Izvorni znanstveni članak
Early Christian frescos portraiting the good shepherd found in downtown of the city of Zadar
Domagoj Maurin
orcid.org/0009-0009-7178-1573
; Ist, Hrvatska
Nenad Cambi
; Split, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The paper presents the discovery of a fragmentarily preserved early Christian fresco found during the rescue archaeological excavations in a small residential building located between streets Fra Šimuna Klimantovića and Rafaela Levakovića on a cadastral parcel no.10669/2 in Zadar downtown Varoš. During the aforementioned excavations conducted by the company Arheolog d.o.o. in May and June 2020 a part of the room of the Roman building was found. The northeast wall of the room was decorated with the mentioned fresco. The results of this survey indicated the existence of a complex urban stratigraphy in which it was possible to recognize three ancient construction phases that belong to the period from the 2nd to the beginning of the 4th century. The discovery of an ancient building in Zadar’s Varoš sheds new light on the knowledge of the urban development of this part of the peninsula, which is assumed to have had a residential character in the Roman period. Particular attention was drawn to the finding of a fresco with an early Christian theme of the Good Shepherd, which is also the most significant find on this site. Unfortunately, only the lower part of the fresco has been preserved showing the lower part of the figure, i.e. legs with feet shod in sandals to which high gaiters continue (fasciae crurales or campestre). The presence of gaiters on the legs is precisely the most important detail because they are characteristic of the early Christian scene of the “Good Shepherd”. Given that the motif of the “Good Shepherd” is chronologically very limited, the Iadertine fresco should be dated to the period around the end of the 3rd century or the beginning of the 4th century, which is confirmed by the stratigraphic picture of this locality. Although the figure of the shepherd is primarily a sepulchral symbol of salvation and is almost exclusively related to necropolises, the newly discovered Iadertine fresco nevertheless belongs to the settlement context and should be viewed as an integral part of a residential complex within the city - perhaps a domus or a villa urbana. A fresco with a Christian theme from the end of the 3rd century or the beginning of the 4th century is a unique archaeological find that speaks of the very early acceptance of the new religion in the Iader colony. By all accounts, the fresco was the central feature of the cult room as a certain private place of gathering and prayer of a family or group of believers. The relationship between the smaller anepigraphic altar as part of the cult inventory of the first phase of the object’s use and the frescoes that will be created somewhat later in an almost identical position is very significant. Through the representation of contrasting religious topics, one could, with caution, follow the process of the penetration of Christianity into the sphere of private cult.
Ključne riječi
early Christian fresco of the Good Shepherd; rescue archaeological excavations; ancient Iader; Zadar Varoš
Hrčak ID:
312783
URI
Datum izdavanja:
30.12.2023.
Posjeta: 256 *