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The Graphic Signs in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

2nd International Conference, 21-23 June 2022

Organisers:

Estelle Ingrand-Varenne (estelle.ingrand.varenne@univ-poitiers.fr),

Clément Dussart (clement.dussart@univ-poitiers.fr)  

On-site: Centre de Recherche Français de Jérusalem (Shimshon street 3) 

 

 

Online Link Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89620986239?pwd=bR3nLn6khmskqFDAZK4qIduSmnuAUs.1

ID meeting: 896 2098 6239; Passcode: 987835

[Attention, the times indicated are those of Jerusalem, so 1 hour more than in Europe: CET+1]

Programme:

Tuesday June 21st

9:00     Coffee

9:30     Welcome: Vincent Lemire (Head of the CRFJ)

10:00 Introduction: Estelle Ingrand-Varenne (CNRS CRFJ-CESCM) and Clément Dussart (CESCM, University of Poitiers)

10:30-12:30   1st session, moderator: Maria Villano (ERC GRAPH-EAST, CESCM)

  • “Towards a Periodisation of Graffiti between Antiquity and the Middle Ages” Carlo Tedeschi (Università degli Studi “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti Pescara)
  • “The Tree of Abraham in the Nativity Church and its epigraphic exegesis”  Estelle Ingrand-Varenne (CNRS CRFJ-CESCM)

Lunch at the CRFJ

14:30-18:00     2nd session, moderator: Sercan Saglam (ERC GRAPH-EAST, CESCM)

  • “Scratch, Incise, Engrave: Technical Study of the Lapidary Graffiti of the Nativity” Thierry Grégor (CESCM, University of Poitiers)
  • “The discovery and the conservation of Graffiti on the columns of the Church of the Nativity”  Marcello Piacenti (Piacenti SpA Centro Restauri

 Coffee Break

  • “Apposer son emblème. La mise en signe des espaces sacrés au Moyen Âge. L’exemple de l’église de la Nativité de Bethléem en perspective”  Laurent Hablot (EPHE, SAPRAT) [visio]

Dinner

 Wednesday June 22nd

 9:00   Coffee

9:30-12:00    3rd session, moderator: Gil Fishhof (University of Haifa)

  • “Portraits, graffiti, and tattoos: pilgrims and the appropriation of Bethlehem’s sanctity” Michele Bacci (Freiburg University)
  • “Quotation and Glorification: Bethlehem’s Conciliar Texts in Local Context” Megan Boomer (Columbia University)

Lunch at the CRFJ

13:00   Departure to the Nativity Church, Bethlehem

14:00-17:00  Epigraphic tour of the basilica, and the cave of St. Jerome and the chapel of St. Joseph

18:00    Return to Jerusalem

Dinner

Thursday June 23rd

9:00   Coffee

9h30-12:30    4th session, moderator: Yana Tchekhanovets (Ben-Gurion University of the Neguev)

  • “The Armenian Inscriptions and Graffiti of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem”  Khachik A. Harutyunyan (Scientific Research Center of the Historical and Cultural Heritage, Matenadaran)
  • “The Arabic inscriptions of the Basilica of the Nativity: inventory and research perspectives”  Anna Lagaron-Khalifa (ERC Horn-East, Iremam Aix-Marseille Université) [visio
  • “Recent discoveries of Latin graffiti and signs in the Nativity Church: new contributions to the history of a holy place and to pilgrimage practices (9th-16th )”  Clément Dussart (CESCM, University of Poitiers)

Lunch at the CRFJ

13:45   Departure to the Custody

14:00-16:00    Visit of the Treasure of Bethlehem at the Custody of the Holy Land, with fr. Stéphane Milovitch (ofm, Director of the Cultural Heritage Office)

 

18:00    Public Conference of Michele Bacci at the École biblique et archéologique française: “The Nativity Church in Bethlehem: New Approaches and Discoveries”

 

Closing Dinner

 

 

Conference_ERC_GRAPHEAST_21-23.06.2022_Programme

Signes graphiques de la basilique de la Nativité de Bethléem au Moyen Âge / Graphic Signs in the Nativity Church of Bethlehem in the Middle Ages

21-23 juin 2022 / June 21-23, 2022

La grande campagne de restauration de l’église de la Nativité de Bethléem, débutée en 2013 et achevée en 2020, et la bibliographie récente dédiée à ce lieu saint[1] permettent de questionner à nouveaux frais les centaines d’inscriptions et graffitis présents sur les mosaïques, les peintures et la pierre des murs de la basilique, bâtie sur le lieu présumé de la naissance du Christ. Véritable symphonie – voire cacophonie – graphique, il a semblé important pour mieux cerner ce phénomène de rassembler et de questionner ensemble les divers signes graphiques c’est-à-dire épigraphiques, héraldiques, emblématiques etc., réalisés au cours du Moyen Âge par les pèlerins et voyageurs tout comme par les autorités du Royaume latin de Jérusalem, alors qu’ils ont jusque-là été étudiés séparément et partiellement. Cet isolement lié à la typologie (les catégories « inscriptions » vs « graffitis »), au type d’alphabet (latin, grec, arabe, arménien etc.) et aux langues, est certes le corollaire de l’histoire même du lieu : jalonnée par les tutelles différentes, avec des moments-clés à l’instar de la vaste d’entreprise de rénovation et d’embellissement menée conjointement par le roi Amaury et l’empereur byzantin Manuel Comnène ; mais il est tout autant le fait du cloisonnement des disciplines et d’une vision de l’écriture épigraphique imperméable à son environnement.

Le but de ce workshop est donc de rassembler des épigraphistes issus de différentes spécialités, ainsi que des historiens, des historiens d’art et des restaurateurs pour interroger ces signes sous divers angles. Quelles typologies de signes graphiques sont présentes et faut-il en finir avec la dualité « graffitis » et « inscriptions » ? Quelles sont leurs fonctions ? Quelles langues et écritures sont employées ? Dans quelles matières et avec quelles techniques sont-ils réalisés ? Où ces signes graphiques sont-ils placés dans la basilique ? Peut-on dégager à la fois des strates situées dans le temps et une cartographie générale ? Qui dirige et a accès à ces espaces en fonction des périodes ? Quels sont donc les auteurs/commanditaires et les lecteurs ? Peut-on distinguer une hiérarchie des écritures ? Y a-t-il des interactions entre ces différents signes graphiques ? Comment ces signes ont-ils été reçus et transmis depuis leur production ? Cette liste de questions, qui n’est pas exhaustive, montre la variété des pistes qui pourront être abordées.

Ce workshop est pensé comme un atelier de travail avec un petit groupe, privilégiant la discussion, en deux temps au CRFJ à Jérusalem et dans la basilique, à Bethléem. Des conférences ouvertes au grand public seront également proposées. Il est organisé dans le cadre du projet ERC Starting Grant GRAPH-EAST, financé par le programme de recherche et d’innovation Horizon 2020 de l’Union européenne dans le cadre de la convention de subvention n° 948390.

***

The major restoration campaign of the Nativity Church of Bethlehem (2013-2020) and the recent bibliography dedicated to this holy site[2] let us question hundreds of inscriptions and graffiti figuring on mosaics, paintings, and on the walls of the Church built in the presumed Christ birthplace. As the site exhibits a real graphic symphony, if not cacophony, it necessarily implies to collect and to question the multiple graphic signs altogether, i.e. the epigraphic, heraldic and emblematic signs (etc.) that were made in the Middle Age by pilgrims and travellers as well as authorities from the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Yet, to date, they have been studied separately and partially. This partition related to the typology (“inscriptions” versus “graffiti”), to the type of alphabet (Latin, Greek, Arabic, Armenians etc.) and to the various languages is the result of the history of the site itself. Throughout its history, the Nativity Church was indeed under different authorities and went through key historical moments such as the extensive renovation and embellishment initiated jointly by the King Amaury and the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Comnenus. This dissociation stems as well from the traditional discipline boundaries and from an approach of epigraphic writing elaborated outside of his environmental context.

              The objective of this workshop is therefore to bring together epigraphists from different backgrounds, as well as historians, art historians and conservators to question those signs under different angles. Which typologies of graphic signs are uncovered and can we escape from the labels “graffiti” and “inscriptions”? What purpose do they serve? Which languages and writing are used? In which material and with which techniques are they realized? In which place are they located in the Church? Can we shed light to the strata located in time and the overall cartography? Who’s leading and has access to those places depending on which historical period? Who are the authors/the sponsors and the readers? Is there a hierarchy between the writings? Are there interactions between the different graphic signs? How were those signs received and communicated since their creation? This list of questions is not exhaustive and shows how various are the avenues that could be explored.

This workshop is designed as a small group discussion with two main phases, one in the CRFJ in Jerusalem, and the second in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem. Conferences opened to the wider public will be offered. The workshop is organized in the frame of the ERC Starting Grant project GRAPH-EAST, funded by the European Union research and innovation program Horizon 2020 in the framework of the Grant Agreement n° 948390.

Comité scientifique :

Comité d’organisation :


[1] Pour ne citer que les publications des 5 dernières années : Emérico Vicente Juhász, Pinturas y graffitos. BasÍlica de la Natividad en Belén, Introducción y edición a cargo de Michele Bacci, 2021 ; Lucy-Anne Hunt, “Melkite-Latin artistic interaction at the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, and in the Melisende psalter : art, liturgy and politics between Antioch and the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem in the twelfth century”, Aram Periodical, 2019, vol. 31, p. 233-316 ; Bianca and Gustav Kühnel, The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The Crusader Lining of an Early Christian Basilica, Regensburg : Schnell & Steiner, 2019 ; Michele Bacci, The mystic cave : a history of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, Brno : Masaryk University ; Roma : Viella, March 2017.

[2] To mention only the publications of the last 5 years: Emérico Vicente Juhász, Pinturas y graffitos. BasÍlica de la Natividad en Belén, Introducción y edición a cargo de Michele Bacci, 2021 ; Lucy-Anne Hunt, “Melkite-Latin artistic interaction at the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, and in the Melisende psalter : art, liturgy and politics between Antioch and the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem in the twelfth century”, Aram Periodical, 2019, vol. 31, p. 233-316 ; Bianca and Gustav Kühnel, The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The Crusader Lining of an Early Christian Basilica, Regensburg : Schnell & Steiner, 2019 ; Michele Bacci, The mystic cave : a history of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, Brno : Masaryk University ; Roma : Viella, March 2017.

Photography Workshop: A Report

(this and the following photos are by Maria Aimé Villano)

In the last week of January, we spent two days exploring the different aspects of digital photography and its role during the epigraphic research. The role of photography will be crucial for the Graph-East project, because we will not be accompanied by a professional photographer during our personal missions, and also because our field is located rather far from France, so we will not be able to return there often. Thus, we will need to make proper photos in order to analyze them later.

This brief course was conceptualized and organized by Clément Dussart, our fellow team member, and divided in two parts. On the first day we dedicated ourselves to photography, and on the next day we were dealing with more intricate subjects, such as photogrammetry and ultraviolet/infrared photography. Each day was also split in two parts, we began it with theory and finished with practice. As it was an open event, there were not only Graph-East team members in the audience, but also our colleagues from the CESCM, the University of Poitiers, and other universities. Among them were participants of another ERC project, HornEast, based in Aix-Marseille University. The number of attendees varied during the day, however, the peak number was fifteen, although including the lecturers.

We began with basics. As everything on the first day, they were taught to us by Lisa-Oriane Crosland and Eva Avril. During the first half of the first day, we were told about the camera construction, its working principle, learned about exposure, aperture and ISO – the three pillars of photography, and also about focal length, different types of objectives, white balance and different camera modes.

Then, it was time to test all the newly acquired – or refreshed, as all of us had different backgrounds and experience – knowledge on practice. Some of us brought their own cameras and tripods, some were provided with them by the lecturers, and some, including the humble author of these lines, had a possibility to test a new camera, purchased specially for the Graph-East needs. The practice was twofold: we started in the classroom with some separate stones, inscriptions, and seals, and then, after lunch, under the shy winter sun we moved to the Baptistery of St. John. There, inside the walls adorned by inscribed frescoes and among the carved sarcophagi, we were placed in field conditions. Despite the chilling cold, whose hand became even more firm as the evening descended, we managed rather well, even those who took cameras for the first time. At the end of the day, Estelle Ingrand-Varenne, our most beloved leader, took our guests from other cities to an excursion to the Church of St. Radegund, of which excursion, unfortunately, I cannot tell anything.

Next day, straight after having learned the most simple basics, we delved into depths of much more complicated methods. Divided in two groups, we learned first about photogrammetry (thanks to Daniel Morleghem, an independent archaeologist from Poitiers), and then (with help of Jean-Baptiste Javel, PhD student in Bordeaux) about some additional ways to take photos, such as macro- and microphotography, as well as ultraviolet and infrared photography, and new research possibilities opened by them. Or vice versa. Given our diverse backgrounds, those subjects were not something very new for some of us, however, those were not necessarily the same people who had not learned anything new on the previous day. To those, who, as myself, has not heard about the aforementioned methods (except maybe for macro) before, let it be known that photogrammetry consists of making a 3D image of an object, which was previously photographed from all possible angles, with help of a special software. In terms of epigraphy, it makes inscriptions more readable. However, there is also a disadvantage: the 3D models occupy quite a lot of space on the disk. As for the IR/UV photography, it requires a special filter, or a partly disassembled camera (infrared blocker removed), and literally allows to see the invisible, when it comes to the painted inscriptions or some very slight incisions. The latter can also be discovered and depicted using macro- and microphotography. So it is.

As on the previous day, we went on to practice after lunch in the same baptistery. As there was only one IR-conditioned camera, we were mostly occupied with photogrammetry, taking photos of different sarcophagi for a model, which then would be made according to them. However, those interested had the possibility to lend Jean-Baptiste’s camera for a few moments.

In general, it was an interesting experience, which also offered a rare possibility to gather all the team together. It was not definitely the last workshop organized by Graph-East team, as some other ideas were voiced during the group discussion in the evening of the last day, such as the initiation into Adobe Photoshop or InDesign, or a workshop on edition of the inscriptions, or even a workshop on heraldry, as many slabs do have different coats of arms on them. So, please stay tuned for further announcements and such reports.

Formation photos/relevés épigraphiques

25 et 26 janvier 2022, 9h-17h, CESCM, Poitiers

Objectifs

  1. Apprendre les techniques de base de la photographie pour être autonome en mission de terrain

  2. Découvrir les différentes techniques de relevé numérique

  3. Identifier ses besoins et avoir le réflexe de recourir à l’une ou l’autre de ces techniques

Programme

Jour 1

Intervenantes : Lisa-Oriane Crosland et Eva Avril

Activité : Prise en main d’un boitier réflex, apprentissage des réglages de base, mise en situation et expérimentation au Baptistère Saint-Jean avec la présence et le conseil de deux photographes professionnelles.

Matériel nécessaire : appareil photo et matériel personnel (lumières, trépied, optiques…)

Jour 2

Intervenants : Daniel Morleghem et Jean-Baptiste Javel

Activité : séparation de la journée en trois temps, partie théorique (explication du principe de chacune des techniques et de leur mode opératoire), mise en application pratique sur le terrain, traitement pratique des données acquises sur le terrain ou présentation d’autres données auxquelles le même traitement a été appliqué (si manque de temps pour faire les traitements).

Contacts :

Quand Graph-East se frotte à l’archéologie expérimentale

Graph-East vient de vivre son premier week-end d’atelier de taille de pierre. Thierry Gregor, spécialiste des techniques de taille de pierre dans l’Antiquité et le Moyen Âge, nous a généreusement ouvert les portes de son atelier – et de sa maison  – pour une immersion totale dans les aspects matériels et pratiques de l’épigraphie. Habitués à accéder au passé par un apprentissage théorique et spéculatif, un groupe de jeunes chercheurs (Clément Dussart, Savvas Mavromatidis, Hasan Sercan Sağlam, Yaroslav Stadnichenko et Maria Aimé Villano) s’est plongé dans l’expérience remarquable de prendre en mains les outils, travailler les matériaux et s’initier aux techniques. Samedi matin, Thierry nous a présenté les différents types d’outils utilisés au Moyen Âge : scies, maillets, broches, forets et ciseaux. Les outils n’étaient pas présentés sous forme de dessins ou de photographies, ils étaient là, en chair et en os, pour que nous puissions les prendre, comparer leurs poids, leurs couleurs, leurs textures et même les utiliser. On nous a ensuite montré les différentes sortes de pierres, calcaires, marbres et granits, que nous avons pu toucher, peser et “jouer” afin d’entendre le son que les différents matériaux émettent lorsqu’on les frappe. Plus tard, Thierry nous a fourni de petits blocs de calcaire et nous a proposé de passer à l’acte. Quelle découverte ! Pour la première fois, peut-être, nous avons réalisé à quel point il est difficile d’utiliser efficacement les outils, d’effectuer des mouvements qui correspondent à nos intentions, de composer avec la fatigue, la poussière et les positions inconfortables. Plus encore, lorsque le dimanche matin, nous avons troqué la pierre calcaire contre le marbre, un matériau beaucoup plus dur. Comment ne pas nous rappeler les belles inscriptions (et sculptures) que nous avons vues tout au long de nos études, en admirant encore plus la dextérité et la créativité de ces hommes et femmes qui les ont créées ! Et comment ne pas reconnaître le niveau de technique et de savoir-faire requis pour transformer, au prix de nombreuses heures de travail, un bloc de pierre brute extrait de la carrière en une œuvre digne de passer à la postérité. Même les inscriptions que nous aurions peut-être autrefois qualifiées avec arrogance de « laides », pourraient désormais mériter une certaine clémence si nous les comparons aux tentatives les plus abouties qui sont sorties de nos mains durant ces deux jours. 

Grâce à Thierry, nous avons également découvert l’importance de l’étude des traces laissées par les outils, qui offrent des informations significatives dans nos recherches, notamment lorsqu’il s’agit de spéculer sur les chronologies et les techniques.

Enfin, ce week-end nous a également donné l’occasion de rencontrer nos réalisateurs préférés, Philippe Kern et Stéphane Kowalczyk, qui continuent à travailler sur la série documentaire, ainsi que notre talentueuse photographe Eva Avril qui nous a accompagnés tout au long du voyage.

En résumé, bien qu’infructueux en termes de résultats esthétiques – en ce qui concerne nos tentatives de gravure d’inscriptions –, l’atelier nous a apporté, de manière expérimentale, un éclairage précieux sur nos sujets, mettant à contribution tous nos sens pour proposer un ensemble de connaissances complètement différent. Merci encore Thierry!

When Graph-East takes on experimental archaeology

Graph-East has just had its first weekend stone-cutting workshop. Thierry Gregor, a specialist in stone cutting techniques in Antiquity and Middle Ages, generously opened the doors of his workshop – and his home – for us to have a full immersion into the material and practical aspects of epigraphy. Accustomed to accessing to the past through theorical and speculative learning, a group of young researchers (Clément Dussart, Savvas Mavromatidis, Hasan Sercan Sağlam, Yaroslav Stadnichenko et Maria Aimé Villano) plunged into the remarkable experience of touching with hand the tools, the materials and the techniques. Saturday morning Thierry introduced us to the different kinds of tools that were used in Middle Ages: a variety of saws, hammers, pikes, drills and chisels. The tools were not displayed in drawings of photographs, they were there, in the flesh, so we could see their dimensions in comparison, their weigh and their actual colours and textures. We were then shown the different kinds of stones, limestones, marbles and granites, that we could touch, weigh and “play” so we could hear the sound that different materials emit when hit. At a later time, Thierry provided us with small blocks of limestone and proposed us to experiment with the tools. What a discovery! Perhaps for the first time, we realized how difficult it is to effectively use the tools, to perform movements that correspond to our intentions, to deal with fatigue, with dust, and with uncomfortable positions. Even more, when on Sunday morning we swapped limestone for marble, a much harder material. How not to evoke to our minds the beautiful inscriptions (and sculptures) we have seen throughout our studies, admiring even more the dexterity and creativity of those men and women that created them! And how not to acknowledge the level of technology and know-how implied in the tools and in the people capable of transforming, through many hours of work, the rough stone dwelling in a quarry into a significant object. Even the inscriptions that perhaps we would have once arrogantly called “ugly”, might deserve some mercy from now on, when compared to the best attempts we could do, during our workshop.

Thanks to Thierry we have also discovered the value of the traces left by the tools, which offer significant pieces of information to our research, in particular when speculating about chronologies and techniques.

Last but not least, this weekend also gave us the opportunity of meeting our favourite film makers, Philippe Kern and Stéphane Kowalczyk, who continue working on the documentary series, and our gifted photographer Eva Avril who accompanied us all the way.

To sum up, although unsuccessful in terms of aesthetical results – as far as our attempts at carving inscriptions are concerned –, the workshop provided us with precious insight on our subjects, in an experimental way, capable of activating both the senses and a completely different set of knowledge. Merci Thierry!