Adulis / Adoulis / ሰበኣ / ኣዱሊስ

Image copyright © Kebbedé Bogalé, 2012

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Results: 5 records

view of baptistery

Scene Description: Source caption: "The probable baptistery. Waterproof flooring can be seen at the centre left of the upper photograph, with the remainder of the apparent cathedral beyond. A detail showing both the room and the flooring is provided just above."

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © The Past, 2022

Image Source: digital photographs from various sources in The Past [https://the-past.com/feature/a-crossroads-between-the-seas-the-origins-of-early-christianity/] [accessed 14 November 2023]

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE – IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

view of baptistery - detail

Scene Description: Source caption: "conduit made of amphorae fitted together in order to supply water to the baptismal basin"

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Kebbedé Bogalé, 2012

Image Source: digital photograph by Kebbedé Bogalé, in Francis Anfray, “Matara: the Archaeological Investigation of a City of Ancient Eritrea”, Palethnologie [Online], 4 | 2012, Online since 01 January 2012, connection on 09 June 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/palethnologie.5690 [palethnologie-5690.pdf] [accessed 14 November 2023]:

Copyright Instructions: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

view of baptistery in context

Scene Description: Source caption: "A possible cathedral in Adulis, Eritrea. Photogrammetry has been used to create a 3D model of the excavated remains of an important place of worship. - Various different architectural and decorative influences can be detected in the structure, emphasising that this port city lies at a key maritime crossroads."

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2022

Image Source: digital image in Architexturez Newsletters, from Gabriele Castiglia, An archaeology of conversion? Evidence from Adulis for early Christianity and religious transition in the Horn of Africa, Antiquity (2022). DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2022.136 [https://architexturez.net/pst/az-cf-228752-1665717808] [accessed 14 November 2023]

Copyright Instructions: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed, without profit, for research and educational purposes

view of church exterior in context

Scene Description: Source caption: "A 5th century Byzantine basilica at Adulis, Eritrea, excavated in 1914 by the Italian archaeologist Roberto Paribeni."

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © David Stanley, 2012

Image Source: digital photograph 20 December 2012 by David Stanley [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Byzantine_Basilica_(8527948107).jpg] [accessed 14 November 2023]

Copyright Instructions: CC BY-SA-2.0

view of font

Scene Description: Source caption: "baptismal basin in the basilica"

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Kebbedé Bogalé, 2012

Image Source: digital photograph by Kebbedé Bogalé, in Francis Anfray, “Matara: the Archaeological Investigation of a City of Ancient Eritrea”, Palethnologie [Online], 4 | 2012, Online since 01 January 2012, connection on 09 June 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/palethnologie.5690 [palethnologie-5690.pdf] [accessed 14 November 2023]:

Copyright Instructions: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

INFORMATION

FontID: 25067ADU
Church/Chapel: [Early Christian basilica] [archaeological site]
Church Location: Zula, Northern Red Sea, Eritrea
Country Name: Eritrea
Location: Northern Red Sea Region
Directions to Site: Located E of road P-6, 1-2 km NW of Zula, 40-50 km S of the port of Massaoua / Mitsiwa
Historical Region: Kingdom of Aksum
Font Location in Church: Inside the baptistery
Date: n.d.
Century and Period: 5th - 6th century, Early Christian
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Pol Herman for bringing this font to our attention and for his help in documenting it
Church Notes: for information on the Christianisation of the area see https://the-past.com/feature/a-crossroads-between-the-seas-the-origins-of-early-christianity/ [accessed 14 November 2023]
Serena Massa and Caterina Giostra's The Christianisation of Adulis in Light of the Material Evidence, in Stories of Globalisation: The Red Sea and the Persian Gulf from Late Prehistory to Early Modernity, chapter 17 (314-352) [https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004362321_018] state that Adulis "was also equipped with a baptistery from its first phase". Gabriele Castiglia's An archaeology of conversion? Evidence from Adulis for early Christianity and religious transition in the Horn of Africa. in Antiquity , Volume 96 , Issue 390 , December 2022 , pp. 1555 - 1573 [DOI: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2022.136] notes: "Recent excavations at Adulis have reinvestigated two early Christian churches. New radiocarbon analysis dates both structures to the sixth and early seventh centuries AD, with multiple phases of architectural development reflecting changing use and liturgy [...] two churches from the important Aksumite port of Adulis, in modern Eritrea, are helping fill this gap. One is an elaborate cathedral, complete with the remains of a baptistry, that is located near the center of the city and was first excavated in 1868. The other, first excavated in 1907, is in the east and features a ring of columns that show it once had a dome." A general synopsis of the above research and findings can be fount in A crossroads between the seas: the origins of early Christianity. Excavations in Eritrea are revealing early Christian sites from the Kingdom of Aksum. What can these places of worship reveal about cultural connections in the 6th century AD? Gabriele Castiglia, Philippe Pergola, Stefano Bertoldi, Marco Ciliberti, Elie Essa Kas Hanna, Božana Maletic´, and Matteo Pola share the secrets of an extraordinary ecclesiastical complex, in The Past issue of 15 November 2021 [https://the-past.com/feature/a-crossroads-between-the-seas-the-origins-of-early-christianity/] [accessed 14 November 2023]. The above sources confirm the finding of a baptismal font in the compound. Some details of the baptistery system in one of the two excavated churches are given in Francis Anfray, “Matara: the Archaeological Investigation of a City of Ancient Eritrea”, Palethnologie [Online], 4 | 2012, Online since 01 January 2012, connection on 09 June 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/palethnologie.5690 [palethnologie-5690.pdf] [accessed 14 November 2023]: "This edifice has another unusual feature: to the east of and in line with the building a construction had been added, containing a baptistery created in line with the central nave; the basin was reached by two staircases of six steps each, symmetrically arranged [...] A conduit enabled the supply of this basin with water from the exterior; it was constructed of Mediterranean amphorae with their ends removed so that they could be fitted together"

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 15.263061, 39.660552
Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 15° 15′ 47.02″ N, 39° 39′ 37.99″ E
UTM: 37P 570928 1687530

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Font Shape: rectangular [sunken font]
Basin Interior Shape: rectangular
Basin Exterior Shape: rectangular