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Early Christian Sanctuaries / 2nd century A.D.

Herbert Sauren*1

The edict of the emperor Constantine, 313 A.D. permitted the construction of Christian churches and the transformation of Roman temples into basilicas. The Christian religion was known, promulgated by missioners long time before. There are only a few written documents, probably from the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. Little architectural remains exists, but the space needed for the reunion of the community, the altar-stone as central place of the cult, where the agape was celebrated, and a huge cross as symbol of salvation, prefigured the shape of the sanctuary. Evidently, the missioners had first contact with Semite people. The ancient writing system used in Occidental Europe, Semitic language or at least influence of it, is shown by the inscriptions. The documents to comment are: 1º The Greek inscription in a church, La Alcudia, Elche; 2º The lime-stone slab of Edeta, Liria; 3º The sand-stone slab from Santa Perpetua de la Moguda, Barcelona; 4º The stone inscription from Torellas, Zaragoza; 5º A stone inscription from Iglesuela del Cid, Teruel; 6º The grave stone of Mértola, Beja; 7º The sarcophagus of Eutropos; 8º The rock inscription of Lamas de Moledo; 9º The Christian altar stone from Perpignan, Roussillon; 10º The church at Alcoutim and the altar; 11º The inscription on a votive altar of the Mosteiro de Ribeira, Ginzo de Limia, Orense; 12º The inscription of Barcelos, Braga; 13º The inscription of Viana del Bollo, Orense; 14º The inscription on a votive altar of Mangualde, Viseu.

1Prof. Dr., emer. UCL, Belgium, dinosauren@sapo.pt. The article has been written in 2006. The publication of J. Maciel, http://1870livros.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/antiguidade-tardia-e-paleocristianismo-em-portugal/ with the prologue of J.M. Bairrão Oleiro and Theodor Hauschild. Lisboa: Edições Colibri, 1996, recently announced on Internet, cause the edition on my site: http://www.herbertsauren.netau.net.

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Early Christian Sanctuaries / 2nd century A.D.

Herbert Sauren The edict of Constantine, 313 A.D., ended the persecutions of Christians, and from 360 A.D. on, the Christian religion was the official religion of the Roman Empire. From this time on, churches in the Basilica style raised everywhere or Roman buildings were transformed according to the needs of the Christian cult. Most of these Palaeo-Christian basilicas in Spain and Portugal were in towns with a long tradition of trade from the Near East to the Iberian Peninsula. I name the examples of Mértola,2 ancient Murtilis, where a grave stone in Iberian script gives witness of Christians following to sentences and words; Ibahernando, Cárceres, a region with Iberian funeral and boundary stones of the 2nd century B. C., followed by coins of factories in the Roman Republican Period; the Casa Herrera, near to Mérida, a region with a grave stone at Medellín; Vega del Mar, Málaga, where coins are found in Cerro del Mar, Málaga. The history of the Church knows Christian communities already during the 1st and 2nd century A.D., as in Egypt, in the North of Africa, the tombs of apostles in Rome, Italy, in Trier, Germany, and elsewhere. On the Peninsula, the tradition names the grave of St. Jacobo / Tiago in Santiago de Compostella. We may cite also Nathanael, Bar (P)tolmi, “N. son of Ptolmi”; whose name became São Bartolomeu in Portugal and San Telmi in Spain. Many churches in cities with a long history are named in the honour of these two apostles. Church Fathers are known from the centuries before Constantine and during the period of sporadic persecutions. The situation on the Peninsula was certainly not different, but many documents are lost. The names written on the stones of the burring place inside the basilica of Mértola, some dating from the 6th and 7th century, show names from the Near East, e.g.: Isidorito, “the little one, given by the goddess Isis”, born in Lybia, and Isidorus, “the Goddess Isis gave him”,3 but also Rufina, cf. below 9º and 10º. The writing system changed to the Greek script, but the relationship to first centuries of the Christian era is obvious. Evidently, no churches or basilicas could be built, if the Christian religion and Christians were not already present on the Iberian Peninsula. The pour hints, which we have, indicate the regions of ancient trade and merchants coming from the Near East. It seems quite natural, that the early Christian missionaries addressed the preaching first to people of their own language.4 Further, the social evolution show an urban society already during the Roman Republican period, 1st century B. C., and more intense during the Imperial period, 1st and 2nd century A.D. The Christian religion was brought first to people of the towns, reaching more persons at the same time, which can not mean that missions to rural societies were excluded.

1º La Alcudia, Elche

2 Torres, Cl., and allii, 1993, Museu de Mértola, Basílica Paleocristã, Campo Arqueológico de Mértola. 3 Torres, Cl., 26-27, cf. S 6,15, MLH, F. 11.8. 4A study of the late Punic coins show influence of North-west Semitic and Hebrew languages, Sauren, H., 2010, The Punic coins and their legends. Congress 2004, Lisboa, electronic edition.

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1º Concerned architecture, I should cite in the first place the Christian church at La Alcudia, Elche. The excavated space shows an apse on one side and a Greek inscription at the left side, when looking in the direction of the apse. The place was preserved for the priests as the inscription says. The writing is of special interest: ΠΡΕΒΥΤΕΡΩΝ, “of the presbyters”. The letter C / Σ, sigma, seems to be omitted, but following to the rules of writing in Iberian script, there is no reduplication of letters and no repetition, even if a letter of the same or similar form expresses different phonemes.5 We have to conclude that B and S resembled, and I point out to a letter, which has been identified as S2, cf. below, philological commentary 1º. The erroneous omission on an official writing in mosaic, certainly controlled many times by various responsible people seems less probably. The early church was an assembly room, separation people and clergy. The room was centred to the apse and to the East, where the altar-stone and the symbol of the cross were situated. As the excavations show no upraising walls, we do not know anything about the decoration of the walls.

2º Iglesia de la Sangre, Lliria

2º The lime-stone slab, found inside a house, close to the church of the Iglesia de la Sangre, Lliria, measures 67 x 34 / 37 cm. The slab needs a wall to stand in upright position.6 The writing is in late Iberian script, but yet sinistrorse. The first three lines contain the address, which provokes the verb of the reconstitution, followed by the 2nd and 3rd line, the aim of the inscription, and the responsible for the message. Nothing is

5Suppressing the reduplication: F 7.4, MLH, K. 3.3: TICINO > DECLINO , F 7.8, MLH, K. 3.15: TILINO, “I will go away”, lat.: declinare, port.: declinar, cf. the letters C = S3 and the Iberian l . F 7.4, MLH, K. 3.3: TRB2S3T > TRANSPASSAT, lat.: trans passare, port.: traspassar, cf. S2 similar to B and B2

= B , the sonorous pronunciation of P. 6MLH, F. 13.1, thickness of the slab not noted, but cf. photo. Information about the discovery is pour, cf. Almarche Vázquez, F., 1918, La antigua civilización ibérica en el Reino de Valencia, Valencia, 37. The stone is conserved in the Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid. MLH, omits the inv. nº.

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missing in lines 2 and 3. The sentences are all limited to one line. Rare separation points are found in line 7 and 10.

n s r m [š m ] , *nasīrīm [šama’] [Listen,] Christians! n h2 [. ] , *nūh [. . .] There is peace. t2 h, *tū (So says) the sanctuary:

h t2 s2 h2 q [t m], *ha ‘atasa haqa[tumu] It ends that you will be hurt. y w q t y [m], *yawaqitū yaumī The days are already fixed. n m n t z s2 i, *nīmnu tūz sawi Our salvation is nature and

equity.

q a6 d n m / z, *qada nīm ‘azīz Salvation guides the Mighty. n w2 h q l m h2, * nawiyy huwa qāla muhhu The Emir, he declared the best. n m n t t2 h2 q r, *nīmnu tāta hī qara Our salvation is great, life means to resist. n m h2 h / n z w2 r, *nīm hīhu nassa wa ra’ Salvation is his life. Come quickly and see. B2 L, *ba‘al (So says) the Lord.

Palaeographic reasons appoint to a dating during the 2nd century A.D. The finding spot close to a church proves a cultic place of long tradition. The name given to the community, Nassirians, means people guarded, protected;7 the word became the name of early Christians in the form of Nazarenes. ‘ z, *‘azīz, the Mighty, and n w2, *nawiyy, the Emir, are titles of local governors, often attested already during the 1st century B.C. The administrative system was evidently not changed during the Imperial period. The Mighty was the governor of a town. The Emir was higher in rank, he ruled bigger towns or a district; he was also a magistrate at the court of kings. Both titles are known by a series of inscriptions on coins from different places and on ceramics found at Edeta, Lliria. Finally, Baal, already written with Latin majuscules, refers to the Christ. The same word is used, when the president of a law suit addressed the judges.8 The context excludes the name of the Punic and Near Eastern god Baal.

3º Santa Perpetua de la Moguda 3º A stele of sandstone found at Santa Perpetua de la Moguda, Barcelona, shows the same shape, the same type of script, the distribution of the sentences in one line, and many words corresponding with the preceding inscription. The stele measures 107 x 52 x 31 cm., it is conserved in Barcelona.9

7Nw.: n s r1 , to guard, to protect. 8Sauren, H., 2005, Le rapport, une instruction juridique ou politique? L’enclave yéménite de Los Villares au 1er siècle avant J.C., RIDA 52, 25-39. 9MLH, C. 10.1, Museo Arqueológico de Barcelona, without inv. n.º.

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h2 š h2 n t2 l2 [n] , *hī ša hannat li[nu] The life is the grace for us. [w2] š h2 n t2 n m [n], *[wa] ša hannat nīm[nu] And this grace is our salvation. [w2] t r / n h2 n a6 l, *[wa]tara nūh nāla It is plentiful. Peace is a present. a5 z n m n <a> t ‘, *‘azīz nīmnu ’atā The Mighty gave our salvation.

h2 z n h z3, *hī zī nawiyy ‘azīz Life for the Emir and the Mighty! w2 m z a5 z m, *wa māzu ‘azzīm The Mighties gave an advantage. m h n, *mun(icipium) The Municipality. The titles reappear. The document is signed by the word municipality, which is attested in this form on coins of Ilerda, Lérida.

4º Torellas, Zaragoza A stone inscription from Torellas, near to Tarazona, Zaragoza, is inscribed with sentences close to Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. The stone is lost and only two lines of the drawing are readable. The measures given were in “palmas”, 1 palma = 22,5 cm., 67,5 x 33,75 cm., the thickness is unknown.10 z2 m g r d / z2 d w, *zī mugarrada zī dawī w2 n m h2 g t d š / l n d w, *wa nīm hāğa tadasša lan dawī [ . . . . ] n š z [ . . . ] n [ . ] w ‘, - - - - - Everyone, who is naked, who is ill, he needs the salvation. You will walk around and not suffer any more.

5º Iglesuela del Cid, Teruel 10MLH, K. 8.1, found in 1779, published, Anonymus, 1790, Memorial literário de Madrid, 19, 613-615.

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A fourth stone is known from Iglesuela del Cid, Teruel.11 The stone measuring 48 x 51 cm., was inserted above the door of a dependence of an hermitage, from 1880 on he has been put into the interior wall at the North side of the Chapel of “Nuestra Señora del Cid”. The inscription runs from the left to the right and is cut at the right side, so that an unknown number of letters are lost. m z2 n y l m y m [š h2 a6 n h r ], *mā zana’ limayīm [ša hā nahar] m l2 d s2 l2 h2 š h2 a6 n[m m r a ], *mā ladasa lihī ša hā nī[m mara’] You shall never irrigate with water, [what gets life from the river]. You shall never throw a stone on life, living by the salvation [of the Lord]. The broken text can not be restored with certainty. The hypothetical reconstitution is based on the equal number of 10 syllables and the rime: 1st line, *mayīm nahar , second line, *nīm mara’. The prohibition of stoning remembers that Jesus said: “who from you is without sin, may throw the first stone”. This word and the fact, that the stone has been conserved in a sacred place, are the only hint for ancient Christian origin. It may be that the first verse makes allusion to the baptism.

6º Mértola, Beja The grave stone of Mértola, Beja,12 has been found at a few meters south of the Palaeo-Christian basilica. The stone of blue slate was fallen on a Christian grave, as the archaeological report points out, it measures 79 x 39 x 8/12 cm. The free room under the epigraphic part, about 1/3, let suppose that the stone was originally in upright position. The late Iberian script appoints to the 2nd century A.D. The inscription is dextrorse. One or two lines are missing on the top. The place, where the stone has been found, and the words used, appoint to a Christian grave stone. The Roman pattern, naming the dead and the age of his life is not yet applied. As the older Iberian grave stones, the inscription let the dead person speak to the mourning people in order to comfort them.

[. . .]a h2 a t n [. . .], *[ ] ’āka ’atānu[ ] [ ] I am going home. He gave us [ ] [. . ]n h m i r h n[ . . .], *nūh mirāhanu[ ] [ ] peace, it is our place of eternal rest [ ]

[. . .]h t m a [d ‘], *hata’ īm wa[da‘ū] [ ] He for[gave] the sins[ ]. The Palaeo-Christian basilica of Mértola was used inside for burials. This grave stone is a vestige to an older building, perhaps destroyed, when constructing the basilica. Remains of an older building have not been detected by the excavations.

7º The sarcophagus of Eutropos

The sarcophagus of Eutropos has been sculptured by his son. He invokes god as AΓIOC ΘЄOC, *agios theos, holy God. The symbol of the dove bearing the olive

11MLH, E. 8.1, first published by Conyngham, W., 1790, Observation on the description of the T S 6.7, MLH, K. 8.1, found in 1779, published, Anonymus, 1790, Memorial literário de Madrid, 19, 613-615.heatre of Saguntum as given by Emanuel Marti, Dean of Alicant, in a letter addressed to d, Antonio Felix Zondadario. Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, 1789, Antiquities, nr. 4, 21-46. 12MLH, J. 28.1, without inv. n.º, conserved in the Museo Municipal of Mértola.

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branch in its mouth, the fishes at the side of the name, and the request of peace reveal the Christian. But, bull heads decorate the front of the sarcophagus. The monument is dated about 350 A.D.

AΓIOS ΘЄOC ЄBHC Holy God take ЄYTPOПOC.ЄN IPHNH. Eutropos in peace. YIOC.ЄПOIHC ЄN. The son made it in: K. .I. .CЄП C( day:) 30 (month:) 1, A( year:) SEP( seven). Even very recent, the inscription contains some old numbers and letters. Only the number for the month is the Roman number one, after more than half millennium of roman administration. The sign for 30 is attested in some inscriptions found in Spain during the 3rd and 1st century B.C. The letters for K, abbreviation of calendar, and the letter: , a, abbreviation for anno, year, are different. The verbal form: ЄBHC, *estēs, you stay, you take, shows not the letter B, beta, but a letter for S used several times in France and in inscriptions found in Portugal dating during the 1st century B.C., cf. La Alcudia.13

8º Lamas de Moledo, Viseu The rock inscription of Lamas de Moledo, Viseu, is known since 1630 and raised many interpretations.14 The granite rock measures 150 x 140 cm.

13 More examples: Palaeohispanica 9 Rev (2).pdf. 14F 7.10, MLH, L. 2.1; Untermann, J., 2002, in RDL, 68; Curado, F. P., 2002, in. RDL, 73; Prosper, B. M., 2002, Lenguas y Religiones Prerromanas del Occidente de la Península Ibérica, Acta Salamanticensia Estudios Filológicos 295, Salamanca. 57-68; Sauren, H., 2007, Acta Paleohispanica IX. A review of the Semitic Inscriptions. BAEO 43, 103-149.

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1.: R-V-FI-V-S ET Rufius and Tiro wrote: 2.: TI-RO SCRI-P 3.: SERVNT

4.: VEAM I-NI CARI They come in coaches

5.: DA <G>ENTI of people.

6.: ANGAM They set up an encampment.

7.: LA MATICAM They do not call for hunt. 8.: CROVCE AI MAGA He raised here a huge cross. 9.: REAI(L)COI PETRA-VIOI S2 He saw a stone. They catch it.

10.: ADAM PORCAM IOVE AI They put it up. He said thanks 11.: lA EL OBRIGOI to Jove, Allah, and El. The inscription and two others have been interpreted as “Lusitanian”, but all the words remained without any understandable signification, and more less sentences. I see an early post-Latin, autochthon inscription, where several letters of the Iberian writing system persist. Only one word, the negation, and the denomination of the two Semitic main gods come from Semitic language. We may date therefore the inscription in beginning or the midst of the 2nd century A.D.

The last sentence is the most important. The word, obrigoi , “he says thanks” has to be joined to the Portuguese word, obrigado / obrigada , “thank you”, and if we take

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the Greek translation, we receive, eucharistia , “to say the thanksgiving”, the Christian thanksgiving of the Holy Mass. That the missionary, probably Tiro, a name, which remembers the Near Eastern town of Tyre, addresses Jupiter, the main Roman god, Allah, the name given to god by the South-West Semitic People, and El, the name used by the North-West Semitic population, omitting the name of the Christ, may be astonishing, but we should remember the preach of St. Paul on the Aeropag of Athens, which he held before the statue of the unknown god, declaring that this unknown god is the Christ, who comes now to the Athenians. We learn further that the missionaries used the altar stone for the mass and perhaps also for the Christian agape, that he needed the symbol of the cross, evidently without the crucified Christ. It is a mass outside an edifice in the meadows, but later those objects, the mass table and the cross behind, are essential in Christian churches.

9º Perpignan, Roussillon

The Christian altar stone from Perpignan, Roussillon, ancient town Ruscino,15 has an inscription in Iberian script. Lime stone, below: 102 x 60 x 47 cm.

p a4 s2 [r y] š a q h2 n w2 h a4 y /, *fa ‘asara yīšaq hann wa haya(t) Isaac bound brought grace and life.

The upper part is damaged. The three letters and other two missing on the left side, 47 cm., are written in sinistrorse direction. The front part and the right side, 60 cm. are written in dextrorse direction. The back part of the stone is broken. It seems that the already engraved stone has been put wrongly against the wall, so that the inscription on the front part has been repeated. There are traces on the first and last letter of the right side, which let suppose that those letters has been changed afterwards.

15MLH, B 8.1, without inv. n.º, conserved: Palais des rois de Majorque.

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The offer of Isaac by his father Abraham is often used in Christian sermons and writings of the early Fathers of the Church as an example of obedience in comparison with God Father and the Christ.

10º The church at Alcoutim and the altar

A small church has been excavated near to Alcoutim, Béjà, Portugal. A pair of houses has been found in the neighbourhood. The local museum guards an altar stone. The church and the altar are without script.

11º Ginzo de Limia, Orense

The inscription on a votive altar of the Mosteiro de Ribeira, Ginzo de Limia, Orense.16 ,

CROVCI AI TOVDA DIGOE RVFONIA SEVER[I] Rufonia Severia dignified here all the crosses.

12º Barcelos, Braga17

ARCVIVS / ARAM POS[V]IT PRO VO[T]/O DOM[INO] / COROVCI AV ESVCA / SERVIS D[E]I VBICV[E] / TERRARV[M] The cross-bow soldier placed the votive altar for the Lord. He also drove in the cross for all servants of God wherever on earth.

13º Viana del Bollo, Orense18

C[O]RVCI A[I] MVNNIAEGA / ANTISTIVS / PLACIDVS / CILI. FILIVS / ALT ERNI AI S3w2M-VS / V. S. L. M. The cross here made by his hands Antistus Placidus son, of Cili(us), we are in deep peace now (here). He resolved his vote in free mind.

14º Mangualde, Viseu

The inscription on a votive altar of Mangualde, Viseu.19 C-ROVCA-ENILAICVI CLEMENTINVS C-E-L[. . .] A.L.V.S. Clementinus Cel[estinus] embraced the cross, He resolved the vote with free mind. Votive altars were common in Roman cult as attested by many examples to a great number of gods and genii, especially in centres of pilgrimage. The Christians continue these habitudes, offering before the cross. The popular religiosity was 16 Prosper, B. M., 2002, 181, referring to CIL II 2565 and Lorenzo, J., et alii, 1968, Inscripciones Romanas de Galicia, IV, Provincia de Orense, Santiago, C.S.I.C, 94-95, n.º 91. 17 Prosper, B. M., 2002, 183, referring to Garcia, J. M., 1991, Religiões antigas de Portugal, Lisboa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, 308-309, n.º 61 18 Prosper, B. M., 2002, 183, referring to CIL II 2523, and Lorenzo, J. 1968, 93-94, n.º 90. 19 Prosper, B. M., 2002, 184, who refers to Garcia, J. M., 1991, 303- 304, n.º 52.

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evidently tolerated or even encouraged by the hierarchy of the church in order to make the transition easier. The Latin names and formulas appoint perhaps to the 3rd century A.D.

Conclusions There are little architectural remains from the first centuries A.D., but the texts cited above permit to know the essential elements needed for a Christian church. As every new idea stands upon the older achievements, we can expound three main lines. 1º A building depends from the group of people using it. The first churches were evidently small; churches or assembly rooms are only built in cities. 2º The Christian cult needs an altar stone in the form of a table; the thanksgiving or eucharistia as also the agape demand so. The symbol of the Holy Cross is another essential element. 3º The comparison is evident with the older Jewish, Roman or other cult rooms. The older temples had three parts: 1º The water basin for the ritual purification. The place for the baptism by inversion has been built separated from the church, as in Estoi or in Pelusium, Egypt. When later a baptismal font was used, it stood regularly near to the entrance of the church. 2º The altar of immolations was necessary outside in a courtyard. The Christian altar stands inside. 3º The temples had finally the most sacred room, the cell, where the statue of the god stood, or where, in Jewish religion, the holy book, the thora, was conserved. This room was only accessible by the priests. In Christian cult, the cross is placed in the apse and the clergy is sitting in this space. The texts cited above show the altar stone, 9, 10, 12. The small votive altars, 10-14, are in the tradition of votive offerings in Roman temples. The cross as a main part of the cult is attested by 9, 11-14. Embracing or dignifying the cross was a symbolic act, which joined offering and prayer, accepting obedience of God’s will. The place for the clergy is marked by 1, 8. The room and the altar stone was decorated by Christian doctrines based on Bible texts, 2-5, 12, which were repeated on grave stones, 6, 7.

Bibliography

Epigraphy can be consulted in many texts of the site http://www.herbertsauren.netau.net The vocabulary permits the identification of words and their interpretation following to the dictionaries. The texts note the transliteration and the vocalized form. More bibliographical information by the foot notes. Hoftijzer, J., Jongeling, K., 1995, Dictionary of the North-West Semitic Inscriptions, Leiden, Brill. Kazimirski, A. de Biberstein, 1860, Dictionnaire Árabe – Français, Paris, Maisonneuve et Cie. MLH : cf. : Untermann, J. Nw.: cf.: Hoftijzer, J. Sw.: cf.: Kazimirski, A. Untermann, J. 1980, 1990, 1997, Monumenta Linguarum Hispanicarum. Dr. L. Reichert. Wiesbaden.