Camel, O Camel, come and fetch and carry

Mødedato: Torsdag d. 14/4 2016, kl. 17.30
Mødetid er kl. 17.20, døren låses!

Lokale: Antikmuseet på Aarhus Universitet, Victor Albecksvej, Århus C, bygning 414

ved Dr. Jennifer Cromwell, Post.Doc. ToRS, Københavns Universitet
After the introduction of the camel into Egypt by the Persians, it became the most important beast of burden in the first millennium CE. They were used by the Roman military, for transport to the quarries and ports of the eastern desert, and by monasteries throughout the country.

In the biography of Saint Menas, it was a camel that determined where he was to be buried, where his cult site was established, and afterwards camels became a standard element on Menas pilgrim flasks.

The importance of camels within a monastic context lies at the heart of my paper: the roles camels played, who was responsible for their care, and who benefited from their by-products. The majority of this evidence comes from the 7th and 8th centuries, and is found at sites throughout the Nile Valley.