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A.I. Dzhopua (Sukhum), V.V. Lebedinskiy (Moscow), M.V. Fomin (Sevastopol), I.V. Skakova (Moscow) – Burial in a Lead Sarcophagus at the Early Byzantine Church in Gienos (Ochamchira, Abkhazia)

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Abstract

In the 20th century, an early Christian complex was discovered on the territory of the late Roman and early medieval settlement of Gienos (Ochamchira, Abkhazia). It was built in the second half of the 5th century and functioned until the 7th century. The excavations began in the 1970s and were continued in the 1980s. In 2019, the Abkhaz-Russian Ochamchira Archaeological Expedition resumed the research of its predecessors in the territory adjacent to the naos of the temple. In 2021, during the study of the narthex extension, below fl oor level, in the southeastern corner, a lead sarcophagus with was discovered. Lead sarcophagi were common in the territory of the Roman Empire and its periphery, but for the Eastern Black Sea region, in particular, Abkhazia, such a find is unique. The remains of the buried are extremely poorly preserved. The sarcophagus had no funeral set, except for a fragment of a glass vessel. The sarcophagus was subsequently reconstructed and is currently on display in the Abkhazian State Museum (Sukhum). The absence of accompaniments to burial greatly complicates the identification of the status of the deceased, who could presumably have been a local aristocrat and/or an imperial official. It is unlikely that he was a representative of the clergy, since the sarcophagus lacks inventory specific to the clergy. The burial could have taken place before the construction of the narthex; later, during its construction, the extension acquired an L-shape, apparently with the purpose of including the venerated grave inside the room.

Keywords

Gienos, Abkhazia, Byzantine Empire, Justinian I, early Christian church, basilica, narthex, lead sarcophagus, grave.

Arkadiy I. Dzhopua, Abkhazian State Museum, Sukhum, Abkhazia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Viktor V. Lebedinskiy, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mikhail V. Fomin, Sevastopol State University, Sevastopol, Russia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Izabella V. Skakova, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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