Michele Piccirillo (1944–2008) was a

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

priest and expert in

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

archaeology. He is credited with advancing the study of early Byzantine archaeology, and especially the study of mosaics, in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, Palestine and Syria.

Life

Early life and studies

Piccirillo was born in Casanova di Carinola, Italy, on 18 November 1944, and joined the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

early on, in 1960. In 1969 he was ordained a priest, after which he combined his pious and academic activities, studying biblical and early Byzantine archaeology. In 1970 he took his Licence in Theology from the PAA in Rome, followed in 1974 by a Licentiate in Holy Scripture from the PIB and a Laureate in archaeology the following year, this time from the

state university A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. State univer ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

.''Remembering Father Michele Piccirillo''
at ACOR Jordan, by Father Rosario Pierri, Dean of the

Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (English: Franciscan Biblical Studies) is a Franciscan academic society based in Jerusalem. It is a center of biblical and archaeological research and studies. Organization Founded in 1924, the Studium Biblicum Fr ...

, 7 October 2018. Detailed information with photos. Accessed 22 Sep. 2021.

Career

Starting in 1975, Piccirillo taught

biblical history The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a v ...

and biblical geography in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, where he had become part of the Franciscan

Custody of the Holy Land , native_name_lang = Latin , named_after= , image = Coat_of_arms_of_the_Custodian_of_the_Holy_Land.jpg , image_size = 200px , alt= , caption = Coat of arms of the Custody of the Holy Land , map ...

. As an archaeologist, he was among those who excavated some of the earliest churches in the Holy Land, which he published without the customary delay. This helped him position himself as an expert in this field and brought him international support for his projects in Jordan, Palestine and Syria.

Church continuity in Islamic periods

One of Piccirillo's main contributions in Church history was to demonstrate, based on archaeological proof, that early Byzantine traditions did not come to an end with the Muslim conquest of the Levant, but survived into the Islamic periods, a position meanwhile adopted by most scholars.

Mosaic conservation

Piccirillo's interest for ancient mosaics motivated him to work for their preservation, including by co-founding a mosaic school in

Madaba Madaba ( ar, مادبا; Biblical Hebrew: ''Mēḏəḇāʾ''; grc, Μήδαβα) is the capital city of Madaba Governorate in central Jordan, with a population of about 60,000. It is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especi ...

, Jordan, which under his guidance became today's Madaba School for Mosaic Art and Restoration. He went on with a similar project in Jericho in Palestine, centered around mosaic studies and the preservation of the Umayyad site at Khirbet al-Mafjar, known as

Hisham's Palace Hisham's Palace ( ar, قصر هشام '), also known as Khirbat al-Mafjar ( ar, خربة المفجر), is an important early Islamic archaeological site in the Palestinian city of Jericho, in the West Bank. Built by the Umayyad dynasty in the f ...

. Another project of this kind he was involved in led to the building of a large shelter over the remains of the fifth-century Holy Martyrs Church at Taybat al-Imam in Syria.

With Studium Biblicum Franciscanum

During Piccirillo's work at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (SBF) in Jerusalem, he received his Professorship in 1984, acted as the director of the SBF museum in Jerusalem (1974-2008), and headed the SFB archaeological mission in Jordan, with excavations at

Mount Nebo Mount Nebo ( ar, جَبَل نِيبُو, Jabal Nībū; he, , Har Nəḇō) is an elevated ridge located in Jordan, approximately above sea level. Part of the Abarim mountain range, Mount Nebo is mentioned in the Bible as the place where Moses ...

Umm ar-Rasas Umm ar-Rasas ( ar, أم الرّصاص), ancient name: Kastron Mefa'a, is located 30 km southeast of Madaba in the Amman Governorate in central Jordan. It was once accessible by branches of the King's Highway, and is situated in the semi-arid ...

(discovering the Umm ar-Rasas mosaics) and in the area of

. Much of his energy went into excavating and preserving the Byzantine churches at Mount Nebo, the new shelter built there over the remains of the Memorial Church of Moses being closely associated with his name.

Baptism site of Jesus

The rediscovery of the traditional site of the

Baptism of Jesus The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Bet ...

with its mainly Byzantine-era remains at

Al-Maghtas Al-Maghtas ( ar, المغطس, meaning "baptism" or "immersion"), officially known as Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan", is an archaeological World Heritage site in Jordan, on the east bank of the Jordan River, considered to be the origin ...

must also be credited to Piccirillo, who led

Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad (born 15 October 1966) is a Jordanian prince and a professor of philosophy. He is the son of Prince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan and his first wife, Princess Firyal. He is a grandson of King Talal of Jordan and thus ...

to the site and set in motion the excavation, preservation and development of Al-Maghtas.

Death

Michele Piccirillo died of pancreatic cancer on 26 October 2008 in Livorno, Italy, and was laid to rest at Mt Nebo.

Published work

Piccirillo has published dozens of scholarly articles as well as several books, among them * *''The Mosaics of Jordan'' (1993), Amman: ACOR, dealing with the entire corpus of Jordan's ancient mosaics *'' Umm al-Rasas Mayfa'ah: Gli scavi del complesso di Santo Stefano'' (1994) Umm al-Rasas Mayfa'ah: The excavation of the St Stephen Complex' as main author and co-editor with Eugenio Alliata, Jerusalem: SBF, Collectio Maior 28 *''

: New Archaeological Excavations 1967-1997'' (1998), SBF, Collectio Maior 27 *''The Madaba Map Centenary 1897-1997'' (1999), SBF

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piccirillo, Michele 1944 births 2008 deaths Italian Franciscans Byzantine archaeologists Italian archaeologists