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Spolia
''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built structure is carried away to be used elsewhere. The practice is of particular interest to historians, archaeologists and architectural historians since the gravestones, monuments and architectural fragments of antiquity are frequently found embedded in structures built centuries or millennia later. The archaeologist Philip A. Barker gives the example of a late Roman period (probably 1st-century) tombstone from Wroxeter that could be seen to have been cut down and undergone weathering while it was in use as part of an exterior wall and, possibly as late as the 5th century, reinscribed for reuse as a tombstone. Overview The practice was common in late antiquity. Entire obsolete structures, including underground foundations, are known to ...
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Spolia Ναός Αγίου Πέτρου Καλυβίων 1847
''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built structure is carried away to be used elsewhere. The practice is of particular interest to historians, archaeologists and architectural historians since the gravestones, monuments and architectural fragments of antiquity are frequently found embedded in structures built centuries or millennia later. The archaeologist Philip A. Barker gives the example of a late Roman period (probably 1st-century) tombstone from Wroxeter that could be seen to have been cut down and undergone weathering while it was in use as part of an exterior wall and, possibly as late as the 5th century, reinscribed for reuse as a tombstone. Overview The practice was common in late antiquity. Entire obsolete structures, including underground foundations, are known to ...
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Panagia Gorgoepikoos
The Little Metropolis ( el, Μικρή Μητρόπολη), formally the Church of St. Eleutherios () or Panagia Gorgoepikoos (, "Panagia Who Grants Requests Quickly"), is a Byzantine church located at the Mitropoleos Square (Cathedral of Athens), next to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens (the "Great Metropolis"). History and dating The church is built on top of the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Eileithyia. Various dates for its construction have been proposed in the past, from the 9th century under Empress Irene of Athens to the 13th century. Until recently, the common view among scholars, especially in Greece, ascribed it to the tenure of Michael Choniates as Metropolitan of Athens, at the turn of the 13th century. However, the Little Metropolis differs considerably from other Byzantine churches of the same period in Athens, and indeed elsewhere; although it follows the typical cross-in-square style, it is, uniquely, almost entirely built of reused ''spol ...
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Arch Of Constantine
The Arch of Constantine ( it, Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in AD 312. Situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill, the arch spans the ''Via Triumphalis'', the route taken by victorious military leaders when they entered the city in a triumphal procession. Dedicated in 315, it is the largest Roman triumphal arch, with overall dimensions of high, wide and deep. It has three bays, the central one being high and wide and the laterals by each. The arch is constructed of brick-faced concrete covered in marble. The three bay design with detached columns was first used for the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum (which stands at the end of the triumph route) and repeated in several other arches now lost. Though dedicated to Constantine, much of the sculptural decoratio ...
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Palatine Chapel In Aachen
The Palatine Chapel in Aachen is an early medieval chapel and remaining component of Charlemagne's Palace of Aachen in what is now Germany. Although the palace itself no longer exists, the chapel was preserved and now forms the central part of Aachen Cathedral. It is Aachen's major landmark and a central monument of the Carolingian Renaissance. The chapel held the remains of Charlemagne. Later it was appropriated by the Ottonians and coronations were held there from 936 to 1531. As part of Aachen Cathedral, the chapel is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. History Charlemagne began the construction of the Palatine Chapel around 792, along with the building of the rest of the palace structures. It was consecrated in 805 by Pope Leo III in honour of the Virgin Mary. The building is a centrally planned, domed chapel. The east end had a square apse, and was originally flanked by two basilican structures, now lost but known through archaeology. The chapel was entered through ...
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Colosseum (131)
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world today, despite its age. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian () in 72 and was completed in 80 AD under his successor and heir, Titus (). Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (). The three emperors that were patrons of the work are known as the Flavian dynasty, and the amphitheatre was named the Flavian Amphitheatre ( la, Amphitheatrum Flavium; it, Anfiteatro Flavio ) by later classicists and archaeologists for its association with their family name (Flavia (gens), Flavius). The Colosseum is built of travertine#Uses, travertine limestone, tuff (volcanic rock), and brick-faced Roman concrete, concrete. It could hold an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 spectators at various points in its history, having an average a ...
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Arch Of Janus
The Arch of Janus is the only quadrifrons triumphal arch preserved in Rome. It was set up at a crossroads at the northeastern limit of the Forum Boarium, close to the Velabrum, over the Cloaca Maxima drain that went from the Forum to the River Tiber. History It was built in the early 4th century BC, using spolia, i.e. material from earlier buildings, including bricks, together with pottery shards, and was covered with white marble, also from earlier buildings. The exact significance of the arch is poorly understood: it is thought to have been a boundary marker rather than a triumphal arch. An alternative view is that it was built to provide shelter for the traders at the Forum Boarium cattle market. Some researchers believe it was dedicated to Constantine I or Constantius II and was known as the Arch of the deified Constantine. It is 16 meters high and 12 meters wide. Each pier of the arch has two rows of three niches. It seems logical that statues would have filled these 48 n ...
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Hypostyle
In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or underneath and στῦλος ''stŷlos'' means column). Technical options The roof may be constructed with bridging lintels of stone, wood or other rigid material such as cast iron, steel or reinforced concrete. There may be a ceiling. The columns may be all the same height or, as in the case of the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, the columns flanking the central space may be of greater height rather than those of the side aisles, allowing openings in the wall above the smaller columns, through which light is admitted over the aisle roof, through clerestory windows. Applications The architectural form has many applications, occurring in the ''cella'' of ancient Greek temples and in many Asian buildings, particularly of wood construction. ...
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Kairouan
Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661–680); this is when it became an important centre for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning, attracting Muslims from various parts of the world, next only to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. The Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city.Europa Publications "General Survey: Holy Places" ''The Middle East and North Africa 2003'', p. 147. Routledge, 2003. . "The city is regarded as a holy place for Muslims." In 2014, the city had about 187,000 inhabitants. Etymology The name ( ''al-Qayrawān'') is an Arabic word meaning "military group" or "caravan", borrowed early on from the Middle Persian word ''kārawān'' (modern Persian ''kârvân''), meaning "military column" ('' ...
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Great Mosque Of Gaza
The Great Mosque of Gaza ( ar, المسجد غزة الكبير, transliteration: ''al-Masjid Ghazza al-Kabīr''), also known as the Great Omari Mosque ( ar, المسجد العمري الكبير, transliteration: ''al-Masjid al-ʿUmarī al-Kabīr,'') is the largest and oldest mosque in the Gaza Strip, located in the Gaza City, Gaza's old city, in the State of Palestine. Believed to stand on the site of an ancient Philistine temple, the site was used by the Byzantine Empire, Byzantines to erect a church in the 5th century, but after the Muslim conquest of Syria, Muslim conquest in the 7th century, it was transformed into a mosque. Described as "beautiful" by an Arab geographer in the 10th century, the Great Mosque's minaret was toppled in an 1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake, earthquake in 1033. In 1149, the Crusades, Crusaders built a large church, but it was mostly destroyed by the Ayyubid dynasty, Ayyubids in 1187, and then rebuilt as a mosque by the Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo), ...
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Trieste Cattedrale Di San Giusto Spolia1
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provinces. Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste, on a narrow strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia; Slovenia lies approximately east and southeast of the city, while Croatia is about to the south of the city. The city has a long coastline and is surrounded by grassland, forest, and karstic areas. The city has a subtropical climate, unusual in relation to its relatively high latitude, due to marine breezes. In 2022, it had a population of about 204,302. Capital of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and previously capital of the Province of Trieste, until its abolition on 1 October 2017. Trieste belonged to the Habsburg monarchy from 1382 until 1918. In the 19th century the monarc ...
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Mezquita
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) are performed, including outdoor courtyards. The first mosques were simple places of prayer for Muslims, and may have been open spaces rather than buildings. In the first stage of Islamic architecture, 650-750 CE, early mosques comprised open and closed covered spaces enclosed by walls, often with minarets from which calls to prayer were issued. Mosque buildings typically contain an ornamental niche (''mihrab'') set into the wall that indicates the direction of Mecca (''qiblah''), ablution facilities. The pulpit (''minbar''), from which the Friday (jumu'ah) sermon (''khutba'') is delivered, was in earlier times characteristic of the central city mosque, but has since become common in smaller mosques. Mosques typically have segregated spaces for men and w ...
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Apotropaic
Apotropaic magic (from Greek "to ward off") or protective magic is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. Apotropaic observances may also be practiced out of superstition or out of tradition, as in good luck charms (perhaps some token on a charm bracelet), amulets, or gestures such as crossed fingers or knocking on wood. Many different objects and charms were used for protection throughout history. Symbols and objects Ancient Egyptian Apotropaic magical rituals were practiced throughout the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt. Fearsome deities were invoked via ritual in order to protect individuals by warding away evil spirits. In ancient Egypt, these household rituals (performed in the home, not in state-run temples) were embodied by the deity who personified magic itself, Heka. The two gods most frequently invoked in these rituals were the hippopotamus-formed fertility goddess, Taweret, and the ...
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