Why Did Christian Art Become Publicly Accepted During the Third Century?
Abstruse
Over 2,000 surviving examples of Christian sarcophagi from Rome attest to the Christianization of daily life, the early on development of Christian iconography, and the role of innovative lay patrons in this development. Afterward discussing the production of Christian sarcophagi in Roman workshops and their patrons, this affiliate surveys the various types of Christian sarcophagi and the iconographic themes used in sarcophagus reliefs from the late third century to the end of sarcophagus production after the fourth century. Two charts list sarcophagus types by date and the near frequent biblical themes. The earliest Christian works employed traditional Roman images such equally the orant and the shepherd, but the repertoire quickly expanded to include biblical motifs that alluded to patrons' wishes for the afterlife and other concepts. Later 4th-century works reveal less interest in Christ every bit miracle worker than as sovereign and apocalyptic lawgiver. The chapter closes with a discussion of the location of sarcophagi and the cease of Roman sarcophagus production.
Because they are and so numerous, Christian sarcophagi from Rome are the near important group of objects for the creation and invention of a Christian iconography. Although the production of Christian sarcophagi started but towards the end of the third century, afterward than catacomb painting, the many surviving examples give a good impression of the development of early Christian imagery. More than than 2,000 sarcophagi or fragments are preserved; their original number must have been many times higher. 1 They are momentous testimonies for the Christianization of everyday life, which begins in the realm of the sepulchre. The function of laymen equally the inventors of a peculiar and innovative iconography has to be stressed.
The product of early Christian sarcophagi
Early on Christian sarcophagi were produced in the same way as pagan exemplars. ii Most sarcophagi were produced on commission. This was different for children's sarcophagi, where one-half-finished and finished examples are known. The inscriptions of two Constantinian kid sarcophagi mention that the kid was cached three days after it had passed abroad, an interval in which it is not possible to produce a figural sarcophagus ex novo. 3 The nine-year-onetime Domitius Marinianus Florentius was cached in a half-finished sarcophagus that shows standardized elements, among them erotes (putti). The central prototype of the immature deceased in a war machine costume was probably worked out on commission of his parents, because children are normally represented in "civilian" clothes. 4 The sarcophagus of the five-year-former Aurelius, eques romanus, is a Constantinian frieze sarcophagus; here 1 may presume it was already finished to a large extent and only "individualized" by a portrait on the lid. v
Virtually probably, the early on Christian sarcophagi of the city of Rome were produced in numerous pocket-sized workshops, a sort of bazaar industry. six Show in favor of this includes the surprisingly vast production in the Constantinian flow, and the variety and variety of private pieces in relation to craftsmanship and elaborateness. seven No two sarcophagi are identical. This variety in way continues throughout the 4th century until the end of production of sarcophagi in the city of Rome. Painted sarcophagi are preserved only rarely; a painted sarcophagus with bucolic images, dated about 300 ce and preserved in the Museo Pio Cristiano, is very sophisticated and adjusted for the semi-darkness of a burial bedchamber. 8
Due to their product, in that location are three distinctive features of belatedly Roman and early Christian sarcophagi.
- Use of unfinished relief: Beyond unfinished busts of the deceased, known from infidel sarcophagi, early on Christian sarcophagi differ from earlier pagan production past using relief that is non completed or completely worked out (Figure three.ane). This phenomenon was non new and occurred a few times during the late tertiary century, becoming frequent in the fourth century. It certainly was non financially motivated, since a sarcophagus was expensive due to the costs of the marble and transportation. In comparing to these costs the expense for the relief was much lower. Since non-finished reliefs adorn fifty-fifty the arch of Constantine, this miracle must have been aesthetically and socially accepted. It can exist found throughout the quaternary century.
Figure 3.1 Fragment of an unfinished columnar sarcophagus, Rome, Catacomb of Marcellino due east Pietro, second role of the 4th century (Rep. Two 129). Photo: Archive Jutta Dresken-Weiland.
- 2 The traditional production of sarcophagi is from a marble cake, only in Late Antiquity a sarcophagus could also be assembled from several pieces or slabs of marble. These are skillfully put together and sealed with atomic number 82. ix This method can also be observed on pagan, "neutral," and undecorated tardily Roman sarcophagi, x and has systematically been examined only for the metropolis of Arles then far. 11 It seems likely that at that place was not enough marble for the production of sarcophagi, and then the material at hand had to exist used in an optimal way; perchance the popularity of marble sarcophagi in the fourth century contributed to the shortage of fabric. The reuse of architectural elements for sarcophagi can be observed already in the royal period. 12
- iii Less-skilled workmanship is evident, even in pieces of high quality. For example, the figure of Paul on the upper zone of the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, 2d scene from the left, is non standing steadily on his feet but slanting and nearly toppling over (meet Figure 18.5). 13 On the city-gate sarcophagus of Milan the artisans obviously had difficulties fitting the twelve apostles in the space available on the front end and dorsum: On the front end, the outermost figures are extremely slender, on the back they seem to glide from their seats. 14 No other sarcophagus of the late fourth century exhibits such a mass of figures and is so lavishly worked out on all four sides; the sculpting emphasizes the affluence of elegant details over the completion of a harmonic whole.
Roman sarcophagi were exported into the regions of modern Italy, French republic, and Spain from Constantinian times until the end of Roman sarcophagus production in general. In Dalmatia, simply examples from the afterwards 4th and the end of the fourth century are preserved; fifteen the few sarcophagi findings in People's democratic republic of algeria and Tunisia date from the fourth century. 16 From the Due east of the Roman Empire we practice not accept whatever Christian sarcophagi produced in the city of Rome.
Buyers and commissioners
The price of sarcophagi was loftier, and it is clear that they were a luxury adept and only accessible for a well-to-do clientele. 17 Their inscriptions inform us about the names and social rank of the buyers and marking an of import modify: Among the early on Christian sarcophagi buyers, members of the upper class tin can exist establish more often than in pagan sarcophagi in the second and third centuries. Obviously marble sarcophagi were favored by people ennobled by Constantine; as social climbers, they were intensely interested in a traditional form of sepulcher updated with Christian images. 18
The buyers were laymen; clerics never chose marble sarcophagi with Christian reliefs for burial until the end of the quaternary century. The sarcophagus of bishop Concordius of Arles, (belatedly fourth century) is the first known example. 19 Merely information technology was, as the iconography shows, originally produced for a couple, and must take been handed over for the bishop'due south interment. 20 A lid fragment 21 of a . . . pus episcopus cannot exist dated more than precisely than quaternary–5th century; aught can be said about the chest and its possible decoration. 22 For these reasons, information technology is clear that the iconography of these sarcophagi was invented and created by laymen. 23
Dating, sarcophagus types, and chronology
The kickoff of the production of Christian sarcophagi in the tardily tertiary century can be dated by comparison with contemporary pagan sarcophagi and with dated monuments. Earlier this, Christians chose the aforementioned images as their pagan contemporaries. Some infidel sarcophagi are provided with a Christian inscription. The offset known example is the sarcophagus of Prosenes. 24 At showtime, Christian images were express to a few themes. 25 Christian images probably first appeared on the lids, whereas the chests, more difficult to produce, kept traditional images. 26 While the choice of Christian themes generally implies a positive attitude towards Christianity, the use of pagan or neutral images does not necessarily indicate a pagan buyer. 27 The relatively late appearance of Christian images on Roman sarcophagi may be explained past their highly traditional and bourgeois grapheme. It took until the stop of the 3rd century, when Christianity was sufficiently widespread among a well-to-do grouping, before the wish arose for an adequate iconography, peculiar to this grouping (Figure 3.2).
Figure 3.2 Frieze sarcophagus with Jonah scenes (Rep. Ii 7), ca. 300 ad, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Photograph: Ole Haupt, with kind permission of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek.
The celebrated reliefs of the curvation of Constantine (312–315), whose workshops were also agile in the production of sarcophagi, are of item importance. They mark the start of the most intensive period of sarcophagus production in the first tertiary of the fourth century. Sarcophagi dated by their inscriptions are rare, see, for instance, the frieze sarcophagus of Marcia Romania Celsa in Arles who died afterwards 328 (Effigy 3.three); 28 or the columnar sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, who passed away when serving as praefectus urbis in 359. 29 The city-gate sarcophagi in Tolentino and Ancona were commissioned by high-ranking officials, whose inscriptions confirm the production of this prestigious group in the 380s. 30 Another sarcophagus probably belonged to Sextus Petronius Probus, 31 rich and notorious, whose death shortly afterward 390 gives a terminus post quem or advertising quem.
Effigy 3.3 Frieze sarcophagus of Marcia Romania Celsa, after 338 (Rep. III 37), Arles, Musée de l'Arles Antiquarian. Photo: Thomas Bersy. With kind permission of the Musée départemental Arles Antique.
The bang-up number of sarcophagi and fragments makes it possible to constitute a dense relative chronology. Due to the activities of numerous workshops, the difference in quality, and the crudity of many objects, a cautious and guess dating within a quarter or tertiary of a century is adequate. Stylistic changes take place and tin be described. The rectangular, compact and robust figures of the Constantinian age change at the cease of the fourth century into elongated, discarnate and abstract figures, wearing clothing having ornamental lines. When describing the style of a sarcophagus for the purpose of establishing its appointment, several criteria should be considered: pattern/composition of the bodies, shapes, configuration of head and hair, proportions of torso and garment, handling of the surfaces, proportions of figure, and the human relationship of the figures to the background of the relief.
Frieze sarcophagi appear at the beginning of Christian sarcophagus production and are the about ofttimes used type. Very few sarcophagi, among them the famous the sarcophagus of S Maria Antiqua, 32 ca. 290 ce, combine Christian scenes with traditional bucolic elements 33 or with maritime landscapes. 34 Plain, the buyers were not much interested in them, but opted for the frieze sarcophagus with a sequence of scenes from the Former and New Testament and the Apocrypha.
Strigillated sarcophagi, already a very frequent form in infidel sarcophagi, remain pop. They could be produced more quickly and by less specialized workmen, equally only the central and the two lateral panels were busy with figures (Effigy 3.4; meet likewise Figures twenty.1 and twenty.4). The product of columnar 35 and tree sarcophagi starts in the second third of the fourth century; the latter are a cosmos of early on Christian art. The creation of these sarcophagus types coincides with the creation of private mausolea as annexes of cemeterial basilicas, where a serial of them have been excavated. 36
Figure 3.four Fragment of a strigillated sarcophagus with Jesus between apostles in the centre, end of the fourth century (Rep. Two 114), Germany, private collection. Photograph: Jutta Dresken-Weiland, with kind permission of the owners.
In the last 3rd of the fourth century, new sarcophagus types are invented: the "stars and crowns" blazon, the Bethesda-type, and the city-gate sarcophagus. The "stars and crowns" sarcophagi 37 prove the twelve apostles in front of a neutral groundwork, with apocalyptic clouds and stars in its upper part. These and the mitt of God, giving crowns to the apostles, point a situation at the end of time, when the apostles are recompensed for their deeds. In the middle of the front, the tropaion points to Christ's victory over expiry, his resurrection and his time-transcending sovereignty, in which the apostles have role and to which they render homage.
The Bethesda sarcophagi 38 show several healing scenes from the New Testament and therein hark back to the Constantinian frieze sarcophagi, where these scenes were popular (Effigy iii.5). They may be interpreted as hope in afterlife. 39
Figure 3.5 Bethesda sarcophagus, item, healing scenes and Christ with Zachaeus, end of the fourth century (Rep. II 145), Ischia, Museo Diocesano. Photograph: Jutta Dresken-Weiland, with kind permission of the Museo Diocesano.
A single theme decorates the forepart of the sarcophagi with the passage of the Reddish Ocean. 40 At the right end of the front, the Israelites have already traversed the Red Sea, while at the left half of the front the Pharaoh with his chariot and his soldiers are sinking and drowning in the flood (Figure 3.vi). In the theological literature, this story is interpreted as a reference to baptism and the overcoming of expiry. 41
Figure three.6 Blood-red Bounding main sarcophagus, Church building of St Trophime, Arles. Photograph: Mark D. Ellison.
The denomination "city-gate sarcophagi" refers to the architectural elements that are used in high relief and as a background decoration (run into Figure twenty.five). H. von Schoenebeck has argued against interpreting this decoration every bit a reference to the heavenly Jerusalem. 42 As this pocket-size and prestigious group of sarcophagi uses the "metropolis gates" in dissimilar manners and dimensions, it is probable that they were meant as a decorative element or a sumptuous background and practice non take any deeper sense.
Themes of Christian sarcophagi
Late 3rd and first third of the fourth century
On Christian sarcophagi, the orans and the (good) shepherd are two of import themes taken and reinterpreted from the before infidel art. Orans figures very often occupy the center of the front; they may be understood equally a symbol of the soul of the deceased. Equally the Latin word anima (soul) is female, the female orans is used for women and for men. There is no difference in meaning between orans figures with ideal features, with portrait heads, contemporary hairstyles, fashionable wear, or jewelry. Their frequency harks back to the wish of the commissioners to represent themselves in the context of images that express the hope for afterlife. Interestingly, the orans figure with raised easily is more numerous than the figures of the deceased with a scroll in their hands: The orans refers to the praying soul of the deceased who wants to represent his positive fate in the other world. Of particular involvement is the figure of the orans or the deceased accompanied by two male figures (Effigy 3.7). When these men perform gestures of escort and protection, these may refer to different aspects: (a) To the acting state, where the soul of the dead is protected; (b) to the escorting of the soul on its voyage afterward death; (c) to the arrival of the dead before Christ, possibly in the moment of judgment. 43
Figure 3.7 Orans with apostles from the center of a strigillated sarcophagus, Barcelona, Museo d'Arquelogía di Catalunya. Photograph: Jutta Dresken-Weiland, with permission of the museum.
The shepherd is i of the virtually complex and chameleonic figures of early on Christianity. When it appears without Christian themes or inscriptions and without iconographic particularities, it continues the pagan tradition of the vita felix, the thought of a beatific afterlife. Together with the orans or figures of the dead, it expresses a personal hope of life after expiry; when these are represented together with Christian scenes, this hope is a Christian one. Christ equally the Good Shepherd can be recognized on some sarcophagi mainly of the later fourth century. 44
From the late third century, images of the deceased appear in various forms and contexts on Christian sarcophagi (Figure 3.viii). 45 Singular is a sarcophagus hat in New York presenting an apologue of the Last Judgment, dated nearly 300 ce. 46
Effigy iii.8 Fragment of a sarcophagus lid with the image of a family, outset third of the fourth century (Rep. I 896, Schaffer Inv. A 0004), Rome, Campo Santo Teutonico. Photo: Archive Jutta Dresken-Weiland, with kind permission of the rector of the Erzbruderschaft zur Schmerzhaften Muttergottes der Deutschen und Flamen am Campo Santo Teutonico.
Among the near frequent scenes, images from the New Testament are dominant on sarcophagi. This preference of Jesus's life and deeds is distinctive to sarcophagi, as scenes from the Onetime Testament are by and large more than frequent in early Christian art. Most of the images are Christian inventions de novo. 47 The sequence of the scenes does not follow any rule, nor should they be addressed every bit "images of salvation" taken from the commendatio animae. 48 More simply, the choice of many images is motivated by a theological estimation as an indication of afterlife. So Jonah is a sign of the promise of resurrection and life subsequently death (Figure three.2), as is Daniel and the sacrifice of Abraham. 49
The multiplication of the loaves (Figures three.3, three.9) was interpreted as a symbol of the eucharist and eternal life very early on. Interestingly, both the multiplication of the loaves and the multiplication of the loaves and fishes are represented. The miracle tin exist operated past the imposition of the paw and by touching the nutrient with a rod, the virga. Both procedures cannot be distinguished in their meaning. The transformation of water into vino at the wedding in Cana is frequently represented with the multiplication of the loaves, only does non develop a separate significant.
Figure 3.9 Fragment of a frieze sarcophagus with the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, first third of the fourth century. Cerveteri, Scuola materna Maria SS del Carmelo. Photo: Archive Jutta Dresken-Weiland.
The importance of the multiplication of the loaves is underlined by the fact that this image replaces the so-called sigma meal, which shows people reclining around a semicircular table. This epitome, very popular on sarcophagus lids of the later third century, disappears well-nigh 300 from Christian sarcophagi, probably substituted by the multiplication of the loaves. In the catacombs, where dissimilar social groups are active, the sigma meals proceed to be represented. 50
A special eucharistic interpretation of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes tin can probably be read on the so-chosen "eucharistic sarcophagus" in Arles, a columnar sarcophagus of the second third of the fourth century. 51 It depicts but the multiplication with the apostles, Abraham, and Daniel as spectators, and thus gives a particular emphasis to this theme. 52
The resurrection of Lazarus was a popular image on sarcophagi as the nearly straight expression of the hope for afterlife. The healing of the bullheaded is non but the most popular of Christ's healing miracles in the New Testament, but also oft mentioned in sermons and connected to the hope of resurrection. 53 The virga, or wand-like staff that is the frequent attribute of Christ when healing men or executing miracles, was non used in reference to healing in pagan iconography, but information technology is a genuine Christian invention. 54
Not all frequently used themes refer to hope of afterlife. In theological texts, the nascence of Christ (the nativity and the adoration) is interpreted as a soteriological event, which is the reason for the hereafter overcoming of death. The fall of Adam and Eve has many theological interpretations with different facets, which ways that the image was not used to express ideas on afterlife. The pleasure of those who produced these images to tell a spectacular story and the beliefs of a couple in a moment of crisis is apparent.
The scenes "Peter walking betwixt two soldiers" and "Peter striking h2o from the rocks in his prison" (Effigy 3.iii) refer to stories near St Peter, which were and then common and famous in fourth-century Rome that nobody bothered to write them down. They are known only in outline from the afterwards Apocrypha: Peter converts the soldiers who take arrested him and baptizes them in his jail cell. The scene with Christ, Peter, and the cock is some other favored theme on sarcophagi, but refers to New Testament texts. This pick of Peter scenes is extraordinary and probably to be explained past the intensive veneration of Peter by the upper course, motivated by their self-conception and the self-image. Feeling themselves equally the aristocracy of Rome, they put the image of a leading figure on their marble coffins; they chose the image of the man who was venerated as the founder of the Roman community and as the successor of Christ. In St Peter'south basilica, the almost distinguished church in 4th-century Rome with the greatest number of sarcophagus burials, Peter is particularly frequent in the images on sarcophagi. Probably persons buried in a sarcophagus depicting scenes with Peter expected from him every bit the prince of the apostles some assist in the afterlife, and thus expressed their promise of well-being and his protection. 55 Interestingly, soldiers appear in these images, and thus reverberate the contemporary reality: In fact, soldiers assumed a multitude of administrative tasks after the reorganization of the public assistants in the third century and were, co-ordinate to these functions, present in everyday life. Their vesture with a short tunic and a cloth cap shows their gimmicky clothes. The prevalence for Peter-scenes is peculiar to the Christian sarcophagi and cannot be constitute in this intensity in any other grouping of objects. It suggests that this iconography was created by a theologically educated elite.
Themes on sarcophagi since the second third of the fourth century
As indicated in Table 3.2, some themes disappear whereas others go on to be represented. There may be different reasons for this. On the one manus, the interest in images may shift for reasons we cannot fully explicate from a distance of more than 1,500 years. In the second third of the quaternary century, the appearance of columnar sarcophagi, which offer less space for images than the frieze sarcophagi, resulted in fewer represented themes. On the other hand, information technology has long been noted that in the course of time Christ the miracle worker was replaced by Christ the sovereign. The get-go examples of this concept are the sarcophagi with a representation of the enthroned Christ, venerated past apostles and the deceased who enshroud their faces. The oldest example, a frieze sarcophagus in Florence, belongs to the first decade of the fourth century; 56 two other pieces in Rome and Arles to the later on first third of the fourth century. 57
Table 3.two Most frequent biblical themes of Christian sarcophagi.
| Frequent scenes from the Quondam and New Testaments and the Apocrypha on sarcophagi | Number | Frequency of occurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Jonah scenes | 171 | Late third century, offset third of fourth century |
| Multiplication of the loaves | 143 | Fourth century |
| Healing of the blind | 129 | Showtime third of fourth century |
| Nascence of Christ/admiration of the magi | 114 | 4th century |
| Resurrection of Lazarus | 101 | Beginning 3rd of fourth century |
| Peter hitting water from the rocks | 98 | Beginning 3rd of fourth century |
| Sacrifice of Abraham | 94 | 4th century |
| Peter with his guards | 90 | Kickoff 3rd of quaternary century |
| Christ, Peter and the erect | 86 | Fourth century |
| Daniel in the king of beasts'southward den | 80 | Fourth century |
Equally to the miracle scenes, the interest shifts from the resurrection of Lazarus, only rarely represented after the offset third of the fourth century, to Christ'south resurrection. It appears in a adequately abstruse form, a tropaion with sleeping soldiers underneath, which occupies the eye of a sarcophagus front end (come across Figure eighteen.6). Tropaion and soldiers signal to the resurrected Christ, who has vanquished expiry and whose sign of triumph is the christogram in the laurel wreath. 58 Christ or the angel with the women at the tomb is represented only rarely. 59
Themes on sarcophagi in the last tertiary of the quaternary century
The scene dominus legem dat ("The Lord gives the law") is not mentioned in the New Testament. Information technology shows Christ standing on the mountain of paradise between Peter and Paul. He raises his right hand and holds the terminate of a curl in his left; the other terminate of the scroll is held by Peter, who carries a cantankerous bar. This scene is oft called unfoundedly traditio legis ("handing over of the police") because, according to the rules of aboriginal iconography, Christ does not manus over anything here. When handing something over, Christ (or the emperor) is portrayed sitting. On the contrary, the standing position and raised paw narrate Jesus as speaking; in purple iconography, both elements are known from the adlocutio, which can be seen on the reliefs of the curvation of Constantine. lx The addendum dominus legem dat on a few monuments 61 should be used every bit its ancient name. Other meaningful components of this image are the apocalyptic elements, i.e., the mountain of paradise with its four rivers, the apostles as lambs, the lamb of God, the palms, and the Phoenix. 62 They show that the image of Christ proclaiming his message is non only a historical even so fourth dimension-transcending event, simply also the epiphany of the resurrected Christ at the cease of time. There are different temporal levels: Christ is at the same fourth dimension the historical, the time to come, and the present sovereign. Beyond whatsoever doubt, Peter receiving the scroll is of detail importance to the scene. Peter'south cross indicates his martyrdom, the scroll his missionary work and priority. His priority falls into line with his significance on earlier Constantinian sarcophagi, but is here transformed in a new image and a new context.
The theme of the dominus legem dat is most ofttimes represented on sarcophagi from the last third of the fourth century; in other monuments, it is not documented before the heart of the fourth century. 63 As the theme appears earlier in other monuments, it cannot have been invented for sarcophagi. The about appealing hypothesis is that this iconography was invented for the alcove of Old St Peter. In contrast to the widely accepted engagement about 350, the attribution of the alcove inscription to the age of Constantine makes it possible to remember of an before engagement for apse ornamentation. 64
For other images characteristic of the tardily fourth century meet Table 3.1 above and the respective commentary. Every bit a singular epitome, the starting time known representation of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in a Christian context has been reconstructed on a fragment of a frieze sarcophagus dating from the cease of the fourth century. 65
Table 3.i Sarcophagus types of the fourth century and their dating.
| Sarcophagus type | Dating |
|---|---|
| Frieze sarcophagi | Unabridged fourth century, almost examples from the outset 3rd. |
| Strigillated sarcophagi | Entire quaternary century |
| Columnar sarcophagi | Second third of the fourth century to the end of the fourth century. |
| Tree sarcophagi | Second third to afterwards fourth century. |
| "Stars and crowns" sarcophagi | Concluding third of the fourth century. |
| Bethesda sarcophagi | Last third of the fourth century. |
| Sarcophagi with the passage of the Red Sea | Last third of the fourth century. |
| City-gate sarcophagi | Terminal tertiary of the fourth century. |
| Sarcophagi with symbols | End of the fourth/fifth century. |
The location of early Christian sarcophagi
Like their heathen predecessors, Christian sarcophagi were placed in tomb buildings. Due to the fact that fewer tomb buildings were erected afterward the tertiary century, only a few examples are known from such contexts. 66
Both infidel and Christian sarcophagi could exist placed outside of buildings, namely in caverns dug in the earth or in tuff, or built with bricks. Oftentimes, these sarcophagi were additionally protected past brickwork. A location of sarcophagi above-basis, on a pedestal or a rock platform, or in a prestigious manner almost the street, is documented for only a few pieces. Inscriptions that claim the payment of a fine in the example of an unauthorized inhumation may indicate the in a higher place-basis location of a sarcophagus. 67
Christian sarcophagi were also deposited in the new burying spaces in catacombs and in churches. Due to their dimensions, sarcophagi could be positioned only in niches near the catacombs' entrance. Alternatively, they could be placed in burial chambers situated near an entrance or a lightwell, through which the sarcophagus could exist let down. The majority of the sarcophagi found in the catacombs date from the starting time third of the fourth century, which was too a flow of intensive expansion of the catacombs. Predominant are sarcophagi with non-Christian images, 68 which illustrate the acceptance of these themes by Christian commissioners and the early on origins of the catacombs. A peculiarity of the catacombs are special areas reserved for the interment of children, who were buried outside their family contexts. Such an surface area is known for the Praetextatus catacomb, where a chamber unites children of the noble gentes Insteia, Postumia, and Annia, interred in sarcophagi with inscriptions. 69 In 1 room of the catacomb of Novatian at that place were three children'due south sarcophagi and a fourth sarcophagus whose possessor is unknown. 70 In Ponticello near S Paolo fuori le mura, three children'southward sarcophagi, dated to about 300, were constitute probably in a subterranean tomb. The sarcophagi show pagan and neutral scenes that were prevalent at this fourth dimension. 71 In the catacomb of Domitilla, a third-century cubiculum with niches for the location of children'due south sarcophagi has been interpreted every bit a special burial room for children. 72 This phenomenon deserves further research.
Most Christian sarcophagi were placed in the early Christian cemetery churches, in the connecting or nearby constructed mausolea, and in the surrounding cemeteries, where they were interred very often with supplementary brickwork with physical above them. The use of brickwork even in churches shows how much people cared to avoid the reuse of a sarcophagus, and that even a church was not necessarily a safe place to expect for resurrection. Areas of privileged burials were the apses. 73 The most sumptuous sarcophagi were found in mausolea, which were mostly constructed equally family graves. 74 Burials within cemetery basilicas could accept place while the basilicas were nonetheless under construction. 75
Although some sarcophagi may have been displayed openly in churches, most of them were not visible at all later the funeral, where they must have expressed the rank of the expressionless and the prestige of his or her family. The images were apparently directed to the deceased and were, like the inscriptions, to limited his or her hope in afterlife and for community with God.
The end of sarcophagus product in the urban center of Rome and its reasons
The sarcophagus product in the city of Rome is causeless to take ended at the beginning of the fifth century; it is not possible to give a more than exact date. The traditional opinion attributing the end of sarcophagus product to the conquest of Rome is obsolete, because the economic consequences were less serious than supposed by earlier research. The hesitant start of sarcophagus product in southwestern Gaul may indicate that at least a few sarcophagi were produced in Rome at the beginning of the fifth century. Information technology is possible that at this time sarcophagi with "symbolic" representations with a cross in the center of the front 76 were produced because they were however exported (Effigy 3.10). 77
Effigy three.10 Sarcophagus decorated with a cross in a wreath, finish of the fourth century (Rep. I 859, Schaffer Inv. A 0018), Rome, Campo Santo Teutonico. Photograph: Annal Jutta Dresken-Weiland, with kind permission of the rector of the Erzbruderschaft zur Schmerzhaften Muttergottes der Deutschen und Flamen am Campo Santo Teutonico.
Probably changes in burial customs caused the finish of sarcophagus product. In the course of the fourth century, burial in churches became more and more popular. In order to offer burial infinite, many deceased had to detect their place under the pavement in graves. The grave inscription became, as the increasing number of dated tomb slabs in the course of the fourth century shows, the monuments that commemorated the deceased. From the middle of the fourth century, metric epitaphs proceeds some popularity; they make utilise of the language of Virgil and limited an involvement in pedagogy and culture of well-to-practise classes and elite. 78 This applies to Gaul, where the importance of epigraphic grave monuments is underlined by their slap-up quantity in the fifth and 6th centuries. Nigh purchasers belonged to the upper course and metrical epitaphs were and so important to them that they had texts composed even for family members who had died long agone. 79
For the city of Rome, the end of sarcophagus production with figural representations, a leitmotif of Roman art since the second century, marks an important intermission and a step towards the Middle Ages.
Notes
Further reading
For the sarcophagi in the Museo Pio Cristiano, information technology is important to consult Gennaccari (1996), who, on the basis of an analysis of the business relationship books, describes the extent of the complements and the revisions of these pieces.
Christern-Briesenick, Brigitte. Repertorium der christlich-antiken Sarkophage, dritter Band: Frankreich, Algerien, Tunesien. Mainz am Rhein: Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 2003.
Couzin, Robert. "The Christian Sarcophagus Population of Rome." Journal of Roman Archeology 27 (2014): 275–303.
Deichmann Friedrich Wilhelm, Giuseppe Bovini and Hugo Brandenburg. Repertorium der christlich-antiken Sarkophage, Bd 1 Rom und Ostia. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1967.
Dresken-Weiland, Jutta. Bild, Grab, und Wort: Untersuchungen zu Jenseitsvorstellungen von Christen des 3. und 4. Jahrhunderts. Regensburg: Schnell and Steiner, 2010.
__________. "Bilder im Grab und ihre Bedeutung im Kontext der Christianisierung der frühchristlichen Welt," Antiquité tardive 19 (2011): 79–94.
__________. "Due sarcofagi sconosciuti due east la storia delle sepolture a San Pietro," in Atti del Xvi congresso internazionale di archeologia cristiana, 915–922. Rome 2013; Vatican City 2016.
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Source: https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315718835-3
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