Una singolare bottega di lapicidi bizantini attiva a Hierapolis Efeso e Sardi

Abstract

Upon the background of the study of Byzantine sculpture of the Justinian age (6th century), the present survey focuses on a group of sculptures, partly unpublished, which came to light in recent archaeological campaigns carried out on the basilica complex dedicated to Apostle Philip in Hierapolis Such materials reveal stylistic features similar to those of some fragments coming from the neighboring areas and from the city of Sardis. An exceptional element of comparison is represented here by the large crosses carved on the columns of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Ephesus. This homogeneous group of marble artifacts and their iconographic and executive characteristics are an indicator of the stylistic originality of a workshop mainly active in Hierapolis, but also testify to the mobility of masons and materials in some of the main Christian places of worship of the 6th century.