Architectural Elements of Churches, Sacristy

Clarke, S., and R. Engelbach. Ancient Egyptian Masonry, pp. 155ff. Oxford, 1930. Deichmann, F. W. "Untersuchungen zu Dach und Decke der Basilika." Charities (1952):249-64. Durm, J. Baukunst der Etrusker und Römer, pp. 316ff. Stuttgart, 1905. Grossmann, P. "Die siedlung im Kômring A." In Archäologischer Anzeiger, pp. 463-73. Berlin, 1967. Haeny, G. "Decken- und Dachkonstruktion." In Lexikon der Ägyptologie, Vol. 1. Wiesbaden, 1975. PETER GROSSMANN Sacristy A sacristy is a side room in a church for sacred vessels and vestments and for the vesting of the clergy. It is also called a vestry. Because vessels and vestments are often valuable, the room usually contains wall niches or cupboards that can be closed or locked. One room with wall niches in an Egyptian church, on the north side of the sanctuary of the small north church of Qusur ‘Isa South I in Kellia, has been identified as a sacristy. Other side rooms with lockable wall niches, however, have not been identified as sacristies because a single such niche is not enough to determine the room's use. In the early Christian and Eastern churches, the functions of the sacristy are performed by the diaconicon and the prothesis (room for preparing the elements for the Eucharist). Since the care of valuables fell within the jurisdiction of the OIKONOMOS ("administrator"), the sacristy is the same as the qunumiyyah ("room of the administrator"). BIBLIOGRAPHY Burmester, O. H. E. The Egyptian or Coptic Church. Cairo, 1967. Descoeudres, G. Die Pastophorien im syro-byzantinischen Osten, pp. 13-14. Wiesbaden, 1983. PETER GROSSMANN Saddleback Roof A saddleback roof (Arabic, jamalun) is a pitched roof that slopes on two sides from a ridgepole to the top of a wall. It has been used since antiquity, especially in rainy areas, to cover buildings with a broad span. In Egypt, saddleback roofs were constructed over basilicas until the Fatimid period, when they were replaced by vaults. A sixth-century example is the Church of the Holy Virgin (Panagia) in the MOUNT SINAI MONASTERY OF SAINT CATHERINE. The framework of a saddleback roof is a truss, a series of triangular frames formed by a horizontal tie beam resting on two opposite walls and two rafters sloping from the ends of the beam to the ridgepole. A king-post runs from the center of the beam to the ridgepole, and struts attached to the king-post support the rafters. For wide spans two queen-posts joined by a collar beam replace the king-post. The sloping angle of the rafters facilitates the discharge of rainwater from the surface of the roof, and the rafters prevent any sagging of the tie beams, which are usually very long. For the latter reason, saddleback roofs are found also in areas with low rainfall. As a rule these tie beams are relatively close together and are rigidly braced by numerous stable horizontal battens to prevent any lateral movement. In Egypt roof trusses were generally made of cedar imported from Lebanon. Native palm was not strong enough and could be used only over a short span where no stress was involved.