Late antique reuse of pagan temples within the framework of urban transition in the Levant (4th-8th c.)

My research project focuses on a characteristic of the post-classical city which has seen little research to date, namely the reuse of pagan temples in the Byzantine and Umayyad Levant (modern Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria). Through a detailed analysis of construction, repair and reuse, it will examine how urban temples and sanctuaries were transformed during late antiquity (4th-8th c.). My work will be the first comprehensive study of the afterlife of pagan temples in the region, providing new insights on late antique urban transformations and civic aesthetics. It will use GIS to perform a comparative multi-scalar analysis of archaeological evidence regarding construction activity, transformation, repair and abandonment of temples. By incorporating data from contemporary literary and legal sources (e.g. Eusebius, Alculf, the Theodosian Code) and by selecting significant case-studies (e.g. Gerasa, Caesarea, Palmyra), the collected dataset will allow me to interpret the changing societal drivers of pagan temple transformation in the Levantine city between Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, also casting a new light on the interaction between society and urban development. I am well prepared to undertake this enquiry. It builds upon my MA thesis (Distinction), which explored the conversion of pagan temples into churches in the Byzantine Levant, giving me insight intomonumentality and aesthetics in the evolution of urban centres in the post-Roman east. My studies at the University of Milan provided me with a thorough grounding in the history and archaeology of the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic world. I have taken Latin and Greek to university level to engage with contemporary sources, and have a reading knowledge of Italian, English, French and Spanish. I plan to take modules in Arabic and German to improve my existing basic knowledge in these languages as well. My experience of archaeological field projects in Italy, Morocco and Tunisia has provided me with an excellent grounding in the material culture of the Mediterranean as well as skills in excavation, standing building analysis and GIS. My supervisory team possesses the expertise on late antique Levant essential to my doctoral project: Prof Bowden's (UoN) interests cover both Roman and Byzantine urban evolution in the East, and he worked in the field in Jordan on a temple-church conversion, Dr Kropp (UoN) will help me understand the temples in the context of the Roman city, while Dr Reynolds' (UoB) research focuses on Christianity in late antique Palestine and Arabia.