GMS – Gammadiae Management System: cataloguing and interpretation project of the so-called gammadiae starting from the iconographic evidences in the Roman catacombs

Abstract

In the Early Christian catacombs of Rome, the use of the so-called gammadiae was pretty common. Unfortunately, at the daily state of the art, the comprehension of these symbols is still object of discussion for the international research community. In this paper we present the Gammadiae Management System (GMS), a database developed to study and comprehend the meaning of the so-called gammadiae represented on the pallium of saint characters in Early Christian catacombs of Rome. The cataloguing process has been useful to understand a particular symbolism used in the Antiquity, since the 1st century A.D. in the Jewish textile evidences, till the Dura Europos synagogue frescoes and, also, in some profane evidences, such as mosaics or precious gems. The so-called gammadiae seem to indicate the authority and the moral qualities of the men and, rarely, women who wear the pallium. At the moment, the GMS contains 209 forms about the so-called gammadiae in the Roman catacombs, realised in various techniques and on different supports.

Keywords

• Gammadiae
• Clothing
• Early Christian Archaeology
• Catacombs
• Database
• Symbolism