Archaeological investigation of Bema and sanctuaries in the Church of the East temple at Tangchaodun
A Church of the East temple remain that spanned from the Tang to Yuan Dynasty had been excavated by the Tangchaodun archaeological expeditions from 2021 to 2023.It comprises the main building in the western section and the habitational quarter in the eastern section.The main building was an area dedicated to religious activities.A peculiar,high-level construction was cleared from the middle palace of the northern building group,which we identified as the Bema,one of the diagnostic architec-tural features of the Church of the East.According to foreign texts,the room to the east of Bema was the sanctuary,which we have discovered two examples dating to different periods.The reconstruction of sanc-tuaries and the construction of Bema reflect the shift of ritualistic focus from the sanctuary to Bema in the Church of the East temple at Tangchaodun.A concurrent event was the expansion of the temple's scale and its elevation in social hierarchy.The discovery of the sanctuary and Bema demonstrates the Church of the East temple at Tangchaodun was a regional religious centre at the northern foothill of the eastern Tian-shan Mountains.It provides valuable physical evidence for studying the transmission and developmental trajectories of the Church of the East,and also reflects the spectacle of east-west cultural exchanges and the co-existence of various religions along the northern route of the Silk Road.
Tangchaodun Ruinsthe Church of the EastBemasanctuarythe Silk Road
NETL
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