Byzantine Research Articles

The Problem of Transmitting Church Tradition in the Works by Sergey Fudel

The article is dedicated to one of the most relevant issues in religious thought—the preservation of church tradition. The interest in this issue became particularly acute for Russian religious thinkers of the 20th century, who witnessed radical changes in living conditions and collective consciousness. The article examines the interpretation of the issue in the works by Sergey Fudel (1900–1977), a church writer and carrier of pre-revolutionary Russian culture. He had communication with outstanding spiritual figures spanning the late 19th to the 20th centuries, confessors of faith, and new martyrs. The church and historical context of Fudel’s works is explored, clarifying the connection between the writer’s views on the transmission of church tradition, his own biography, the figures of his mentors, and the existence conditions for the persecuted Church, evidenced in Fudel’s writings. The article sheds light on the writer’s response to changes in the conditions of church life in the mid-20th century and the feeling of a “generation gap” that emerged in him. It reconstructs Fudel’s notion of the “monastery in the world” as an environment where church tradition is preserved. The correlation between Fudel’s concept of church tradition and his ecclesiological views is illuminated. The research findings lead to the conclusion that the phenomenon of the “hidden Church” as an alliance of “two or three” disciples of Christ was not, in Fudel’s view, a temporary solution stemming from the era of persecutions. Instead, the writer regarded such an experience as an exposition of the Church’s original teaching about itself and an enduring model of church relations. Like many others, Fudel acknowledged the providential significance of trials undergone by the Russian Church. However, he insisted that the experience of the “hidden Church” revealed the original teaching of the Church about itself, preserved throughout the ages. The article also considers the relationship between Fudel’s views and other approaches to the “generation gap” problem. Fudel’s evaluation of previous eras, marked by the “external prosperity” of Christianity, allows characterization of his attitude towards various concepts of tradition, both classical, tracing back to the times of the Byzantine Empire, and those contemporary to the writer.

Homoousios or Homoiosis

Abstract This article will elucidate the philosophy of the image that developed in the wake of the Iconoclastic Controversy in the Eastern Christian Empire in the ninth Century. Iconophilia was finally reinstated after a wave of iconoclasm swept across the Empire. The controversy coincides with dramatic changes within the Byzantine empire, making it difficult to establish consensus amongst scholars regarding its possible causes. After discussing several of the theories that seek to explain the adoption of iconoclasm in the Byzantine Empire, we will seek to show how image veneration was transformed and differentiated from relic worship thanks to its encounter with iconoclasm. After reviewing icon veneration prior to the Iconoclastic Controversy, this article will elucidate the philosophy of the image developed by Patriarch Nicephorus in order to show how he differentiated veneration from idolatry by redefining the image as “similar to” (homoiosis) rather than consubstantial with (homoousios) its model. By differentiating image veneration from the theory of consubstantiality that was normative within Judaism and Islam, Christian philosophy of the image will differentiate resemblance from identity, inscription from circumscription, and thereby reveal iconoclasm to be in the eye of the beholder.

Византийские амфоры в Золотой Орде

The authors study the typology of amphorae produced in the Byzantine Empire and on the territories that preserved Byzantine traditions, as well as the chronology of their arrival on the territory of the Golden Horde State. Five production centers are identified, the production of each one constituting a separate group. These five groups of amphorae constitute more than 99% of all finds of trade containers on the territory of the Golden Horde. Each group is provided with a brief characterization of technology and visually identifiable features, and information is offered about the specific number of finds and changes in the quantities of delivered vessels at different chronological stages. A brief review of opinions about the place of production of these groups of amphorae is collected. The vessels from the first group (“Trebizond” ware), taking into account the written accounts and indirect evidence, should be attributed to the production centers on the territory of the Trebizond Empire. They constitute the absolute majority of all finds. Their share in the ceramic complex gradually decreases until the middle of the 14 th century. In the 1350 s, there was a sharp decline in the number of finds, but in the next decade, their level of supply was restored. The second group of amphorae (“Trillia” ware) exported through the port of Trillia were the products of the production centers from the region of Nicaea. This group was imported in small quantities in the 1260—1320 s. The third group of amphorae is known in the scientific literature as the “SSS stamp ware” amphorae. Within a short period of time (1240—1260 s) of their supply on the territory of Ulus Dzhochi, their quantity is numerically comparable with the amphorae of the Trebizond group. The fourth group of amphorae in the Golden Horde time has a characteristic feature — a concave bottom. The place of their production is not established. These amphorae were supplied until 1330. The last group is represented by large light clay vessels with loop-shaped handles on the shoulders, their characteristic feature being rope imprints on the body in the place of its maximum diameter. This type of amphorae was supplied to the territory of the Golden Horde in the first third of the 14th century.

<em>Roman Culture in the Ottonian World</em>

Roman culture outlived its empire in the West. Any study aiming to assess its relevance in the medieval period must consider that related conceptions and cultural features may change over time. A significantly different definition may have applied to medieval periods compared to what we know from the time of the Roman Principate. This paper studies Roman culture in the Ottonian world by considering the significance and role attributed to the culture of the Roman past and the Byzantine present. The first section focuses on cultural elements related to politics and the exertion of power, the second deals with Roman culture in the material heritage, and the third discusses related non-material aspects. The study argues that although the Ottonians called themselves emperors of a Roman empire, elements that may have been conceived as Roman or were related to the Byzantine world were far from abundant and largely limited to the court. The Roman empire was part of their western heritage, while Roman and Byzantine models represented the sole known sets of adequate examples or sources of inspiration to represent western emperorship. These models had already been adopted and adapted by the Carolingians, who remained an important reference among their imperial successors. Still, while influences from Byzantine court culture were present at the Ottonian court, monastic and popular Byzantine culture was largely absent from the Ottonian world. .

The Argead Kings of Macedonia in the 'Chronicle' of John of Nikiu

This essay deals with a description of the reigns of the Macedonian kings of the Argead dynasty (Philip II, Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus) in the Chronicle of John of Nikiu (late 7th century AD). The author argues that in contrast to John of Nikiu’s information about Philip II and Philip III Arrhidaeus, the account of Alexander found in his Chronicle is far from being merely a truncated version of the corresponding story given by John Malalas (6th century AD), but has a certain self-sufficiency. Therefore, in the opinion of the author, it can be well assumed that the image of Alexander presented by John of Nikiu holds a special, albeit quite modest, place among the portraits of the great conqueror we find in the Byzantine world’s literature.

Полемика о дате прекращения правления Восточной Римской империи в Климатах Готии

Introduction. Crimean historians dated the liberation of the Klimata of Gothia from the control of the Eastern Roman Empire to the end of the 12th century, 1204 or 1070. Anna Komnene wrote about Cherson belonging to Byzantium in 1092. A.A. Vasiliev, as well as A.A. Kunik and V. Heid, saw in the text of the Alexei III Angel’s chrysoboullos in 1198 a proof of the “liberation” of Crimean Gothia from political dependence on Byzantium. A.L. Jacobson joined this opinion. Analysis. According to the conclusion of A.P. Kazhdan, the Metropolitan of Athens Michael Choniates’s letter no. 3 to Pegonites fixes the dispatch of tax collectors from Constantinople to the Klimata of Gothia and thus is evidence of the real power of Byzantium in the Klimata and the Cimmerian Bosporus around 1180. The term θέμα acquires its former administrative meaning after the reform of the Komnenoi, which restored, at least in Asia Minor, the old principle of dividing the territory of the empire into administrative units, again called themes and controlled by a high-ranking military officer – the doux, who again controlled the civil administration. These military districts formed the core of the Komnenian provincial administration. The 12th-century-seals of Byzantine aristocrats originating from the territory of the Klimata of Gothia testify to the possible sale of administrative positions in the Crimea by the Komnenoi to representatives of aristocratic families. Results. The administration of the Eastern Roman Empire in the region was interrupted by its defeat in 1204 by the Crusaders. Throughout the entire period of their existence in the Klimata of Gothia, there is no evidence of their autonomy. In 1261, the emperor of the Nicaean Empire, Michael VIII Palaiologos, captured Constantinople and restored the Eastern Roman Empire. The Empire of Trebizond continued to live an isolated life, and Cherson with Klimata of Gothia paid tribute to it.

The Cornerstone of the Ecumene: on the question of the medieval Church center of Zichia

The subject of the study is the history of Christianization of the part of the Caucasian Black Sea region located in the South of Russia and the adjacent territory. Since its inception, in the 1st century AD, Christianity has formed a complex structured organization that gradually spread its influence over the territory of the Roman Empire and a number of other states. In the Western Caucasus, the presence of a church organization has been recorded since the sixth century, however, a large amount of archaeological data indicates that the first Christian communities in Southern Russia arose much earlier. Special attention is paid to the consideration of issues related to the formation and development of the Christian mission on the Black Sea coast of the Western Caucasus in the medieval period. The author examines the stages of Christianization of the autochthonous peoples of the region, paying special attention to the complex aspects of their ethnogenesis and political development, as well as the evolution of geographical representations of this territory in the consciousness of the civilized world represented by the Byzantine Empire. The importance of the problem of localization of the largest religious center – Nikopsia of Zikhi leads to the need for a thorough analysis of the available narrative sources, the conclusions of which are comprehensively included in the results of this study and are additionally illustrated in the table. The main result of this study is the identification of an obvious contradiction in approaches to the localization of Zikhian Nicopsia. Despite the fact that a fairly large number of researchers have addressed this problem, it should be noted that this problem has not yet been definitively resolved. The main premise characterizing the approach of most researchers who have addressed this topic is the idea of the uniqueness of the oikonym "Nikopsia" for the Caucasian Black Sea region. This idea gave rise to numerous versions of the localization of the famous, according to a number of medieval sources, Nicopsia of Zikhi. At the same time, most medieval literary monuments of Caucasian origin are united in the issue of localization of this, one of the oldest, Christian centers of the Western Caucasus. Nikopsia of Zikhi, which changed its name in the early tenth century, later became known as Anakopia.

Между росами и варангами: этерия пехотинцев в гвардии византийских императоров в последней трети X века

Introduction. The article is dedicated to the study of the hetaireia of infantrymen – the Byzantine Imperial Guard troop in the 970–980s, which included mercenaries from Rus’ and Scandinavia. Methods. The research is based on a combination of systemic and institutional approaches in the analysis of Byzantine and Old Icelandic written sources that allow us to establish a chronological framework for the existence of this military formation, its composition, structure and place in the development and transformation of the foreign mercenary corps in the Byzantine Empire during the 10th century. Analysis. The unit is known by the rank of its commander, the hetaireiarches of infantrymen, mentioned in “Escurial Taktikon” (970s). The main information on the hetaireia of infantrymen and related foreign mercenary groups in Byzantine service is contained in the treatise “De Cerimoniis” (963), the historical work by Leo the Deacon (late 10th century), the military treatise “De castrametatione” (second half of the 980s) and in the Old Icelandic sagas such as “Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða”, “Finnboga saga ramma”, “Hallfreðar saga vandræðaskálds” and “Brennu-Njáls saga”. Results. As the study shows, the hetaireia of infantrymen was organised during the reign of the emperor John I Tzimiskes (969–976) and existed from 970 to 988–989, becoming one of the stages in the formation of the so-called “Varangian-Russian” corps as part of the Byzantine armed forces. Presumably, this unit consisted of two troops of northern mercenaries with a total number of about 400–800 warriors.

Арабские завоевания. Взгляд из Египта

The reasons for the success of the Arab conquests present a complex problem. It is difficult to explain the victories of the Arab-Muslim troops, which had much less military-demographic potential than neighboring Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) and Sasanian Empire. The article is devoted to identifying the main causes of Egypt’s loss by Byzantium and its capture by the Arabs. Methods. The main research method was factor analysis, which allows to find out all the possible reasons for the success of the Arabs and the defeat of the Byzantines, to identify their internal relationship and hierarchy, classifying them into basic and situational ones. Analysis. The study analyzed the influence of the religious factor (Islam for the Arabs, the Christological schism for Egypt), the military potential of the Arabs and the Byzantines (the expected number of troops, the strategy and tactics of the warring parties, the motivation of the armies, etc.), the degree of the consolidation of the elites, public sentiment. Special attention was paid to the route of the Arabs, the role of Patriarch Cyrus (Mukaukus), two attempts to reconquist Egypt by the Byzantines, the system of administration and taxation of the Arabs on the conquered territory. Results. The main factor in the defeat of the Byzantines in Egypt can be considered the weak integration of this region into the Empire, as indicated by the unresolved religious issue (Chalcedonian schism), insufficient military contingent, weak social support for the central government, etc. The main reason for the success of the Arabs in conquering and keeping Egypt under their rule can be considered a “symbiosis” of two factors: 1) early Islam, which contributed to the consolidation of society and the elites, gave meaning for the motivation of the army, contributed to the establishment of the dhimma system, which provided Christian communities with autonomy in religious matters, and 2) the genesis of the Arab state, which passed at the same time and created real conditions for borrowing managerial and fiscal models, “natural” for the conquered territories.

Новый сфрагистический источник с южного берега Крыма: печать Патрикия и главного логофета Константина из акватории у мыса Плака

Introduction. Thanks to sigillographic sources, the sigillographic map of Byzantine Taurika is constantly being refined and expanded due to the emergence of new places for detecting molybdoboulla. Today, the finds of seals can be noted not only in the Southwestern or Eastern Crimea, but also on the southern coast of the peninsula. Methods. The attraction of sigillographic data, including from underwater archaeological research, and their comprehensive analysis (stylistic, iconographic, paleographic) often sheds light on some still dark pages both in the history of Taurika and the Byzantine state as a whole. A new find of the Byzantine seal from the water area of the Crimean South Coast opens another previously unknown point near Cape Plaka, where a sigillographic monument was first discovered, and once again raises the question of the addressees of correspondence, which, as it seems, should have been directly related to the Byzantine administration. Analysis and results. According to legend, the seal belonged to an official of the first rank – patrikios Constantine, who held one of the highest civilian posts in the Byzantine capital – the position of the genikos logothetes. The stylistic features of the molybdoboulla, together with the data of written sources, give reason to date this sigillographic monument to the beginning of the last quarter of the 9th century. The discovery of a seal in the water area near Cape Plaka may probably indicate not only a ship parking in a convenient bay, but also the existence of a certain port infrastructure in the nearby coastal town (Lambat), which, judging by the seal, in one way or another should have been directly related to both the local administration apparatus and the capital’s authorities in connection with the region’s entry into the sphere of imperial influence and the subordination of Taurika to the administrative and financial institutions of the Byzantine Empire. Contribution of authors. Нistorical, sigillographic and epigraphic analysis conducted by N.A. Alekseienko; historical-topographical and archaeological survey conducted by S.V. Ivanov.

Resurrecting Mitzpe Shivta: connections between monasticism and economy in the Late Antique Negev Desert

Occupation of Mitzpe Shivta in the Negev Desert coincided with times of economic and social upheaval and counterculture movements during the sixth and seventh centuries AD. Inscriptions and symbols found in rock-hewn rooms in the region indicate that while the agricultural economy declined during the late Byzantine period, pilgrimage and monasticism prospered.

Early Byzantine fish consumption and trade revealed by archaeoichthyology and isotopic analysis at Sagalassos, Turkey

We document the dietary and economic role of fish at Sagalassos, a town in ancient Pisidia (southwest Turkey) for the Early Byzantine period (c. 550 – 700 CE) through a detailed analysis of animal bones and stable isotopes. The role of fish in the diet is quantified, for the first time, based on large samples of sieved remains retrieved during the excavation of a number of spaces in an urban residence. The table and kitchen refuse from the mansion shows that fish was a regular part of the diet. However, past isotopic work focused on human individuals excavated in the city’s necropolises, slightly postdating the faunal remains examined, did not reflect this consumption of aquatic food. The studied assemblage comprises at least 12 different fish taxa, including five marine species, a Nilotic fish and six Anatolian freshwater species. Since the origin of the freshwater fishes could not be unambiguously determined by zoogeography alone, we analyzed carbon, nitrogen and sulphur stable isotope ratios in archaeological fish bones from Sagalassos as well as in bones of modern fish collected at different sites in Turkey. We show that most freshwater fish, i.e., all cyprinid species, came from Lake Eğirdir. No evidence was found for fish from the local Aksu River basin. The exact origin of pike, which account for 3% of all freshwater fish, could not be directly determined due to a shortage of modern comparative data. Using the data obtained on the provenance of the fish, the ancient trade routes possibly used in the Early Byzantine period are reconstructed using a combination of archaeological, numismatic and historical data on past commercial relations.

The mosaic tesserae in the industrial Byzantine wine press, Yavne, Israel: A natural unusually hard chalk or a chemically transformed chalk?

Many of the surfaces of a large industrial scale wine press from the Byzantine period in Yavne, Israel, are covered in mosaic tesserae. These surfaces are part of the grape presses, storage pools, fermentation pools and also the walkways between these structures. The calcitic tesserae resemble limestone in color, texture and fracture properties. We were therefore surprised to discover that they are more disordered at the atomic level than consolidated limestone and in fact they are as disordered as porous and friable chalk. In addition SEM examination of fracture surfaces reveals abundant nannofossils, mostly coccoliths and foraminifera; properties that are also reminiscent of chalk. The nanofossil identifications shows that the tesserae are from the Middle Eocene, and this includes the chalky Maresha Formation that outcrops about 15kms from the site. SEM examination of polished surfaces shows that the larger pores of tesserae are lined with euhedral calcite crystals. Vickers hardness measurements show that the tesserae are much harder than chalk, and are comparable to limestone. There are two scenarios for explaining these seemingly contradictory observations. One scenario is that a chalky limestone geological formation with all these properties exists somewhere in the Mediterranean region and is the source of the raw material for the tesserae. The second scenario is that the Byzantine constructors of the wine press transformed a chalk into a harder and more consolidated material. Chalk transformation processes akin to plaster formation can be excluded based on the analyses of the stable carbon isotopic compositions of the tesserae, as well as their 14C concentrations. A chemical transformation using a weak acid that would only affect the calcite in the vicinity of the accessible pores, and leave the bulk of the chalk and its microfossils in a good state of preservation, is conceivable. In fact a by-product of producing wine is vinegar and the acetic acid of the vinegar could conceivably have been used for this purpose. If indeed a chemical transformation of soft chalk into a hard durable material was used, this would represent a “lost” technology that might even be useful in present times.

Antinomic Understanding of the Secular in Georges Florovsky's Works

The present article analyses the approach of Georges Florovsky to the problem of the secular (worldly, earthly, immanent). Georges Florovsky gave the secular tendencies in the Christian world a negative assessment as they led to cultural crises. He proposed to seek their origin in the antinomic (God–human, both earthly and heavenly) nature of the Christian church. He deduced that the origins of secular culture stemmed forth from the medieval attempts to break this antinomy, to create Heaven on Earth. This could be seen in the Byzantine Empire (the subordination of the Church to the Emperor), in the Latin world (the assignment of secular power to the Pope), in the European post-Reformation thought (through the blurring of the distinction between theology and de-Christianized philosophy), and later in the Russian religious philosophy (attempts to formulate the idea of Christian state). Drawing on the concept of the divine-human antinomy of the Church, Georges Florovsky insisted that the Church should neither try to blur the line between the religious and the secular, nor attempt to influence secular politics, but should instead proceed from the fact that culture is intrinsically religious and substantially theologized. In fact, he objected to the ecclesiasticization of politics and offered to proceed from the assumption that Christianity (religion) is universal by default. Florovsky used a dual, dialectical approach in which secular discourse is seen as a religious discourse that aspires to secular power and consequently ceases to be religious, creating a kind of secular culture that threatens Christianity itself. In order to overcome this secular culture, Christianity is called upon to abstain from direct political influence on it. While avoiding limitations of the religious–secular du-alism of the Enlightenment and allowing the Church thought to prevent aggravating relations with secular politics, this approach fails to properly distinguish between the causes and the effects of secular discourse. The conclusion identifies ways of furthering Florovsky's approach and thought.

The Study of the Logistics Ontology by the Historical-Genetic Method

The objective of the study is to establish the origin and evolution of the term «logistics», understood as management of material flows and stocks. The historical-genetic method and content analysis were used in the study of available sourcesThe inconsistency of assumptions about the origin of the name «logistics» in the modern interpretation from ancient Greece and the Byzantine Empire is shown. There is also no connection between the mathematical logic developed by Leibniz and the content of logistics in economics and military affairs. The illegitimacy of explaining the evolution of the term «logistics» by random coincidences of words that are homonyms and related to different historical eras and countries has been established.The priority of G. V. Jomini in formulation of the principles of logistics in his works on the art of war, written after emigration to the Russian Empire, is confirmed. Due to the spread of Jomini’s works in the countries of the world, logistics began to develop in its modern form, initially in the military sphere, and then in economic activity.The reasons that led to intensive development of logistics during the Second World War and in the post­war period are systematized. Differences in priorities during these periods in the countries of the world are studied. Two main trends were identified, one of which was to use the competitive advantages of logistics in a market environment, and the other to ensure spatial connectivity and transport accessibility of territories.

Yavne and the industrial production of Gaza and Ashqelon wines

Recent excavations at Yavne show the scale of the wine industry at the site, indicating the central place of its wineries in the viticulture, processing and trade of wines from Ashqelon and Gaza during the Byzantine period. The paper analyses the textual and archaeological evidence for the production and popularity of these wines and gives emphasis to the discovery of a huge wine estate that includes multiple winepresses, warehouses and pottery kilns. These finds are contrasted with similar sites along the southern coastal plain of Late Antique Palestine. The specific wineries and pottery kilns associated with this industry are presented, showing unifying and differentiating characteristics, and the connection between the wineries and adjacent kilns in which ubiquitous Gazan amphorae were manufactured. These traits point towards the creation of a regional terroir (wine growing region) and a branded product from the 5th to 7th centuries CE. Finally, an attempt is made to address the production capacity of this wine industry, as expressed through evaluation of the winepresses at Yavne.

A Digital Approach to Revisiting the Byzantine Past of Al-Madrassa Al-Halawiyya in Aleppo

The architectural complex of the al-Madrasa al-Halawiyya in Aleppo, Syria, remains one of the most remarkable monuments in the centuries-old city. First founded as the Church of St. Helen in the 6th century to serve as the Cathedral of Byzantine Aleppo, the structure preserves evidence of a complicated building history. For example, the Cathedral was converted into a mosque in 1124; later, parts of the church were integrated into a Madrassa. More recently, damage to the structure due to the war revealed information about Byzantine building methods. This research revisits the building history of the monument by relying on a parametric, Building Information Modelling (BIM) representation to compare the surviving structure with earlier reconstructions. This article addresses the following: (1) A survey of the building's history, topography, and architecture: Over the centuries, al-Madrasa al-Halawiyya has attracted Medieval monks, travellers, brigands, scholars, and more. Their accounts offer exciting opportunities to contextualise structural and functional changes to the complex. (2) An analysis of the historical structure, especially from the Byzantine period: The presented three-dimensional (3D) documentation of the site focused on historical transformations, which the authors then traced and compared by means of BIM to reconstructions proposed by Samuel Guyer (1911) and Michel Écochard (1950). This research demonstrates how a hybrid methodology can be used to establish building phases for comparison with historical and scholarly accounts, revealing new knowledge about building techniques and processes. The presented work started with a field survey of the monument, which was used to generate a hybrid 3D point cloud. Using the point cloud, the Byzantine church was virtually reconstructed and several construction phases were identified. At the same time, Heritage-BIM models were created based on the work of Guyer and Écochard. Finally, the Guyer and Écochard models were compared with the proposed Byzantine reconstruction and point cloud.

Precious metal revetments on Georgian medieval painted icons: some observations on a devotional practice

The embellishment of sacred images with precious metal was a widespreadreligious practice throughout the Byzantine world over manycenturies. The cladding of Christian images in precious metal has longbeen an act of piety on the part of the faithful, representing theirgratitude to their heavenly protectors for performed assistance.Georgian medieval icons encased in revetments of precious metal thatcarry their donors’ supplicatory inscriptions, throw additional light onthe ways in which such icons were used and venerated.

Symbols of Faith in the Mosaic Floors of the Newly Discovered Ecclesiastical Complex at Ashdod Maritima, Israel

An ecclesiastical complex has recently been discovered in Ashdod Maritima – ancient Azotus. The site was excavated in 2019 and 2021. The complex includes a basilica, several rooms, and a chapel on the north side, all decorated with mosaic pavements. A mixed trend comes to light in the mosaics: on the one hand, there is a continuation of the geometric and vegetal compositions and motifs that originated in the Roman world and continued into the Byzantine period. On the other hand, the complex is unique in the many symbols of faith that appear, scattered throughout its parts. All types of crosses are depicted; a medallion with a Greek cross accompanied by the Greek letters iota-chi, and alpha and omega; a medallion with a Latin cross standing on Golgotha Hill with the Greek letters iota-chi and alpha and omega; a large Latin cross standing on Golgotha Hill with two large Greek crosses between its arms; and a medallion with a quote from Psalms. The complex is exceptional in the large number of crosses, the names of the bishops, priest, deacon, and deaconesses who were involved in the construction and decoration or were buried in the complex, and the large number of dated inscriptions.

High-Resolution Spatial Analysis of Archaeobotanical Remains from a Kitchen Context in Imperial Late Antique (ca. a.d. 600) Dhiban, Jordan

ABSTRACT Archaeological plant remains are key data in the identification of the material consequences of imperial interventions in past local lifeways. In this paper, the spatial and stratigraphic analysis of plant remains preserved in a hypothesized kitchen context from the archaeological site of Dhiban, Jordan, is presented in detail. This context is dated to ca. a.d. 570–640 based on 16 AMS dates, a time when the Dhiban community was part of and located at the eastern edge of the Byzantine empire. Analysis of over 130 point-provenienced flotation samples reveals a local emphasis on the agricultural production of wheat, peas, and grape, in spite of the challenges of water management in a semi-arid landscape. Comparison with other nearby and contemporaneous sites indicates that while all grew a similar suite of crops, their frequencies vary, possibly indicating a community of agricultural practice specializing in different foodstuffs or crops.