A display of faith. The sign of the cross in household contexts from Scythia Minor during the Late Roman Period (5th-6th centuries AD)
A display of faith. The sign of the cross in household contexts from Scythia Minor during the Late Roman Period (5th-6th centuries AD)

Summary/Abstract: The paper aims to identify and discuss, based on a specific case study, some of the ways in which the new official religion of the Roman Empire and its “trademark”, the sign of the cross, pervade the everyday life and become embedded in the material culture of the period. The archaeological excavations conducted in Histria/Istros by a team from the University of Bucharest bring a better insight into the life of this ancient city from the Western Coast of the Black Sea (the province of Scythia Minor) during its last phase of existence. The Late Roman/Early Byzantine insula (second half of the 6th – beginning of the 7th centuries AD), currently under research in the Acropolis Centre-South Sector (henceforth ACS), offered so far rich and varied archaeological materials, among which of special interest for this article are objects bearing the sign of the cross or shaped as a cross. These items, such as pots incised with the sign of the cross, lids decorated with relief crosses, fine tableware decorated with stamped crosses, lamps with cross-shaped handles, bricks marked with the cross, bronze weights decorated with the cross, metal cross-shaped elements belonging to hanging devices, seem to be used on a daily basis by the inhabitants and as such represent a constant element in their life. Based on these observations and placing this case study in the larger context of the Roman world, the authors intend to shortly discuss the role and significance of the sign of the cross in household, everyday life, contexts, as a constant reminder, a protection, and a statement of belief, but also as a reflection of the place of this community in the larger socio-economical, ideological, and political network of the Roman Empire.

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