DOI Heft:
Syria
DOI Artikel:Zielińska, Dobrochna: Hawarte: Project for the reconstruction of the painted decoration of the mithreum
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42093#0534
HAWARTE
SYRIA
METHODS
The groundwork in the case of this project
involved preparing two-dimensional views of
all of the mithreum walls based on the
architectural records, photographs of the
interior and archival photographs supplied
by the Syrian antiquities service.2
Studies of other, painted or carved,
examples of Mithraic art constituted the next
stage. Most useful in this respect was
Reinhold Merkelbach’s Mithras. Ein persisch-
romischer Mysterienkult (Wiesbaden 1998).
The reconstruction of ornaments and animal
and rider representations benefited substan-
tially from a study of Roman and Byzantine
mosaic floors and various elements of
architectural decoration from the territory of
Syria. The neighborhood of Hawarte was
given particular attention; objects now kept
in museums in Apamea, Hama and Maarat
an Numan proved to be especially important.
The scope of the reconstruction project
is naturally determined (and limited) by the
state of preservation of the wall paintings in
particular interiors of the mithreum. Room
A presents the greatest potential for
interpretation owing to the number of
preserved paintings as well as the
recognizable nature of the decoration. This
room appears to have been the main interior
in the complex.
THE MITHRAIC CYCLE IN ROOM A
The general outline and expected icono-
graphic program of the painted decoration on
the walls of Room A was established on the
grounds of the arrangement of particular
representations and their interdependence in
Mithraic iconography, and previous identifi-
cation of some of the scenes from Hawarte.
There seems to be no doubt that most of the
walls, with the exception of the northwestern
corner where the nature of the scenes is not
entirely clear, were decorated with scenes from
the Mithraic cycle [Fig. 1]. The cycle
commenced on the north wall, to the right of
the niche and appears to have been continued
on the east and south walls, and part of the
west wall, reaching the entrance to the room.
The initial scenes have been preserved in situ
— Zeus bathing two anguipedes, the birth of
Mithra from the rocks and a representation of
Helios.
2
Preliminary work including digital processing of archival photography and partial retouching of two scenes were
performed by graphic designer Monika Ozdarska.
528
Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007
SYRIA
METHODS
The groundwork in the case of this project
involved preparing two-dimensional views of
all of the mithreum walls based on the
architectural records, photographs of the
interior and archival photographs supplied
by the Syrian antiquities service.2
Studies of other, painted or carved,
examples of Mithraic art constituted the next
stage. Most useful in this respect was
Reinhold Merkelbach’s Mithras. Ein persisch-
romischer Mysterienkult (Wiesbaden 1998).
The reconstruction of ornaments and animal
and rider representations benefited substan-
tially from a study of Roman and Byzantine
mosaic floors and various elements of
architectural decoration from the territory of
Syria. The neighborhood of Hawarte was
given particular attention; objects now kept
in museums in Apamea, Hama and Maarat
an Numan proved to be especially important.
The scope of the reconstruction project
is naturally determined (and limited) by the
state of preservation of the wall paintings in
particular interiors of the mithreum. Room
A presents the greatest potential for
interpretation owing to the number of
preserved paintings as well as the
recognizable nature of the decoration. This
room appears to have been the main interior
in the complex.
THE MITHRAIC CYCLE IN ROOM A
The general outline and expected icono-
graphic program of the painted decoration on
the walls of Room A was established on the
grounds of the arrangement of particular
representations and their interdependence in
Mithraic iconography, and previous identifi-
cation of some of the scenes from Hawarte.
There seems to be no doubt that most of the
walls, with the exception of the northwestern
corner where the nature of the scenes is not
entirely clear, were decorated with scenes from
the Mithraic cycle [Fig. 1]. The cycle
commenced on the north wall, to the right of
the niche and appears to have been continued
on the east and south walls, and part of the
west wall, reaching the entrance to the room.
The initial scenes have been preserved in situ
— Zeus bathing two anguipedes, the birth of
Mithra from the rocks and a representation of
Helios.
2
Preliminary work including digital processing of archival photography and partial retouching of two scenes were
performed by graphic designer Monika Ozdarska.
528
Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007