O

A.P.H.A. Publications de la Mission archéologique de

l'Université de Liège en Syrie

TELL AMARNA (SYRIE) V

LA BASILIQUE BYZANTINE
ET SES MOSAÏQUES

édité par
Önhan TUNCA, Tomasz WALISZEWSKI & Vassilis KONIORDOS

Peeters
Louvain · Paris · Walpole (MA)
2011
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT
OF THE CHURCH AT TELL AMARNA

Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA *

4.1. General presentation

The discovery of the basilica in 1998 at Tell Amarna was an unexpected
find and is especially interesting because these are the only Early Byzantine basil-
ica and the only mosaic that we know of in this site. The basilica therefore adds
one more church to the Early Byzantine monuments known hitherto in the area,
while its mosaic pavement offers specialists another fine example of mosaic
production in Syria, where this art flourished and prospered throughout Late
Antiquity. Indeed, it is worth noting that black-and-white pebble mosaics deco-
rated with a checkered pattern (now ruined), dating to the VIIIth century BC, were
discovered many years ago in the north Syrian towns of Arslan Tash and Tell
Ahmar, respectively a few kilometres east and south of Tell Amarna 1, while at
Tell Ahmar excavations conducted since 1987 have brought to light similar
pebble mosaics ; one of these, discovered under the Neo-Assyrian palace, is also
deco-rated with a black-and-white checkered pattern 2. These finds are very
important for the history of mosaic generally, since they are among the few early
decorated pebble mosaics that we know of to date 3, and they also indicate the
antiquity of mosaic art in the area of Tell Amarna.
The Middle Euphrates valley, in which Tell Amarna is located―a histori-
cal nodal point both in the Hellenistic and Roman periods 4 and in Late
Antiquity 5―was in the province of Augusta Euphratensis (Euphratesia), which
was created between 330 and 350, with its capital at Hierapolis, which also
became an ecclesiastical metropolis 6. We know of a considerable number of
mosaics of Late Antiquity from Euphratesia 7, while the abundant finds at Zeugma

* University of Thessaloniki.
1 SALZMANN, 1982, p. 4-5, 6-7, 84 No. 15, p. 114 Nos. 127-128, Taf. 1.2-3, Karte 1, for
bibliography also ; DUNBABIN, 1999, p. 5.
2 BUNNENS, 1997, p. 22, Fig. 4 ; ROOBAERT & BUNNENS, 1998, p. 172, Fig. 13.
3 For the origin of the mosaic, see : SALZMANN, 1982, p. 4-8 ; DUNBABIN, 1999, p. 5 ;
ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA, 2003, p. 11.
4 GATIER, 2005.
5 ALPI, 2005. See also DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, carte 3.
6 The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, New York and Oxford 1991, vol. 2, p. 748, incl.
bibliography. See also HONIGMANN, 1925, p. 74 ; HELLENKEMPER, 1978, p. 389-391,
Textabb. I ; ALPI, 2005, p. 33-34, 36 Fig. 19.
7 See e.g. HARPER, 1975 and DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 69-87 (Dibsi Faraj) ; KALLA, 1999
(Tell Bî‘a) ; BALTY J., 2008 (Nabgha). See also DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 494-496, carte
3. For mosaics of northern Euphratesia, see CANDEMİR & WAGNER, 1978, incl. further
bibliography.

Tell Amarna (Syrie) V. La basilique byzantine et ses mosaïques

édité par Ö. Tunca, T. Waliszewski et V. Koniordos
Louvain · Paris · Walpole (MA) 2011
102 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

in recent years bear witness to the high standard attained by the mosaic artists of
this area under the Roman Empire 8.
Of the three-aisled basilica at Tell Amarna, only the east end survives : the
apse, flanked north and south by the two pastophoria 9, and the east half of the
aisles and nave (Pl. 4.1a). The excavators used the mosaic pavement, which cov-
ered all these spaces, and the building’s surviving walls as the basis for their pro-
posed reconstruction of the entire church and the decoration of the floors of its
various parts 10. Since the site on which the monument was discovered is privately
owned, all the mosaics have been detached, lifted, and conserved in the laboratory
to preserve them.
The investigations indicate that the church was probably not built on
virgin ground, but that another building―of unknown purpose and probably of
the Roman period―occupied the site before the Christian monument. This
suggests that there was a previous occupation here before the basilica was built 11.
Further-more, an earlier Phase II has been identified in the church itself : when
the mosaic in the apse was lifted, remains of an older mosaic were discovered in
the north part of the apse 12. The surviving part is decorated with geometrical
motifs and with a Greek inscription, the text of which was probably divided
between two tabulae ansatae and two of the semi-octagons that make up the
composition in this part of the mosaic (Pl. 4.1b and 4.2a) 13. Although the
condition of this earlier mosaic is such that the text of the inscriptions cannot be
restored, the surviving letters and words indicate that it was a dedicatory
inscription expressing prayers for the donors of the church or the mosaic 14. A
similar case is that of an Early Byzantine mosaic in northern Euphratesia, west of
the village of İkizkuyu (now in Turkey), in which the dedicatory inscription is
divided between two tangent octagons, which are in fact rendered in a similar way
to those at Tell Amarna (Pl. 4.2b) 15.
The Phase II of the church and of the mosaic could be dated to towards the
end of the IVth century or the very beginning of the Vth century 16.

8 CAMPBELL & ERGEÇ, 1998 ; BAŞGELEN & ERGEÇ, 2000 ; ABADIE-REYNAL, 2002 ;
ÖNAL, 2002 ; HUMPHREY, 2003 ; ERGEÇ, 2007.
9 For these spaces in the Syrian churches, see DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 528-532.
10 T. WALISZEWSKI, Chap. 2, § 2.11 and Pl. 2.11.
11 T. WALISZEWSKI, Chap. 2, § 2.2.
12 T. WALISZEWSKI, Chap. 2, § 2.5. When mosaics were detached and lifted from other parts of
the church a limestone floor was revealed, probably contemporary with the earliest mosaic in
the apse (T. WALISZEWSKI, Chap. 2, § 2.5).
13 Cf. P.-L. GATIER, Chap. 6. For a proposed reconstruction of the Phase II of the apse mosaic,
see T. WALISZEWSKI, Chap. 2, § 2.5.
14 P.-L. GATIER, Chap. 6. For dedicatory inscriptions in octagons and other geometrical shapes,
see, e.g., ZETTLER, 2001, passim.
15 CANDEMİR & WAGNER, 1978, p. 226-227, Textabb. 7, Taf. XCVIII, Abb. 43.
16 T. WALISZEWSKI, Chap. 2, § 2.9.
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT 103

In upper Phase I of the Tell Amarna church, mosaic covered the aisles and
the nave, the two pastophoria, and the apse―i.e. as much as survives of all the
spaces (Pl. 4.1a) 17. Although the mosaic is in a mediocre state of preservation, the
motifs are recognizable everywhere. The mosaics in the south pastophorion and
the south aisle are preserved best ; and quite a large part of the mosaic in the apse
and the nave survives, while in the north pastophorion only the south section of
the mosaic survives and fragments in the north-west corner. The least well-
preserved mosaic is in the north aisle, at the east end of which a small part of the
main motif survives, while rather more of the border is discernible 18.
A stylistic comparison of the mosaics of the two Phases of the church
finds considerable differences, even though the motifs are drawn from the
geometrical repertory in both cases.. The surviving geometrical decoration of the
mosaic of the older Phase II is simple, in terms of both design and palette. It can
be distin-guished linearly rendered fish-scales and tangent octagons, which seem
to form a kind of cross (Pl. 4.1b) 19. But on the later floor a wide variety of
geometrical compositions are used, carefully designed and with strikingly vivid
colours. Even in the simplest of these compositions, the colour contrasts are
strong and bright. In some places, like the south aisle, the designs are complex
and created out of interlacing patterns and solids in perspective. In the panels in
the same aisle and, to a lesser extent, in the rest of the mosaics, the rainbow style
intensifies the vivid chromatic effect.
Both the almost exclusive use of geometrical decoration (there are only a few
stylised vegetal motifs) and an investigation of the discrete compositions in the
various parts of the monument in comparison with the other known Syrian
mosaics and with the mosaics in the Eastern Empire more generally point to a
dating for the upper Phase I in the first half of the Vth century AD. The dating sug-
gested by iconographical and stylistic criteria is confirmed by the discovery of a
coin of Honorius in the limestone debris that remained of the substructure under-
lying the mosaic pavements in the south aisle 20.

4.2. The Mosaics

4.2.1. The mosaic in the apse
The main motif in the apse consists of interlaced circles and squares on a
yellow ground, the filling motifs in the geometrical shapes being rosettes,
lozenges, and poised squares 21. The composition, which uniformly covers the

17 The surviving mosaic covers a total area of 104 m2 (T. WALISZEWSKI, Chap. 3, § 3.1).
18 Cf. Pl. 4.22a where the entire uncovered mosaic can be seen, apart from a small section to the
west (T. WALISZEWSKI, Chap. 3, § 3.3.2).
19 T. WALISZEWSKI, Chap. 3, § 3.2.1.
20 T. WALISZEWSKI, Chap. 2, § 2.9.
21 BALMELLE et al., 1985, Pl. 156e. For the detailed description of the mosaics, see
T. WALISZEWSKI, Chap. 3, § 3.3.1.
104 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

entire semicircle of the apse, is bordered by a band of alternately upright and

inverted lotus flowers (Pl. 4.1a and 4.3) 22.
The border motif is very popular in the mosaics of the eastern
Mediterranean in the Vth and VIth centuries 23. It is seen at Antioch (Pl. 4.4a) 24
and elsewhere in Syria 25, in the ancient provinces of Palestine and Arabia
(Pl. 4.4b and 4.17b) 26, in Cyprus (Pl. 4.5a) 27, and in a number of mosaics in the
Balkan Peninsula (Pl. 4.5b) 28 ; more rarely it is used in Early Byzantine mosaics
in North Africa 29.
A rarer and more elaborate variant of the lotus flowers border, in which
the lotus flowers are combined with an undulating band rendered in perspective 30,

22 BALMELLE et al., 1985, Pl. 62a, c, e.

23 For the origin and development of the motif, see LEVI, 1947, p. 453 ff., Fig. 174. For its
spread, see DASZEWSKI & MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 104-110.
24 See e.g. LEVI, 1947, p. 311-312, Pl. CXXIVa, CXXVb, CXXVIa, b, e, and CİMOK, 2000,
Fig. p. 123 (house of the Buffet Supper, upper level) ; LEVI, 1947, p. 316, Pl. CXXIXd
(Barracks house).
25 See e.g. BALTY, CHÉHADÉ & VAN RENGEN, 1969, p. 14-15, Pl. XIII.2 (Herbet Mûqa,
church) ; HARPER, 1975, p. 334, Fig. 13b, and DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 82, Fig. 52,
Pl. h.-t. 2 (Dibsi Faraj, church-martyrium) ; BALTY J., 1977, p. 114-116 Nos. 52, 53,
Fig. p. 115 (Apameia, building with triklinos) ; CANDEMİR & WAGNER 1978, p. 207-209,
Textabb. I, Taf. LXXVIII.8 (Akdeğirmen Hüyük, church), p. 219, 220, 223-225,
Taf. XCII.32-6 (Hülümen, church) ; DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 89, Fig. 56 (Goubellé,
church), p. 106, Fig. 72 (Ḥûarte, North church), p. 128, Fig. 102, Pl. h.-t. 6 (Hir esh-Sheikh,
church), p. 140, Fig. 111, Pl. h.-t. 8 (Houad, church of St George), p. 170, Fig. 139, 140,
Pl. h.-t. 9 (El-Koursi, basilica).
26 See e.g. OVADIAH & OVADIAH, 1987, p. 98-99 No. 168, Pl. CIII, CIV.1 (Kh. Samra,
church) ; TALGAM, 1999, p. 113, Fig. 18, colour Pl. III.1 (Khirbet ed-Deir, monastery, burial
chapel) ; HUMBERT et al., 2000, Fig. p. 121, 123 (Gaza, church of Jabaliyah) ; PICCIRILLO,
1993, p. 175, Fig. 228 (Mount Nebo, chapel of the priest John) ; AL-QUDAH, 2005, p. 456,
Fig. 3 (district of Ajlun, Rajib, north chapel). For a list of other examples, see DASZEWSKI &
MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 108 No. 53.
27 PELEKANIDIS, 1974, p. 143 No. 136 (Kourion, villa of Eustolios), p. 145 No. 138, Pl. 131
(Nea Paphos, basilica of Limeniotissa), p. 146 No. 139, Pl. 132 (Nea Paphos, basilica of
Chrysopolitissa), p. 151 No. 147, Pl. 141α (Peyia, basilica A). See also DASZEWSKI &
MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 104-107.
28 See e.g. PELEKANIDIS, 1974, p. 56 No. 17, Pl. 15 (Karpathos, Arkassa, basilica of St
Anastasia) ; ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA, 1987, p. 50 No. 3, Pl. 8γ, 9α, and p. 51 No. 4, Pl.
11α, β (Argos, buildings on Gounari Street and in Paliopyrga), p. 59-60 No. 10, Pl. 49
(Epidauros, basilica), p. 105 No. 46, Pl. 148γ, 149β (Sparta, building on Tripoleos Street), p.
145-146 No. 85, Pl. 230 (Trezina, basilica) ; DOUKATA-DEMERTZI, 1999, p. 20, Fig. 9
(Maroneia, basilica at Paliochora) ; MUCAJ & RAYNAUD, 2005, p. 391, Fig. 7, 9a (Byllis,
basilicas A, B).
29 See e.g. BEN ABED-BEN KHADER, 2003, Pl. 172 (Karthago), Pl. 387 (Museum of Enfida) ;
DI VITA et al., 1999, Taf. on p. 161 (Sabratha, basilica).
30 BALMELLE et al., 1985, Pl. 65g. LEVI, 1947, Fig 174.11.
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT 105

is also encountered in the mosaics of the East 31 ; while it is also used in the Vth
and VIth centuries by mosaic workshops of eastern Macedonia (Pl. 4.6a) 32,
Thrace 33 and Nea Epirus (Albania) 34, and by workshops of northern Africa 35
and the northern provinces of the Empire 36. Furthermore, both this variant and
the plain band of alternately upright and inverted lotus flowers are also used by
the mosaic artists of northern Italy in the Early Byzantine period 37.
Although the interlaced circles and squares that are the principal motifs in
the apse form a composition that is not usually transmitted in precisely the same
form as in the Tell Amarna church, it does belong in the group of interlaced pat-
terns that were particularly favoured by the east Mediterranean mosaic workshops
of the Early Byzantine period. All the same, the motif in the Tell Amarna apse is
very similar to the mosaic in the so-called house of the Nile Festival at Sepphoris
in Galilee (Vth century) 38, as well as to the mosaic of the second phase of the
Chrysopolitissa basilica at Nea Paphos in Cyprus, which is dated to the VIth cen-
tury (Pl. 4.6b) 39 ; in the latter monument the motif is combined with a border of
alternately upright and inverted lotus flowers, in the same way as in the apse
mosaic of Tell Amarna. This composition was very probably introduced into the
mosaic repertory of the East in the Vth century 40.

31 See e.g. HARRISON & LAWSON, 1967, p. 217, Pl. LV, LVII (Constantinople, building of
Vilâyet) ; LUX, 1966, p. 66-67, Taf. 9B (Jordan, Gadara, Erakleides bath) ; SCHAPIRO &
AVI-YONAH, 1960, p. 23, Pl. XV, XVI (Israel, villa of Beth Guvrin) ; DASZEWSKI &
MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 105, Fig. 25, 26 (Cyprus, basilicas of Chrysopolitissa and
Limeniotissa at Nea Paphos) ; ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA, 2007, p. 316, Fig. 27α
(Constantinople, building of Ortaköy).
32 ZIKOS N., Aρχαιολογικόν Δελτίον 39 (1984), Xρον., p. 286, Pl. 144b (Philippi, basilica C
extra muros). E.G. STIKAS, Πρακτικά της εν Aθήναις Aρχαιολογικής Eταιρείας 1973, p. 36,
Pl. 34b, 36a, 37a (Amphipolis, basilica B). SPIRO, 1978, p. 623-625 No. 220, Pl. 691, 693,
695 (Amphipolis, basilica C).
33 Maroneia, basilica at Paliohora, narthex, unpublished photo.
34 MUCAJ & REYNAUD, 2005, p. 389, 391, Fig. 2a, c, d, 7, 8 (Byllis, basilicas A, D).
35 Regarding this motif in mosaics of the Eastern and the Western Empire, see LEVI, 1947,
p. 456 and n. 204 ; DASZEWSKI & MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 108-111, incl. bibliography. For
North Africa see also DUVAL, 1976, p. 44, Fig. 15 (Kélibia) ; DUNBABIN, 1978, p. 62, 256
(Djemila 4c), Pl. XIX.45, 121, 251 (Carthage 16), Pl. XLIII.110, 170, 274 (Thuburbo Maius
7), Pl. LXVII.171.
36 See e.g. BALMELLE & LAPART, 1987, p. 182, Fig. 9, 10 (France, district of Valence-sur-
Baïse).
37 See e.g. BRUSIN & ZOVATTO, 1957, p. 434-435, Fig. 22, p. 486, Fig. 57, 58 (Grado) ;
FARIOLI, 1975, p. 43, Fig. 18, p. 95, Fig. 38, 40 (Ravenna) ; BERTI, 1976, p. 57-59 Nos. 28,
29, tav. XXIX, p. 64 No. 38, tav. XXXIV, p. 75-76 tav. IX, XLIII, XLIV (Ravenna) ;
BALDINI LIPPOLIS, 2004, p. 103, Fig. 154, 155 (Ravenna) ; FARIOLI CAMPANATI, 2006,
p. 566, Fig. 4 (Pesaro), Fig. 5 (Ravenna).
38 NETZER & WEISS, 1994, p. 46 ff., Fig. p. 46. WEISS & TALGAM, 2002, p. 89, Fig. 1, 26.
39 PELEKANIDIS, 1974, No. 139, Pl. 132, 133α. DASZEWSKI & MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 142,
Fig. 23. MICHAELIDES, 1992, p. 97 No. 54, Fig. p. 96.
40 MICHAELIDES, 1992, loc. cit.
106 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

4.2.2. The mosaic in the north pastophorion

The north pastophorion is adorned with a semis of rosebuds, in scales
without outlines 41, a motif that spread over the entire space―as the surviving
sections show―while the border consists of a scrolling tendril of vineleaves
(Pl. 4.1a and 4.7). Unlike the border motif, which is very common in mosaic
pavements all over the Empire throughout the Roman imperial period until the
end of Late Antiquity, the principal motif in the north pastophorion was very
likely devised by the mosaicists of the Syrian workshops, who probably drew
their inspiration from fabrics. The workshops seem to have introduced it into the
mosaic repertory in the first quarter of the Vth century 42. The frequency with
which it is encountered after this period in the Syrian mosaics really is striking. A
large number of examples is found in Antioch and its environs 43, and also in
Apameia 44 and other areas of Syria 45. It is worth noting that, while the semis of
rosebuds is widespread in the mosaics of the areas neighbouring Syria, such as
Lebanon (ancient Phoenicia, Pl. 4.8a) 46, and the ancient provinces of Palestine
and Arabia (Pl. 4.8b and 4.9a) 47―where it is encountered into the VIIth cen-

41 BALMELLE et al., 1985, Pl. 219c.

42 Generally for the motif, its variants, and its development, see LEVI, 1947, p. 436 ff.,
Fig. 167 ; BALTY J., 1995, p. 97 ff.
43 See e.g. LEVI, 1947, p. 440, Pl. CXXVIc (house of the Buffet Supper, upper level), p. 443,
Fig. 144, Pl. CXXXVIIId, e, f, and CAMPBELL, 1988, IV A 22, Pl. 160 (mosaics in the
district of Arab Darasi and mosaic in Sector 14-R) ; LEVI, 1947, p. 443, Pl. XCIIa, CXLd,
and CAMPBELL, 1988, IV A 20b, Pl. 152, 154 (bath F) ; KONDOLEON, 2000, p. 208-210
No. 96, Fig. 1 on p. 209, and CİMOK, 2000, p. 305 (house of the Bird Rinceau, upper level).
For the environs of Antioch, see LEVI, 1947, p. 443, Pl. CXLIb, c, and DONCEEL-VOÛTE,
1988, p. 175, Fig. 145, Pl. h.-t. 10, and CAMPBELL, 1988, IV A 3, Pl. 39 (Ma‘chouka,
church) ; DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 28, Fig. 8 (Kaoussie, church).
44 See e.g. BALTY J., 1997, p. 103, Fig. 22 (maison du cerf). In the mosaic in the Grande
Colonnade in the same town, various types of florets are used as a background to scenes with
animals running free : see DULIÈRE, 1974, p. 46-48, plan dépliant, Pl. X, XI, XXXII,
XXXIII, XLVIII, XLIX. The use of florets in association with animal or other representations
is also encountered in many other Syrian mosaics : see e.g. LEVI, 1947, p. 442, Pl. CXXXIV,
and CİMOK, 2000, p. 289 (Antioch, house of the Phoenix, upper level), p. 291 (Antioch,
church outside the city walls) ; DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 72, Fig. 43, Pl. h.-t. 1 (Dibsi
Faraj, church), p. 142, Fig. 116, Pl. h.-t. 8 (Houad, church of St George), p. 147, Fig. 119
(Houeidjit Halaoua, church), p. 180, Fig. 149, 150 (Mezra‘a el-‘Oulia, church) ; BALTY J.,
1997, p. 103, Fig. 24 (Apameia, maison du cerf).
45 See e.g. CANDEMİR & WAGNER, 1978, p. 226-227, Textabb. 7 (İkizkuyu) ; DONCEEL-
VOÛTE, 1988, p. 170-171, Fig. 142, Pl. h.-t. 9 (el-Koursi, church), p. 309, Fig. 303, 304
(Soueida, basilica).
46 See e.g. CHÉHAB, 1957-1959, p. 62-63, Pl. XXVIII (villa of Jenaḥ), p. 175, Pl. CXIII.2 (‘Ain
es-Samaké) ; DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 355, Fig. 341, Pl. h.-t. 14 (basilica of Jiyé), p. 374,
Fig. 357, 369 (Khân Khaldé, upper church), p. 407, Fig. 400 (Nébi Younès).
47 See e.g. KRAELING, 1938, p. 314, Pl. LXIb (Gerasa, baths of Placcus), p. 332, Pl. LXXIVa, b
(Gerasa, church of SS. Cosmas and Damianus) ; DAUPHIN & EDELSTEIN, 1984, Pl. VII, IX,
XI, and Eidem, 1993, Fig. p. 52 (Nahariya, church) ; MAGEN & TALGAM, 1990, p. 129,
Fig. 49 (Ma‘ale Adummim, Monastery of Martyrius) ; TALGAM, 1999, p. 112, Fig. 2
(Khirbet ed-Deir, church) ; PICCIRILLO, 1993, p. 151, Fig. 193, 200 (Mount Nebo, basilica of
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT 107

tury 48―and of Cyprus 49, it is not used exactly the same, as far as I know, in the
wider geographical area of the Mediterranean 50. This means that it did not go
beyond the boundaries of the area where it was created, but remained with the
local workshops. However, the related motif of florets in scales outlined in a
darker colour spread much more widely 51.

4.2.3. The mosaic in the south pastophorion

The south pastophorion, which survives almost intact, is paved with a uni-
form geometrical composition of tangent octagons defining poised squares and
containing small straight squares 52 formed with solid colour. The sides of the
octagons consist of poised black tesserae. The border here is a simple two-strand
guilloche, the circles of which contain poised squares (Pl. 4.1a, 4.9b and 4.10a).
The ultimate aesthetic effect of this space depends on the use of colour.
The octagons are alternately rendered in white and yellow, while the poised
squares are all done in the same greyish-green colour. Two colours are used for
the little squares in the centre of the octagons, red and greyish-green, the former
in the yellow and the latter in the white octagons.
Although patterns of tangent octagons defining poised squares are very
common in the geometrical repertory of mosaic pavements, certain details of the
execution of the motif in the Tell Amarna church―such as the poised tesserae in
the sides of the octagons and the square filling motif without an outline, which is
done in solid colour―are not usually seen in the rendering of this common motif.
The pattern of octagons seen in mosaics from Antioch (Pl. 4.10b) 53 and
Apameia 54, and more rarely from other areas 55, is similar, but not identical.

Moses, Theotokos chapel), p. 236, Fig. 338, 373, 376 (Umm al-Rasas - Kastron Mefaa,
church of the Lions) ; WEISS & TALGAM, 2002, p. 87, 89, Fig. 1, 19, 25 (Sepphoris-Zippori,
house of the Nile Festival) ; HUMBERT et al., 2000, p. 124-125, Fig. p. 125 (Gaza, church of
Jabaliyah) ; TZAFERIS, 2001, p. 11, Fig. 16 on Hebrew section p. 12 (Kafr el-Makr, church) ;
AL-QUDAH, 2005, p. 456, Fig. 3 (district of Ajlun, Rajib, north chapel).
48 LUX, 1967, p. 35, 39-40, Plan 2F, Taf. 14B, and PICCIRILLO, 1993, p. 313, Fig. 635 (Riḥāb,
church of St Menas, dated to AD 635) ; AL-QUDAH, 2005, p. 457, Fig. 6 (district of Ajlun,
Mar Liyas, basilica).
49 See e.g. MEGAW, 1976, p. 370, Fig. 8 (Kourion, episcopal basilica) ; DASZEWSKI &
MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 131, Fig. 54 (Kourion, public building).
50 A mosaic with a stylised form of the semis of rosebuds can be seen in the Bardo Museum in
Tunis. A similar motif is also found in other mosaics of North Africa ; see e.g. DUVAL &
LÉZINE, 1959, p. 88, Fig. 13a (Karthago) and NOVELLO, 2005, p. 824, Fig. 3 (Kélibia).
51 DUVAL & LÉZINE, 1959, p. 88-91. ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA, 1984b, p. 60.
DASZEWSKI & MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 130-134. NOVELLO, 2005.
52 BALMELLE et al., 1985, Pl. 163c.
53 See e.g. LEVI, 1947, p. 289-291, Pl. CXIXd, and CAMPBELL, 1988, IV A 15e, Pl. 111 (bath
C) ; LEVI, 1947, p. 283-285, Pl. CXIIIb, and CAMPBELL, 1988, IV A 18h, Pl. 138 (Kaoussie,
church).
54 See e.g. DULIÈRE, 1974, p. 29, Pl. V.1-3.
55 See e.g. DYGGVE & EGGER, 1939, p. 60-61, Abb. 71.6, 73, 91.B1 (Balkan peninsula, Salona,
Dalmatia, basilica).
108 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

In both pastophoria the careful selection and interplay of colours, the use
of a single motif, and its proper design create harmonious ensembles that
resemble two colourful carpets.
It is worth noting that in the north pastophorion the mosaicist left a care-
fully calculated undecorated space between the band of the border and the semis
of rosebuds (Pl. 4.7), exactly the same as the undecorated strip in the south pasto-
phorion between the band of the border and the geometrical motif of the octagons
(Pl. 4.9b and 4.10a).

4.2.4. The mosaic in the nave

The composition that decorates the nave consists of looped circles,

ellipses, and squares 56. The circles contain smaller circles, the ellipses smaller
ellipses, while each square contains an “open solid” on a black ground. The com-
position uniformly fills the east panel of the nave, which is bordered by a row of
scalloped squares containing rosebuds (Pl. 4.1a, 4.11 and 4.12) 57. To the east of
the east border a narrower band is decorated with a row of tangent poised squares,
the sides of which consist of stylised flowers, making a floral trellis (Pl. 4.11) 58.
The scalloped squares in the border are another motif that was widely used
by the mosaic workshops of the eastern Mediterranean―as a surface composition
or as a border motif―in the Early Byzantine period, and more so in the VIth cen-
tury. One might say that this too, like the semis of rosebuds, is a motif that was
created and cherished by the workshops of this area. The earliest known example
comes from the Apameia synagogue, which dates to 391/392 59, while later on, in
the Vth and VIth centuries, it is encountered in mosaic pavements at Antioch 60 and
other Syrian cities 61. The same motif was also widely used in the mosaics of the
Lebanon 62, Cyprus (Pl. 4.13a) 63, and the ancient provinces of Arabia and
Palestine (Pl. 4.13b) 64, which date to the same period, up to the first half of the
VIIth century 65.

56 BALMELLE et al., 1985, Pl. 149c.

57 Ibid., Pl. 219f.
58 LEVI, 1947, p. 438, Fig. 167B.
59 BALTY J.-Ch., 1981, p. 144 Fig. 156.
60 LEVI, 1947, p. 357, Pl. CXXXVIIa, b, CAMPBELL, 1988, IV A 19, p. 99, Pl. 140, and
CİMOK, 2000, p. 303 (‘Magdough’ mosaic). See also LEVI, 1947, p. 444 and n. 127.
61 See e.g. DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 130, Fig. 104, Pl. h.-t. 6 (basilica of Hir esh-Sheikh).
62 See e.g. CHÉHAB, 1957-1959, p. 175, Pl. CXIII.1, and DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 328,
Fig. 313, 315 (‘Ain es-Samaké, church) ; ALPI, KOWALSKI & WALISZEWSKI, 1998, p. 241,
Fig. 3, 6 (Anâne, church).
63 See e.g. PELEKANIDIS, 1974, No. 145, Pl. 135α, and MICHAELIDES 1992, p. 78-79 No. 43
(Aigialoussa, basilica of Hagia Trias) ; DASZEWSKI & MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 135, Fig. 46
(bath of Eustolios in Kourion), p. 135, Fig. 59 (Nea Paphos, basilica of Chrysopolitissa).
64 See e.g. KRAELING, 1938, p. 322, Pl. LXVa (Gerasa, West end of Synagogue church),
p. 335, Pl. LXXVIa (Gerasa, church of SS. Peter and Paul) ; LUX, 1966, p. 66-67, Plan 2,
Taf. 9B (Gadara, Erakleides bath) ; PICCIRILLO, 1993, p. 129, Fig. 146 (Madaba, church of
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT 109

The presence of scalloped squares in the mosaic in the basilica of

St Anastasia at Arkasa on Karpathos (Pl. 4.14a) 66―the most southerly of the
Dodecanese―is not fortuitous, considering that this is a motif that is seen in no
other mosaic anywhere in Greece. The island’s geographical position suggests
that the Karpathian mosaicists must have been influenced by the mosaics of the
south-eastern Mediterranean 67―though this influence does not seem to have
gone beyond the confines of the island.
In the form it takes in the Tell Amarna church, the main pattern of looped
circles, ellipses, and squares in the east panel in the nave was probably introduced
into the mosaics of the Eastern Empire in the Vth century, though it spread most
widely in the VIth. It is found all over the eastern Mediterranean : in Syria 68, the
Lebanon (Pl. 4.14b) 69, the ancient provinces of Palestine and Arabia 70, Asia
Minor 71, and Cyprus (Pl. 4.15a) 72, while it is not seen in the mosaics of other
areas, such as Greece or the Balkans more generally. It had a very long life-span
in the mosaics of the East, for in the provinces of Palestine and Arabia it is found
in the 6th and 7th and into the early VIIIth century (Pl. 4.15b) 73.

Al-Khadir), p. 148, Fig. 190, 193 (Mount Nebo, basilica of Moses), p. 202, Fig. 319 (Al-
Dayr, church) ; OVADIAH & OVADIAH, 1987, p. 11 No. 1, Pl. I (‘Agur, church), p. 70
No. 96, Pl. LXXXII (Herodium-Lower City, church) ; MAGEN & TALGAM, 1990, p. 119,
Fig. 36, 37a (Ma‘ale Adummim, Monastery of Martyrius) ; AVIAM, 2001, p. 9, Fig. 9 on
Hebrew section p. 9 (Shavé Ẓiyyon, north church) ; WEISS & TALGAM, 2002, p. 88, Fig. 1,
21 (Sepphoris-Zippori, house of the Nile Festival).
65 LUX, 1967, p. 35, 40, Plan 2.I, Taf. 14A, and PICCIRILLO, 1993, p. 313, Fig. 632, 634, 635
(Riḥāb, church of St Menas, dated to AD 635).
66 PELEKANIDIS, 1974, No. 17, Pl. 18α.
67 ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA, 1984b, p. 64, tav. 11a-b, and Eadem, 1991, p. 57 n. 94, for
further literature regarding the spread of the motif. For the same composition, see also
DASZEWSKI & MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 135-138.
68 LEVI, 1947, p. 462, Pl. LXXXIVc, CXXXVI, and CAMPBELL, 1988, IV A 24c, p. 93,
Pl. 170, 172 (Antioch, house of Aion) ; DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1994, p. 208, Pl. CXXVI.1 (from
northern Syria in the Museum of Aleppo).
69 CHÉHAB, 1957-1959, p. 61, 76, Pl. XXVII (villa of Jenaḥ), p. 93, Pl. XLVI (Zahrani,
church), p. 137-138, Pl. LXXXVII (villa of Aw’zai) ; cf. DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 430,
Fig. 436, Pl. h.-t. 18 (Zahrani).
70 See below n.73.
71 CAMPBELL, 1995, p. 133, Fig. 13 (Korykos). Eadem, 1998, p. 25, Pl. X, 116-118
(Anemurium, church of the Holy Apostles). In the same area of Cilicia (Misis-Mopsuestia,
basilica) one ‘unit’ from this pattern is used as a central composition (BUDDE, 1969, p. 58,
Fig. 27).
72 DASZEWSKI & MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 141, Fig. 17 (basilica of Kourion and building under
the basilica of Soloi).
73 See e.g. OVADIAH & OVADIAH, 1987, p. 74-75 No. 107, Pl. XC.1 (Jericho, church of Tell
Hassan) ; PICCIRILLO, 1993, p. 238, Fig. 383 (Kastron Mefaa, church of St Stephen), p. 266-
267, Fig. 454, 480, 484 (Al-Quwaysmah, lower church), p. 276, Fig. 571 (Gerasa, chapel of
Elias, Maria, and Soreg), p. 312, Fig. 633 (Riḥāb, church of St Peter). For St Stephen in
Kastron Mefaa cf. PICCIRILLO, 1994, p. 149-153, Fig. 45-48 ; OGNIBENE, 2002, p. 88 ff.,
p. 327 ff.
110 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

The composition also appears in a number of variants 74 : for instance, the

ellipses replaced by lozenges 75, the squares by quatrefoils 76 or circles 77, the
squares not straight but poised 78. In the Monastery of Tell Bî‘a in Northern Syria,
instead of squares there are circles, except for a single square in which a cross
stands out with the letters A–Ω (Pl. 4.16a) 79. Interestingly, the variant in which
the squares are replaced by circles is also encountered in a number of mosaics in
Athens, which have been ascribed to a mosaic workshop that was active in the
city in the first half of the Vth century (Pl. 4.16b) 80. The influence of this
workshop has also been detected in other nearby areas in central Greece 81.
Furthermore, one motif, which might be regarded as the original basis of
the composition in the Tell Amarna nave 82―where no squares are used, only
circles and ellipses that are linked together without intersecting―is known in the
West from the Roman imperial period 83. Nonetheless, it is not found in the
mosaics of the western Mediterranean in the form in which it appears after the
Vth century in the mosaics of the East, apart from in northern Italy, where it is
included in the repertory of the workshops in the VIth century (Pl. 4.17a) 84. Also,
most of the variants mentioned are found both in the mosaics of the eastern
Mediterranean (Pl. 4.17b and 4.18a-b) 85 and in mosaics of northern Italy 86.
The “open solids” that are used as single filling motifs in the squares in the
principal composition in the nave deserve a brief mention. Solids in general are

74 See also DASZEWSKI & MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 142.

75 BALMELLE et al., 1985, Pl. 149b.
76 Ibid., Pl. 149g.
77 Ibid., Pl. 149f.
78 DASZEWSKI & MICHAELIDES, 1988, p. 142, Fig. 65.
79 KALLA, 1999, p. 138-140, Abb. 10-11.
80 ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA, 1987, p. 9-21, esp. p. 11-12, 123-124 No. 63, Pl. 185, 186.
81 ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA, 1984a, p. 365-366. Eadem, 1987, p. 20-21.
82 FARIOLI, 1975, p. 77, Fig. 29.
83 SALIES, 1974, p. 16, Bild 4, 61 (Kreissystem V), p. 167-169 (Katalog).
84 OLIVIERI FARIOLI, 1971, p. 444-445, Fig. 14-15, and FARIOLI, 1975, p. 76 ff., Fig. 25, 27,
28 (Ravenna) ; BRUSIN & ZOVATTO, 1957, p. 184, Fig. 80 (Aquileia) ; BERTI, 1976, p. 52-
53 No. 23, Fig. 9, tav. XXIV, p. 76-77 No. 57, Fig. 18, tav. XLV (Ravenna).
85 See e.g. BALTY J., 1997, p. 105, Fig. 26 (Syria, Apameia, maison du cerf) ; Eadem, 2003,
p. 172, Fig. 30 (Syria, Umnir, church) ; SCHAPIRO & AVI-YONAH, 1960, p. 17, Pl. XXI-
XXIII, and OVADIAH & OVADIAH, 1987, p. 139-140 No. 240, dr. J7 on p. 256 (Israel,
Tiberias, bath-house) ; HUMBERT et al., 2000, Fig. p. 121 (Gaza, church of Jabaliyah) ;
CHÉHAB 1957-1959, p. 147, 148-149, Pl. XCVII, XCIX, and DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988,
p. 349, Fig. 334, 338 (Lebanon, Ghiné, church) ; DASZEWSKI & MICHAELIDES, 1988,
p. 142, Fig. 65, and HADJICHRISTOPHI, 1999, p. 96, Pl. XXVI.5 (Cyprus, Nea Paphos,
basilica of Chryssopolitissa). See also BALTY J., 2003, p. 170-172.
86 See e.g. BRUSIN & ZOVATTO, 1957, p. 429-430, Fig. 19, p. 453-458, 481-483, Fig. 33, 34,
55 (Grado). Cf. ZETTLER, 2001, p. 89, Abb. 10, Taf. 13, 207, Taf. 3.
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT 111

among the motifs that are used to give the illusion of the third dimension and are
firm favourites in the mosaic repertory, both in the Roman period and at the time
when the mosaic artists were turning more towards geometrical decoration, after
the mid-IVth century. Solids in perspective are frequently used in mosaics in the
Eastern and the Western Empire, both as surface or linear compositions―the
latter being represented by the mosaic in the south aisle in the Tell Amarna church
(Pl. 4.1a and 4.23a-b) 87―and as isolated filling motifs in the shapes making up
geometrical compositions 88. “Open solids”, though rarer, are also encountered,
usually as filling motifs, in Roman mosaics 89, but mainly in mosaics of Late
Antiquity (Pl. 4.19a-b) 90.
Lastly, the development of the floral trellis, which makes up the west end
of the uncovered mosaic of the nave (Pl. 4.11), may be traced in the Early
Byzantine mosaics of Antioch and the wider area of the eastern Mediterranean,
used mainly as a surface composition 91.

4.2.5. The intercolumnar mosaics

The surviving intercolumnar spaces are adorned with a pattern of poised

squares and with a design in which the artist seeks to imitate wall incrustation or
floor slabs of veined marble (Pl. 4.1a) 92. The imitation of coloured veined marble
in mosaic pavements is a very rare iconographical feature in east Mediterranean
works ; it is more frequently used in northern Africa, where it is observed from the

87 See below p. 114-115.

88 In a characteristic example from Antioch, which is dated to the Roman imperial period, the
solids are repeated as single filling motifs in all the squares in the main composition, as at Tell
Amarna ; see LEVI, 1947, p. 88-89, Fig. 34, Pl. XCVId, and CİMOK, 2000, p. 69 (House of
the Red Pavement).
89 See e.g. BALTY J., 1977, p. 26, No. 8, Fig. p. 27 (Apameia, Roman house in insula V 10) ;
FORLATI-TAMARO et al., 1986, p. 161, Fig. 135 (Aquileia, Roman house).
90 See e.g. HELLENKEMPER SALIES, 1987, p. 307, Abb. 21, 22 (Constantinople, building at
Saraçhane) ; LEVI, 1947, p. 281, Pl. CXIa (Antioch, Yakto complex), p. 317, Pl. CXXXa
(sector DH 27-H) ; BALTY J., 1977, Fig. p. 42 (Syria, Shahba-Philippopolis) ; Eadem, 1995,
p. 61, Pl. XVIII.1 (Apameia, building under the cathedral) ; LUX, 1966, p. 65, Taf. 5A
(Jordan, Gadara, Erakleides bath) ; MICHAELIDES, 1992, p. 82 No. 45, p. 85 No. 46 (Cyprus,
complex of Eustolios at Kourion) ; E. STIKAS, Πρακτικά της εν Aθήναις Aρχαιολογικής
Eταιρείας, 1964, p. 41, Pl. 29a (Greece, Amphipolis, basilica C) ; PELEKANIDIS, 1974, p.
108 No. 85, unpublished photo (Crete, Gortys, triconch at Mitropolis) ; C. KRITZAS,
Aρχαιολογικόν Δελτίον 29 (1973-74), B2, p. 234, dr. 15α (Greece, Argos, house at 7b,
Tripoleos Street) ; BALMELLE & LAPART, 1987, p. 194-195, Fig. 22 (France, district of
Valence-sur-Baïse).
91 For the form and development of the motif, see LEVI, 1947, p. 436 ff., Fig. 167.
92 See on this subject MICHAELIDES, 1985. For the influence of marble pavements and floors in
opus sectile on the pavements in opus tessellatum of the Classical and Hellenistic period, see
GUIMIER-SORBETS, 1994. Pavements covered with splendid polychrome marble slabs,
similar to those imitated in mosaic, see BALMELLE, 2004, p. 171, fig. 5 (Tunisia, Djebel
Oust).
112 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

first half of the second to the first half of the VIth century (Pl. 4.20a-b) 93.
Examples also survive in other parts of the Western Empire (Pl. 4.21a) 94, while in
Greece it is scarcely found, as for instance in the mosaic in the north aisle of the
Early Byzantine basilica at Palaiohora near Maroneia in Thrace (Pl. 4.21b) 95.

4.2.6. The mosaic in the north aisle

The motif in the surviving part of the north aisle is intersecting circles
forming quatrefoils. The centre of the circles is decorated with smaller circles
containing a Solomon’s knot, while the centre of the quatrefoils formed by the
intersecting circles contains poised squares with two small triangular handles,
which are filled with rows of poised coloured tesserae laid in the rainbow style.
The border is decorated with a polychrome loose fan-shaped guilloche with
eyelets 96 on a black ground (Pl. 4.1a and 4.22a).
The pattern of intersecting circles forming quatrefoils 97 is so common in
the repertory of mosaic pavements from the Roman imperial period to the end of
Late Antiquity, irrespective of geography, that it needs no comment. The distinc-
tive feature of the design in the Tell Amarna church is the filling motif in the
centre of the quatrefoils―i.e. the poised square with two small triangular
handles 98. It is a characteristic motif seen in other mosaics in Syria (Pl. 4.22b) 99
and the wider area 100 in Late Antiquity, which is again indicative of the output of
the local workshops. More common and more widespread are a plain square,
without the triangular handles, inscribed in the quatrefoils and a similar motif
with the triangular handles inverted and positioned a short distance away from the

93 MICHAELIDES, 1985. See also ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA, 1980, p. 110, Pl. 56 ;

BLANCHARD-LEMÉE, 1996, p. 268, Fig. 212 (Karthago) ; JEDDI, 2001, p. 172-173 No 109,
Pl. XL.2 (Acholla) ; BEN ABED-BEN KHADER, 2003, p. 481, 536, 539, Fig. 351, 406, 407
and ENNAÏFER & BEN LAZREG, 2005, p. 521, Fig. 4 (baths of Sidi Ali Nasrallah).
94 MICHAELIDES, 1985, p. 156-157, tav. 2.3 (Agrigento, Roman house), 2.4 (Sardinia, casa
dell’Atrio Tetrastilo at Nora), p. 157-158, tav. 3.4 (Rome, ‘villa Grande’ on the via Appia),
p. 160-161, tav. 6.3 (Sicily, villa of Piazza Armerina), p. 161, tav. 7.1 (Sardinia, Terme del
Levante at Nora), p. 161-162, tav. 7.4 (Ravenna, Palace of Theodorich). See also BERTI,
1976, p. 55 No. 25, tav. XXVI.
95 Unpublished. Permission to photograph was granted by the excavator of the basilica,
Ms Sophia Doukata.
96 BALMELLE et al., 1985, Pl. 75b.
97 Ibid., Pl. 237, 238.
98 Ibid., Pl. 238d.
99 See e.g. LEVI, 1947, p. 350, Pl. CXXXIIId (Antioch, house of the Rams’ Heads) ; DONCEEL-
VOÛTE, 1988, p. 197, Fig. 175, Pl. h.-t. 11 (Oum Hartaïne / Umm Hartayn, church).
100 See e.g. OVADIAH & OVADIAH, 1987, p. 13-14 No. 7, Pl. IV.2 (Ashkelon-Barne’a) ; WEISS
& NETZER, 1996, Hebrew section, Fig. p. 41 (Sepphoris, synagogue).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT 113

square ; the latter also appears in a number of Ravenna mosaics 101. Both types of
handles are combined in mosaics of Byzantine Palestine 102.
Lastly, regarding the design in the border in the north aisle, the guilloche
is also a common motif in mosaics, regardless of era and geographical location.
One might only note that it enjoyed a greater spread in Late Antiquity, especially
in the form used at Tell Amarna. There are good parallels in the mosaics of the
eastern Mediterranean (Pl. 4.26a) 103.

4.2.7. The mosaic in the south aisle

The most intricate and varied decoration is seen in the south aisle of the
church, where tangent square panels are used, each filled with a different motif. In
the easternmost panel the square encloses a circle, the circumference of which is
adorned with a cable surrounding an interlaced pattern made up of a central circle
and four ellipses 104. The bands of the circle and ellipses are decorated with a
chain guilloche alternating with an undulating band (Pl. 4.1a and 4.23c).
The next square panel from the east is inscribed with a poised square,
which contains identical rows of circles on a uniform red ground 105. The
circumference of the circles is white, while the interior is filled with yellow
(Pl. 4.1a and 4.23d).
Very little of the westernmost panel survives, but enough for a partial
restoration of its principal design 106. Here too, as in the first panel, the square
encloses a circle, the circumference of which is ornamented with an undulating
band surrounding an interlaced pattern of looped circles (Pl. 4.1a). We can venture

101 OLIVIERI FARIOLI, 1971, p. 447-450, Fig. 16-19, incl. general bibliography. FARIOLI, 1975,
p. 69-70, Fig. 24, p. 137-141, Fig. 60, 69-71, p. 204, Fig. 105. BERTI, 1976, p. 74-75 No. 54,
tav. XLIII. See also LÓPEZ MONTEAGUDO, 1998, p. 504-505, R-25, R-25bis.
102 See e.g. TZAFERIS, 1993, Fig. p. 284 (Magen) ; HUMBERT et al., 2000, Fig. p. 125 (Gaza,
church of Jabaliyah).
103 See e.g. HELLENKEMPER SALIES, 1987, p. 307 and ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA, 2007,
p. 314, Fig. 21 (Constantinople, building at Saraçhane) ; CHÉHAB, 1957-1959, p. 63,
Pl. XXVIII (Lebanon, villa of Jenaḥ) ; DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 375, Fig. 358-359
(Lebanon, Khân Khaldé, upper church) ; OVADIAH & MUCZNIK, 1983, p. 274,
Pl. CLXXXIII, CLXXXIV.2, CLXXXVII.2 (Israel, Kissufim, church) ; OVADIAH &
OVADIAH, 1987, p. 60-61 No. 83, Pl. LVIII.2, LIX (Gaza Maiumas, synagogue) ;
KRAELING, 1938, p. 317, Pl. LXIIb (Jordan, Gerasa, Propylaia church) ; PICCIRILLO, 1993,
p. 266, Fig. 480, 485 (Jordan, Al-Quwaysmah, lower church).
104 BALMELLE et al., 2002, Pl. 359a, b.
105 BALMELLE et al., 1985, Pl. 231a, b.
106 In the proposed reconstruction of the entire mosaic of the church (cf. T. WALISZEWSKI,
Chap. 3, Pl. 3.22), the easternmost panel is repeated for this panel, but it is most likely that the
motifs in the panels in the south aisle were all different.
114 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

various hypotheses about how the design was developed towards the centre, based
on similar compositions in other related mosaics (Pl. 4.24a-b) 107.
The panels that make up the mosaic decoration of the south aisle are
enclosed within a single border consisting of a row of solids in perspective 108 set
against a black ground (Pl. 4.1a and 4.23a-b).
The interlaced circles in the first and third panels from the east belong in
the category of central compositions based on interlaced geometrical shapes
(circles, squares, ellipses), which were very popular with the east Mediterranean
mosaic workshops, especially after the mid-IVth century. Two or more
geometrical shapes―or the same shape repeated―are interlinked in a circular
manner to create simple or complex patterns, while the end result is much more
elaborate in those cases where a strongly decorative effect is achieved through the
variety of motifs that fill the bands of the shapes. There are some splendid
mosaics with a variety of such combinations in Syria 109, as in many other
areas 110. It should be noted that these compositions―together with the more
numerous surface compo-sitions in which interlaced patterns with similar
characteristics are used―are one of the richest and most striking elements of the
geometrical repertory of the mosaic pavements, especially after the mid-IVth
century. The specific motif in the easternmost panel in the south aisle of the Tell
Amarna church is rarely encoun-tered as a central composition : in fact, here the
artist isolates the basic motif of a fairly common surface composition, in which it
is constantly repeated 111.
The motif in the second panel from the east, with the identical tangent
circles on a uniform red ground could also be described as an invention of the
local east Mediterranean workshops, which―with the absence of outlines and
their distinctive handling of colour―created a composition based on the simple
repetition of the very ordinary shape of the circle. This motif is also encountered
as a surface composition or as a filling motif in other Early Byzantine mosaics in

107 See e.g. BALTY, CHÉHADÉ & VAN RENGEN, 1969, p. 14-15, Fig. 5, Pl. XIII.2 and plan
(Syria, basilica of Herbet Mûqa) ; DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 138 ff., unpublished photo
(Syria, Houad, church of St George) ; BALTY J., 2008, p. 15, Fig. 15 (Syria, Nabgha,
Martyrion Saint-Jean) ; PICCIRILLO, 1981, p. 29-31, dr. on p. 30, tav. 20 Fig. 16 (Jordan,
Gadara, Erakleides bath) ; DIEZ, 2003, p. 54, Fig. 109 on Hebrew section p. 72 (Jerusalem,
church of St Peter in Gallicantu) ; BUDDE, 1969, p. 58, Fig. 30 (Misis-Mopsuestia, basilica) ;
ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA, 1987, p. 105 No. 46, Pl. 149α (Greece, Sparta, building on
Tripoleos Street). See also BALMELLE et al., 2002, Pl. 308, 309.
108 BALMELLE et al., 1985, Pl. 99e-f.
109 One Syrian mosaic, for instance, with a variety of such compositions is the one in the
cathedral of Hama : see ZAQZUQ, 1983 ; BALTY J., 1984, p. 446-447 (= Eadem, 1995, p. 93-
94). See also DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, passim.
110 BALMELLE et al., 2002, Pl. 288, 306-312, 405a. See also DE MATTEIS, 2004, p. 87-91
No. 23, p. 126-127 No. 53, p. 150-151 No. 74, p. 182-183, tav. XXVIII.3, XXIX, LXV,
LXVI.1, XCII.1 (Cos), where many parallels from the Mediterranean are mentioned.
111 BALMELLE et al., 1985, Pl. 244d, f.
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT 115

Syria (Pl. 4.25a) 112, Lebanon 113, Asia Minor (Pl. 4.25b) 114 and Cyprus
(Pl. 4.25c) 115.
The simple motif of the circles is enriched with the rainbow style which
encompasses it, adorning the four corners (Pl. 4.23d). The technique of the
rainbow style―which is inseparably associated with polychromy―predominates
in mosaic decoration and reached its apogee after the middle, and especially
towards the end, of the IVth century, being directly related to the wide spread of
the geometrical repertory 116. The use of the rainbow style to decorate the angles
formed when circles or other geometrical shapes are inscribed within a square or a
rectangle is especially common in east Mediterranean mosaics after the mid-
IVth century 117.
Lastly, solids in perspective as a linear composition, as they appear in the
south aisle of the Tell Amarna church 118, are also encountered in other mosaics,
which come from various parts of the eastern and western Mediterranean ; most of
them date to after the mid-IVth century (Pl. 4.26a-b) 119. Successive panels are
commonly separated by solids in perspective as early as the Roman imperial

112 See e.g. LEVI, 1947, p. 289-291, 430, Pl. CXIXf, and CAMPBELL, 1988, IV A 15f., Pl. 113
(Antioch, bath C) ; LEVI, 1947, p. 316, Pl. CXXIXa, c, d, and CAMPBELL, 1988, IV A 38c,
d, p. 99, Pl. 228, 229 (Antioch, Barracks house). See also CAMPBELL, 1988, IV A 30, p. 99,
Pl. 195 (unidentified building) ; DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 124, Fig. 88, Pl. h.-t. 6 (Hir esh-
Sheikh, church). Cf. a number of unpublished Syrian mosaics displayed in the Museum of
Ma’arat al-Noûman in Northern Syria.
113 CHÉHAB, 1957-1959, p. 110-111, Pl. LXII, LXIII, and DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 365-366,
Pl. h.-t. 15 (Khaldé-Choueifat, church). DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 378, Fig. 363, 369
(Khân Khaldé, upper church).
114 See e.g. an unpublished mosaic at Çardak, Cilicia, the photograph of which was supplied by
my colleague Füsun Tülek.
115 See e.g. DES GAGNIERS & TINH, 1985, p. 27, Fig. 71, 74 (basilica of Soloi ; for a colour
photo see North Cyprus, 2003, Fig. p. 54).
116 LEVI, 1947, passim. BALTY J., 1984, p. 440-443 (= Eadem, 1995, p. 89-91). Eadem, 1989,
p. 516-517 (= Eadem, 1995, p. 79-80). DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 453.
117 See e.g. LEVI, 1947, p. 304, Pl. LXVIIIb, p. 349-350, Fig. 142, Pl. LXXXIIc (Antioch, bath
of Apolausis and house of the Sea-Goddess) ; BALTY, CHÉHADÉ & VAN RENGEN, 1969,
p. 14-15, Pl. XIIIb (Syria, Herbet Mûqa, church) ; BALTY J.-Ch., 1972, p. 166, 181, Pl. L.1
(Apameia, pagan building under the Cathedral) ; Idem,, 1981, p. 144 Fig. 155 (Apameia,
synagogue) ; ZAQZUQ, 1983, p. 172, Fig. 27, p. 175, Fig. 31, p. 177, Fig. 32 (Syria, Cathedral
of Hama) ; BUDDE, 1969, p. 58, Fig. 30, 32 (Misis-Mopsuestia, basilica) ; DES GAGNIERS &
TINH, 1985, p. 18, Fig. 35 (Cyprus, basilica of Soloi).
118 See also above, p. 110-111.
119 See e.g. HELLENKEMPER SALIES, 1987, p. 307 and ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA, 2007,
p. 314, Fig. 21 (Constantinople, building at Saraçhane) ; BALTY J., 1977, No. 40, Fig. p. 91
(Apameia, pagan building under the Cathedral) ; DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 106, Fig. 73,
80, Pl. h.-t. 5 (Syria, Ḥûarte, Michaelion) ; DUNBABIN, 1978, p. 56-57, 255 (Constantine 4),
Pl. XVI.34 (Tunisia, Constantine) and p. 75-76, 263 (Khanguet el-Hadjaj 1), Pl. XXVI.65
(Tunisia, Khanguet el-Hadjaj) ; BEN ABED-BEN KHADER, 2003, Pl. 169 (Tunisia, Oudna,
house of the Laberii).
116 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

period 120. The motif of solids, which probably has an architectural origin, loses
its original character in the mosaic pavements and becomes a simple decorative
element.

4.3. Conclusions

The iconographical and stylistic features of the mosaic in the Tell Amarna
church are seen―as has already been pointed out―in quite a number of Syrian
mosaic pavements of the mid-IVth to mid-Vth century, which was an especially
creative period for the Syrian workshops 121. Geometrical decoration burgeoned
and spread widely here in this period. More specifically, the shift from the picto-
rial repertory―which was widespread in Syria before the mid-IVth century―to
aniconic carpet-like patterns seems to have been completed in the last two
decades of the IVth century, to which are assigned the mosaics in three
monuments, firmly dated by inscriptions : the church at Kaoussie, Antioch
(AD 387), the synagogue at Apameia (391–2), and the church at Khirbet Mûqa
(394–5) 122. In the last monu-ment, the basically geometrical repertory is also
enriched with a few figurative motifs, mainly from the animal world, though to a
relatively limited degree, so that the unity of the aniconic decoration is not
disrupted 123. This feature is seen in many other Syrian mosaics of the first half of
the Vth century, in some of which, indeed, anthropomorphic decoration is used,
with a preference for busts of per-sonifications of abstract concepts 124.
From an aesthetic point of view, the colourful and diverse geometrical
mosaics may be regarded as the antithesis of the central, emblema-type panels of
Hellenistic inspiration, which usually employ a rich pictorial repertory drawn
from Greek mythology. Faithful, for historical and social reasons, to the familiar
Hellenistic tradition and Classical iconography for much longer than other parts
of the Empire, Syria displays an extensive stock of such representations, most of
which date to the IIIrd century and the first three quarters of the IVth 125.
After the mid-IVth century, the geometrical mosaics―which are highly
appropriate to the flat surface of the floor and serve a purely decorative
purpose―came gradually to be preferred by mosaicists and commissioners alike,
ousting both the emblemata (which required an optical illusion of the viewer) and

120 See e.g. LEVI, 1947, p. 165-166, Pl. XXXIIIc, CII, and CAMPBELL, 1988, IV A 35b, Pl. 209,
210 (house of the Mysteries of Isis) ; LEVI, 1947, p. 68, 386-387, Fig. 28, and CİMOK, 2000,
p. 71 ff. (House of the Red Pavement) ; LEVI, 1947, p. 92, Pl. XVIc, and CİMOK, 2000, p. 92
(House of the Triumph of Dionysus) ; KONDOLEON, 1995, p. 87, Fig. 45-46, 48-49, 53-54
(Cyprus, House of Dionysus at Nea Paphos).
121 For Syrian mosaics generally in this period, see BALTY J., 1984 ; Eadem, 1989, p. 507 ff.
(= Eadem, 1995, p. 72 ff.) ; DONCEEL-VOÛTE, 1988, p. 453-457, and Eadem, 1994.
122 BALTY J., 1984, p. 440 ff. (= Eadem, 1995, p. 89 ff.).
123 BALTY, CHÉHADÉ & VAN RENGEN, 1969, Pl. I, V-VIII.1, IX, XI, XII, XIII.2. BALTY J.,
1984, p. 443 (= Eadem, 1995, p. 91).
124 BALTY J., 1984, p. 444-446 (= Eadem, 1995, p. 91-93).
125 BALTY J., 1981, p. 391-426. Eadem, 1989, p. 492-507. See also BALTY J., 1991.
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT 117

the mythological repertory. The vogue for tapet patterns, as reflected in the three
previously mentioned monuments, spread throughout Syria in the following
decades. The Syrian mosaic workshops systematically practised the art of geo-
metrical ornamentation, displaying admirable skill, originality, and imagination. It
is especially worth noting the rendering of familiar geometrical designs in a strik-
ingly imaginative way, with original combinations of shapes and a masterly use of
chromatic juxtaposition and contrast. Broadly speaking, one might say that colour
is a major, even a dominant feature at this stage in the evolution of mosaic art. As
for the manner of distributing the motifs over the surface of the floor, the prefer-
ence is either for a uniform decorative effect, with a single geometrical design
repeated to create a kind of bright, colourful carpet, or for a number of panels,
each containing a different design, whether a surface composition or a central
composition.
It is especially important to note that the prevalence of the geometrical
repertory in Syrian mosaic in the last decades of the IVth century, as described
above, was not a local phenomenon. On the contrary, it must be viewed in the
context of the koiné, which characterised the output of the entire Eastern Empire
at this time. The shift towards aniconic decoration and the emphasis on forms of
mosaic art that were dictated chiefly by this governed the mosaic workshops’
iconographical preferences for a long time, not only within the narrow confines of
Syria, but in the wider area of the eastern Mediterranean, and conduced to their
creative devotion to this particular genre. Furthermore, the genre proved particu-
larly well suited to the elongated spaces inside the basilican churches, of which
many were being built in the Empire’s cities in the period when the change came
about. In fact, one might say that the new architectural needs, as also the new
clientèle that emerged in the ecclesiastical environment after Christianity
prevailed, not to mention the appropriateness of a neutral, purely decorative
repertory, dictated the new preferences to a considerable extent.
It would be simplistic to include the Syrian mosaics in the koiné without
making one general point, namely without underlining the distinctive characteris-
tics of the artistic output of the local workshops, which developed the art of
mosaic, introduced a rich new repertory, and played a large part in its
development in the east Mediterranean basin. The characteristics of the local
Syrian workshops in this period consist in : their preference for a group of designs
from the geomet-rical repertory―among which an important part is played by
those created out of the interlacing of elaborately decorated bands―and for
specific filling motifs ; the variety of the motifs and the originality with which
they are both combined and individually accentuated, while at the same time
accentuating the entire mosaic ; the plastic effect created by designs rendered in
perspective and by colour contrasts ; and the intense chromatic quality of the
motifs executed in the rainbow style.
Although the Tell Amarna mosaic does not belong to the group of works
that display these features to excess (which is the case with some other Syrian
118 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

mosaics) 126, it can probably be ascribed to the Syrian output of the first half of
the Vth century. The geometrical compositions and the filling motifs, as also the
few motifs taken from the vegetable kingdom, are clearly part of the repertory
preferred by the Syrian mosaicists in the period to which the church belongs. It is
worth noting the striking connection with the mosaics of Antioch―a very impor-
tant centre of mosaic art throughout Late Antiquity―from which, after all, Tell
Amarna is not very far away. If we extend our investigations over the wider
geographical area of the eastern Mediterranean, we note close connections with
the mosaics of all the areas close to Syria―mainly the ancient provinces of
Phoenicia, Arabia, and Palestine―as also with those from areas that were clearly
influenced by the art of Antioch, such as Cyprus.
Some of the designs used at Tell Amarna, most notably those in the pres-
bytery and the north pastophorion, do not appear in the mosaic repertory of the
Eastern Empire before the Vth century, as has already been pointed out in the
analysis of the motifs used in these spaces 127. It is, lastly, worth noting that many
of the motifs in the mosaic had a long life-span in this geographical region,
typical examples being the floral semis and the scalloped squares, which became
popular all over the eastern Mediterranean after the mid-Vth century. The
interlacing pattern in the nave also appears frequently in VIth century mosaics in
Syria, ancient Phoenicia, Cyprus, ancient Palestine, and especially the province of
Arabia, where it was used until the VIIIth century. Finally, quite a number of the
motifs in the Tell Amarna mosaic are also encountered in Early Byzantine
mosaics in northern Italy, especially Ravenna and Grado, which underlines this
area’s cultural ties with the East.

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 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT 125

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 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

b
Pl. 4.1
a) Tell Amarna. Surviving mosaic pavement of the church.
b) Tell Amarna. Surviving mosaic of the Phase II in the apse.
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

Pl. 4.2
a) Tell Amarna. Greek inscription on the mosaic of the Phase II in the apse.
b) Northern Euphratesia. Early Christian mosaic pavement with a Greek inscription, found west of
the village of İkizkuyu (after CANDEMİR & WAGNER, 1978, Taf. XCVIII.43).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

b c

Pl. 4.3
a) Tell Amarna. Surviving mosaic of the Phase I in the apse and its reconstitution.
b-c) Tell Amarna. Details of the mosaic of the Phase I in the apse.
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

b
Pl. 4.4
a) Antioch. House of the Buffet Supper, upper level, room 5 (after CİMOK, 2000, Fig. on p. 123).
b) Khirbet ed-Deir (Israel). Monastery, the mosaic in a burial chapel (after TALGAM, 1999,
Pl. III.1).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

b
Pl. 4.5
a) Peyia (Cyprus). Basilica A, baptistery (after MICHAELIDES, 1992, Fig. on p. 105).
b) Sparta (Greece). Building on Tripoleos Street (photo Assimakopoulou-Atzaka, 1986).
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

b
Pl. 4.6
a) Amphipolis (Greece). Basilica C, nave (photo Assimakopoulou-Atzaka, 1995).
b) Nea Paphos (Cyprus). Basilica of Chrysopolitissa, exterior north aisle (after MICHAELIDES,
1992, Fig. on p. 96).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

b
Pl. 4.7
a) Tell Amarna. Surviving mosaic in the north pastophorion.
b) Tell Amarna. Detail of the mosaic in the north pastophorion.
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

b
Pl. 4.8
a) Jenaḥ (Lebanon). Villa, room d (after CHÉHAB, 1957-1959, Pl. XXVIII).
b) Mount Nebo (Jordan). Basilica of Moses, Theotokos chapel (after PICCIRILLO, 1993,
Fig. 200).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

b
Pl. 4.9
a) Sepphoris (Zippori) (Israel). House of the Nile Festival, room 14 (after WEISS & TALGAM,
2002, Fig. 25).
b) Tell Amarna. Detail of the mosaic in the south pastophorion.
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

Pl. 4.10
a) Tell Amarna. Surviving mosaic in the south pastophorion.
b) Antioch. Kaoussie church, east aisle (after CAMPBELL, 1988, Pl. 138).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

Pl. 4.11
Tell Amarna. Surviving mosaic in the nave of the church.
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

b
Pl. 4.12
a- b) Tell Amarna. Details of the mosaic from the nave.
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

b
Pl. 4.13
a) Aigialoussa (Cyprus). Basilica of Hagia Trias, north aisle (after MICHAELIDES, 1992, Fig. on
p. 79).
b) Sepphoris (Zippori) (Israel). House of the Nile Festival, east corridor (room 10) (after WEISS &
TALGAM, 2002, Fig. 21).
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

b
Pl. 4.14
a) Karpathos (Greece). Basilica of Hagia Anastasia, south aisle (after PELEKANIDES, 1974,
Pl. 18a).
b) Zahrani (Lebanon). Church, presbytery (after CHÉHAB, 1957-1959, Pl. XLVI).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

b
Pl. 4.15
a) Kourion (Cyprus). Episcopal basilica, baptistery (photo Assimakopoulou-Atzaka, 1999).
b) Philadelphia-Amman (Jordan). Lower church of Al-Quwaysmah, south aisle (after PICCIRILLO,
1993, Fig. 454).
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

b
Pl. 4.16
a) Tell Bî‘a (Northern Syria). Monastery (after KALLA, 1999, Abb. 10).
b) Athens (Greece). Building on Evripidou Street (photo Assimakopoulou-Atzaka, 1987).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

b
Pl. 4.17
a) Ravenna (Italy). Church of S. Vitale, chapel (after FARIOLI, 1975, Fig. 27).
b) Gaza. Church of Jabaliyah, north aisle (after HUMBERT et al., 2000, Fig. on p. 121).
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

b
Pl. 4.18
a) From Umnir el-Qubliye (Syria), in the Museum of Ma’arat al Nouman (photo Assimakopoulou-
Atzaka, 2005)
b) Ghiné (Lebanon). Church, presbytery (after CHÉHAB, 1957-1959, Pl. XCIX.1).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

b
Pl. 4.19
a) Kourion (Cyprus). Eustolios complex, East Hall (after MICHAELIDES, 1992, Fig. on p. 85,
detail).
b) Crete, Gortyna (Greece). Triconch of Mitropolis (photo Assimakopoulou-Atzaka, 2000).
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

b
Pl. 4.20
a-b) Tunisia. Mosaics displayed in the Bardo Museum in Tunis (photos Assimakopoulou-Atzaka,
2005).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

b
Pl. 4.21
a) Ravenna (Italy). Palace of Theodorich (after BERTI, 1976, Tav. XXVI).
b) Maroneia (Greece). Basilica of Palaiochora, north aisle (photo Assimakopoulou-Atzaka, 2004).
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

b
Pl. 4.22
a) Tell Amarna. Surviving mosaic in the north aisle.
b) Antioch. House of the Rams’ Heads (after LEVI, 1947, Pl. CXXXIIId).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

a b

c d
Pl. 4.23
a-d) Tell Amarna. Details of the mosaic from the south aisle.
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

b
Pl. 4.24
a) From Houad (Syria) in the Museum of Ma’arat al Nouman. Church of Saint George, north aisle
(photo Assimakopoulou-Atzaka, 2005).
b) Sparta (Greece). Building on Tripoleos Street (photo Assimakopoulou-Atzaka, 1985).
 4. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT

c
Pl. 4.25
a) Antioch. Barracks house, Room D (after CAMPBELL, 1988, Pl. 229).
b) Çardak, Cilicia, Asia Minor (Turkey), Mosaic on the upper floor of a building (photo F. Tülek).
c) Soloi (Cyprus). Basilica, south aisle (after North Cyprus, 2003, Fig. on p. 54).
 Panajota ASSIMAKOPOULOU-ATZAKA

b
Pl. 4.26
a) Istanbul (Turkey). Building in Saraçhane (photo Assimakopoulou-Atzaka, 1994).
b) Ḥûarte (Syria). Upper church, south aisle (photo Assimakopoulou-Atzaka, 2005).