Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

BANGANARTI

SUDAN

THE LOWER CHURCH

The Lower Church proved to have a central
cross plan. The inscriptions occurred only
on the southern wall of the western part of
the cross. Three texts were identified, all in
good Greek, done in black ink and nice
bookhands writing Biblical majuscules,
dated to the 8th-9th century. The first
inscription on the left contained 43 lines.
It consisted of c. 12 entries marked on the
left margin by a paragraphos (a short
horizontal stroke at the bottom of the text
line). Each entry apparently started with

the expression "You who has made this and
this". All this suggests that we are dealing
with a dogmatic text, perhaps ecclesiastical
canons. Another possibility is that it
contains a series of invocations to God the
Father or Jesus Christ. The inscription
neighboring with the first text to the right
was too damaged to allow for a certain
evaluation of its content. The text on the
right-hand side is inscribed within and
under a schematic "icon" showing Mary. It
was probably of a votive character.

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