“…that the mountain of the holy wilderness may be inhabited…” Saint John the Baptist in...

Title: “…that the mountain of the holy wilderness may be inhabited…”: Saint John the Baptist in Infancy scenes in the narthex of the Quarry Church of Dayr Abū Hinnis

Author(s) : Gertrud J.M. van Loon

Book: Aegyptus et Nubia Christiana. The Włodzimierz Godlewski Jubilee Volume on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday, edited by A. Łajtar, A. Obłuski, I. Zych

Year: 2016

Pages: 257 - 279

ISBN: 978 – 83 – 942288 – 3 – 5

Publisher: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw (PCMA UW)

www.pcma.uw.edu.pl

Abstract: The iconographical program of wall paintings in the Quarry Church of Saint John the Baptist in Dayr Abū H. innis focuses on its patron saint. A frieze of Infancy scenes in the narthex of the church, seemingly centering on the early life of Christ, was thought to be an exception. In this paper, I argue that the unusual beginning of the frieze (Massacre of the Innocents) shows that the guiding element of this series of paintings is the Infancy of Saint John the Baptist. Thus, this frieze, in which generally known images were combined in an original and creative way, fits perfectly in the carefully designed overall iconographical program honoring the titular saint of the church, the model par excellence of monastic life.

Keywords: Dayr Abū Hinnis, John the Baptist, wall painting, Infancy scenes, monasticism

Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw

Editorial Board

Piotr Bieliński, Krzysztof M. Ciałowicz, Wiktor Andrzej Daszewski, Michał Gawlikowski, Włodzimierz Godlewski, Karol Myśliwiec, Tomasz Waliszewski

intErnational advisory Board

Jean Charles Balty, Charles Bonnet, Giorgio Bucellatti, Stan Hendrickx, Johanna Holaubek

PCMa PuBliCations ChiEf Editor

Iwona Zych

Peer-reviewed.

Volume editors: Adam Łajtar, Artur Obłuski, Iwona ZychLanguage consultation and proofreading: Katarzyna Bartkiewicz (French),

Andrzej Reiche (German), Iwona Zych (English)Peer-review process: Urszula WicenciakBibliographic editor: Aleksandra Zych

Image processing: Ewa Czyżewska-Zalewska, Konrad KrajewskiDTP: Konrad Krajewski

Cover & title page design: Dobrochna ZielińskaPhoto on frontispiece: Anna Południkiewicz (2015)

Cover: Motif from the wings of a figure of the Archangel Raphael, painted in the naos of the royal church B.V on the citadel of Old Dongola

Ifao-Grec Unicode font for ancient Greek courtesy Ifao, Cairo (www.ifao.egnet.net). Coptic and Nubian font Antinouu.

Published with generous support from The Kazimierz Michałowski Foundation.

ISBN 978-83-942288-3-5

© Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Warszawa 2016© The AuthorsAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holders.CIP – Biblioteka NarodowaAegyptus et Nubia christiana : the Włodzimierz Godlewski jubilee volume on the occasion of his 70th birthday / eds. Adam Łajtar, Artur Obłuski and Iwona Zych. - Warszawa : Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology. University of Warsaw, cop. 2016

Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw ul. Nowy Świat 4, 00-497 Warsaw, Poland, www.pcma.uw.edu.plPrinted in Poland

257Aegyptus et Nubia Christiana

“…that the mountain of the holy wilderness may be inhabited…”: Saint John the Baptist

in Infancy scenes in the narthex of the Quarry Church of Dayr Abū H. innis

Gertrud J.M. van LoonKU Leuven, Near Eastern [email protected]

KeywordsDayr Abū H. innis, John the Baptist, wall painting, Infancy scenes, monasticism

AbstractThe iconographical program of wall paintings in the Quarry Church of Saint John the Baptist in Dayr Abū H. innis focuses on its patron saint. A frieze of Infancy scenes in the narthex of the church, seemingly centering on the early life of Christ, was thought to be an exception. In this paper, I argue that the unusual beginning of the frieze (Massacre of the Innocents) shows that the guiding element of this series of paintings is the Infancy of Saint John the Baptist. Thus, this frieze, in which generally known images were combined in an original and creative way, fits perfectly in the carefully designed overall iconographical program honoring the titular saint of the church, the model par excellence of monastic life.

1

To the east of the village of Dayr Abū H. innis (4–5 kilometers south of Antinoupolis, a city founded by the Emperor Hadrian around AD 130–1322), the hills harbor a large group of pharaonic limestone quarries mainly from the

1 Citation from the Vita of St. John, attributed to Serapion of Tmuis (Mingana 1927: 241). A study on Saint John the Baptist, the inspirational model of monastic life seems to me a fitting tribute to Włodek Godlewski’s lifelong research on monastic settlements. When I first began research on the wall paintings and the iconographical program in the Quarry Church of Dayr Abū H. innis, I had the chance to discuss this interesting ensemble with Włodek. His insightful remarks and questions showed me new angles of research and have helped me to shape my ideas.

2 http://antinoupolis.net/bibliography/ (accessed: 7.06.2016).

Aegyptus ChristiAnA Gertrud J.M. van Loon

258 Aegyptus et Nubia Christiana

New Kingdom [Fig. 1]. From the 4th century these quarries were reused by monks and hermits. They transformed the deserted quarry area into laurae: semi-organized communities, which settled around a core of structures with a communal function (Delattre 2013; van Loon in van Loon and Delattre 2014; van Loon and De Laet 2014). The southwestern part of one of the largest quarries in this region (DAH 012) was used as a church with a baptistery [Fig. 2]. It was extensively decorated with wall paintings, and the inscriptions and dipinti show that it was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.3

As the titular saint of the church, John the Baptist plays an important role in the iconographical program. Scenes from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke are depicted in the baptistery, on the eastern rock face: the annunciation of John’s birth to his father the High Priest Zacharias, Zacharias coming out of the temple and robbed of speech, the meeting between Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth, followed by the annunciation to the Virgin. There is space for one more scene but this has entirely disappeared [Fig. 2:B.1]. To the left of the baptismal

3 Alain Delattre (Université Libre, Brussels) is studying the inscriptions.

Fig. 1. Middle Egypt, Dayr Abū H. innis in the Greater Dayr al-Barshā Region (Dayr al-Barshā Project KULeuven, courtesy C. Peeters [with adaptations])


“…that the mountain of the holy wilderness may be inhabited…”

Fig. 2. Plan of the church area in Quarry DAH 012. Blue arrows point to original entrances; green lines indicate wall traces on the ceiling. Small holes in the ceiling of the church (Ch), following the black dotted line, indicate the installation of a wooden screen. N = narthex, B = baptistery; inset, the southern entrance of the quarry church; at the far left, the walled up entrance to the baptistery. All built walls are modern (Plan S. Darmark, the Finnish Egyptological Society; photo G.J.M. van Loon, 2004)



font is a medallion with John as a small child accompanied by Elisabeth, his mother [Fig. 2:B.2]. In the church, on the western rock face, John, dressed in the traditional garb of a hermit, a belted tunic and a hairy cloak, is holding a scroll with the text “Behold the Lamb of God…” (John 1:29). He is standing on Christ’s right, while Zacharias is depicted on Christ’s left side [Fig. 2:Ch.1].

The western rock face of the narthex shows the hermit John, in orans position, in the center of a row of saints. The cortège is composed of monks, Desert Fathers and medical saints [Fig. 2:N.1]. The northern and eastern rock faces of the narthex are decorated with a narrative frieze depicting what are known as Infancy scenes: The Massacre of the Innocents, the Flight of Elisabeth, the Murder of Zacharias, the Second Dream of Joseph, and the Flight into Egypt. There was space for probably four more scenes but the wall, which once was an extension of the rock face, has completely disappeared [Fig. 2:N.2].

The paintings were all executed using an al-secco technique on a layer of lime plaster which covers all rock faces and the ceiling of the entire church, baptistery, and narthex. The murals represent the last phase of decoration and cover two earlier layers bearing inscriptions and paint fragments. They have been dated to the 6th–8th centuries. Our recent research tends towards the first half of this period (Zibawi 2003: 58–66; van Loon and Delattre 2004; 2005; 2006; 2014; forthcoming; van Loon 2011).4

Whereas John clearly played a central role in the paintings in the church, in the baptistery and in the cortège of saints in the narthex, the narrative frieze of Infancy scenes in the narthex gives the impression of focusing on the Infancy of Christ. If this is indeed the case, it seems to be out of order in the iconographical program. Moreover, the first scene, the Massacre of the Innocents, is an unusual beginning of an Infancy of Christ. In this paper, I shall explore the meaning of the cycle and its place in the overall iconographical program, taking the function of the space into account.

The narthex in the church complex

The church occupies the southwestern corner of Quarry DAH 012 [Fig. 2]. Because of the physical limits of its situation, it is oriented to the north. In total,

4 Some authors (for example, Thierry 1998: 15) prefer a later date for the cycle of Saint John the Baptist in the baptistery, owing to the static rendering of the figures in contrast to the much livelier Infancy cycle in the narthex. No justification for this later date has been found so far.



the present church area is approximately 28.50 m long and 9–13 m wide. The southern part is divided into two rooms, separated by a rock wall. Each of these two rooms once had its own entrance from the south. The western room housed a baptistery (B). The eastern room, whose east wall has partly disappeared, served as a narthex (N). It has a continuous low bench along the east wall and partly along the north wall. The nave, with two large niches or compartments in the eastern rock face, and the sanctuary occupied the northern part (Ch). Plaster layers and traces of (former) walls on the ceiling show that the church did not take up the complete depth of the area which is now partitioned off.5 Most probably, it ran as far as the double entrance in the western rock face. This idea is supported by the inscriptions, dipinti and graffiti written and scratched onto the rock faces: these are few and far between to the north of the double entrance, while more than one hundred texts have been recorded in the church, the narthex, and the baptistery (Delattre 2003; Delattre in van Loon and Delattre 2006; Delattre in van Loon and Delattre 2014; Delattre in van Loon and Delattre forthcoming). The wall paintings are also restricted to these particular spaces.

The narthex is about 7.70 m by 7 m. The northern rock face is approximately 3 m long; the eastern rock face has a length of about 2 m, prolonged to the south by a built wall about 4 m long. Traces of this wall are visible on the ceiling [Figs 3, 9]. Three windows in the northern rock face, a square one (with a ledge for a wooden window frame) between two small round ones, communicate with the southern compartment in the eastern rock face of the church [Figs 3, 7]. The two compartments, which are connected, probably served as the cell of a recluse, as is indicated by a painted inscription mentioning a monk Mena who lodged there for a certain time (van Loon and Delattre 2014: 251 and 258, Figs 5 and 10). The southern entrance of the narthex is divided into two parts by a large rock pillar. The western part of this entrance is now closed by a modern wall, while an iron gate about 2.15 m wide was set in the eastern part [Fig. 2 inset]. This was probably the original entrance: on the outside, the rock face has cut-outs for a door frame.

The space referred to as a narthex is hardly a classical form in the architectural sense: it is not an anteroom or entrance hall spanning the entire width of the church. In fact, a narthex is not a compulsory element in Egyptian church

5 Around 1950, all entrances to the southwestern part of the quarry were walled up (leaving space for a gate in the narthex) in order to protect the paintings. Inspector Ashraf Rashad Youssif Daker obtained this information in the archives of the SCA office in Mallawi (2008). Newly built walls can be seen in the photographs of Jean Doresse (1951) (Doresse 2000/II.2: Figs 63’, 63’’ and 89. Fig. 63 [“entrée de l’église”] does not show the entrance to the church but one of the western entrances of Quarry DAH 014).



architecture and it is seldom seen in monastic churches (Grossmann 2002: 101–105; see De Blaauw 2008: 359–364). At Dayr Abū H. innis, it was a narthex from a functional point of view: located at the “western end” (literally the southern end) of the church, it connected different rooms and could be used for gatherings as well as for visitors to the recluse residing in the two niches inside.To the north of the church, the quarry runs on for almost a hundred meters. Inside the western part as well as in front of the numerous western entrances are the remains of rooms and built structures. To the east of the church are more quarry rooms, with communicating doorways to the church and narthex [Fig. 2]. Outside, to the south and to the west of the church, are the remains of floors, walls, doorways, and staircases. In conclusion: the liturgical center was incorporated into an extensive complex of rooms and spaces with as yet unknown functions.

Fig. 3. The northeastern corner of the narthex with the frieze of Infancy scenes. A small part of the wall trace on the ceiling is visible in the upper right hand corner. The windows belong to the compartment to the north, which probably once served as the cell of a recluse

(Photo G.J.M. van Loon, 2006)



The wall paintings in the narthex

The narthex used to be decorated completely with wall paintings. On the irregular western rock face (about 6.50 m long), a row of standing saints was grouped around Saint John the Baptist shown in the center [Figs 2:N.1, 4–6 ]. Images of six figures (three monastic saints and three healing saints), surviving in fragmentary condition, can be counted to the right and seven (three monastic saints, a brother and three unidentified individuals) to the left. Saint John and three saints on either side are preserved from head to shoulder- or knee-level (although all the faces have disappeared). Only tiny fragments of the other saints survive. John is standing in orans position. He has long black hair falling over his shoulders and a short, pointed, dark beard. His orange-yellow tunic girdled around his hips probably reached his ankles. A large round fibula fastens his yellow ochre hairy cloak at the chest.

Tall, slender trees separate the figures. All the saints have nimbi and their names were written above their haloes. Still legible today are the names of Apa Makarios the Great from Sketis and Apa Arsenios, standing on John’s right side, and further down, Brother Patermoute. The healing saints Cosmas, Damian, and Dometios were depicted on the far right (van Loon and Delattre 2004; 2005).

Just below, and partly on the ceiling, is a foliage pattern. Traces of this border can be distinguished on the ceiling along the modern south wall (continuing for about 2.60 m) showing that, originally, there also used to be a built wall on this spot. The row of saints most probably extended onto this wall.

The narrative frieze on the northern and eastern rock faces is painted just below the ceiling and is framed above and below by a decorative border (Clédat 1902: 49–51 and Pls I–II; Rosenstiehl 1991: 54; van Loon and Delattre 2006) [Figs 2:N.2, 3 and 7–9]. The lower border covers the upper ledge of the center window in the northern rock face, which belonged to the hermit’s abode. Therefore, we do not know if there was still a recluse living there when the spaces were used as a church. By the time of the last phase of decoration, the wooden window frame, which would have been inserted here, had obviously disappeared. Part of the upper border of flowers and fruit is painted on the ceiling. In total, the register is about 1.35–1.40 m high and about 5 m long. This frieze was cut off by the destruction of the wall, which was built to continue the eastern rock face. Traces of this wall are visible on the ceiling along the upper foliage pattern. The original frieze would probably have been about 9 m long and might have contained four more scenes.



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The sequence of scenes commences on the northern rock face. The painter made a choice from events related in the Gospel of Matthew and the apocryphal Protevangelium of James, which was most probably written in Egypt (2nd century AD). This immensely popular text begins with Mary’s birth and childhood and ends with the murder of Zacharias (Geerard 1992: 50; De Strycker 1961: 412–423; Zervos 2004: 81–91). The sequence preserved from left to right is:

– Massacre of the Innocents [Fig. 7]: King Herod ordering the slaughter of all male infants and toddlers in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16; Protev. James XXII, 1; De Strycker 1961: 174–175; Elliott 1993: 65–66);

– Flight of Elisabeth [Fig. 7]: Elisabeth escaped from the massacre with her son to the mountains where a mountain closed around them (Protev. James XXII,3; De Strycker 1961: 174–177; Elliott 1993: 66);

– murder of Zacharias [Fig. 8]: her husband Zacharias was killed in the temple, before the altar (Protev. James XXIII–XXIV,3; De Strycker 1961: 176–187; Elliott 1993: 66);

Fig. 6. Saint John the Baptist and monastic saints, western rock face of the narthex (Photo G.J.M. van Loon, 2006)



– Second Dream of Joseph [Fig. 9]: in a dream Joseph is warned by an angel to take Mary and the Child and go to Egypt (Matthew 2:13);

– Flight into Egypt [Fig. 9]: Mary and Joseph escaping to Egypt with their son (Matthew 2:14).

The story runs from left to right. All the compositions are directed to the right and the protagonists are identified by inscriptions. Therefore, although the paintings are damaged, the identification of most scenes has posed hardly any problems throughout the centuries. One exception is the scene in the corner, with a standing figure on the northern rock face and a kneeling figure in front of a building on the eastern rock face [Fig. 8]. Although alternative interpretations exist (e.g., Clédat 1902: 50; Rosenstiehl 1991: 54; Doresse 2000/II.1: 468; De Grüneisen 1922: 96, note 5; Jastrzębowska 1992: 202), most scholars studying this series have seen this scene as “The Murder of Zacharias” (e.g., Morey 1953: 86–87; Wessel 1978a: 634; Badawy 1978: 248; Thierry 1998: 10; Brubaker 1999: 67–68). According to the Protevangelium of James, a servant of King Herod interrogated Zacharias to discover the hiding place of Elisabeth and

Fig. 7. Massacre of the Innocents and Flight of Elisabeth, northern rock face of the narthex (Photo G.J.M. van Loon, 2006)



John. When Zacharias denied any knowledge of his wife’s whereabouts, King Herod flew into a rage and ordered he be executed. Zacharias was killed in the temple, in front of the altar.

I agreed that, as part of the series, the Murder of Zacharias was the most logical subject (van Loon in van Loon and Delattre 2006: 124–126, Figs 5–6). This conclusion was based on the photographic documentation of the Finnish mission to Dayr Abū H. innis led by Rostislav Holthoer in 1978 and was written before our first fieldwork campaign of 2004. Meticulous research on site revealed that the standing person on the northern rock face was indeed a soldier: tiny fragments of a yellow ochre cuirass are still visible. Moreover,

Fig. 8. Murder of Zacharias, northeastern corner of the narthex (Photo G.J.M. van Loon, 2006)



a study of the photographs taken by the American art historian Arthur Kingsley Porter († 1933) acquired afterwards (Harvard, Fine Arts Library, Collection A.K. Porter 370 C D 33 M 2, Neg. Nos. 428 and 2216, undated), permitted the fragments of the set of clothes of the kneeling figure to be pieced into garments worn by a high priest, albeit with some original details (van Loon 2011: 91 and 100). The identification as the Murder of Zacharias can therefore be confirmed.

Narrative series of Infancy scenes

A comparison with cycles with Infancy scenes in other Egyptian churches and monastic buildings might shed more light on the problems. Apart from Dayr Abū H. innis, these cycles have, up to now, been found in the Church of Karm al-Ah−barīya, southwest of Alexandria (second half of 6th century, only fragments survive) and in several rooms in the Monastery of Apa Apollo in Bawit, Middle

Fig. 9. Second Dream of Joseph and Flight into Egypt, eastern rock face of the narthex (Photo G.J.M. van Loon, 2006)



Egypt (Chapel XXX, Chapel LI, and Room 18 (6th–7th centuries? now all lost) and Building 1/Room 7 (7th century, largely preserved). Except for the paintings in Chapel LI, the cycles were fragmentarily preserved at the time of their discovery and individual scenes were often difficult to identify.

In early Christian art, cycles of the Life of Mary or the Infancy of Christ show no consistent choice of scenes. They draw inspiration from several sources, for example Gospel books and apocryphal stories. Local narratives, legends or encomia containing childhood stories of the central characters might also have played a role (Schiller 1966: 36–37).6

Childhood and girlhood scenes of Mary are inspired by apocryphal stories, primarily the Protevangelium of James. Annunciation to the Virgin, Visitation, First Dream of Joseph, Journey to Bethlehem, Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, Circumcision, Presentation in the Temple, Second Dream of Joseph, Flight into Egypt, Murder of the Innocents, Return from Egypt, and the youthful Jesus in the Temple are the most extensive choice of scenes offered by the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (Wessel 1978b: 677); besides these, the First Dream of Joseph, Ordeal of the Bitter Water, Flight of Elisabeth, and Murder of Zacharias are potential scenes from the Protevangelium. Details taken from the latter book can also be found in more established scenes, such as the episode of the midwife Salomé in the Nativity (see van Loon 2006: 89–95). Moreover, the choice made from these three main sources, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and the Protevangelium of James, does not always follow the sequence of the episodes in that particular narrative.

It is often difficult to establish the central themes of these series. The Life of the Virgin Mary and the Infancy of Christ is, of course, a continuing story and numerous events, for example, the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Journey to Bethlehem, or the Nativity, can be found in both cycles. Therefore, the arrangement of scenes and the overall iconographical program are factors which determine the principal subject or character of the frieze. Moreover, it is essential to realize that the meaning of such a series is not hidden in the separate images: its strength and impact lie in the cycle as a whole.

In the Church of Karm al-Ah−barīya, the Annunciation, Visitation (or Ordeal of the Bitter Water?), Adoration of the Magi, Massacre of the Innocents, and Flight into Egypt could be identified on the south wall of the nave, as part of a more extensive cycle of the Life of Christ (Witte-Orr 2010). A cycle of the Life of Mary containing the Annunciation, Visitation, Journey to Bethlehem, and

6 Wessel (1978b: 677) excludes the apocryphal stories from the source material, a view that does not make sense.



the Virgin Mary and midwife Salomé was found on the north wall of Chapel LI (Clédat 1904: 523–525; 1999: 109–132; van Loon 2006). Chapel XXX presented on the north wall the Massacre of the Innocents, unidentified figures, a woman carrying a child, and the Baptism of Christ, followed on the east wall by a banqueting scene. Clédat expected the series to start on the west wall (which had already disappeared at that time) (Clédat, Carnet Baouit 1903: 24–43 [Louvre, Département des antiquités égyptiennes, section copte]; Clédat 1904/I: 519–520; 1916: 1–9 and Pls I–IV; 1999: Photos 15–18; Bénazeth 2005: 5–7). The few fragments in Room 18 are insufficient for identification. Maspero and Drioton have argued that the fragment of a donkey points to the Journey to Bethlehem or the Nativity. The Flight into Egypt is a third possibility. Another fragment shows Elisabeth and John (Maspero 1931–1943/I: 10, 30–31 and Pls XXIX–XXX). The series on the north wall of Room 7 of Building 1 misses the first two scenes, for which Marie-Hélène Rutschowscaya (2010: 46) proposes the Annunciation and the Nativity. The First Dream of Joseph, Journey to Bethlehem, Nativity, Presentation in the Temple and Adoration of the Magi have been preserved there (Bénazeth 2010: 21–23 and Fig. 4; Rutschowscaya 2010; Evans and Ratliff 2012: 82 and Fig. 34 (D. Bénazeth)7.

The Infancy section of the cycle in Karm al-Ah−barīya, which was definitely part of a cycle of the Life of Christ, seems to have been based on the Gospels of Luke and Matthew.8 The cycle of the Life of Mary in Chapel LI was based on both Gospel and apocryphal sources. The Gospels of Luke and Matthew and the Protevangelium of James play a role in the narratives in the narthex of Dayr Abū H. innis and in Room 18, Chapel XXX, and Room 7 of Building 1 in Bawit.9 The principal subject of the latter cycles is under investigation.

The narrative frieze in these monuments is part of a more extensive decorative program. In all cases, standing (monastic) saints are part of the

7 http://www.louvre.fr/fouilles-de-baouit-egypte-saison-2010;http://www.ifao.egnet.net/archeologie/baouit/ (accessed: 7.06.2016).

8 The Ordeal of the Bitter Water would have been based on the Protevangelium of James.9 According to Rutschowscaya 2010: 50, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (or Infancy Gospel of

Matthew) probably influenced the sequences of scenes in Building 1, Room 7, where the Presentation in the Temple precedes the Adoration of the Magi (see above). As Jan Gijsel points out, in the Gospel of Matthew the magi arrive a few days after the birth of Christ, while in Pseudo-Matthew, they arrive two years later. However, Pseudo-Matthew is a Western compilation, based largely on the Protevangelium of James. It probably originated at the end of the 6th–beginning of 7th century (Gijsel 1997: 107–115; Gijsel in Gijsel and Beyers 1997/I: 67). The late visit of the magi as described in Pseudo-Matthew was well known in the East and West, and can already be found in the 3rd–4th century, in writings of, for example, Origen, Eusebius and Epiphanius (Gijsel 1997: 111; Gijsel in Gijsel and Beyers 1997/I: 56–57). The latter authors are a more likely source in 7th-century Egypt.



decoration. Whether the saints and narrative cycles in Chapels XXX and LI and in Room 18 were related and consequently made up a general theme is difficult to determine. In Room 7, prophets carrying scrolls with texts of their prophesies are painted on the south wall. They prefigure the New Testament scenes on the opposite wall, while the monastic saints among the prophets can be counted among the champions of faith (Rutschowscaya 2010: 49–50 and Pl. 4-A). There was, however, probably no relation between the prophets with scrolls depicted above the cycle of the Infancy in the nave of the Church of Karm al-Ah−barīya and the narrative scenes (Witte-Orr 2010: 76–77).

So far, the cycle of Infancy scenes in Karm al-Ah−barīya is the only example of such a cycle in the nave of a church. Seen in the corpus of preserved contemporary church decoration, this decorative system is atypical of Egypt; it belongs to a tradition found in Early Christian churches around the Mediterranean (Böck 1995). Karm al-Ah−barīya was located near Abu Mina and Alexandria, which might account for the choices made.

In Bawit, Room 7 was almost certainly part of a hostel complex (Bénazeth 2010: 21–23; Rutschowscaya 2010). Chapel LI might have been a community oratory, a reception room or both (van Loon 2006: 100–101). No specific function has been assigned yet to Chapel XXX and Room 18. In Dayr Abū H. innis, the narthex of the quarry church was a room for gathering. It might also have been a visitor’s room, if there was still a recluse living next to it.

In conclusion, almost all of these narrative cycles were based on several sources. They were found in rooms with a non-liturgical function to which visitors were also admitted (fellow monks, clerics or ordinary lay people), as attested by the graffiti (Clédat 1904–1906: 8–9; 1999: 161–121; Maspero 1931–1943/II: 126–127; van Loon 2006: 101; Delattre in van Loon and Delattre forthcoming). All the cycles have their own characteristics, from an iconographical point of view as well as in the place they occupy in the decoration of the respective spaces. As remarked above, the individual scenes have no direct message; the strength lies in the ensemble. Although refectories, community oratories, and reception or waiting rooms have a practical function, they also qualify as places for contemplation and meditation. The decorative programs of church buildings found in this area so far have a strong symbolic meaning, closely tied to their liturgical function (van Loon 2014: 195–204).

In the case of the rooms discussed here, the function is less compelling. It would have allowed more freedom in the choice of decoration and offered the possibility “to tell stories”, which are edifying and visually attractive and would have reached monks and lay visitors alike.



Following my predecessors and taking into account the content of the cycles listed above, I have long considered the series in the narthex of Dayr Abū H. innis as a Cycle of the Infancy of Christ (van Loon in van Loon and Delattre 2006; van Loon 2011). Nonetheless, the first scene, the Massacre of the Innocents, continued to puzzle me. Why would a cycle dedicated to the Infancy of Christ begin with the Massacre of the Innocents? Usually, this gruesome story follows a Nativity or some other scenes. It is obvious that the sequence of the pictures runs from left to right. Therefore, there is no other wall space available which could have been used for a more conventional beginning. The question continued to trouble me until I realized that the beginning and development of this series of narrative scenes make sense only if the Infancy of Saint John the Baptist, and not the Infancy of Christ, is taken as the guiding element.

The Massacre of the Innocents was a crucial episode in the life of John. He was, after Christ, an intended victim, especially sought by Herod’s henchmen. Through divine intervention, his mother was able to bring him to safety and this was how his life in the desert began. His father refused to betray him and was murdered. Later in life, following his father’s example of prophecy and faith, John, too, would be murdered (Matthew 14:1–12) (van Loon 2011: 102–103). Christ also escaped the massacre: Joseph was warned in a dream to take mother and child and flee to Egypt. Christ’s public life and death require no further explanation.

John is Christ’s forerunner, his kinsman and friend. In this unusual, creative, and innovative iconographical program in Dayr Abū H. innis, John’s life and vocation are entwined with Christ’s life and mission on earth. The series in the narthex might even be seen as a continuation of the series of narrative paintings in the baptistery, where the story of John — and the story of Christ — begins with the annunciation of their respective births by the Archangel Gabriel.

Saint John the Baptist

Saint John the Baptist is a most appropriate choice as titular saint of the church of a monastic settlement. He is held in high esteem in the Egyptian Church. His cult has been attested since the end of the 5th century and is very probably much older. Apart from the Vitae, the corpus dedicated to John is composed of homilies, doxologies, hymns, magical texts, descriptions of miracles and so forth (Till 1958; Aranda Pérez 1991; Papaconstantinou



2001: 112–115).10 The major events of his life are commemorated in the Arabic Synaxarium: the announcement of his birth (26 Tūt/23 September), his birth (30 Ba�ūnah/24 June), the Baptism of Christ (11 Tūbah/6 January), and his death by beheading (2 Tūt/30 August). Furthermore, the discovery of his relics is celebrated on 30 Amshīr/24 February (the discovery of his head) and 2 Ba�ūnah/27 May (the discovery of his body) (see the relevant dates in Basset 1907–1929; Forget 1905–1926; Meinardus 1963–1964; Atiya 1991). The earliest mention of these feast days dates to the 9th or 10th century (Papaconstantinou 2001: 114).

Apart from his qualities outlined above, his asceticism and his sojourn in the desert (Matthew 3:1–4; Luke 1:80; 3:2) are examples for monks. Alongside the prophets Elijah and Elisha, he is the model par excellence of monastic life: “Elijah and Elisha and John the Baptist made their abode first in the desert, until our fathers followed them” (On Apa Anthony. An acrostic hymn from New York, PML, M 574, AD 897–898; Depuydt 1993/I: 113–121, No. 59; Kuhn and Tait 1996: 135).11 Two encomia in John’s honor attributed to Theodosius of Alexandria and John Chrysostom even speak of his time in the desert as dating from the moment his mother fled in order to save him, until the day he appeared at the River Jordan. Locusts and wild honey (see Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6) are mentioned as his food (Geerard 1992: 185; New York, PML, M 853; Depuydt 1993/I: 325–332, no. 164; Kuhn 1966/I: 37–38 [text]; II: 32–33 [transl.]).12 Theodosius does not refer to the mountain (according to his encomium, they dwelled in the desert), but in the text attributed to John Chrysostom the mountain which opened for them was like “a quiet monastery (ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲥⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ)” (Geerard 1992: 184; London, BL, Ms. Or. 7024, AD 987; Layton 1987: 188–190, no. 159; Budge 1913: 136–137 [text], 343 [transl.]; Till 1958: 313–314 [No. 20], 326; Boud’hors 1997: 1570).

The latter idea is also found in a Vita of Saint John, attributed to Serapion of Thmuis (end of the 4th century) which is known from a 16th and 18th century Garshūni manuscript (Arabic written in Syriac characters). The origin

10 Additions: Magical text (Rutschowscaya and Bénazeth 2000: 120, No. 91); Hymn to Saint John the Baptist, ostrakon from Antinoupolis, 5th–6th century (Delattre 2008: 149–151 and Pl. VIII-8). An 8th-century inventory list of the library of the Monastery of Saint Elijah-on-the-Rock (end of 7th–beginning of 8th century) contains several texts on Saint John the Baptist (Coquin 1975: 212, 218, 232, and 235).

11 This manuscript contains a compilation of old hymns or is a later copy (Kuhn and Tait 1996: 13).

12 The manuscript is dated AD 848, but according to Kuhn (1966/I: v and x), a version of this text must have been known in the 7th century.



of this text might be Egyptian (Manchester, John Rylands Library, Mingana Syr. 22 and Syr. 183; Geerard 1992: 183; Boud’hors 1997: 1570; Mingana 1927: 234–260 [transl.]; 261–287 [text]). The text relates how the Archangel Gabriel brought the raiment of Elijah and the girdle of Elisha from heaven to Zacharias, who was to give them to John when he bid his wife and son goodbye (Mingana 1927: 239–240). Later, Elisabeth says: “I went and put on my son a raiment of camel’s hair and a leathern girdle in order that the mountain of the holy wilderness may (in future) be inhabited, and in order that monasteries and congregations of monks may increase in it and that sacrifice may be offered in it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Mingana 1927: 241).

Conclusion

All the decoration in the quarry church of Dayr Abū H. innis highlights the patron saint, Saint John the Baptist. In the cycle of paintings on the northern and eastern rock faces of the narthex, John, and not Christ, is the central character. The frieze demonstrates that his life and message were intrinsically bound up with the life and mission of Christ. Furthermore, in this monastic context and close to (the memory of ) an abode of a recluse, John’s eminence as a desert ascetic was highly valued. On the western rock face he is surrounded by at least two famous Desert Fathers and four other saintly monks, as well as a brother (Patermoute). The arrangement of the scenes in the narrative frieze also underlines this aspect of his life: it begins with the Massacre of the Innocents in Bethlehem, which caused his mother to hide him in the desert where he grew up in solitude and meditation. “The mountain of the holy wilderness” did become inhabited, even filled to capacity with monastic communities.

acknowledgments

Dayr Abū H. innis is the northern part of the archaeological concession of the Dayr al-Barshā Project (KU Leuven, Research Group Egyptology) directed by Harco Willems, which also includes al-Shaykh Sa‘īd in the south (http://www.dayralbarsha.com, funded by research grants of FWO Vlaanderen and the Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds of KU Leuven). Fieldwork was carried out from 2004 to 2008 and we would like to thank Prof. Willems and his team



very warmly for their hospitality and assistance over the years. My research on the wall paintings has been funded by NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research) and the Byvanck Fund (Leiden University). Special thanks go to Mrs. Rosemary Robson-McKillop.

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CONTENTS

Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Tabula gratulatoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Adam Łajtar, Artur Obłuski and Iwona ZychWłodek on the Nile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Włodzimierz Godlewski: List of publications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Aegyptus Christiana

Anne Boud�hors and Esther GarelQue reste-t-il de la bibliothèque du monastère de Saint-Phoibammon à Deir el-Bahari? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Alain Delattre and Naïm VanthieghemLes trois « colophons » de l’Évangile de Jean découvert à Naqlun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Tomasz Derda and Joanna WegnerΠατέρες τοῦ ἁγίου Νεκλονίου. Functionaries of the Naqlun monastery in the first two centuries of its existence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Dorota DzierzbickaWine consumption and usage in Egypt’s monastic communities (6th–8th century) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Tomasz GóreckiPhasing out LRA 7 amphorae in favor of new wine containers: Preliminary remarks based on finds from excavations in Naqlun . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Peter GrossmannSpätantike und mittelalterliche Vierstützenkirchen in Ägypten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Szymon MaślakThe burning of a monastery? Story blazed on the walls of monastic buildings at Nekloni (Naqlun) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Maria Mossakowska-Gaubert Verres décorés d’époque arabe médiévale (VIIIe–XIIIe siècles) : quelques exemples provenant de Naqlun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Marguerite Rassart-DeberghLes Kellia, 1965–2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217


Contents

Tonio Sebastian RichterEine koptische und eine arabische Bauinschrift zwischen Assuan und Kom Ombo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Jacques van der Vliet“Alone in Naqlun”: A fresh look at the Bohairic letter P. Lond. Copt. I, 590 (2) (British Library Or. 4720 [31], vo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Gertrud J.M. van Loon“...that the mountain of the holy wilderness may be inhabited...”: Saint John the Baptist in the Infancy scenes in the narthex of the Quarry Church of Dayr Abu H. innis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Ewa WipszyckaSaint Claude à Pohe : un exemple de fonctionnement d’un sanctuaire de pèlerinage dans l’Égypte de l’Antiquité tardive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Iwona ZychA monastic library at Nekloni? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Nubia Christiana

William Y. AdamsEvolution and revolution in Nubian pottery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Julie Renee Anderson and Anna HarrisonSome unique medieval Nubian textiles in the British Museum collections . . . . . . 329

Katarzyna Danys and Adam ŁajtarEgyptian amphorae LR 5/6 with Greek dipinti found in Dongola . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

David N. EdwardsAmong the rocks: A first look at medieval Duweishat, from the archive. . . . . . . . 359

Krzysztof GrzymskiBeyond Old Dongola: The multicomponent site of Hag Magid (Letti Basin) . . . 381

Henriette Hafsaas-Tsakos and Alexandros TsakosNubian cathedrals with granite columns: A view from Sai Island. . . . . . . . . . . . . 389

Karel C. InneméeMonks and bishops in Old Dongola, and what their costumes can tell us . . . . . . 411

Adam Łajtar and Dobrochna ZielińskaThe northern pastophorium of Nubian churches: ideology and function (on the basis of inscriptions and paintings) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

Magdalena ŁaptaśArchangel Raphael as protector, demon tamer, guide and healer. Some aspects of the Archangel’s activities in Nubian painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459


Contents

Artur ObłuskiNobadian and Makurian church architecture. Qasr el-Wizz, a case study . . . . . . 481

Grzegorz OchałaWhen epigraphy meets art history: On St Phoibammon from Abdallah-n Irqi 513

Marta OsypińskaThe pig — a mystery of medieval Makuria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525

Giovanni R. RuffiniDotawo’s later dynasties: a speculative history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539

Robin SeignobosLa liste des conquêtes nubiennes de Baybars selon Ibn Šaddād (1217–1285). . . . . 553

Joanna Then-ObłuskaThe ‘bead-side� story of medieval and post-medieval Nubia: Tentative approach to the bead collection of the Museum of Archaeology University of Stavanger, Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579

Derek A. WelsbyObservations on the graves of the medieval period in the SARS concession at the Fourth Cataract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613

Magdalena M. WoźniakThe chronology of the eastern chapels in the Upper Church at Banganarti: Some observations on the genesis of “apse portraits” in Nubian royal iconography . . . . 629

Bogdan ŻurawskiBanganarti Nativity: Enkolpion with scene of the Birth of Jesus from House BA/2015 in Banganartit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647

Miscellanea

Nettie K. AdamsThe lions of Qasr Ibrim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661

Mirosław BarwikA record of offerings from the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari: ostrakon DeB Inv. No. 85/75 reconsidered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665

Barbara LichockaA stray late Roman coin from the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. . . . . . 679

Adam ŁukaszewiczCleopatra and kandake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691

Date post:	09-Dec-2023
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“…that the mountain of the holy wilderness may be inhabited…” Saint John the Baptist in...

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