Title: Monastic Material Cultures: Image, Site, Text Panel Convenor(s): Elizabeth Bolman (ebolman@temple.edu) and Stephen J. Davis (stephen.davis@yale.edu) Short description: Over the past decade, archaeological and conservation work at the White and Red Monasteries (the Shenoutian Federation) near Sohag and the Monastery of John the Little in Wadi al-natrun has generated fruitful interdisciplinary collaboration. The American Research Center in Egypt (with funding from the United States Agency for International Development) and the Yale Monastic Archaeology Project (with support from the Yale Egyptological Institute in Egypt) have supported the majority of the work at these late ancient and early medieval monastic sites. These projects are still ongoing, but they have already begun to yield a wealth of art historical and archaeological data. In these three sessions, invited speakers will address the contributions that this work makes to our understanding of monastic material culture from late antiquity through the tenth century, examining and problematizing the categories of image, site, and text. Participants, title of papers, and abstracts: Session 1: Image (Michael Jones, presiding) Emiliano Ricchi, Red and White Monastery Paintings: Materials and Techniques The study and conservation campaigns carried out in the last ten years at the Red and White Monasteries near Sohag, Upper Egypt, have led to the discovery of important late antique painting cycles referring back to a period of intensive development of monastic life in the area, beginning with St. Shenoute the Archimandrite (d. 465 A.D.) and continuing all the way to the end of the seventh century. The discovery of a hypogeum, that is probably the tomb of Shenoute, in the archeological area of the White Monastery, has brought to light one of the most ancient Christian programs of wall painting known in Egypt. The materials and execution techniques are closely connected to the Roman fresco, while the pictorial characteristics reveal in embryonic form themes that remain in Coptic art for centuries, opening a debate on the true origin of Christian art in Egypt.. By comparison with the development of Egyptian Christian painting that is manifested in the different layers of the Red Monastery palimpsest, for example, and in Saqqara and Bawit, one can establish the fact that an early strong influence of Roman art was succeeded by materials and techniques which are distinctive of a more antique and recurrent local figurative tradition. Alberto Sucato, Late Antique Paintings at the Red Monastery: Different Painting Techniques between Pharaonic Secco and Roman Fresco The Red Monastery decorative cycle, revealed by a long conservation project begun in 2003 which will be completed in December 2012, presents an absolutely unique late antique palimpsest, made up of four different superimposed painting cycles. All of them were executed during a timeframe of under two centuries, going from circa the early sixth to the late seventh century. The comparison with other important Egyptian paintings (Pharaonic, Roman and Coptic) and of those found in other areas in the Mediterranean, allows us to identify this site as a true
incunabulum of Coptic figurative culture that developed in the following centuries. In confronting the four pictorial phases the at times significant affinities and differences are highlighted in the execution characteristics and in the constituent materials. The painting techniques observed differentiate themselves, revealing diverse important aspects often close, in the more antique phases, to Roman fresco and encaustic wall painting (raising the question of the origin of artists and workshops), but likewise often deriving from the Pharonic a secco wall painting tradition. The late antique site of this Coptic monument becomes the crucible within which different figurative and technological cultures blend, triggering absolutely original and unique results and technical solutions. Elizabeth Bolman, Rethinking Egypt and the Late Roman World: The Ascension of Christ In the fall of 2010, Luigi De Cesaris and Alberto Sucato conserved the eastern semidome of the Late Antique triconch church at the Red Monastery (Sohag, Upper Egypt). It revealed a substantial proportion of the earliest phase of figural painting in the Red Monastery church. Work of this period is not apparent anywhere else in the monument. The composition is an Ascension of Christ, and it dates to the late fifth or early sixth century. It is therefore approximately contemporary with the Monza and Bobbio ampullae and the Sancta Sanctorum box, which include depictions of the same subject. The Red Monastery example is the only extant monumental Late Antique Ascension, and may in fact be the earliest surviving large-scale apse painting in a Christian church. The paintings of this subject from Bawit were all in small scale niches in private oratories or cells, although this fact is sometimes overlooked in studies of Christian apse painting. The execution and style of this early painting differ markedly from that of the other Late Antique phases in the church, having been produced in a Hellenic mode. This addition to the corpus of Late Antique Egyptian art problematizes traditional models of style, which see naturalistic renderings as belonging to the sphere of Alexandria, and stylized depictions coming from the Egyptian hinterland. The Ascension is astonishingly illusionistic, and its closest parallels are in Castelseprio (Milan) and Santa Maria Antiqua (Rome). The Red Monastery Ascension, and recent work by historians of the period, provide an opportunity to examine the relationship of the artistic production of Upper Egypt to that of the larger Mediterranean a context within which it is rarely considered. Gillian Pyke, Fractured Visions: The Visual Programme of an Oratory at the Monastery of St. John the Little in the Wadi Natrun Recent excavations by the Yale Monastic Archaeology Project at a manshubiya at the monastery of John the Little in the Wadi Natrun have discovered the partially fallen visual program of its oratory belonging to the final phase of the use of the building. Dating evidence from dipinti in this room and ceramic material from throughout the building suggests that the dwelling went out of use not long after the mid tenth century. This addition to the corpus of monastic art is among the latest known oratory programs in Egypt. It represents a complex space using formal figural (upper zone) and written (lower zone) elements to create a visual framework for the process of mimêsis. The thematic content of the figural scenes contrasts significantly with that of nearby Kellia but shares some commonality with the Late Antique oratories at Bawit and the programs of the surviving Wadi Natrun churches. Stylistically, these scenes sit most comfortably alongside Theodore s fourteenth century program in the Church of Saint Antony at the Monastery of St Antony. The combination
of personal prayers and multiple (re-)consecrational crosses in the middle zone distinguishes it as the point of dynamic interface between the monastic and the oratory s visual program; between the earthly and heavenly realms. The exemplar of the John the Little program also highlights the importance of considering the dialogue between architecture, image and word in the analysis of ancient monastic religious practice. Session 2: Site (Stephen Davis, presiding) Michael Jones, Getting at the Meaning of Places: The Authority of the Past Selectively Reconstructed to Serve the Present As with all religious heritage in use, historic churches in Egypt are subject to serious wear and tear in ways that present a dilemma for conservationists. Churches frequently survived because communities that value them have maintained their original functions. But this very practice poses the most risk since the most effective way to foster respect for this heritage is to encourage continued religious use. As stated in the Venice Charter, article 5: the conservation of monuments is always facilitated by making use of them for some socially useful purpose and article 7: a monument is inseparable from the history to which it bears witness and from the setting in which it occurs. Coptic heritage in Egypt is part of a living and constantly changing social and political environment. Archaeology, conservation and site management advocate public participation in sustaining heritage. But meanings people attach to heritage often belie Western notions of stewardship. Churches are curated according to the traditions of the Coptic Church not internationally accepted standards of site management. These issues will be considered together with approaches that might preserve the heritage while providing for the needs of believers, scholars and visitors. Louise Blanke, Life on the edge of the desert: new archaeological evidence for the late antique to medieval built environment of the monasteries of St Shenoute and St Bishay, Sohag Recent archaeological work at the White Monastery (St. Shenoute) has produced new evidence for the built environment of the early monastery and the subsequent medieval and recent history of the site. Systematic analysis of the areas south and west of the Church of St Shenoute has revealed a system of buildings and thoroughfares, with associated deposits through which the occupational sequence has been established up to its final use in the twentieth century. A detailed study of the architectural remains immediately adjacent to the church has highlighted a transition from industrial zone to village settlement. Of particular importance to our understanding of the infrastructure of the White Monastery is the evidence for a complex water supply, comprising two large wells and a network of pipes and cisterns that was fundamental to communal life on the edge of the desert. Complemented by survey data from the nearby Red Monastery (St. Bishay), and with reference to contemporary sites in the region, this paper offers a new perspective on the development of the monastery from late antiquity into the early medieval period. This work provides a window into aspects of daily life so far approached through the written record, and offers a significant contribution to future interdisciplinary research on the monastic built environment.
Dawn McCormack, The View from Above: Using Satellite Imagery to Reconstruct the Monastery of St. John the Little Since 2006, the Yale Monastic Archaeology Project (YMAP: Stephen Davis, Executive Director; Darlene Brooks Hedstrom, Archaeological Director through 2010) has been conducting survey and excavations at the Monastery of St. John the Little in Wadi al-natrun. In 2010, the survey team, led by Dawn McCormack, used recent high-resolution satellite images to interpret the archaeological remains on site. The analysis of Quickbird-2 and Worldview-1 satellite images in conjunction with ground truthing allowed the team to identify and map parts of over eighty structures. While in the field, the team also determined certain factors that made the technique of using visual analysis of satellite images effective or ineffective in different parts of the site. The use of satellite imagery to interpret archaeological sites is a rapidly growing methodological approach, and our hope is that YMAP s work at Wadi al-natrun prompts use of this resource in other locations. This study demonstrates that even simple techniques of imagery analysis can produce remarkable results at a cost within the budget of most projects. With this information, archaeologists can more effectively formulate their research plans for large sites while simultaneously using GIS software to document modern threats to the archaeological remains. Darlene Brooks Hedstrom, The Archaeology of a Monastic Residence at the Monastery of St. John the Little This paper surveys the archaeological work of the Yale Monastic Archaeology Project (YMAP) at the Monastery of John the Little in Wadi Natrun. Drawing upon the archaeological indicators of monastic life, the building serves an example of the type of structures which were part of a monastic settlement in Wadi Natrun, just southwest of Dayr Anba Bishoi. The building is unique for it includes dated prayers from the tenth century and includes ceramic evidence spanning the ninth-eleventh centuries. Therefore the structure offers an opportunity to consider monastic life in medieval Coptic Egypt a period not well examined in monastic archaeology. The numerous modifications to the building and individual rooms, the installations of at least twelve ovens and kanoons, and the presence of two rooms with significant markers of religious life, all suggest the inhabitants in the tenth century were part of a highly developed community. The close proximity of 80-90 similar buildings and the placement of middens between the structures also points to specific settlement planning in the layout of the monastic settlement. Mennat-Allah El Dorry, Beyond Bread: A New Perspective on Monastic Diet and Food Procurement Food its procurement, its monopolization, and the laws and customs governing it reveal much about any given society. This paper will focus on plant-based subsistence and agricultural practices related to early medieval monastic settlements. Recent archaeobotanical research on plant remains at the Monastery of John the Little in Wadi al-natrun, Egypt, can pave the way towards a better understanding of monastic diets, including where sustenance was procured from, as well as what other aspects of monastic life were reliant on agriculture. Ongoing excavations at the Monastery of John the Little have so far revealed a monastic residence dating to between the ninth and eleventh centuries C.E. In addition to the storage and cooking areas of this residence, botanical remains have also been sampled from a nearby midden (trash dump) connected with
the monastic community at John the Little, and thus shed light on the discarding of kitchen waste. Session 3: Text (Elizabeth Bolman, presiding) Paul Dilley, The Prosopography of the Red and White Monasteries in the Medieval Period I will present an overview of the prosopography of the Red and White Monasteries in the medieval period, combining evidence from both inscriptions (mostly dipinti) and manuscript colophons. When studied together, these key sources yield important insights into: the leadership and institutional structure of the two communities, which appear to have remained connected into the medieval period; the activities of important patrons and artists; and, more generally, the cultural assumptions in these carefully constructed records, which did not attain a completely regularized form. This paper draws on my work as the epigraphist for the Red Monastery Project. Chrysi Kotsifou, Copyists of Dipinti, Copyists of Manuscripts: Scribal Practice at the Monastery of St. John the Little The Coptic dipinti unearthed in the Monastery of John the Little place the inhabitants of the manshubiya under excavation into the vibrant monastic world of 10 th c. Egypt, a world that was economically quite well-off, and certainly very highly educated. At the Ninth International Congress in Cairo, the up-to-then discovered Coptic dipinti from the monastery were discussed. This paper will firstly present the dipinti that were excavated since 2008 and secondly with the help of all the inscriptional material demonstrate that the persons who executed these dipinti were copyists of manuscripts, as well. On the one hand, the palaeography of the dipinti when compared to manuscripts of the same period gives us a firm indication that the scribes of the dipinti were not only educated monks but also persons with skilled handwriting and the knowledge of ligatures, abbreviations and other such palaeographical necessities. On the other hand, the dating according to the era of the Martyrs, which we find after some prayers painted on the walls of the cell, can be the decisive clue as to the identification of the scribes of the dipinti with scribes of manuscripts. Stephen J. Davis, Text, Site, Image: 2 Timothy 4:7 8 and the Cultivation of Monastic Remembrance at Kellia, Pherme, Scetis, and the White Monastery In this paper, I examine nine Coptic dipinti found in monastic dwelling places at Kellia and Pherme that contain the text of 2 Timothy 4:7 8. These dipinti were monastic epitaphs commemorating the lives of monks who had completed life s race and were understood to have received the crown of righteousness as a result of persevering in their ascetic struggles. My purpose is to situate this on-the-ground example of scriptural interpretation (1) in relation to practices of reading and remembrance within late ancient monastic communities, (2) in relation to this passage s history of interpretation in the early church (esp. its consolatory, martyrological, and ascetic applications), and (3) in relation to recent archaeological discoveries of wall paintings depicting crowned saints and martyrs at the White Monastery and the Monastery of St. John the Little. Discussion, mediated by Jones, Davis, and Bolman