The Enigmatic Lady on the Stone in Shivta’s Desert: A Byzantine Icon or Ex situ Figurative Relief?
This paper re-examines a unique, badly damaged stone relief depicting a human figure, discovered in an isolated building in the agricultural area near Shivta. Originally mentioned briefly by Baumgarten in his survey of Shivta’s vicinity, the stone is analysed here for its possible iconography and co...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Tel Aviv
Year: 2025, Volume: 52, Issue: 1, Pages: 127-154 |
| Further subjects: | B
Figurative stone relief
B Shivta B Maria Galaktotrophousa B Desert agricultural environments B Mother and Child B Monastic isolated buildings B Christianity in the Holy Land B Christian stone carvings |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This paper re-examines a unique, badly damaged stone relief depicting a human figure, discovered in an isolated building in the agricultural area near Shivta. Originally mentioned briefly by Baumgarten in his survey of Shivta’s vicinity, the stone is analysed here for its possible iconography and context. We propose that the relief may represent a woman with a child, potentially alluding to the motif of the Nursing Mother or possibly even the type of Maria Galaktotrophousa, common in the early Byzantine period, particularly in Egypt. The peculiar stone prompts a re-evaluation of the building, traditionally considered a farmhouse. We suggest that this and other buildings in the agricultural area, some adorned with prominent Christian symbols, could have served a distinct ecclesiastic or monastic function. This unique relic from the Byzantine era, despite its simplicity and damage, offers significant insights to the Christian way of life in this desert region. |
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| ISSN: | 2040-4786 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Tel Aviv
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/03344355.2025.2489299 |
