Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Art-Sanat Dergisi, sa.20, ss.505-530, 2023 (ESCI)
Regarding Byzantine religious art, many new discoveries were unearthed with the five-season excavations carried out in Çobankale, located in the Altınova/Yalova. The encolpion reliquary crosses, which this article focuses on, are only a few of these data. Reflecting the most open and private use of personal piety reflected in material culture, the reliquary crosses come to the fore in the Byzantine religious world with their apotropaic meanings as well as their basic religious functions as encolpions. It is thought that the encolpion reliquary crosses, which are a part of the individual belief style in the religious Byzantine society, generally protect individuals from evils, calamity and diseases due to the relics they carry. The aim of this article is to evaluate the reliquary crosses unearthed in the chapel burials in Çobankale and their place in the Byzantine religious world. In this context, based on the narratives of ancient authors about encolpions, the functions of the artifacts were emphasized, and dating suggestions were presented by comparing similar examples in the inventories of museums in different regions of Anatolia and unearthed by excavations.