The Archaeology of Jerusalem and the Franciscans of the Studium Biblicum

Michele Piccirillo t

Studium Biblicum Franciscanum

Introduction

The Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education declared the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem a Faculty of Biblical Sciences and Archaeology with a decree issued on September 4, 2001.

In the opening ceremony of the new faculty held in Jerusalem, Archbishop Mons. Giuseppe Pittau, secretary of the Congregation, wanted to stress that the new faculty was not only the acknowledgment of what had been accomplished in the institute in recent years but also of the precious work done by the Friars Minor during the eight centuries of life in Jerusalem at the service of the holy sites.

The recent discovery and publication of a Descriptio Terrae Sanctae written around the year 1330 by Father Giovanni Fidanzola from Perugia, at the time minister of the Franciscan province of Terra Sancta (Boettcher 2001),1 has engendered bibliographical research that still seems not to have been exhausted. This discovery documented the research and learning that has paralleled the Franciscan presence in these regions since the Order was established (Golubovich 1906-27).

Descriptions and guides to the Promised Land were written by the Friars Minor as early as the 13th century.90 91 This undertaking expanded after 1333, when the Friars, the only westerners living in Jerusalem (in the newly built monastery on Mount Zion; De Sandoli 1990) started guiding pilgrims.92

In the 13th century, the literary activity became historical-antiquarian research, which had as a first priority the defining of the urban perimeter of the walls of ancient Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. Another main concern of the Friars Minor was to explain to the pilgrims entrusted to them the reason for the location of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre with its Rock of Calvary and the Tomb of Jesus inside the walls and not outside, as presumed by the Protestant tradition. This belief is very much based on the words of St. Paul who wrote, “Jesus also suffered outside the gate, to consecrate the people by his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp, bearing the stigma that he bore” (Heb 13:12-13).

During the same period, in 1555, Fr. Bonifacius of Ragusa succeeded in restoring the Edicule of the tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, an achievement that must be seen as an important event for the Franciscan community of Jerusalem (Bonifacius of Ragusa 1875).

to the pioneering research of Fr. Gianfrancesco della Salandra Custos of the Holy Land (Bagatti 1942: 87-94), a father of the community in the new Franciscan convent of Saint Savior inside the city walls was able to sketch a topographical map of Jerusalem, which was engraved by Mario Cartaro and printed in Rome in the year 1578 (Piccirillo 2004: 93-118).

This map, which may be seen as the first realistic plan of the Holy City, has been quoted and used by modern scholars and contemporary authors, such as Adricho-mius, Zuallart, Breuning, and Fr. Bernardino Amico and was known as the Lost Map of Refuge after the forced expulsion from the convent on Mount Zion in 1551. The Franciscan School of Palestinology was founded on the basis of their important activities (Rome 1610, Florence 1620) and Francesco Quaresmi's Elucidatio Terrae Sanctae (Anversa 1639; Piccirillo 1999: 167-78). We mainly refer to Fr. Bonifacius of Ragusa, author of Liber de perenni cultu Terrae Sancta, Father Gianfrancesco della Salandra the mentor of the school, Father Antoninus de Angelis from Lecce, author of the first realistic map of Jerusalem, and Father Amico, to whom we are indebted for the first measured drawings of the holy shrines “drawings of the sacred shrines” author of Trattato dei Sacri Edifici, and Fr. Francesco Quaresmi, author of Elucidatio Terrae Sanctae, who together with their successors must be considered the real founders of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, which was opened officially by the Order in the first half of the 20th century as a center of biblical research (Piccirillo 2003: 77-98).

The Studium, which was reopened officially in 1923, after a first failed attempt at the end of the 19th century, was intended as the response of the Friars Minor, custodians of the holy sites, to the new challenging questions put forward by the scientific world, which was approaching the biblical text and the Holy Land with new critical methods and with the new archaeological science as delineated in Studium Biblicum Franciscanum: Nel 50mo della Fondazione (1923-1973). The Friars Minor have met these demands by utilizing their secular knowledge of the Holy Land. For both obvious and practical reasons, given the loction of the holy sites, the Franciscan school specialized in the field of Christian archaeology and in the history of the local Christian community from its origins onward.

The excavations carried out by the archaeologists of the Studium Biblicum usually constitute the initial step for the reconstruction or the restoration of the holy sites entrusted to the Custody of the Holy Land by the Catholic Church. Naturally, the archaeological research encompassed all periods present at the site—for example, in the Jerusalem region, the Late Bronze Age tombs in the cemetery of Do-minus Flevit or the Middle Bronze-Late Bronze occupational remains at Bethany.

Archaeological Excavations

Dominus Flevit and Bethany on the Mount of Olives-from MB II through the Early Roman Period

The large necropolis surrounding the small Byzantine-period monastic complex of Dominus Flevit, on the western slopes of the Mount of Olives, was excavated intermittently by Fr. Bellarmino Bagatti in 1953. Fr. Sylvester Saller conducted the research on the Late Bronze age materials, while J.-P. Milik studied the epigraphic finds of the early Roman period.

The rich deposit containted within a double tomb and dated to the end of the Middle and Late Bronze ages (16th-14th centuries b. c.e.) has provided new insights on the material culture of the pre-Davidic inhabitants of Jerusalem and shed light on their commercial links with Egypt (alabaster vessels) and the Mycenean world (bilbil jugs, painted flasks, etc.) (Saller, 1964: 139-58, 192-97).

At Bethany, on the eastern slopes of the same mountain, several discoveries were made in the gardens of the Comboni Sisters. The materials from several tombs were studied by Fr. Stanislao Loffreda. Pottery from three tombs were dated to the Middle Bronze II period (Loffreda 1969: 349-66; 1974: 142-69; 1984: 357-70).

Excavations carried out among the olive trees, east of the gardens, not far from the Roman-Byzantine Lazarion, have resulted in the discovery of a small settlement. In a water cistern, several pottery typologies of the Persian period pottery vessels were found alongside several handles with stamps: one with the letters YRSHLM inscribed within a five pointed star; another with the word YHWD; and others carrying Persian motifs such as the lion (Saller 1957).

Numerous Hellenistic-, Roman-, and Byzantine-period tombs have been found within the Dominus Flevit cemetery. The stone sarcophagi and decorated ossuaries are of particular interest (2nd-3rd centuries c. e.). Several ossuaries were inscribed with charcoal or incised with the names of the deceased in Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic, appearing alongside geometric motifs (Bagatti and Milik 1958).

The archaeological finds supported the hypothesis put forth by F. Clermont-Ganneau and Y. Sukenik, according to which the first Christian community in Jerusalem was born within a Jewish milieu, encouraging scholars to reinvestigate the Jewish and Christian literature of the first centuries of our era (Bagatti 1956: 240-70; 1969 : 194-236; Lombardi 1957: 165-90).

The discovery of a sheqel hoard within a Roman period tomb, including a sheqel of “Year 5” alongside a Tyrian sheqel and a Tyrian tetradrahm struck in Antioch at the time of Nero, provided Fr. Augustus Spijkerman with the opportunity to study important data on Jewish coinage from the period of the First Revolt (66-70 c. e.) (Spijkerman 1961: 25-31).

Aelia Capitolina and the Flagellation Monastery on the Via Dolorosa

The study of the ancient architectural remains located in the basement of the Monastery of the Flagellation, the seat of the Studium, provided Fr. Bagatti with the opportunity to define the limits of the paved plaza to the east of the Ecce Homo Arch and to reconstruct the Antonia Fortress, which according to him was smaller than previously assumed. Excavations have also exposed a small section of the Roman-Byzantine period road in the eastern part of the ancient city (Bagatti 1979; Loffreda 1985: 313-26).

In this context, one should mention the contribution of Fr. Augustus Spijkerman to the study of numismatics related to the time of Aelia Capitolina, which are part of the collection of the Studium Museum (Spijkerman 1957: 145-64; 1958: 568-84; 1964: 245-60). Additional displays include two fragments of an imperial inscription of Aelia Hadrianus from the Damascus Gate as well as inscriptions mentioning the names of soldiers of the Legion X Fretensis found in Jerusalem (Bagatti 1939: 130, 137-38).

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Before turning to current archaeological research conducted within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one should refer once again to the drawings of the building published in the 15th century by Amico in his Trattato dei Sacri Edifici (first edition published in Rome in 1610, including copper engravings by Antonio Tempesta; second edition published in Florence in 1620, with engravings by Jacques Callot). An accurate description of the monument by Quaresmi appeared in Elucidatio Ter-rae Sanctae (published in 1639). Amico's drawings were also meant to be used by Bethlehem artisans to build models of the Holy Sepulchre and of the Church of the Nativity made of olive wood covered with mother-of-pearl.

In his three volumes dedicated to this principle sanctuary of Christianity, Fr. Virgilio C. Corbo documented the archaeological results of the modern restoration works conducted in the church starting in 1961. The documentation was limited, due to the limited and infrequent nature of the underground excavations carried out in different areas within the building (Corbo 1981).

In my opinion, the main and real result of this work in comparison to the preceding ones dedicated to the church is the sketchy plan of the Constantinian monument (Bagatti 1984b: 561-71; Corbo 1984 : 409-16; Manns 1984: 18-27; Piccirillo 1984 : 80-100; see also Diez Fernandez 2004).

The Lazarion of Bethany (Early Byzantine through Crusader Periods)

Excavations of the ecclesiastical complex above and around the venerated tomb of Lazarus called Lazarion in Greek/el-'Azariyeh in Arabic, were conducted by Fr. Sylvester Saller between1949 and 1953 (Saller 1957).

The earliest church was built in the second half of the 4th century c. e. on the eastern slope of the mountain facing the venerated tomb and separated from it by an open atrium. In the 5th century c. e., the church floor was covered with a beautiful mosaic, including geometrical motifs, and was extended to the east by the addition of a second apse. The church was rebuilt during the medieval period, with a roof supported by pillars in place of the former columns.

During this period, at the time of Queen Melisende, a square monastery was built above the venerated tomb, including a chapel. Fragments of the fine marble decoration have been recovered.

The Medieval Chapel at Bethpage

During the Crusader period, a chapel was erected at Bethpage. Excavations carried out prior to the reconsruction of the chapel uncovered a square-shaped isolated rock located near the northern wall. Its surface was covered with a painting of four scenes depicting the resurrection of Lazarus and the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Saller and Testa 1961; Bagatti 1951: 227-46).

The Valley of Jehosaphat

The Franciscans settled in the Jehosaphat Valley as early as the 14th century. The tomb of the Virgin and the Grotto of the Apostles, surrounded by olive trees, are presented to pilgrims as Gethsemane across the Kidron Valley, as described in the Gospel narrative. Among the olive trees, Fr. Gaudenzio Orfali, a native of Nazareth (President of the Palestinian Archaeologists before his untimely death), excavated the medieval church of Saint Savior. While constructing the foundations of the new basilica commissioned by the Custody of the Holy Land, the original Byzantine church, oriented to the northeast, was uncovered. It was built into the rock in the east and supported by the fill covering the slope to the west (Orfali 1924).

A fallen rectangular stone of the medieval church still retained the head of an angel. This find, as well as fragments of the fresco decoration of the church are now kept in the Museum of the Studium (Bagatti 1939: 39).

The fresco decoration covering the rock-face, constituting the roof of the Grotto of the Apostles, dates to the same period. It consists of a continuous grid of pointed stars interrupted in the east by a scene with the angel presenting the chalice of the Passion to Jesus in prayer, as indicated in the Latin inscription to the left of the depiction (De Sandoli 1974: 169-72).

During the restoration works in the year 1958, the removal of the floor allowed Corbo to expose multiple tombs cut into the rock and patches of a Byzantine mosaic floor with an inscription decorating one of the tombs (Corbo 1965).

Amico documented the funerary monument at the Tomb of the Virgin from the 16th century, and Quaresmi provided a detailed description in his Elucidation Ter-rae Sanctae. Restoration work conducted after flood damage in the winter of 1972 enabled Bagatti to examine the monument (Bagatti, Piccirillo, and Prodomo 1975). The removal of several levels of plaster with traces of a wall mosaic exposed the original rock on which the arcosolium tomb in the center of the eastern sector of the church had been cut.

Bagatti noted traces of Jewish kokhim on the northern wall, cut directly into the rock, and a possible stairway descending from the north. He suggested that the original tomb included three rooms: an external atrium, the inner room with kokhim, and the inner arcosolium tomb, which had been isolated. This kind of triple-room monument was described in the Dormitio Virginis, in the Ethiopic translation of a supposedly original Judeo-Christian text from Jerusalem (Corpus Scrip-torum Christianorum Orientalium, Scriptores Ethiopici, series prima, VII, 35; see also Mann 1989).

The Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives

The Franciscans always celebrated the feast of Ascension together with the Eastern Christians of the city. The celebration takes place in the medieval edicule still standing in the center of the surrounding wall, which follows the perimeter of the Crusader church.

Underground excavations carried out by Corbo within the Franciscan property located to the south of the surrounding wall revealed the radial foundation wall of the Byzantine Imbomon, the open-air colonnaded rotunda built in the year 376 by a wealthy Christian lady (Corbo 1965).

Mount Zion

Mount Zion still constitutes an open chapter with regard to the Franciscan presence in Jerusalem. According to an agreement reached by the kings of Naples and the Mameluk Sultan Muhammad al-Nasir in 1333, the Friars Minor were allowed to use the Upper Room, or Cenacle, and to build their convent next to it. They lived there until their expulsion in 1551. Amico left us the plan of the convent, whose small cloister is still well preserved.

Excavations conducted in the area of the cemetery have revealed wall segments, fragments of mosaic floors, and pottery sherds from various periods. Notable among these are three eulogia flasks depicting Calvary and a stone eulogia mold very similar to the metal flasks kept in the Duomo Museum of Monza, Italy and in the Bob-bio Abbey (Bagatti 1970: 224-46; Bagatti and Alliata 1981; 249-56).

Conclusion

The presence of the Friars Minor in the service of the pilgrims and the holy sites instigated their historical interest in the Holy City. It is to them that we owe the antiquarian documentation of the sanctuaries, beginning in the 13th century and reaching a peak in the 16th-17th centuries, with Frs. de Angelis, Salandra, Amico, and Quaresmi.

Topographical issues regarding Jerusalem were clarified in the 20th century as a result of work conducted by archaeologists of the Studium Biblicum, especially in areas around the holy sites entrusted to the Custody of the Holy Land by the Catholic Church in the year 1342. Excavations have revealed remains spanning the entire historical sequence between the 2nd millennium b. c.e. to the Middle Ages. For this latter period, one should point out the work dedicated to the Latin inscriptions of the Holy Sepulchre and other sacred and civic edifices in Jerusalem, collected by Fr. S. de Sandoli, some of which were accurately copied in the 17 th century by Quaresmi (De Sandoli 1974).

References

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