Getatchew Haile, Ethiopian Studies in Honour of Amha Asfaw

Revie

La versione etiopica del Pastore di Erma (ሄርማ፡ ነቢይ፡). Riedizione critica del testo (Visioni e Precetti)

The Shepherd of Hermas is a document of considerable significance for the history of the early Christianism, and the Ethiopic version (Gǝʿǝz Herma näbiy), translated from a Greek Vorlage in the Aksumite age (fourth to seventh centuries), is a crucial source for our knowledge of the text. Contrary to the Greek, the Gǝʿǝz version transmits the entire text, including the conclusion

Getatchew Haile, A History of the First Ǝsṭifanosite Monks

Revie

Encoding Strategies and the Ethiopic Literary Heritage: The Physiologus as a Case Study

Producing the Clavis of Ethiopic literature while making the data computer readable for extensive indexing and research purposes is among the aspirations of the project Beta maṣāḥǝft. Here, we illustrate the challenges faced with and the solutions offered by the project on the example of the Physiologus, a literary work, translated into Ethiopic from Greek during the Late Antiquity

Amsalu Tefera, The Ethiopian Homily on the Ark of the Covenant: Critical Edition and Annotated Translation of Dǝrsanä Ṣǝyon

Revie

Fossil lizards and worm lizards (Reptilia, Squamata) from the Neogene and Quaternary of Europe: an overview

Lizards were and still are an important component of the European herpetofauna. The modern European lizard fauna started to set up in the Miocene and a rich fossil record is known from Neogene and Quaternary sites. At least 12 lizard and worm lizard families are represented in the European fossil record of the last 23 Ma. The record comprises more than 3000 occurrences from more than 800 localities, mainly of Miocene and Pleistocene age. By the beginning of the Neogene, a marked faunistic change is detectable compared to the lizard fossil record of Palaeogene Europe. This change is reflected by other squamates as well and might be related to an environmental deterioration occurring roughly at the Oligocene/Miocene boundary. Nevertheless, the diversity was still rather high in the Neogene and started to decrease with the onset of the Quaternary glacial cycles. This led to the current impoverished lizard fauna, with the southward range shrinking of the most thermophilic taxa (e.g., agamids, amphisbaenians) and the local disappearance of other groups (e.g., varanids). Our overview of the known fossil record of European Neogene and Quaternary lizards and worm lizards highlighted a substantial number of either unpublished or poorly known occurrences often referred to wastebasket taxa. A proper study of these and other remains, as well as a better sampling of poorly explored time ranges (e.g., Pliocene, Holocene), is needed and would be of utmost importance to better understand the evolutionary history of these reptiles in Europe

Evidence for the History of Early Solomonic Ethiopia from Tämben: Part II: Yoḥanni Däbrä ʿAśa

This contribution continues the series of articles dedicated to the traditions and decorations of some monastic sites located in Qwälla Tämben (Central Zone of Tǝgray, Ethiopia) by focusing on the monastery and church of Abba Yoḥanni Däbrä ʿAśa. The paper presents data collected during two fieldwork visits in 2018 and 2019. It describes the early and later history of the monastery by considering written and material evidence, as well as local oral traditions. In particular, an analysis of the manuscript tradition of the Life of abba Yoḥanni – who is deeply associated with the site despite being neither its founder nor its abbot – provides new evidence about the relationship between holy men and monasteries; while a study of the wall paintings and architectural features of the church sheds light on the significance and history of visual culture in early Solomonic Ethiopia

Trapped in a roman well: amphibians and reptiles from Tenuta Zuccarello near Marcon, Venice, Italy

Altres ajuts: this work has been supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya (CERCA Program).The Roman well US 100, located in the Tenuta Zuccarello near Venice, has yielded a large number of different animals remains, dated back to 2000 ± 40 years BP. Amphibians and reptiles are represented by at least 11 taxa: two caudates (Lissotriton gr. L. vulgaris, Triturus gr. T. cristatus), three anurans (Bombina sp., Bufo bufo, Rana dalmatina vel R. latastei), one turtle (Emys orbicularis), at least two lizards (Anguis gr. A. fragilis, Lacerta gr. L. viridis), and three snakes (Natrix natrix, cf. Coronella sp., Hierophis viridiflavus). Based on this assemblage, an ecotonal environment with water bodies, open and humid areas, as well as dry and sunny areas, is here suggested for the surroundings of the well when the sediments deposited.Most of the identified taxa were found in other Venetian sites since the Pleistocene, suggesting a certain continuity in the amphibians and reptiles population in Veneto during the Quaternary. The only taxon that is absent from the Venetian Lagoon today is Bombina. Its presence in a 2000-years-old archaeological site proves that the disappearance of suitable environments for the genus is a recent phenomenon near the Lagoon. This may support future reintroduction projects in suitable areas, following a conservation palaeobiology perspective