After the introduction of the dome in Egypt, the gallery fell into disuse because it was technically difficult to construct in mud brick, especially because of the required height. In older churches where it was retained, the space was used to set up subsidiary altars, and the women were placed in a new area in the lower part of the church, the bayt al-nisa’ ("house of women").
Architectural Elements of Churches, Horseshoe Arch
By Peter Grossmann
Ask about this article- Topics
- Church Architecture
- Author
- Peter Grossmann
- Original
- Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia
Bibliography
Butler, A. J. The Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt, Vol. 1, 2nd ed. London, 1970. Christern, J. "Emporerkirchen in Nordafrika." In Akten des VII. internationalen Kongresses für christliche Archäologie. Trier, 1965-1969. Deichmann, F. W. "Empore." In Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum, Vol. 4, cols. 1255-63. Stuttgart, 1959. Gordon, H. L. "The Basilica and the Stoa in Early Rabbinical Literature." Art Bulletin 13 (1931):353-75. Grossmann, P. "Die von Somers Clarke in Ober-Ansina entdeckten Kirchenbanken." Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts—Abteilung Kairo 24 (1969):144-68. Grossmann, P.; J. Koscink; G. Severin. "Abu Mina. Elfler vorläufiger Bericht. Kampagnen 1982 und 1983." Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts—Abteilung Kairo 40 (1984):123-51. Leipoldt, J. Schenute von Atripe. Leipzig, 1903. Orlandos, A. K. Basilik», pp. 196-202, 379-85. Athens, 1952. Rave, P. O. Der Emporenbau in romanischer und frühgotischer Zeit, pp. 19-35. Bonn, 1924. Sukenik, E. L. Ancient Synagogues in Palestine and Greece. London, 1934. PETER GROSSMANN Horseshoe Arch A horseshoe arch is a circular arch that narrows at the base. It appears occasionally in imperial Roman architecture of the second century A.D., for example, at Villa degli Setti Bassi (Ashby, 1907, p. 99, pl. 7), but is otherwise very rare. There are a few early Christian examples from Asia Minor and Syria (Hauschild and Schlunk, 1978, pp. 92-93). It is found in the early Middle Ages in Umayyad architecture in North Africa and the Mozarabic architecture disseminated from it in Spain. The Church of al-Hayz in al-Bahariyyah Oasis (Fakhry, 1950, pp. 55-60) is an example of an Egyptian church that contains several horseshoe arches. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ashby, T. "The Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna." Papers of the British School at Rome 4 (1907):3-153. Fakhry, A. Baharia Oasis. Cairo, 1950. Hauschild, T., and H. Schlunk. Hispania Antiqua. Mainz, 1978. PETER GROSSMANN Iconostasis An iconostasis is the screen or wall in a church that separates the sanctuary, presbytery, or bema, restricted to the clergy, from the naos, or area of the laity. It developed in the fourteenth century in Byzantine areas, earlier in Egypt. The Arab word for it is hijab, which literally means "curtains." The spatial separation of clergy from laity began in the early church, where low cancelli (see above) shielded the sanctuary but did not hide it from view. In the sixth century in Byzantine areas the cancelli developed into the templon, a more ornate screen with curtains above it, which concealed the acts carried out at the altar from the view of worshipers. It is not known exactly when such concealment was considered necessary. A similar effect was achieved when curtains were added above the cancelli in Western churches, first mentioned in the seventh century in Liber pontificalis (Duchesne and Vogel, 1955-1957, p. 375). About the same time, the western wall of the khurus, a room between the naos and the sanctuary, was performing the function of concealment in Egyptian churches. The wall had a central opening,