Latin inscribed terracotta plaques with an invocation to *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033). Found at Cillium (Byzacena, central North Africa), probably later-5th/6th c.
Evidence ID
E08479
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elements
Inscriptions - Inscribed objects
A site near Cillium (present-day Kasserine) produced a number of wall-tiles with the following inscription, set above and below a flower flanked by two striped, column-like vertical bands, and set within a dotted circle (see Image)
☩ S(an)ct(a) Maria
flower
aiuba nos ☩
'☩ Saint Mary
flower
help us ☩'
Text: De Rossi 1884/1885, Tav.III.2.
Translation: B. Ward-Perkins.
Plaques with images of saints have apparently also been discovered in Africa - see Discussion.
Non Liturgical Activity
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Source
A number of sites in the central provinces of Roman North Africa (roughly coinciding with modern Tunisia) have produced terracotta plaques, with relief moulding, measuring approximately: H. 0.26 m; W. 0.20 m; Th. 0.02 m. Some have been found in situ set on walls. The majority have purely decorative designs, but some bear images and inscriptions (Truillot 1957).A site near Cillium in Byzacena produced a number of examples of the plaque discussed here. Examples are also found in various museums of North Africa, but it is possible that all originate from the same site.
There is no way of accurately dating these plaques. They may be later-5th or 6th century, but a date in the 7th century is also possible.
Discussion
It is conjectured that these plaques were produced primarily for the decoration of churches, but it is also possible that they were used for apotropaic purposes in domestic houses.Terracotta plaques with biblical scenes are also known from Africa, for instance showing Daniel in the Lions' Den or the Sacrifice of Isaac, but, as Duval points out, these are didactic and informative, rather than cultic, whereas our plaques explicitly invoke Mary's help.
According to Truillot (1957, 235), plaques have also been found with labelled images of *Theodore (presumably the soldier and marryr of Amaseia and Euchaita, S00480) and of *Pantaleon (martyr of Nicomedia, S00560), but we have been unable to verify this.
Bibliography
Editions:De Rossi, G.B., "Spiegazione delle tavole," Bullettino d'Archeologia Cristiana, serie IV, anno 3 (1884/1885), 53-54 and Tav. III.2.
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, VIII, no.22634, 3.
Diehl, E., Inscriptiones Latinae Christianae Veteres (Berlin: Apud Weidmannos, 1925-1927), vol. 1, no. 2362.
Further reading:
De la Blanchère, M.-R., "Carreaux de terre cuite a figures découverts en Afrique," Revue Archéologique, series 3, vol. 11 (1888), 302-22.
Duval, Y., Loca sanctorum Africae: Le culte des martyrs en Afrique du IVe au VIIe siècle (Rome: École Française de Rome, 1982), vol. 2, 618.
Truillot, R.C. (with additional comments by A. Piganiol), "Les carreaux estampés en terre cuite de la période byzantine," Actes du quatre-vingt-deuxième congrès national des Sociétés Savantes, Bordeaux 1957. Section d'Archéologie (Paris 1959), 225-41.
Images
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De Rossi 1884/1885, Tav.III.2
Record Created By
Bryan Ward-Perkins
Date of Entry
28/07/2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Maria | Certain | S00480 | Theodore, soldier and martyr of Amaseia and Euchaita | Uncertain | S00596 | Pantaleon/Panteleemon, martyr of Nicomedia | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Bryan Ward-Perkins, Cult of Saints, E08479 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08479