Basilica Dated to Constantine Reign Discovered

© Sascha Hoffmann/sxc.hu

Archaeologists in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia have found a basilica said to date from the time of emperor Constantine the Great in the area of the West Gate of Serdica, as the city was known in Roman times.

The basilica is 27 metres wide and about 100m long, according to Yana Borissova-Katsarova, head of research at the site. It featured multi-coloured mosaics. Further exploration of the find will be difficult because of its location under the modern city.

Sofia deputy mayor in charge of culture, Todor Chobanov, said that the discovery of the basilica may be proof that Constantine intended to establish the city as a centre of Christianity.

Constantine, who ruled from 306 to 337 CE, was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. Sofia, as Serdica, was under Roman rule from 29 BCE and remained under Roman and later Byzantine rule, with some interruptions because of Hun invasions and destruction, for a number of centuries.

Serdica is said to have been described by Constantine as “my Rome”. Chobanov said that the discovery of the basilica suggested that this saying attributed to Constantine was “not just words”.

The area around the West Gate of Sofia is being studied by archaeologists as part of a programme being funded mainly by Sofia municipality.

Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandukova said that there were plans for a garden and park in the area which would enable visitors to view the discoveries at the archaeological site. This project should start in 2013 and be completed within two years, local media quoted the mayor as saying.

Borissova-Katsarova, a professor at Sofia University, said that the archaeological project at the site was a continuation of excavations done between 1975 and 1980. The current project is a partnership between the municipality, the university and the Bulgarian Academy of Science.

Work at the site has resulted in the uncovering of the wall, a gate and tower. The gate was said to date from the fifth to sixth century CE, and the tower from the sixth. The wall was initially built in the second century by emperor Marcus Aurelius and was later expanded and strengthened. The foundations, two metres deep, suggest that the wall about eight to nine metres high.

She said that excavations had found that Serdica had been a very well developed town in terms of irrigation and sanitation. Archaeologists had found pipelines for fresh water.

Archaeologists had found the Via Militaris, the street used mainly for military purposes and leading to the city wall. Most of the artifacts found at the site were related to everyday life, such as coins.

Source: Sofia Globe

Monday Ground Up: Early 4th Century Christian Necropolis in Pecs, Hungary

During the 4th century, Pecs was a Roman town known as Sopianae. The inhabitants of Sopianae were known to bury their death in a nearby necropolis. At this time, Christians were no longer being persecuted in Rome for their religion. Consequently, the ruler Constantine had also converted to Christianity on his death bed and the edict of Milan in 312 CE allowed the religion of Christianity to diverge into different parts of the world.

Constantine's conversion led to increased protection for those that were previously persecuted, therefore they were often promoted to higher rankings in the community. Christianity spread throughout the Roma Empire and Sopianae became a prominent center, if not one of the most important, of the Christian world.

The tombs of Sopianae lay undiscovered up until the 18th century when archaeologists found them. They still continue to excavate the area, looking for clues about 4th century life in Sopianae. Hundreds of tombs have been found, as well as many burial chambers. Surprisingly, the tombs have remained in pristine condition, intricately painted by murals depicting Bible stories. The tombs represent everyday life and the images found on the walls in the burial chambers depict contemporary Christian rituals.

The murals themselves are an excellent representation of the earliest days of Christianity. In fact, parts of the Basilica of St. Peter are constructed atop many of the tombs, dating back to the 11th century. The Basilica of St. Peter continues the tradition of Christian worship-a site that exhibits signs of human occupation stretching back several millennia before the birth of Christ.

Today, the early Christian Necropolis is a protected by UNESCO as part of the World Heritage List.

Video Footage of the Christian Necropolis

Also check out:

The people living at the foot of the Mecsek Hills in the south-west of Hungary in the 4th century A.D.—Romans intermingled with Celts and Illyrians— were already familiar with the Te Deum. This beautiful hymn of praise says "When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers." (Tu devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.)The Early Christian Necropolis of Pécs @The Hungarian Quarterly

213 kilometers South from Budapest lies Pécs, where the complex of early Christian monuments were found. The burial hall and its painted chambers can be visited since2000. The unique Early Christian sepulchral art and architecture of the northern and western Roman provinces is exceptionally well and fully illustrated by the Sopianae cemetery at Pécs. About Hungary

Credits

Source, Source

Polyphonic Musical Composition at Notre Dame

In the central portion of Paris, France there lies an island in the middle of the river Seine. There you will find the huge Cathedral at Notre Dame which was built around 1200 AD. NotreDame is one of the most magnificently architectural locations in all of Europe. It's also a focal point for the first polyphonic music, created in honor of Notre Dame's completion.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, Notre Dame was the focal point of polyphonic music. Polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony).

The earliest written sources of music were medieval manuscripts of the late 9th century that contain liturgical texts. Small symbols were used called “neumes that indicated the contour of the melodic lines.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame

 © source

In honor of the construction of this massive structure, two composers created the first polyphonic music in the history of Western music. Leoninus was the eldest son and originally started the collection of polyphonic music that was composed for Notre Dame, adding to the collection by extending the range and scope of the music.

Magnus Liber Organi

The polyphonic musical pieces were made into a compilation of medieval music called the Magnus Liber Organi (Latin for "Great Book of Organum"), known as organum.

Viderunt Omnes

The most famous of the musical compositions was the fourth part of Viderunt Omnes by Perotinus, based on the plainchant of the same name. This chant was meant to be played in the middle of Mass services on Christmas Day.

The most incredible aspect about this musical piece by Perotinus is that, it is built entirely on an ancient structure of musical composition. In addition, the voice parts of the composition were sang entirely by monks or priests.

The evolution of harmony began in the 10th century and it made its way all over the country and the entire world. Not only would your favorite harmonical songs be nonexistent if not for this invention, but our lives would be filled with monophonic music lacking instrumentation and including the voices of monks in unison.