The Banganarti Nativity: Enkolpion with scene of the Birth of Jesus from House BA/2015 in Banganarti
The Banganarti Nativity: Enkolpion with scene of the Birth of Jesus from House BA/2015 in Banganarti

Author(s): Bogdan T. Żurawski
Subject(s): Archaeology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Nativity; Christian iconography; Middle Nile; Middle Ages; pilgrimages
Summary/Abstract: The slate enkolpion engraved with the Nativity scene was found in one of the dwellings to the east of the Upper Church (Raphaelion II) in Banganarti. On the reverse, it was inscribed with the names of the three main protagonists of the scene carved on the obverse. It seems to have been used very briefly before being lost. Distinctive features include a figure of St Joseph represented as a herm and the putative Star of Bethlehem rendered as a round object hovering above the manger. The Magi and the scene of the Bathing of Jesus are missing. There is also one animal instead of two at the crib and one adoring shepherd not two (or even three). The aim was evidently to present the entire theological canon of the Nativity dogma using a minimum of iconographic elements, which is hardly surprising owing to the scarcity of space. Dating on stylistic grounds is highly speculative owing to the sketchiness of the scene, but the archaeological context seems reliable, yielding pottery from AD 1020–1172, which was a time of vigorous development of the pilgrimage movement to Banganarti.

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