In late antiquity, there were already early Christians in Central Europe. This is evidenced by a reliquary that archaeologists discovered in a former Roman settlement in Austria. The shrine, hidden in the altar of a church, contained the fragments of an ivory pyxis that was decorated with carvings of biblical scenes. This vessel, which is around 1,500 years old, probably once contained the bones of a saint and was buried as a holy relic. It is still unclear how the Romans came into possession of these objects.
Archaeologists have been researching the remains of a large Roman settlement in the municipality of Irschen in Carinthia since 2016. In addition to personal items belonging to the former residents, they have already found several residential buildings, a cistern and two Christian churches during their excavations. In one of these churches, the team led by Gerald Grabherr from the University of Innsbruck discovered a late antique marble reliquary in August 2022. The box, measuring approximately 20 by 30 centimeters, was hidden under the altar of a side chapel.
The shrine contained, among other things, the fragments of a so-called pyxis. This “box” was made of ivory and richly decorated with carvings. At the time, clerics kept sacred objects such as incense, relics or hosts in such boxes, as Grabherr and his colleagues report. However, relics deposited in shrines, such as the bones of a saint, were usually taken with them when a church was abandoned. The ivory pyxis now discovered in the marble shrine, however, was apparently left behind by the Roman Christians when they left. The vessel is therefore a rare and spectacular discovery. “We know of around 40 such ivory boxes worldwide,” explains Grabherr.
Extensive examination of the ivory reliquary
Grabherr and his colleagues have now examined the individual pieces of the ivory pyxis in more detail. To do this, however, they first had to carefully preserve the fragile box by drying it slowly and carefully. “Ivory absorbs the moisture from its surroundings and is very soft and easily damaged in this state,” explains Ulrike Töchterle, who heads the restoration workshop in Innsbruck. “Uncontrolled drying out, in the worst case, leads to shrinkage and cracks and thus to damage that can no longer be reversed.” Despite the months-long drying process, the archaeologists were unable to return the pyxis to its original state because the larger parts were already deformed. The team is already working on a complete 3D reconstruction.
Nevertheless, the shards revealed some secrets: According to the researchers, the arrangement of the box fragments in the shrine suggests that the ivory pyxis was broken in late antiquity – around 1,500 years ago – and buried in the church’s altar. The archaeologists assume that the box previously contained the relics of a holy person. “The pyxis was probably also seen as holy and was treated as such, as a touch relic, so to speak,” says Grabherr. Even if the box is not a classic relic like the bones of a saint, it is still important – then and now. “The archaeological and art-historical significance of the pyxis cannot be denied,” emphasizes Grabherr.
Carvings depict biblical scenes
The outside of the pyxis was decorated with various Christian motifs, as the analyses also revealed. The images show, for example, a man at the foot of a mountain, above whom a hand rises from the sky, placing something between the person’s arms. “This is the typical depiction of the handing over of the laws to Moses on Mount Sinai,” says Grabherr. Other biblical figures are also immortalized on the box, including a man on a chariot pulled by two horses. A hand reaching out from the clouds pulls this figure into the sky. “We suspect this is a depiction of the Ascension of Christ,” says the archaeologist. The carvings on the pyxis thus combine scenes from the Old Testament with scenes from the New Testament. This is typical of late antiquity, says Grabherr. “The depiction of the Ascension of Christ with a so-called biga, a two-horse team, is particularly special and not known until now.”
It is still unclear where the Romans got the materials for the shrine and its contents. “Firstly, the exact origin of the marble has not yet been determined. We also want to use isotope tests to determine the origin of the ivory and the elephant,” explains Töchterle. The metal hinges on the lid of the pyxis and the glue used to attach them to the ivory are also being examined more closely. In addition, the archaeologists found wooden parts in the marble box that probably belonged to the pyxis’s closure. “These wooden parts are also being identified more closely. We are particularly interested in the type of wood and its origin, but the age is also interesting,” says Töchterle. These details could provide further insights into the Romans’ way of life and religious practices.
Source: University of Innsbruck