Enjoying the saints in late antiquity

The discovery at Mainz by Franĉois Dolbeau of a new collection of sermons of Augustine has enabled us to study, in far greater detail, the attitude of Augustine to the reform of the cult of the martyrs between 391 and 404. This study aims to understand Augustine's insistence on the need to imitate the martyrs against the background of his views on grace and the relation of such views to the growing differentiation of the Christian community. It also attempts to do justice to the views of those he criticized: others regarded the triumph of the martyrs over pain and death as a unique manifestation of the power of God, in which believers participated, not through imitation but through celebrations reminiscent of the joy of pagan festivals. In this debate, Augustine by no means had the last word. The article attempts to show the continuing tension between notions of the saints as imitable and inimitable figures in the early medieval period, and more briefly, by implication, in all later centuries.     

An astrologer's map: A relic of late antiquity

Abstract

A Greek map of the world, which includes a windrose, zones, places in and around Egypt, and hell, is studied in reference to its context: an anonymous astrological miscellany. Other examples of this map have been found in a second context, among anonymous scholia to Theon of Alexandria's commentary on Ptolemy's Handy Tables (Procheiroi kanones), which were also of use to astrologers. The selection of Egyptian place‐names found on the map provides some clue to its possible origin, while the omission of the Mediterranean as well as the port of Alexandria is significant. Evidence suggests that the original map (known today only through later copies) is of an earlier date than the texts surrounding it, and that it may be one of the earliest world maps preserved from Late Antiquity.     

Pre-Columbian congenital syphilis from the late antiquity in France

Today, exactly 500 years after the discovery of America, there is still a lot of controversy about the history of syphilis in Europe, especially about the Columbian and pre-Columbian hypotheses. This paper presents evidence for the presence of venereal treponematosis in the late Antiquity in France. The case that we examined comes from the necropolis of Costebelle (3rd-5th centuries AD; Hyères, Var, France). Grave no. 1 contained the well-preserved skeleton of a relatively old woman with the skeletal remains of an approximately 7-month-old fetus in her pelvic cavity. The osseous lesions of the fetal remains can be described in four groups: periosteal appositions on the skull vault (frontal and parietal); signs of periostitis on the long bones (bilateral cortical irregularities, predominantly on the left side, which affect first of all tibiae, femora, fibulae, radii and humeri, particularly in the metaphyseal region); some infraperiosteal detachment reminiscent of an infraperiosteal haematoma surrounding the distal extremity of the left forearm and the left hand; and finally, the irregular lesions of the humeral distal and proximal tibial metaphyses reminded us radiologically of Wimberger's signs. The most probable diagnosis of all the lesions mentioned above is that of a precocious congenital syphilis. This case consists of an argument against the epidemiological theories about the migration of Treponema pallidum from the New World back to the Old World starting at the end of the 15th century.     

The settlement patterns of north-eastern and south-eastern Arabia in late antiquity

The east Arabian settlements in antiquity were never large urban sites. However, they were the main centres of the communities that inhabited that area, interfacing between the nomadic and sedentary societies. A study of the distribution and characteristics of these sites reveals different, complementary functions. They were organized in local networks forming the essential structure of the settlement pattern and delineating the territories of communities having their own political identity.     

The settlement patterns of north-eastern and south-eastern Arabia in late antiquity

The east Arabian settlements in antiquity were never large urban sites. However, they were the main centres of the communities that inhabited that area, interfacing between the nomadic and sedentary societies. A study of the distribution and characteristics of these sites reveals different, complementary functions. They were organized in local networks forming the essential structure of the settlement pattern and delineating the territories of communities having their own political identity.     

Biblical anthropology and the idea of human prehistory in late antiquity

Late Antiquity is an important period in the history of anthropology because it marks a divide between the naturalistic and rationalistic anthropological ideas of Greco-Roman philosophers and the "biblical anthropology" that was formulated by Medieval Christian writers. The biblical anthropology that emerged in Late Antiquity addressed the question of the origin of the first humans, our relationship to the natural world, and the original state of mankind. While early Christian philosophers based much of this biblical anthropology on the Genesis account of early human history, they also utilized a great deal of Greco-Roman philosophy in order to expound a vision of human prehistory that profoundly influenced anthropological thought well into the modern era.     

Region, culture and society: understanding antiquity from the field

Approaches to the finds, monuments and settlements of past and present landscapes in different parts of Europe, and the contributions of their regional archaeological traditions, are briefly evaluated from a historical perspective. The point of departure is the work of the Dane, Ole Worm, in the early seventeenth century, on the whole of Denmark and Norway. Worm pioneered systematic large-scale topographical recording of monuments, and so provided data for the earliest archaeological distribution maps. Another Dane, N.F.S. Sehested, in the mid-eighteenth century, led the development of intensive small-scale regional studies. In conclusion, the methods of large scale active survey (e.g. in the Mediterranean) are reconsidered, and the particular role of Communist Eastern Europe in pioneering early large-scale excavation is emphasized.     

Mistranslations of Josephus and the expansion of public charity in late antiquity

Three Latin mistranslations of Josephus' Jewish War I.61 between the fourth and the seventh centuries ce reflect the expansion of a series of charitable institutions, called xenodocheia and nosokomeia, around the Mediterranean in late antiquity and the early medieval period. In the late fourth century, authors known as pseudo‐Rufinus and pseudo‐Hegesippus independently mistranslated Josephus' report that the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus hired mercenary troops at the conclusion of a Seleucid siege of Jerusalem. In their confusion, these authors both interpreted this as a charitable action and pseudo‐Hegesippus anachronistically imported the xenodocheion into the Hellenistic period. In the early seventh century Isidore of Seville expanded upon pseudo‐Hegesippus' mistake to transform the hiring of mercenaries into the genesis of both the xenodocheion and the nosokomeion. Isidore's inclusion of these institutions in his Etymologiae indicated their ubiquity and popularity by the seventh century, while for later writers his work canonized the mistaken origin.     

Ad sanctitatem mortuorum: tomb raiders,body snatchers and relic hunters in late antiquity

In late antiquity there emerged new laws that sought to protect the dead through the prevention and punishment of crimes that contravened the sanctity of the body and its resting place, including the profanation of cadavers, tomb violation, and grave‐robbery. On a more personal level, individuals used epitaphs to convey their wishes to be left undisturbed after burial, and family and kin members began searching for new ways to commemorate the memory of loved ones that did not put their mortal remains at risk. At the same time, the increasing popularity of the cult of saints and martyrs put greater emphasis on the importance of relics as objects of veneration, which in turn led to elaborate strategies of acquisition, including the exhumation, transporting and dismembering of the dead. All of these developments were inspired in some degree by a growing awareness of the body as a symbol of God's eternal love for mankind. Yet paradoxically, literary and archaeological evidence confirms that grave‐robbing was a relatively widespread phenomenon during this time. The question for historians, therefore, is one of legitimacy: in what instances was the violation of tombs considered acceptable or legitimate, and by whom? In answering this, we can learn a great deal about the cultural and religious factors that underpinned the development of new laws and customs concerning the treatment of the dead.     

Strontium isotope analysis of human tooth enamel from Barsinia: a late antiquity site in Northern Jordan

The archaeological site of Barsinia represents a model of a mixed subsistence strategy in the late antiquity of Jordan. Contrary to historians' belief that the late antiquity economy was stagnated, archaeological evidence at the site of Barsinia points to wealth accumulation as mirrored by the local wine industry and trade. As the economic growth may enhance population dynamics, the study tests the population mobility at the site using strontium isotope ratios from the human tooth enamel. The study comprised 12 right upper third molars and 12 rodent teeth samples. The results confirm that all of the sampled individuals were local to the area (raised in the area) and whose diets were probably obtained from spatially restricted localities in the region.     

陶寺晚期龙山文化与夏文化——论华夏文明的形成（下）

这里所谓前期夏化,按笔的划分,主要指的是二里头化的东下冯类型一、二期。这一类型的前期夏化,据调查和发掘,多分布于晋南和晋西南,其遗址就目前的初步统计约有六七十处,其中位于夏县偃掌镇东下冯村的一处,面积最大并首先发掘,故而将这一夏纪年期的二里头阶段化称为“东下冯类型”。据仇士华先生在其《有关所谓“夏     

陶寺晚期龙山文化与夏文化

中国是世界六大文明古国之一,但有关中国文明的起源问题,迄今学术界尚无定论,或尚无较为一致的意见。对此,过去一些学者认为我国文明起源较晚,大约是在商代。例如日本贝冢茂树曾说,中国古代文明形成的时代,应...     

Black limestone used in antiquity: recognizing the limestone of Teos

This paper documents the petrographic and isotopic characteristics of some black limestones that were exploited in antiquity near the ancient site of Teos in Ionia (south‐western Anatolia, Turkey). The best‐quality black limestone of Teos is represented by a series of step‐cut‐shaped blocks situated north of the Seferihisar–S??ac?k road, destined to be exported and used for architectural elements. The techniques used to study these blocks allow possible identification of the origin of Teos in ancient black stone artefacts. Nevertheless, petrographic and geochemical investigation on some black limestones that outcrop in the area near Teos has not firmly identified the quarry fronts from which these blocks were quarried away, but it supports the known hypothesis that Teian black limestones were found and quarried in conjunction with the Africano marble.