеКСеенКо – Ю. а. БаБинов – Х. ХоФМан (Ред.) [N. A. alekseenko – yu. a. babinoV – g. hofman (Eds.)], Небесные патроны и земные служители культа [Heavenly Patrons and Terrestrial Ministers of Cult]. Sacrum et Profanum 3. Севастополь [Sevastopol] 2007, 189.

33 В. М. ЗуБарь – Р. ПиллинГер – Е. Я. туровСКий – Н. А. Сон – М. В. руСяева – А. М. ФарБей [V. M. ZubaR’ – R. PillingeR – E. ya. tuRoVskiy – N. A. son – M. V. RusyaeVa – A. M. faRbey], Отчет о раскопках склепов с полихромной росписью на территории некрополя Херсонеса в 1998 – 1999 гг. [Report on the Excavation of Tombs with Polychrome Painting in the Necro-polis of Chersonesos in 1998 – 1999]. In: В. М. ЗуБарь – А. И. ХвороСтяный [V. M. ZubaR’ – A. I. KhVoRostyanjy], От язычества к христианству. Начальный этап проникновения и утверждения христианства на юге Украины (вторая половина 3 – первая половина 6 в.) [From Paganism to Christianity. The Initial Stage of Penetration and Confirmation of Christianity in the South of Ukraine (the second half of the 3rd – the first half of the 6th C.)]. Киев [Kiev] 2000, 144 – 154; V. M. ZubaR’ – R. Pillin-geR, New Tombs with Early Christian Murals from the Necropolis of Tauric Chersonesus (Preliminary Note). TALANTA 32 – 33, 2000 – 2001 (2002) 123 – 130.

34 М. B. СтуПКо – Е. Я. туровСКий – А. A. ФилиППенКо [M. V. stuPko – E. ya. tuRoVskiy – A. A. filiPPenko], О судьбах расписных склепов первых христиан Херсонеса, 189 – 191; Е. Я. туровСКий – А. A. ФилиППенКо [E. ya. tuRoVskiy – A. A. filiPPenko], Некоторые особенности погребальных сооружений и обрядов первых христиан Херсонеса и Пантикапея [Some Features of the Burial Structures and Rites of the Early Christians of Chersonesos and Panticapaeum]. In: в. Ю. Зуев (Ред.) [V. yu. ZueV (Ed.)], Боспорский феномен: сакральный смысл региона, памятников, находок. Материалы Международной научной конференции [Bosporus Phenomenon: the Sacred Meaning of the Region, Monuments, Finds. Materials of the Proceedings of the International Conference] 2. Санкт-Петербург [St. Petersburg] 2007, 186 – 189.

35 The preliminary results are published in: М. B. СтуПКо – Е. Я. туровСКий – А. A. ФилиППенКо [M. V. stuPko – E. ya. tuRoVskiy – A. A. filiPPenko], О судьбах расписных склепов первых христиан Херсонеса, 190 – 191, fig. 6 – 9.

36 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 449 – 451, pl. 111, 112. 37 А. уваров [A. uVaRoV], Археологические разыскания близ Симферополя и Севастополя [Archaeological Investigations near

Simferopol and Sevastopol]. In: Извлечение из всеподданейшего отчета об археологических разысканиях в 1853 г. [Extract from the Report about Archaeological Investigations in 1853]. Санкт-Петербург [St. Petersburg] 1855, 156 – 57.

38 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст (as note 6), 452 – 458.


Fig. 11: Chersonesos. Painting of Tomb 1903: a – back wall; b – right wall under the niche; c – left wall under the niche (M. I. sku-betoV; according to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], pl. 112)

a)

b)

c)


Fig. 12: Chersonesos. Painting of the Tomb 1904 (1853): a – right wall with a niche; b, c, d, e – slabs which closed the niche; f – right wall of the niche (M. I. skubetoV; according to m. i. Ros-toVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], 455, fig. 86)

niche there was a laurel wreath, on the right wall, a red and yellow bird, probably a peacock. A male figure in a yellow tunic and tight yellow trousers, probably with a candle in his outstretched hands was shown to the right of the entrance (fig. 13 a). A round wreath with four laurel garlands radiating from it towards the corners or the room was depicted on the vault; the wreath contained a Christogram with the letters “alpha” and “omega” (fig. 13 b).

The vault of Tomb 1909 was decorated in the same way but the motif inside the wreath was lost39 (fig. 14 a). Images of a peacock turned to the right, a kantharos on a high base and a grape cluster were partially preserved in the northeast triangular segment formed by the diagonal garlands. Probably other segments of the ceiling were painted with similar motifs. Imitation orthostats executed with red lines were painted on the lower walls. A youth in white clothes with a burning candle in his hands was painted above this base, on the wall between the burial niches of the rear40 and left walls (fig. 14 b). A pigeon was painted in grey, black, red and brown near the niches of the left and right walls.

The wall paintings of Tomb 1905 (№ 2086) were rather well preserved when they were found, but were largely lost afterwards41. The Tomb has two burial niches, one above the other, in each side wall and a richly decorated main arcosolium in the back wall. The painting which covered all the walls and ceiling contained typical decorative motifs (fig. 15, fig. 16): imitation marble facing in blue, yellow, red and green, thick gar-lands of laurel leaves with light red trefoils tied with red and green ribbons, birds on branches, small trees, burning candles, grapevines with bunches of grapes. On the ceiling there were remains of a diagonal laurel garland and the cut off contour of a central circle which probably contained a wreath.

The Tomb studied in 1912 on the property of N. I. tuR has a special place among the painted Tombs of Chersonesos. It originally had one burial niche each in the left and rear walls. Subsequently the burial niche of the rear wall was probably transformed into an altar table42 (fig. 17). Two polychrome peacocks holding laurel garlands in their beaks and three yellow and red four petal flowers with green tendrils were painted on the back wall of the niche above the altar table (fig. 18). On the right niche wall there was prob-ably an image of a pigeon. M. I. skubetoV interpreted the remains of painting under the left niche wall

39 Ibid., 467 – 469. 40 The burial niche in the back wall was probably the main one and was closed by brick masonry: Ibid., 467. 41 Ibid., 459 – 463. 42 Ibid., 473 – 474.


Fig. 13: Chersonesos. Painting of the Tomb 1904 (1853): a – right part of the entrance wall; b – vaulted ceiling (M. V. faRmakoVskiy; according to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], pl. 106; 105, 3)

a b

Fig. 14: Chersonesos. Painting of Tomb 1909: a – vaulted ceiling; b – the parts of left and back walls (M. V. faRmakoVskiy; according to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], pl. 105, 1, 2)

a b


Fig. 15: Chersonesos. Painting of Tomb 1905: a – back wall, b – entrance wall (M. I. skube-toV; according to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], pl. 107)

Fig. 16: Chersonesos. Painting of Tomb 1905: a – right wall, b – left wall (M. I. skubetoV; according to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], pl. 108)


Fig. 17: Chersonesos. Plan of Tomb 1912 (on the property of N. I. tuR) (according to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], fig. 87, 1)

Fig. 18: Chersonesos. Painting above the altar table of Tomb 1912 (on the property of N. I. tuR) (M. I. skubetoV; according to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], 475, fig. 88)

Fig. 19: Chersonesos. Painting of the right wall of Tomb 1912 (on the property of N. I. tuR) (M. I. skubetoV; according to m. i. RostoVtseV, Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст [as note 6], 477, fig. 89)


as the branches of a palm wreath43. A fragment of a diagonal laurel garland remained in one corner of the ceiling. Thus the style and decorative motifs of this part of the Tomb on the property of N. I. tuR are in accord with the paintings of the other Chersonesos Tombs and, therefore, this part of the decoration may be regarded as funereal. However, a composition which occupied the right wall of the Tomb has a different character and is unique for Chersonesos (fig. 19). On the left near a tree in bloom or covered with fruits there are two figures, a woman in full face and a man turned to the left with outstretched hands. On the right, a schematic image of a city surrounded by defensive walls with towers44. The lower part of the com-position is poorly preserved: some scholars see a dragon crawling out of reeds, others, a peacock. There are different interpretations of this composition45. M. I. RostoVtseV called the painting “semi-Christian”,46 but rather, it could well have been a scene from the life of a saint. Most likely, it was painted after the transfor-mation of the Tomb into a cave church47.

The paintings of two Tombs found in 1998 – 1999 are only partially preserved48. In Tomb № 1 the lower parts of the walls were divided by black and red lines into narrow and wide rectangles filled with diagonal black stripes imitating marble facing (fig. 20 a). Above there were red flowers, probably roses, on stalks with black leaves and red flower garlands. The niche of the back wall was decorated by the image of a blue peacock with a red luxuriant tail (fig. 20 b). In Tomb № 2 above the left niche an overturned vase or basket filled with red flowers, probably roses and a pigeon were painted between vertical red flower garlands on a field studded with flowers of roses in the form of red spots (fig. 21). This composition can be compared with that of the “Tomb of the Seven Sleepers” at Ephesus, though the latter was executed more skillfully and vividly49 (fig. 22).

The walls and burial niche of Tomb 2003/2006 were also decorated with images of flowers and birds50. On the wall of one of the niches there is an epitaph of a Christian, Ariston, in a red circle: “God rest Ariston. Your soul is with the holy men”; on the ceiling, a monogram of Christ in a double wreath (fig. 23a, b, c).

The paintings of the Chersonesos Tombs are very similar to each other in style, colourful palettes and decorative and symbolic motifs. M. I. RostoVtseV considered all of the painted Tombs known in his time to belong to a single stylistic and chronological group51. Even though all Tombs were robbed in ancient times, coins of the second half of the 4th and 5th centuries were found in some of them; based upon these coins he dated a majority of the paintings of the Chersonesos Tombs to the second half of the 4th century and the paintings of the Tomb on the property of N. I. tuR to the 4th or 5th centuries52. Coins of the 4th and

43 Ibid., 476, fig. 88, 7. 44 A. L. beRthieR de lagaRde considered that this is a schematic representation of the defensive walls of Chersonesos: А. Л.

Бертье-ДелаГарД [A. L. beRthieR de lagaRde], О Херсонесе [About Chersonesos]. ИАК [IAK] 21 (1907) 161. According to M. I. RostoVtseV the city image could be both realistic (Chersonesos), and symbolical: М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 480.

45 Н. ПеченКин [N. Petchenkin], Роспись христианской катакомбы, находящейся близ Херсонеса, на земле Н. И. тура [The Painting of a Christian Catacomb located near Chersonesos, on the property of N. I. tuR]. ИТУАК [ITUAK] 48 (1912) 148; М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 479 – 480; М. СКуБетов [M. skubetoV], Древне-христианский фамильный склеп 4 века с фресковой декоративной росписью близ Херсонеса (на земле Н. И. тура), окончательно доследованный в ноябре 1912 г. [An Ancient Christian Family Tomb of the 4th Century with Decorative Fresco Painting near Chersonesos (on the Property of N. I. tuR) studied in November 1912]. ИТУАК [ITUAK] 53 (1916) 185.

46 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 479. 47 И. А. ЗаваДСКая [I. A. ZaVadskaya], Декоративно-символическая система росписи херсонесских христианских склепов:

проблемы хронологии и генезиса [Decorative-Symbolic System of Painting in Chersonesos Christian Vaults: Aspects of Chro-nology and Genesis]. МАИЭТ [MAIET] 11 (2005) 273.

48 В. М. ЗуБарь – Р. ПиллинГер et al. [V. M. ZubaR’ – R. PillingeR – et al.], Отчет о раскопках склепов с полихромной росписью на территории некрополя Херсонеса в 1998 – 1999 гг. (as note 33), 146 – 150; V. M. ZubaR’ – R. PillingeR, New Tombs with Early Christian Murals from the Necropolis of Tauric Chersonesus (Preliminary Note) (as note 33), 123 – 130.

49 J. ValeVa, La peinture funéraire dans les provinces orientales de l’Empire Romain dans l’Antiquité Tardive. Hortus Artium Medie-valium 7 (2001) 176, fig. 24.

50 The preliminary results are published in М. B. СтуПКо – Е. Я. туровСКий – А. A. ФилиППенКо [M. V. stuPko – E. ya. tuRoVskiy – A. A. filiPPenko], О судьбах расписных склепов первых христиан Херсонеса (as note 32), 189 – 191; Е. Я. туровСКий – А. A. ФилиППенКо [E. ya. tuRoVskiy – A. A. filiPPenko], Некоторые особенности погребальных сооружений и обрядов первых христиан Херсонеса и Пантикапея (as note 34), 186 – 189.

51 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст (as note 6), 483 – 484. 52 Ibid., 451, 457, 462, 469, 471, 479.


Fig. 20: Chersonesos. Painting of Tomb № 1/1998 – 1999: a – left wall, b – back wall (according to V. M. ZubaR’ – R. PillingeR – E. ya. tuRoVskiy – N. A. son – M. V. RusyaeVa – A. M. faRbey, Отчет о раскопках склепов с полихромной росписью [as note 33], fig. 65, 2, 3)

Fig. 23: Chersonesos. Painting of Tomb 2003/2006: a – burial niche; b – Epitaph; c – ceiling (according to M. V. stuPko – E. ya. tuRoVskiy – A. A. filiPPenko, О судьбах расписных склепов первых христиан Херсонеса [as note 32], fig. 1 – 3, 5)

Fig. 21: Chersonesos. Painting of Tomb № 2/1998 – 1999 (according to V. M. ZubaR’ – R. PillingeR – E. ya. tuRoVs-kiy – N. A. son – M. V. RusyaeVa – A. M. faRbey, Отчет о раскопках склепов с полихромной росписью [as note 33], fig. 65, 6)

Fig. 22: Ephesus. Painting of “Tomb of the Seven Sleepers” (according to J. ValeVa, La peinture funéraire dans les pro-vinces orientales [as note 49], fig. 24)


5th centuries were found also in Tomb № 2 of 1998-1999 and Tomb 2003/200653. O. I. dombRoVsky and V. M. ZubaR’, who believed that Chersonesos was converted to Christianity later than other comparable sites, disputed the dating proposed by M. I. RostoVtseV. They dated the paintings of the Tombs to the 6th and 7th centuries. Later V. M. ZubaR’ preferred dates at the end of the 5th and in the 6th centuries54; he con-tended that the coins of the 4th and 5th centuries did not confirm an early date because they were used in Chersonesos until the 6th and 7th centuries. However, the early date of the painted Tombs of Chersonesos is based not only upon the numismatic finds, but above all upon stylistic and iconographic features of the paintings, which have numerous parallels in the art of funeral monuments in many centers of the West and in the Eastern Roman Empire55.

As M. I. RostoVtseV noted, the funeral paintings of Chersonesos were carried out according to a strict system which divided the wall horizontally56. The lower part of the wall was painted, as a rule, with imita-tion marble facing; the upper part contained vegetal motifs (flowers, garlands, wreaths, trees) and birds. This decorative system is completely preserved in the paintings of five Tombs: 1903, 1904 (1853), 1905, 1909, № 1/1998 – 199957, while in other Tombs only some parts of the decoration were preserved. For example, the lower parts of the walls of Tomb 1907 (2) were decorated by rectangles with red lines intersecting dia-gonally which imitated facing58; fragments of flowers were preserved in Tomb 1907 (1)59; garlands of laurel leaves and a peacock, in Tomb 191260.

Similar decorative schemes were used in the paintings of many Tombs of the 4th and early 5th centuries primarily in the eastern provinces of the Empire. A few of the examples are Tombs in Thessaloniki, in par-ticular on Demosthenes Street and on St. Demetrius Street; Tombs № 7, 8 and 9 of the Sofiya necropolis; the Tomb of Flavios Chrisantios of 340 – 400 at Sardis61. The pattern of imitation marble facing of alternating

53 В. М. ЗуБарь – Р. ПиллинГер et al. [V. M. ZubaR’ – R. PillingeR – et al.], Отчет о раскопках склепов с полихромной росписью на территории некрополя Херсонеса в 1998 – 1999 гг. (as note 33), 153 – 154; М. B. СтуПКо – Е. Я. туровСКий – А. A. ФилиППенКо [M. V. stuPko – E. ya. tuRoVskiy – A. A. filiPPenko], О судьбах расписных склепов первых христиан Херсонеса, 190.

54 О. И. ДоМБровСКий [O. I. dombRoVskiy], Фрески южного нефа херсонесской базилики 1935 г. [Frescoes of the South Aisle of the Basilica 1935 of Chersonesos]. Херсонесский сборник [Chersonesos collected] 5 (1959) 222; В. М. ЗуБарь [V. M. ZubaR’], По поводу датировки христианской росписи склепов из некрополя Херсонеса [About the Dating of the Christian Painted Tombs from Necropolis of Chersonesos]. In: В. А. ХршановСКий (Ред.) [V. A. hRshanoVskiy (Ed.)], Научно-атеистические исследования в музеях [Scientifically-Atheistic Researches in Museums]. Ленинград [Leningrad] 1988, 12; В. М. ЗуБарь – А. И. ХвороСтяный [V. M. ZubaR’ – A. I. khVoRostyanjy], От язычества к христианству. Начальный этап проникновения и утверждения христианства на юге Украины (as note 33), 88.

55 In defense of the early date of the painted Tombs of Chersonesos: П. Д. ДиатроПов [P. d. diatRoPoV], Еще раз к вопросу о датировке росписей херсонесских христианских склепов [Once again to the Question about the Dating of Paintings Chris-tian Tombs of Chersonesos]. In: Церковная археология южной Руси. Сборник материалов международной конференции “Церковная археология: проблемы, поиски, открытия” (Севастополь 2001) [Church Archaeology of South Russia. Collec-tion of the International Conference “Church Archaeology: Problems, Searches, Discoveries” (Sevastopol 2001)]. Симферополь [Simferopol] 2002, 34 – 36; и. а. ЗаваДСКая [i. a. ZaVadskaya], Христианизация ранневизантийского Херсонеса (4 – 6 вв.) (as note 5), 408 – 412; ead., Декоративно-символическая система росписи херсонесских христианских склепов: проблемы хронологии и генезиса, 258 – 286; ead., Христианские расписные склепы Крыма в контексте развития погребальной росписи в ранневизантийский период (as note 15), 91 – 125; л. Г. ХрушКова [l. g. khRushkoVa], О живописи раннехристианских склепов в Крыму: сто лет после Михаила Ивановича Ростовцева (as note 14), 129; М. в. СтуПКо – е. я. туровСКий – а. а. ФилиППенКо [m. V. stuPko – e. ya. tuRoVskiy – a. a. filiPPenko], О судьбах расписных склепов первых христиан Херсонеса, 190 – 191; е. я. туровСКий – а. ФилиППенКо [e. ja. tuRoVskiy – a. a. filiPPenko], Топография и история изучения склепов с живописной на некрополе Херсонеса Таврического [Topography and History of Study of the Painting Tombs on the Necropolis Tauric Chersonesos]. Сугдейский сборник [Sugdia collected] 4 (2010) 286.

56 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 484 – 486. 57 Ibid., 455, fig. 86, pl. 107, 108, 112; В. М. ЗуБарь – Р. ПиллинГер et al. [V. M. ZubaR’ – R. PillingeR – et al.], Отчет о раскопках

склепов с полихромной росписью на территории некрополя Херсонеса в 1998 – 1999 гг., fig. 65. 58 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 465. 59 Ibid., 464. 60 Ibid., 470 – 471. 61 J. ValeVa, La peinture funéraire dans les provinces orientales de l’Empire Romain dans l’Antiquité Tardive (as note 49), fig. 15 – 17,

21; E. Mαρkη [E. maRki], H ταφική ζωγρaφική των πρώτων χριστιανικών χρόνων στή Θεσσαλονίκη [The Funeral Painting of the Early Christian Times in Thessaloniki]. In: Χριστιανική Θεσσαλονίκη. Από του Αποστόλου Παυλου μέχρι καί της Κωνσταντινειου εποχής [Christian Thessaloniki. From the Apostle Paul to the Constantine’ Époque]. Θεσσαλονίκη [Thessaloniki] 1990, 177,


narrow and wide rectangles filled with diago-nal black stripes in the Tomb at Sardis (fig. 24) is very close to the same motif in Chersonesos Tomb № 1/1998 – 1999. The paintings of the Chersonesos Tombs are sometimes inferior in quality, execution and diversity of decorative motifs, but although the skills of the artists may have differed, the structure of the decora-tive systems of these paintings and their sym-bolic meanings are quite comparable.

The decorative components used in these paintings have deep roots in the artistic tradi-tions of Antiquity. All of the motifs except the

monogram of Christ were borrowed from pagan art and endowed with new Christian meaning62. Trees and flowers became symbols of heavenly paradise. The grapevine, to which Jesus Christ compared himself (John, 15:1 – 5) was also inseparably linked with the sacrament of Holy Communion. Burning candles rep-resented the spiritual light that Christ’s teaching brings to humanity. Images of birds, above of all pigeons, symbolized the souls of Christians and were connected with the doctrine of resurrection and eternal life. All of the motifs combined in a single composition created a polychromatic picture of paradise in which the souls of dead Christians dwell.

The light, airy decoration representing paradise of the upper parts of the walls was counterbalanced by the heavy, solid imitation marble incrustation of their lower parts. According to K. miyateV, the latter motif was a reminder of the terrestrial dwellings of the deceased63. Imitation marble facing as a symbol of terres-trial, material wealth and luxury was borrowed from the décor of houses of Antiquity. The gradual growth of ascetic tendencies in the decoration of Tombs dislodged this motif from funeral paintings much earlier than Christian images which connoted the soul, heavenly paradise and Christ’s teachings. Therefore, K. miyateV considered the paintings of Sofiya Tombs № 7, 8 and 9, which contain imitation marble incrustation to be the earliest and dated them to the second half of the 4th and 5th centuries 64.

Another feature of the Chersonesos paintings, as pointed out by M. I. RostoVtseV, consists of the almost complete absence of human figures in the decorative schemes65, a feature which is also characteristic of several other funeral monuments of the end of the 4th and 5th centuries. Human figures are lacking, for instance, in the paintings of the Sofiya Tombs of that period66. However, individual images of people were represented in some Chersonesos Tombs, specifically in Tombs 1904 (1853) and 190967: in each an image of a male figure was preserved, dressed in a short tunic above the knees with long sleeves and a belt around the waist. Both figures hold objects in their hands: in Tomb 1909 – a candle, in Tomb 1904 (1853) the image

fig. 17; К. Миятев [K. miyateV], Декоративната живопись на Софийския некропол [Decorative Painting of the Sofiya Necro-polis]. София [Sofiya] 1925, 58, 63, 70 – 72, 89 – 90.

62 А. С. уваров [a. s. uvarov], Христианская символика (as note 28), 194 – 230; J. ValeVa, La peinture funéraire dans les pro-vinces orientales de l’Empire Romain dans l’Antiquité Tardive, 174 – 180.

63 К. Миятев [k. Miyatev], Декоративната живопись на Софийския некропол, 109. 64 Ibid., 67, 113. 65 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст (as note 6), 486. 66 К. Миятев [k. Miyatev], Декоративната живопись на Софийския некропол, 115; Д. овчаров [D. oVtchaRoV], Архитектура

и декорация на старохристиянските гробници в нашите земи [Architecture and Decoration of the Early Christian Tombs in our Lands]. Арх [Arch] 19/4 (1977) 25; Д. овчаров – М. ваКлинова [D. oVtchaRoV – M. VaklinoVa], Ранновизантийски паметници от България IV–VII век [Early Byzantine Monuments of Bulgaria of the 4th–7th Centuries]. София [Sofiya] 1978, 28.

67 The depiction of the bottom of human feet was remained also on a wall to the right of entrance of the Tomb on the property of N. I. tuR: М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 475, fig. 88, 5. This image could be a part of the picture on the right wall, as its continuation, or it was an independent personage and in this case it can be compared with figures from the Tombs of 1904 (1853) and 1909.

Fig. 24: Sardis. Painting of Tomb of Flavios Chrisantios of 340 – 400 (according to J. ValeVa, La peinture funéraire dans les provinces orientales [as note 49], fig. 22)


of the object was lost, but possibly it was also a candle68. In funeral paintings such persons are interpreted as servants69.

Images of one or several servants are quite frequent in funeral paintings of Late Antiquity. One of the most famous monuments, with a representation of a procession of servants, is a Tomb of the last quarter of the 4th century near Silistra (ancient Durostorum)70. The similarity of the servants’ clothes in the Tombs of Silistra (fig. 25) and Chersonesos is striking. The image of a servant from a Christian Tomb in Stari Kostolac-Viminatium (Serbia) of the first half of the 4th century is also analogous71. Figures of servants are also present in a Christian Tomb of the last third of the 4th century from Ossenovo (near Varna)72. Thus, scenes with servants, typical of pagan art and adopted by early Christian painting are echoed in Cherso-nesos. However, these images were not used for long: j. ValeVa noted that all painted Tombs of the Balkan region with images of servants are dated to the 4th century73. The Chersonesos paintings of these persons should probably be dated approximately to the same period. Thus, the depictions of servants and of marble incrustation, which both displayed the high status and wealth of the deceased in their terrestrial life were dislodged from the wall paintings of Tombs earlier than other images and symbols with more significant, Christian meanings.

68 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст, 454 – 455, 468. 69 J. ValeVa, La peinture funéraire dans les provinces orientales de l’Empire Romain dans l’Antiquité Tardive, 180 – 185. 70 Д. П. ДиМитров [D. P. dimitRoV], Стил и дата на стенописите от късноантичната гробница при Силистра [Style and Dating of

the Painting of a Late Antique Tomb near Silistra]. Арх [Arch] 3/1 (1961) 10 – 21; id., Le système décoratif et la date des peintures murales du tombeau antique de Silistra. CArch 12 (1962) 35 – 52.

71 J. ValeVa, La peinture funéraire dans les provinces orientales de l’Empire Romain dans l’Antiquité Tardive (as note 49), fig. 36 – 37. 72 R. PillingeR – A. Minčev – P. geoRgieV, Ein frühchristliches Grabmal mit Wandmalerei bei Ossenovo (Bant 17). Wien 1989,

23 – 25; R. PillingeR – V. PoPoVa – B. ZimmeRmann (Red.), Corpus der spät antiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens (Bant 21). Wien 1999, 14 – 16; J. ValeVa, La peinture funéraire dans les provinces orientales de l’Empire Romain dans l’Antiquité Tardive, 182.

73 J. ValeVa, La peinture funéraire dans les provinces orientales de l’Empire Romain dans l’Antiquité Tardive, 181.

Fig. 25: Painting of two servants in Tomb of Silistra (according to C. анГелова [S. ange-loVa], Силистренската гробница [Tomb of Silistra]. Силистра [Silistra] 1976, fig. 7, 9)


The most important Christian symbol of the Chersonesos funerary paintings, the monogram of Christ was preserved in only two Tombs: 1904 (1853) and 2003/200674 (fig. 13 b; 23 c). In both it was depicted in a wreath at the centre of the ceiling; in Tomb 1904 (1853) the wreath was complemented with four laurel garlands radiating from it towards the corners of the room. The remains of a central wreath and diagonal garlands were preserved on the ceilings of four Tombs: 1909 (fig. 14 a), 1907 (2), 1905 and the Tomb on the property of n. i. tuR75: they could also originally have contained Christograms76.

The monogram of Christ and crosses are well known in paintings of many funerary monuments of the 4th

and 5th centuries77. In the earliest, as in the Chersonesos Tombs these symbols were placed in circles or in wreaths and combined with various polychrome vegetal motifs, images of birds and other objects executed with different degrees of skill. The polychrome paintings of the Tombs of the 4th century at Iznik (Nicaea), Philippi, Veria and Thessaloniki are striking examples of such decorative schemes78. In Sofiya Tomb № 4 of the second half of the 4th or early 5th centuries the Christogram in a medallion with a double wreath on one of the narrow walls79 (fig. 26) has a very close analogy in Chersonesos Tomb 2003/2006.

Christograms or crosses occupied an important place in the paintings of these monuments, but they were not yet absolutely dominant. As a rule, they were only one part of a pictorial composition which was full of allegorical images and symbols. To a large degree Christian art of this time remained allegorical and delibe-rately esoteric. Moreover, not all early Christian Tomb paintings contained depictions of crosses or Chris-tograms. For example, only four of the nine painted Tombs at Sofiya which are considered to be Christian contained cross shaped symbols (Tombs № 1, 2, 4, 9)80. It should also be noted that in the 4th and beginning of the 5th centuries the Christogram or cross had not yet become an obligatory attribute of other kinds of Christian art81. Some Christian epigraphic monuments of this time do not include the sign of the cross82.

74 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Атлас (as note 6), pl. 105, 3; М. В. СтуПКо – Е. Я. туровСКий – А. А. ФилиППенКо [M. V. stuPko – E. ya. tuRoVskiy – A. A. filiPPenko], О судьбах расписных склепов первых христиан Херсонеса (as note 32), 190.

75 М. И. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст (as note 6), 453 – 454, 460, 465 – 466, 468, 478.

76 The ceiling painting in Tombs 1903 and 1907 (1) was completely lost: Ibid., 451, 464. No information on plaster and painting of ceilings in Tombs 1912 and 1998 – 1999 exists.

77 J. ValeVa, Les tombeaux ornés de croix et chrismes peints. In: Acta 13th CIAC. Split – Poreč (25. 9. – 1. 10. 1994) 3 (StAntCr 54 – VAHD Supl. 88). Città del Vaticano – Split 1998, 772 – 782.

78 A. baRbet – S. seneR, Conservation Work at Iznik: Elbeyli Tomb Paintings. In: AST 16 (1999) I 203 – 204; S. Pelekanidis, Gli affreschi paleocristiani ed i più antichi mosaici parietali di Salonicco 2. Ravenna 1963, 8 – 28; J. ValeVa, Les tombeaux ornés de croix et chrismes peints, 763 – 765, № 32, 34, 35, 40, 43, 47, 80; ead., La peinture funéraire dans les provinces orientales de l’Empire Romain dans l’Antiquité Tardive, fig. 16, 67; Δ. Μακροπούλού [D. makRoPoulou], Ανασκαφή τάφων στο Ανατολικό παλαιοχριστιανικό νεκροταφειό της Θεσσαλονίκης [Excavation of a Tomb in Eastern Early Christian Necropolis of Thessaloniki]. In: Makedonika. Θεσσαλονίκη [Thessaloniki] 1990, 194 – 198; S. πελεκανίδης [S. Pelekanidis], Παλαιοχριστιανικός τάφος εν Φιλίπποις [Early Christian Tomb in Philippi]. In: Tortulae. Studien zu Altchristlichen und Byzantinischen Monumenten. Rom – Freiburg – Wien 1966, 223 – 228; G. gounaRis, L’archéologie chrétienne en Grèce de 1974 à 1985. In: Actes du XIe CIAC. Lyon, Vienne, Grenoble, Genève et Aoste (21 – 28 Septembre 1986) 3 (StAntCr 41 – CEFR 123). Città del Vaticano – Rome 1989, 2709, fig. 18, 19.

79 К. Миятев [k. Miyatev], Декоративната живопись на Софийския некропол (as note 61), fig. 9; R. PillingeR – V. PoPoVa – B. ZimmeRmann (Red.), Corpus der spät antiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens, 62 – 64, Taf. 66, Abb. 125; J. ValeVa, Les tombeaux ornés de croix et chrismes peints, fig. 2a.

80 К. Миятев [k. Miyatev], Декоративната живопись на Софийския некропол, 5 – 105. 81 Some sarcophagus of the 4th century from the Vatican Museum and the National Museum in Rome, namely “Dogmatic” sarcopha-

gus of 320 – 330, the sarcophagus with miracles of Christ and scenes from the life of St Peter of 340, the sarcophagus of the “Two Brothers”, sarcophagus of Junius Bassus of 359: E. kitZingeR, Byzantine Art in the Making. Main lines of stylistic development in Mediterranean Art 3rd–7th Century. London 1977, 22, 25 – 26, fig. 35, 36, 41 – 43. They contain scenes of the Old and New Testament, compositions representing the miracles of Christ, episodes of the life of St. Peter, however, they have no depictions of crosses. The famous ivory panel relief of 400 with the Holy Women at the Tomb also doesn’t have the sign of the cross: Ibid., fig. 76, 77.

82 The epitaphs of the 4th century from Tombs of a necropolis and basilica extra muros of Philippi: D. feissel, Recueil des inscriptions chrétiennes de Macédoine du 3e au 6e siècles. BCH Suppl. 8 (1983) № 233, 235 – 237, pl. 54, 55. Their Christian identity is confir-med by the mention of the names of priests. The epitaph of the priest and physician Paul makes a prayer request to Jesus Christ: Ibid., № 237, р. 201, pl. 56.


The situation gradually changed during the 5th century. Dec-orative painting with Ancient origins, filled with new Christian meanings was gradually dislodged from the walls of Tombs and replaced by the major Christian symbol – the cross, which then became absolutely dominant in the decorative schemes of funeral paintings83. While in the Tombs of the 4th and begin-ning of the 5th centuries the Christogram or cross, as a rule, was depicted only once or sometimes twice, during the 5th–6th centuries it was depicted in far greater quantities in a single monument84. Examples include Tombs at Serdica (Sofiya) (№ 1, № 1/1989, № 2/1989, Tomb of Honorius, Tomb published in 197685), Diocletianopolis (Hissar)86, Sandanski87, Sehremini (Istanbul)88, Axiopolis (Cernavoda)89, Philippi90, Krinides91 among others. In Crimea examples of this new stage of devel-opment in the design of Tomb decoration are preserved in the necropolis of Bosporus92.

CHRISTIAN TOMBS WITH CROSSES IN BOSPORUS

Christian Tombs with walls painted with crosses were discovered on the northern slope of Mount Mithri-dates in Kerch. They have relatively small, low trapezoidal or rectangular chambers with spacious burial niches; some of the burial niches have a small niche in one of the side walls.

In Tomb 1912 a cross with arms of equal length and splayed ends surrounded by four birds was engraved over the inside of the entrance93. Crosses were cut into two or three niches of Tomb № 5/200494. Tomb № 16, opened in 2000 under the direction of E. A. Zin’ko and dated to the second half of the 5th to mid-6th cen-

83 J. ValeVa, Les tombeaux ornés de croix et chrismes peints, 765; ead., La peinture funéraire dans les provinces orientales de l’Empire Romain dans l’Antiquité Tardive (as note 49), 194.

84 A similar tendency also existed in Christian epigraphy. A gravestone with three crosses in a row before an inscription was the most typical form of the 5th–6th centuries: D. feissel, Recueil des inscriptions chrétiennes de Macédoine, № 16, 20, 25, 38, 41, 43, 47, 51, 78, 144 and others. Epitaphs with a greater number of the cross symbols are known; for example, one with five crosses and two Christograms: Ibid., № 166.

85 К. Миятев [k. Miyatev], Декоративната живопись на Софийския некропол, 5 – 14; Т. ГераСиМов [T. geRassimoV], Гробница с живопис от Сердика (6 в. на н.е.) [Tomb with Painting from Serdica (6th c.)]. Арх [Arch] 18/2 (1976) 51 – 53; R. PillingeR – V. PoPoVa – B. ZimmeRmann (Red.), Corpus der spät antiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens (as note 72), 60 – 61, 73 – 77; J. ValeVa, Les tombeaux ornés de croix et chrismes peints, 774 – 775.

86 R. PillingeR – V. PoPoVa – B. ZimmeRmann (Red.), Corpus der spät antiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens, 51; J. ValeVa, Les tombeaux ornés de croix et chrismes peints, № 9.

87 Т. ГераСиМов [T. geRassimoV], Раннохристиянска гробница при гр. Сандански [Early Christian Tomb near Sandanski]. ИАИ [IAI] 29 (1966) 222 – 224; R. PillingeR – V. PoPoVa – B. ZimmeRmann (Red.), Corpus der spät antiken und frühchristlichen Wand-malereien Bulgariens, 92.

88 N. fiRatli, Notes sur quelques hypogées paléo-chrétiens de Constantinople. In: Tortulae. Studien zu Altchristlichen und Byzantini-schen Monumenten (as note 78), 131 – 139; J. ValeVa, Les tombeaux ornés de croix et chrismes peints (as note 77), № 79.

89 a. rădulesCu – V. lungu, Le christianisme en Scythie Mineure à la lumière des dernières découvertes archéologiques. In: Actes du XIe CIAC. Lyon, Vienne, Grenoble, Genève et Aoste (as note 78), 2578 – 2587.

90 G. gounaRis, L’archéologie chrétienne en Grèce de 1974 à 1985 (as note 78), fig. 16; J. ValeVa, Les tombeaux ornés de croix et chrismes peints, № 39.

91 Χ. κούκούλη [ch. koukouli], Αρχαιότητες και μνημεία ανατολικής Μακεδονίας [Antiquities and Monuments of Eastern Macedo-nia]. Αρχαιολογικόν Δελτίον. Χρονικά [Archaeological Bulletin. Chronicle] 23, 1968 (1969) 354.

92 Е. А. ЗиньКо [E. A. Zin’ko], Христианские мотивы в росписях пантикапейских склепов (as note 11), 89; ead., Вопросы хронологии раннехристианских склепов Боспора (as note 9), 311 – 312.

93 М. и. роСтовцев [m. i. RostoVtseV], Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Текст (as note 6), 435; id., Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. Атлас (as note 6), pl. 101, 1.

94 Е. А. ЗиньКо [E. A. Zin’ko], Христианские склепы некрополя Боспора 4 – 6 вв. (as note 9), 64 – 65.

Fig. 26: Sofiya. Painting of Tomb 4 (according to R. PillingeR – V. PoPoVa – B. ZimmeRmann [Red.], Corpus der spät antiken und frühchrist-lichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens [as note 72], Taf. 66, Abb. 125)


turies has six red crosses on the walls and vault95 (the red stripe which outlines a small niche in the central burial niche is unique) (fig. 27).

The walls of the best known Kerch Tombs, discovered in 1890 and 1895, were covered with crosses and holy Greek texts. J. kulakoVskiy described these monuments in detail and identified the texts with psalms and prayers96. Crosses and inscriptions in both Tombs are applied directly to the dense clay in red paint. Fifteen crosses were represented in Tomb 1890, including seven Latin crosses with splayed ends; the others were at the beginnings and ends of inscriptions97. Five large Latin crosses were accompanied by the letters “alpha” and “omega” (fig. 28). Three of them were crux monogrammatica. A large slab which closed the entrance to the Tomb contained a cross in relief outlined in red paint98. The inscriptions on the walls presented two prayers, quotations from four psalms; one inscription had a precise date, the year 788 of the Bosporan era (491 AD)99. “Savagas” and “Phaesparta”100, who were interred in the Tomb, were named at the end of the Trisagion prayer in the central burial niche. The text of the canticle prayer, the funeral rite of the time, was located on both sides of a cross on the right wall of the left burial niche; Ps. 90 (91) occupied the walls of the central and right burial niches. The last two verses of Ps. 120 (121) were inscribed over the entrance and the first and second parts of the first verse of Ps. 26 (27) on the cornices above the left and right burial niches. On cornices over the central burial niche several letters of an inscription were preserved which J. kulakoVskiy restored as the phrase “My Lord, hear my prayer” and identified with the beginning of Ps. 101:2 (102:1)101. However, it should be noted that this phrase is also part of other psalms: Ps. 38:13 (39:12), Ps. 53:4 (54:2) and Ps. 142:1 (143:1). In Tomb 1895 only the text of the Trisagion prayer, of Ps. 90 and four crosses were painted on the walls of all three burial niches102 (fig. 29). The Tombs were located close to each other and, undoubtedly, were created about the same time.

On the basis of the written sources J. kulakoVskiy concluded that the psalms were important compo-nents of funereal ceremonial in the second half the 4th and 5th centuries103. Thus the Kerch Tombs indicate that these holy texts were introduced to funeral ceremonies there no later than the end of the 5th century. In one of his Homilies about the deceased104 John Chrysostom (ca. 347 – 407) quoted the beginning of Ps. 26 (27), “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”, which is inscribed on a cornice above the left burial niche of Tomb 1890105. It is therefore possible that this verse was also included in the Chris-tian burial rites of the late 4th to 5th centuries at Kerch. It is noteworthy that Ps. 90 and the Trisagion prayer still have an important place in modern Orthodox burial rites.

Crosses accompanied by holy inscriptions applied in red paint played an important role in Tombs of the Balkan regions. There were crosses and two inscriptions in a Tomb of the end of the 5th beginning of the 6th centuries in Kallatis/Mangalia106: in a lunette above the entrance, “Lord, make haste to help me, liberate me”, which R. PillingeR identified as Ps. 69:6 and Ps. 25:11; on the west wall, a quote from Ps. 22:4 which

95 Ibid., 62 – 63; ead., Вопросы хронологии раннехристианских склепов Боспора (as note 9), 311. 96 Ю. А. КулаКовСКий [Yu. A. kulakoVskiy], Керченская христианская катакомба 491 года (as note 2), 1 – 30; id., Христианская

катакомба, открытая в 1895 г. [The Christian Catacomb discovered in 1895]. МАР [MAR] 19 (1896) 61 – 67. 97 id., Керченская христианская катакомба 491 года, 17 – 20. 98 Ibid., 3. 99 Ibid., 4 – 9. 100 It should be noted that the name Savagas (Σαυάγας) is preserved in four epigraphic documents; based upon their analysis yu.

VinogRadoV reconstituted some aspects of this man’s biography: Savagas, the son of Ariston, probably came from Germonassa-Tamatharha, located on the Asian coast of Bosporus, from a noble family which owned fishing zones. He served as comes in the central administration of Bosporus from 478/9. The names of the wife of Savagas, Phaesparta (Φαεισπάρτα) and their daughter Abbagadza (Ἀβαγάζα) were also preserved on a silver plate (phylactery) in a bronze amulet found in 1896: Ю. Г. виноГраДов [yu. G. VinogRadoV], Позднеантичный Боспор и ранния Византия (в свете датированных боспорских надписей 5 века) [Late An-tique Bosporus and Early Byzantium (In the Light of the Dated Bosporan Inscriptions of the 5th c.)]. ВДИ [VDI] 1 (1998) 233 – 244.

101 Ю. А. КулаКовСКий [Yu. A. kulakoVskiy], Керченская христианская катакомба 491 года, 9. 102 id., Христианская катакомба, открытая в 1895 г., 61 – 67. 103 id., Керченская христианская катакомба 491 года, 10 – 13. 104 John Chrysostom, Homilia 45: Quod mortui non ita vehementer plangendi sint. PL 63 (1862) col. 887 – 892. 105 Ю. А. КулаКовСКий [Yu. A. kulakoVskiy], Керченская христианская катакомба 491 года (as note 2), 9, 13. 106 a. RădulesCu – V. lungu, Le christianisme en Scythie Mineure à la lumière des dernières découvertes archéologiques (as note

89), 2591 – 2593; R. PillingeR, Ein frühchristliches Grab mit Psalmenzitaten in Mangalia/Kallatis (Rumänien). In: R. PillingeR – A. PülZ – H. VetteRs (Hg.), Die Schwarzmeerküste in der Spät antike und im frühen Mittelalter (Bant 18). Wien 1992, 97 – 102.


Fig. 27: Bosporus. Painting of Tomb № 16/2000 (according to E. A. Zin’ko, Христианские склепы некрополя Боспора 4 – 6 вв. [as note 9], fig. 7)

Fig. 28: Bosporus. Painting of Tomb 1890 (according to Yu. A. kulakoVskiy, Керченская христианская катакомба 491 года [as note 2], pl. II–IV)


Fig. 29: Bosporus. Tomb 1895 (according to Yu. A. kulakoVskiy, Керченская христианская катакомба 491 года [as note 2], pl. 12)

Fig. 30: Stamata. Twin Tomb of the 6th century: a, b, c – Tomb I; d – Tomb II (according to E. gkini-tsoPhoPoulou, Ανασκαφικές εργασίες. Νομός Αττικής. Σταμάτα. Παλαιοχριστιανική βασιλική [as note 116], fig. 3 – 5)


was part of the funeral liturgy by the end of the 4th century107. Five red Latin crosses with splayed arms were painted on the walls of Chamber B of a double Tomb of the third quarter of the 6th century at Lou-loudia108; the remains of an inscription, “This is the place of my rest forever, here I will dwell, for I have chosen it”, a version of Ps. 131:14, were preserved on the west wall above a composition consisting of a cross surrounded by laurel branches and two partridges109. A Tomb in the narthex of a tetraconch in Stara Zagora/Augusta Traiana (Bulgaria)110 was decorated by six large crosses and two inscriptions: “Emmanuel” and “Lord, be with us”. Versions of Ps. 131:14 were also preserved on the walls of a monumental Tomb of the end of the 5th or of the 6th centuries in Ürgüp (Cappadocia)111. Five epigraphic monuments with the lines of Ps. 131:14 are known112. According to R. PillingeR Ps. 131/132 was part of the funeral liturgy and the crosses in the context of the holy texts symbolized victory over death113. Sofiya Tomb № 1 should be men-tioned in this context: it was decorated by four large Latin crosses, birds and an undecipherable inscription which was inscribed under the vault at the perimeter of the Tomb114; based upon analogies it could be a quote from the psalms115.

Red crosses and Christian texts were also depicted on the walls of a twin Tomb of the 6th century at Stamata (23 km northeast of Athens) opened in 1986116, a Tomb which has been in the Byzantine Museum of Athens since 1996. A cross with splayed ends was painted on each wall of both Tombs (fig. 30). The words “Merciful God” were preserved on the south wall of Tomb II. In Tomb I there are three inscriptions: on the north wall, “Lord of the Highest in abundance [take] compassion” and “Lord, Jesus Christ, absolution for the deceased, Amen”117; on the south wall, the words “Light of life”. It is probably a quote from the Gospel of John (8:12): “I am the light of the world, he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”. Schematic images of trees, a bird and fish were also painted in red on the walls of Tomb I.

Each of these monuments reflects a fully formed new decorative system which stood in strong contrast to that of the previous period. Of all these numerous examples of the new decorative system Tomb 1890 at Kerch has the richest set of Christian texts and crosses, the unique mention of the names of the deceased and an exact date, 491 AD. Thus it is unique not only in Crimea but in the entire region.

The end of the 5th century can be thought of as a boundary in the development of Christian Tomb deco-ration in the Byzantine Empire. Painting that had its roots in Antiquity, with lively polychromy and a great variety of decorative motifs became a thing of the past and was all but forgotten. Some motifs, such as birds and plants still appear in some paintings, for example, in the Tombs of Louloudia and Stamata, but they are subordinated to the major symbol – the cross. The depiction of the cross was repeated often because the cross of Jesus Christ was the sign of resurrection, victory over death; it was a symbol of the Kingdom of Heaven which possessed the powerful protective force to banish demons, illness and gloomy darkness.

107 R. PillingeR, Ein frühchristliches Grab mit Psalmenzitaten in Mangalia/Kallatis, 99 – 100. 108 E. maRki, Deux tombeaux monumentaux protobyzantins récemment découverts en Grèce du Nord. CArch 45 (1997) 19 – 23. 109 G. kiouRtZian, Le Psaume 131 et son usage funéraire dans la Grèce, les Balkans et la Cappadoce à la haute époque byzantine.

CArch 45 (1997) 31 – 32. 110 R. PillingeR, Ein Bischofsgrab mit Psalmzitat in Stara Zagora (Bulgarien)? Tyche. Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte, Papyrologie

und Epigraphik 4 (1989) 131 – 137; ead., Гробница с псалмов текст от Стара Загора [Tomb with the Text of Psalms from Stara Zagora]. ИМЮБ [IMJUB] 14 (1991) 59 – 63; J. ValeVa, Les tombeaux ornés de croix et chrismes peints (as note 77), 773, № 6; R. PillingeR – V. PoPoVa – B. ZimmeRmann (Red.), Corpus der spät antiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens (as note 72), 38 – 39.

111 R. PillingeR – V. PoPoVa – B. ZimmeRmann (Red.), Corpus der spätantiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens, 35; N. thieRRy, Note archéologique sur un tombeau monumental inédit d’Ürgüp (Cappadoce). CArch 45 (1997) 25–30.

112 G. kiouRtZian, Le Psaume 131 et son usage funéraire dans la Grèce, les Balkans et la Cappadoce à la haute époque byzantine, 32 – 38.

113 R. PillingeR, Ein Bischofsgrab mit Psalmzitat in Stara Zagora (Bulgarien), 135 – 136; ead., Гробница с псалмов текст от Стара Загора, 63.

114 К. Миятев [k. Miyatev], Декоративната живопись на Софийския некропол (as note 61), 5 – 14. 115 A. gRabaR, Martyrium. Recherches sur le culte des reliques et l’art chrétien antique 2: Iconographie. Paris 1946, 280; R. PillingeR –

V. PoPoVa – B. ZimmeRmann (Red.), Corpus der spät antiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens, 60 – 61. 116 Ε. Γκίνί-Τξοφοπούλού [E. gkini-tsoPhoPoulou], Ανασκαφικές εργασίες. Νομός Αττικής. Σταμάτα. Παλαιοχριστιανική βασιλική

[Archaeological Excavations. Attica Region. Stamata. Early Christian Basilica]. Αρχαιολογικόν Δελτίον. Χρονικά [Archaeological Bulletin. Chronicle] 45, 1990 (1995) 90 – 92.

117 Translation of the inscriptions from Ancient Greek by V. A. sidoRenko.


These virtues of the cross are declared clearly and expressively in the writings of St. John Chrysostom118. Glorifying the cross, he wrote: “Because of this [the cross], the devils are no longer terrible, but contempt-ible; neither is death death, but a sleep; because of the cross, all that makes war against us is cast to the ground and trodden under foot”119; further, the symbol of victory “… on houses and walls and windows, and upon our foreheads, and upon our minds, we inscribe it with much care”120. Thus the walls and vaults of Tombs were covered by multiple depictions of the cross to impel and activate its protective forces. In addi-tion to crosses holy texts, prayers and psalms performed a defensive function and together they established “a zone of insuperable protection against demons”121.

Thus, the new symbolic apotropaic program consisting of numerous crosses and, in some cases, holy texts replaced the pictorial decorations connoting paradise. Most probably these changes in the funerary décor were the result of changes in church ideology and of the spread of asceticism, and indeed, of a more truly Christian attitude towards funeral rites. In the next stage of this process, after the Ancient decorative forms were rejected, the tradition of building vaulted Tombs, which was also borrowed from the pre-Chris-tian past, ceased gradually. In Crimea that transition took place at the end of the 6th and in the 7th centuries122: afterwards the main form of burial was a grave built of slabs on which crosses were sometimes carved.

abbReViations

Арх [Arch] .................. Археология [Archaeologiya] AST ............................. Araştırma sonuçları toplantısıBant ............................ Schriften der Balkan-Kommission, Antiquarische Abteilung BCH Suppl. ................ Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique Supplementum БИ [BI] ....................... Боспорские исследования [Bosporos Studies] CArch ......................... Cahiers Archéologiques CEFR .......................... Collection de l’École Française de Rome CIAC .......................... Congressus Internationalis Archaeologiae Christianae ИАИ [IAI] .................. Известия на Археологически институт [Proceedings of the Archaeological Institute] ИАК [IAK] ................. Известия Археологической комиссии [Proceedings of the Archaeological Commission] ИАН [IAN] ................. Известия Академии наук [Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences] ИМЮБ [IMJUB] ....... Известия на Музеите от югоизточна България [Proceedings of the Museums of South-East Bulgarija] ИТУАК [ITUAK] ........ Известия Таврической Ученой Архивной Комиссии [Proceedings of the Tauric Scientific Archive Commission] МАИЭТ [MAIET] ....... Материалы по археологии, истории и этнографии Таврии [Materials in Archaeology, History and Ethnography of Tauria] МАР [MAR] ............... Материалы по археологии России [Materials in Archaeology of Russia]

118 John Chrysostom, In Pretiosae vitalisque Crucis adorationem, media Hebdomada Jejuniorum. PL 52 (1859) col. 835 – 840; Id., Ejusdem Oratio, qua docet non esse verendum confiteri Sanctam Crucem. PL 52 (1859) col. 841 – 844.

119 After John Chrysostom, Homily 54. In: A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church, anterior to the division of the East and West. Translated by Members of the English Church. The Homilies of S. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on the Gospel of St. Matthew, translated, with Notes and Indices 2: Hom. 26 – 58. Oxford 1844, 737.

120 Ibid., 735. 121 A. gRabaR, Martyrium. Recherches sur le culte des reliques et l’art chrétien antique 2: Iconographie, 278 – 280; M. A. sacoPoulo,

La fresque chrétienne la plus ancienne de Chypre. CArch 13 (1962) 69 – 71. 122 В. М. ЗуБарь [V. M. ZubaR’], Некрополь Херсонеса Таврического 1 – 4 вв. н.э. [Necropolis of Tauric Chersonesos of 1st–4th

Centuries]. Киев [Kiev] 1982, 26 – 27; А. И. айБаБин [A. I. aybabin], Хронология могильников Крыма позднеримского и раннесредневекового времени [Chronology of the Necropolises of Crimea in Late Roman and Early Medieval Times]. МАИЭТ [MAIET] 1 (1990) 69; id., Могильники 8 – начала 9 вв. в Крыму [Necropolises of the 8th – to the Beginning of the 9th Centuries in the Crimea]. МАИЭТ [MAIET] 3 (1990) 127.


МИА [MIA] ................ Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materials and Studies in Archaeology of USSR] PL ............................... Patrologia LatinaRGZM ........................ Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mainz StAntCr ....................... Studi di Antichità Cristiana StudPatr ..................... Studia Patristica Suppl. ......................... Supplement ЗООИД [ZOOID] ....... Записки Одесского Общества истории и древностей [Records of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities] ТГЭ [TGE] ................. Труды Государственного Эрмитажа [Proceedings of State Hermitage Museum] VAHD Supl. ................. Vjesnik za arheologiju i historiju Dalmatinsku SuplementВДИ [VDI] ................. Вестник древней истории [Messenger of Ancient History]

summaRy

Frühchristliche bemalte Gräber auf der Krim

Der Artikel ist den Gräbern mit Wandmalerei gewidmet, die christliche Symbole tragen, gefunden in den Nekropolen von zwei bedeu-tenden spät antiken Plätzen der Taurica: Chersonesos/Sevastopol und Panticapaeum/Bosporus. Die Monumente ermöglichen es, die Hauptphasen der Entwicklung des frühchristlichen Begräbnisdekors aufzuzeigen. Die Gräber in Panticapaeum besitzen Malereien im sogenannten „geometrischen“ oder „primitiven“ Stil, ebenso solche, deren Wände mit roten Kreuzen bedeckt sind. In Chersonesos sind die Gräber mit zahlreichen polychromen Motiven in Bezug auf das Paradies bemalt, die typisch sind für das 4. und 5. Jahrhundert. Auch das Christusmonogramm tritt in der Grabmalerei von Chersonesos auf.

Documents

Early Christian Painted Tombs In Crimea