Mosaic Floors of the Church at Ḥorbat Ḥadat, Israel

Year 2022, Issue: 15, 167 - 184, 09.11.2022

Lihi Habas

https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.1143743

Abstract

The mosaic floors of the church at Ḥorbat Ḥadat in Israel were uncovered in the nave, along the southern aisle, at the eastern end of the northern aisle, between the columns separating the southern aisle and the nave and in the liturgical space. Some of the panels were removed and are now stored in the Rockefeller Museum, some left in situ. The mosaic floors were laid in the early phase of the church, and they continued in use during the late phase with repairs and changes made of tesserae larger than those of the original floors.
All the carpets and panels exhibit geometric and floral patterns made in a variety of colored tesserae. These patterns include geometric grids and interlaces, some of which create trompe-l’oeil effects.
In the late phase, the western part of the nave’s mosaic floor and the northern edge of the westernmost mosaic panel between the columns were replaced by a white carpet with an orange cross. The findings of the cross in the floor will be discussed in the framework of the prohibition (Edict of Emperor Theodosius II, AD 427) against depicting crosses on floors.
The early basilica-type dated to the second half of the 5th century AD, and a later phase dated to the end of Byzantine and Umayyad periods (7th–8th centuries), when the church underwent changes and its dimensions were reduced. The church fell out of use during the Abbasid period.

Keywords

Ḥorbat Ḥadat, geometric and floral patterns, trompe-l’œil, Cross, Edict of the Emperor Theodosius II

İsrail‘deki Ḥorbat Ḥadat Kilisesi’nin Mozaik Zeminleri

Abstract

İsrail’de Horbat Hadat’taki kilisenin mozaik tabanları, nefte, güney nef boyunca, kuzey nefin doğu ucunda, güney nef ve nefi ayıran sütunlar arasında ve ayin boşluğunda ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Panellerin bazıları kaldırılmıştır ve günümüzde Rockefeller Müzesi’nde muhafaza edilmektedir, bazıları ise in situ olarak bırakılmıştır. Mozaikler kilisenin erken evresinde döşenmiş, geç evrede orijinal döşemelerden daha büyük tesseralardan yapılan onarım ve değişikliklerle kullanılmaya devam etmiştir.
Tüm döşemeler ve paneller, çeşitli renklerdeki tesseralardan yapılmış geometrik ve çiçek desenlerini içermektedir. Bu desenler, bazıları trompe-l’oeil etkisi oluşturan geometrik ızgaraları ve iç içe geçmeleri içermektedir.
Geç evrede, nefin mozaik zemininin batı kısmı ve sütunlar arasında en batıdaki mozaik panonun kuzey kenarı turuncu haçlı beyaz bir döşeme ile değiştirilmiştir. Zemindeki haç buluntuları, zeminlerde haç tasvirinin yasaklanması (İmparator II. Theodosius Fermanı, İS 427) çerçevesinde tartışılacaktır.
Erken bazilika tipi İS 5. yüzyılım ikinci yarısına, daha sonraki bir evre ise kilisenin değişikliğe uğradığı ve boyutlarının küçüldüğü Bizans ve Emevi dönemlerinin (7.-8. yüzyıl) sonlarına tarihlenmektedir. Kilise Abbasiler döneminde ise kullanım dışı kalmıştır.

Keywords

Ḥorbat Ḥadat, geometrik ve çiçek desenleri, trompe-l’oeil, haç, II. Theodosius Fermanı

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