medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
The St. Johannis-Kirche in Mainz is the city's former cathedral, dedicated by Bp. Hatto in 910 and replaced in that function, later in the same century and on a nearby site, by the earliest phase (the so-called Willigis-Bau) of the present cathedral of St. Martin. It was rebuilt in the thirteenth century, suffered badly in the Napoleonic period, and was given in 1828, more or less as an empty shell, to a Protestant congregation that restored it and that continues to use it today. Some German-language accounts of its history are here:
http://www.mainz.de/WGAPublisher/online/html/default/MKUZ-5SXLTD.DE.0
http://www.johannis-mainz.de/kirche/geschichte/
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Johannis_%28Mainz%29
Since last year archeological work has been conducted within this church in connection with yet another restoration (see <http://www.johannis-mainz.de/kirche/sanierung/stand-der-bauarbeiten/>). Last August it was announced that two levels of construction had been discovered below the floor of the tenth-century church, one thought to be Frankish and the other late Roman. Just a few days ago it was announced that the Frankish structure was a Carolingian predecessor of Hatto's building that, rather than having been torn down, was incorporated into the new church and that in places the latter's walls up to the roof are from this earlier building. Two skeletons, clearly burials within the predecessor church, have also been found. An illustrated, English-language account is here:
http://www.thelocal.de/20140227/germanys-second-oldest-church-hidden-for-1200-years-found-in-mainz-cathedral
And an illustrated, German-language account is here:
http://tinyurl.com/q7c45nv
Best,
John Dillon
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