Byzantine 'flat-pack' church to be reconstructed in Oxford after spending 1,000 years on the seabed
Byzantine 'flat-pack' church to be reconstructed in Oxford after spending 1,000 years on the seabed
The 'Ikea-style' church, which dates to around 550 AD, will be put on display at the Ashmolean Museum
Nick Clark Arts Correspondent |
@MrNickClark |
Thursday 12 November 2015|
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A Byzantine church ruin in Athrun in Libya similar to one that will feature at the Ashmolean exhibition Ashmolean Museum
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Centuries before the Swedes started flat-packing their furniture, the Holy Roman Emperor Justinian had his own version, sending self-assembly churches to newly conquered parts of his empire.
Now one of the “Ikea-style” churches, which spent more than 1,000 years on a seabed after the ship carrying it sank, is to be reconstructed for the first time in Oxford.
The Byzantine church will be on display at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology as part of the exhibition Storms, War and Shipwrecks: Treasures from the Sicilian Seas, opening in June.
Paul Roberts, co-curator of the exhibition, said: “Everything in the exhibition will be from under the sea. It’s very different from what’s been done before. All these different movements of people and goods have left their imprint on the seabed in a way you don’t get on the land.”
More:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/byzantine-flat-pack-church-to-be-reconstructed-in-oxford-after-spending-1000-years-on-the-seabed-a6732376.html
