Mosaici della cattedrale di Hama in Siria

The Cathedral Church of Hamah/Epifania was found in 1983 and partially excavated in the following years by the late Mr. Abd Razzaq Zaqzuq, at the time Inspector of the Antiquities of Hamah and untimely dead in a car accident. The general plan and the study are based on the photographic documentation given by the late archaeologist to the writer for publication. The excavation of the eastern sector of the three nave basilica is not yet completed. The ecclesiastical complex, discovered on the south of the new Cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Community, is composed by the church with the narthex, the southern stoa/porch, dated to the year 415 A.D., with an adjoining room, and the baptisterion on the west side (dated to 412 A.D.), all paved with mosaics. The mosaic floor decorated with crosses and interlaced compositions is an important historical link between the Syrian mosaics of the end of the IVth century and the mosaic floor of the church of the Holy Martyrs at Tayibat al-Imam dated to the year 442 A.D. excavated by the same archaeologist (cf. Piccirillo, LA 49, 1999).