The Christianization of Adulis in Light of the Material Evidence

Our paper presents the results of the recent excavations in the two churches of Adulis (Eritrea), already known since Paribeni’s investigations in 1907: the church in the central northern sector of the town – the so called ‘Altar of the Sun’ – and the church located at its eastern border. Our analysis will be centered around the following main points: chronology and function of the churces; architectural patterns in the organization of the space; possible import of lithurgical furnishing from the Eastern Mediterrenean. The two christian buildings will be examined in relation with the global ecclesiastical organization of the town, taking into account also other evidence such as a comparative analysis with one more church existing in Adulis (already discovered in 1868 by the British Museum), likely to be the town’s cathedral.