Late Antique Stone Reliquaries from the Eastern Adriatic Coast: Their Form, Location, and Liturgical Role

Abstract

The form and decoration of reliquaries, their location within churches, and the context of their finding are extremely important for understanding the custom of storing and worshipping relics, as well as their symbolic role in establishing and organizing liturgical space. This short comparative study focuses on some early Christian stone reliquaries found in the area from Istria (Pula, Samager) to Kvarner (Rab, Cres) and further to central Dalmatia (Split, Brač), observing them in the context of a large body of similar known objects found throughout the late antique world. The aim has been to present and interpret some of the already identified and discussed practices of preserving and worshipping relics during the early Christian period using some representative examples found in the Eastern Adriatic coastal area.