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The Bekalta Baptistery, also called El Gaalla Baptistery, is a paleo-christian  baptismal font richly decorated in mosaics. Found at the very end of XXe century near Bekalta, in the delegation of  Bekalta and the Monastir Governorate in Tunisia, it is in a remarkable state of conservation.

The fortuitous discovery was made during grading work at a quarry on which the archaeological site is located. The excavation activity damaged the rest of the religious complex where the baptismal font was found. Even though the sources differ on the initial state of the site, the religious complex could not be studied satisfactorily.

The baptistery is now a major part of the early Christian department of the archaeological museum located in Sousse. Indeed, baptismal fonts with mosaics are extremely rare among the known sites. The polylobed shape, previously unknown in the context of a religious building, also makes it an original artifact. Thus, according to Father Silvio Gaston Moreno, "by its polylobed and cruciform shape, this baptistery […] is a unique case in North Africa".

Location


The baptistery is found in the area of El Gaalla, in the region of Monastir,_Tunisia, between Bekalta and Téboulba, two kilometers north-west of Thapsus (or in the south-east according to Néjib Ben Lazreg and Noël Duval) and south of Lamta, at 3 km south of Henchir Sokrine in the Sahel, Tunisia, the ancient Byzacena of Roman times.

It is located on a hill 300 m from the sea, under 20 cm of earth.

Rite of baptism in Antiquity


The rite of Baptism takes up what is said in the Gospels: its purpose is to give "deliverance from sin and eternal death" according to the analysis of the text De Baptismo of Tertullian, "first great defender of Christians in the West" and "oldest description" of the rite providing a response to the desire for eternal life already present in Roman Africa, as evidenced by the cult of Dionysus. For the Byzantine period, Erhard Schneider writes "a certain affinity" with the ritual expressed in the literary sources of IIIe century.

Two stages existed, the Catechesis and baptism. Tertullian was against the baptism of young children because the "vocabulary is not […] fixed".

The process for those who would be baptized began with an interview with "a religious authority", which then continued with a primary lessons of the precepts of Catholic life and the rituals of laying on of hands, abjuration of demons and by "eating blessed salt". It was a question of both instructing and testing the morality of the postulants, by "preparing morally" for baptism. The stricto sensu training followed this first phase, as did the immersion in the baptistery bath. The postulant, now called catechist, was examined and was to undergo a period of penance.

A ceremony was held on the eve of Easter, "most solemn day" because corresponding to the Passion of Christ, "to clearly mark the link between the sacrament and the Resurrection of Jesus". The ceremony could take place at any other time on "Lord's Day". The ceremony began with a vigil and was presided over by the local bishop, who blessed the water of baptism "by invoking the Spirit of God to confer upon him the sanctifying power of the Spirit". Baptism is supposed to free the baptized from sin. The pre-baptismal rites included "the blessing of water and the renunciation of Satan"; this last rite taking place before the pool.

The catechist then entered the baptismal font and looked at the inscriptions written in the mosaic; the bishop then accompanied the Catechesis who made his profession of faith with a phrase credo pronounced and accompanied by an immersion in the tank, response to a sentence probably starting with credis and evoking the Trinity. Baptism was carried out by immersion.

Rites took place after baptism stricto sensu: "the anointing, signing, and laying on of hands". The ceremony ended with the bishop performing an anointing of holy oil on the baptized and tracing a cross on his forehead in the shape of the Greek letter tau, crossing his hands. The bishop put his hand on the head of the baptized. The latter, from that moment, could now attend masses and communions. The ceremony was closed by a meeting of the faithful which allowed the breaking of a fast started the previous day.

Brief summary of the ancient history of the region


The region in which the baptistery was discovered is influenced by the Carthaginian civilization. At the very beginning of IVe siècle, the roman province of Africa was divided by Diocletian into three entities: Tripolitania, Byzacena and Zeugitane. The capitol of Byzacena was Hadrumetum. The region, having several important cities, is a fruitful ground for the Christianization of North Africa which was accelerating in IVe siècle. For a century, African Christians opposed the donatist sect in the lineage of Donatus Magnus. Donatism spread mainly in the, the Circumcellions. The sect was also in opposition to the large landowners, often Catholics. The conversions are massive after 399 and the ban on paganism. The Council of Carthage of 411 marked the defeat of Donatism and the triumph of the Catholicism.

Pressure from other peoples and the region's reputation for wealth attracted the Vandals who went to North Africa in 429 and conquered Carthage ten years later. In 442, the conquest of the region by the Vandals was recognized by the Western Roman Empire of Valentinian III,  ,.

In the second half of 4th century, the Vandals converted to Arianism, as did the Alans. Arianism is condemned as heresy since the First Council of Nicaea. Certain vandal kings, Gaiseric or Huneric, persecuted the populations of non-Arian Africa by banning some of their members. Few martyrdoms can be attributed to them, even if atrocities are indisputable under Huneric. The other kings have opted either for a timid tolerance under the reign of Gunthamund, or for a freedom of worship under that of Hilderic, or again for new persecutions under that of Thrasamund. The vandal kings confiscated lands from imperial domains and wealthy owners, although the occupation was not generalized in Byzacena. The Vandals adopted the Roman way of life, , some having converted to Catholicism despite the proselytism of clergy Arien.

The Vandal kingdom disappeared in 533 with the reconquest of the Byzantines of Belisarius. It is not then a question of : the indigenous kingdoms continued on and urban life deteriorated, while we are witnessing a. The region is experiencing serious unrest and a social crisis in the middle of 4th century. The Byzacene saw a decline in its population and episcopal seats in 6th centiry, even if the situation seemed to be restored in the middle of the 7th century. The Byzantine reconquest brought about a.

The last third of the 4th century was full of trouble

Site history


The archeological site produced a necropolis including a tomb dating from the Punic civilization period,. The Punic necropolis was built on a hill which was destroyed by the installation of the quarry. In Late Antiquity, the region had a bishopric of which three holders are known to the Ve – VIe siècles.

The baptistery is found south of an early Christian basilica which had three. The building was facing west and the baptistery, on a west-east axis, was located in a room in its southern part. The basilica had three naves « very poorly preserved » at the time of the rediscovery of the site.

Three phases in the history of the baptistery have been identified but only the last is well known. Archaeologists have found under the baptistery the remains of another baptistery and pipes, as well as a last baptistery to the west. Uncertainties persist about the dating of the complex in its final phase. The tank was dated to VIIe siècle by some including Noël Duval,. Habib Ben Younès proposed a VIe siècle dating for the baptistery and an arrangement of the site of the Christian building in the Ve – VIe siècles. The excavation yielded an epitaph with perhaps a name of a deacon, Dinamus ,. According to Erhard Schneider, the Christian building was erected on « the site of a patrician estate belonging to Dinamus », which had been located on the site of a Punic necropolis.

Recent recoveries and archaeological research on the site


This work is one of the centerpieces of the Sousse Archaeological Museum since its discovery in the spring of 1993. The previous discovery of such a well-preserved baptistery, the Kelibia baptistry, is located at the Bardo National Museum, is dated 1949.

The discovery is linked to the work of a quarry of travertine started because of the need for travertine in the urbanization of the Tunisian coasts. Buried under the ground, the baptistery has been preserved from the construction machinery used on the site, which carried away the rim and the mosaic of the room which contained it. According to Erhard Schneider, the religious building was. The basilica, already in ruins, however lost the central and left side naves during the excavation of the quary of the quarry, , « the baptismal hall and most of the basilica » sruvived up to this date.

The site of El Gaala was targeted of excavations during the summer 1995, in particular on a pre-Roman oven and some tombs belonging to a Punic necropolis. These excavations also made it possible to recognize several buildings around the basilica. Three baptismal fonts were found: one in the south, from which the canal system has been preserved, another behind the apse and the last, on "a west-east axis and polylobed, which is the archaeological find on display.

The baptistry and the mosaics, in particular the epitaphs, were deposited at the archaeological museum of Sousse. The baptistery is one of the key works of the “Tunisian Season in France” organized at the Petit Palais in Paris, from March 9 to July 2, 1995 as part of the event Carthage: history, its trace and its echo which brought together 250 archaeological works as well as works demonstrating "the influence of the city in Western consciousness" . The baptistery is one of the pieces selected in the fall of 2020 to be reproduced in miniature for the « Museumsforall » project intended to make museums accessible to the visually impaired.

General description
The baptistry is an early Christian element frequent on the archaeological sites of present-day Tunisia but exceptional for its state of conservation. In its retained configuration, it is a rectangle of 2.50 by and a depth of 1.43 m ($1.32 m$ according to Erhard Schneider). The maximum conserved size of the mosaic is 2.80 m in the north-south direction and 2.37 m in the east-west direction. The baptistery was originally of square shape, with a rim of approximately 1.30 m leaving open in the center a space of 4.77 m on the side. The coping measured 4.77 m on the side.



The tank in the strict sense, which measures 2.18 by, is 1.35 m. With a very original shape , it is richly adorned with mosaics and a varied decor. The baptistery has eight risers, four of which are rectangular and four in the shape of an alveolus. Two steps lead down to the bottom of the tank. One of the two levels of the bottom of the tank has a shape circular. The rim has a vegetal decoration of rinceauxacanthus, flowers, fruits and birdsx, including raptors. The tank has at the bottom a cross with alpha and omega.

The tesserae of about one centimeter are in limestone of various colors (green, yellow, white, pink and black), in terracotta and marble, and also in glass,.

Iconography and text
The baptistry in Tunisia according to Habib Ben Younès.

Iconography


The mosaics of the basilica of Bekalta included in the Byzantine period. The decor includes both geometrical, plants and bird representations.

The baptistery has two representations of "a raptor with outstretched wings" in the northeast and southwest angles, falcons or hawks with a decoration of roses and palmettes. The two birds of prey have solar symbolism and in a Christian frame "Jesus' victory over death and sin" . On the southeast and northwest angles there is a floral motif with two ducks in the mysterious symbolic sense.

The lower levels feature rich patterns. The risers were given geometric patterns, including zigzags. Between each step is a bird interpreted as a dove, "symbol of the Holy Spirit" . The steps feature a representation of a shell, "symbol of fertility" . A similar motif was discovered in a baptistery at Hammam Lif.

The access steps to the base of the tank have vegetal and geometric elements. The step allowing the tank to be raised includes a rosette and a design of Saint Andrew's cross. The pattern is used only once; the cross is made of olive leaves. The last two levels before the bottom of the tank have for one of them various patterns, including waves. Seen from above, we can see a cross inscribed in a crown. The wall of the tank has "a reticulated unit" . The cross at the bottom of the tank is remarkable and, according to Erhard Schneider, is inspired by the cross erected at Golgotha by Theodosius in 420, which had lineage in the 'Roman Empire. The alpha and omega were attached to the cross. The arms of the cross widen at the ends. The background of the cross is red, its outer border is white and the middle is occupied by a cross-shaped motif « balletée ». In the lower part of the cross are the alpha and omega and, in the upper part, leaves with a petiole.

Inscription
The baptistery had a Latin inscription which was mutilated, the « greeting of the angels to the shepherds » (Luke 2,14), the inscription of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo on the border. The inscription is well preserved on the south and west sides, and the east side has been restored.

The form of the letters used in the inscription is peculiar, especially the A, the X, and the D, and a « evolution of Latin from the classical period », with among the evolutions « a phonetic rendering ».

Two other inscriptions of the « angelic hymn » are known in Byzacene, as in Uppenna. The expression Laudamus Te at the end of the text is close to another form Deo laudes, « acclamation proper donatist ».

Iconography with secular and biblical origins
The Byzantine mosaics of Tunisia are an initial reuse of secular motifs according to Taher Ghalia, with a reinterpretation, in addition to a construction of a corpus linked to « the iconography of the objects of minor arts ». The use of a motif had a liturgical meaning. The decoration has a symbolic interpretation linked to the course of the ceremonies: the future baptized descended into the tank from the west, "realm of darkness" , and ascended from the east,.

The decor, in particular vegetal, brings the baptistery closer to VIe siècle with similarities to the basilica of Dermech at Carthage, of Sbeïtla, of Bulla Regia, of Sabratha, even of the Basilica of San Vitale of Ravenna. The presence of raptors with outstretched wings is linked to the texts (Matthew 28, 24; Saint Ambrose, De sacramentis,IV,7) and represents the.

There was also a "migration [of] symbols from paganism to Christianity" . The geometric designs had were used as apotropaic (protection against the evil eye) and are prevalent in the work of mosaicists in the region. There is therefore "a Christian rereading of the heritage of the region" following the precepts of Ruspe's Fulgence, "the greatest African theologian of his time" , famous above all for his controversies against the Arianism of the Vandals.

Original form and uncertain date


The shape of the mosaic cross at the bottom of the tank, first used in Ve siècle, spread to VIe and VIIe siècle of Syria to Ireland.

According to Noël Duval and Néjib Ben Lazreg, the shape of the steps of the tank also seems to resemble the basins of the atriums of the rich Roman villas. The numbers 4, 6 or 8 are symbolic according to Christian Courtois. The eighth day is the Circumcision of Jesus Christ and the Resurrection, a "spiritual circumcision" . According to Paul Gauckler, the form is related to the simultaneous baptism of several people. According to Father Silvio Gaston Moreno, the shape of the tank is more linked to aesthetic considerations since the access was undoubtedly planned for a precise direction of circulation.

The baptistery would be that of a church of a domain of a large owner named Dinamus. The building seems to be similar to rural religious buildings of the Sahel, Tunisia equipped with baptistery. The mosaics of one of these buildings are exhibited at the Lamta Archaeological Museum. The archaeological context invites us to favor a late dating of the VIIe siècle for the baptistery according to Duval. Habib Ben Younès and Father Moreno are suggesting that the date was VIe siècle,.

Local testimony of a transcendent discourse and symbolic meaning of iconography
The motifs used put forward a, , notions disseminated by Saint Augustin and Fulgence de Ruspe. The patterns can also refer to a spirituality that has been present for a long time. The rhombus with a cross and a center in a circle is a symbol known in Byzacene; it has a function apotropaic in relation to the worship of Tanit and Baal Hammon and, in a Christian context, "can […] symbolize the mercy of God manifested in Jesus Christ" .



The very many motifs used in the iconography of the baptistery have a symbolism. For example, the symbol of the center is very present and underlined by tesserae of different color: "symbol of the center of the world" before, it becomes "symbol of the one God and of Jesus Christ, the Savior universal" . The circle is the symbol of "the Divinity bent over his creation" . The cross in the circle is, according to Erhard Schneider, the "symbol of the regenerative presence of God giving spiritual new birth at the time of baptism" . The three concentric circles evoke the. The motifs used in the tank make the water "fertile and full" of the "regenerative force of the Spirit" according to the interpretation of texts of Saint Cyprian. The alpha and omega connected to the cross refer to Book of Revelation, 22:13-14. The cross is the "symbol of Jesus who died on the cross" and the martyr is seen as a baptism allowing direct access to Paradise according to Tertullian and Saint Cyprian, without waiting for the Resurrection at the end of time. The crown visible on the first level of circular form is both the and the. Schneider evokes for one of the reasons these were used in the tank was an influence of the liturgy donatist; the community living there would have subsequently returned to Catholicism. The square-shaped mosaics on the lower wall of the vessel symbolize the gateway to New Jerusalem and a return to initial perfection.

Works
Carthage : l'histoire, sa trace et son écho

Basiliques chrétiennes d'Afrique du Nord

Le baptistère d'El-Gaalla

El Gaala, site périphérique de la ville de Thapsus (Ras Dimas) à l'époque préromaine : note préliminaire

La mosaïque byzantine en Tunisie

Le baptême et les baptistères chrétiens en Tunisie

Histoire générale de la Tunisie

L'Afrique romaine

L'Afrique romaine : de l'Atlantique à la Tripolitaine (146 av. J.-C.-533 ap. J.-C.)

Articles connexes

 * Baptismal font - Baptistery
 * Mosaic
 * Vandal Kingdom - Exarchate of Africa
 * Late antiquity