Bibliogr. en fin de chaque contribution. Notes bibliogr. Index

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology brings together expert work by leading scholars of the archaeology of Early Christianity and the Roman world in the Mediterranean and surrounding regions. The thirty-four contributions to this volume survey Christian material culture and ground the history, culture, and society of the first seven centuries of Christianity in archaeological method, theory, and research. The essays emphasize the link between archaeological fieldwork, methods, and regional and national traditions in constructing our knowledge of the Early Church and Christian communities within the context of the ancient Mediterranean, Near East, and Europe.Three sweeping introductory essays provide historical perspectives on the archaeology of the Early Christian world. These are followed by a series of topical treatments that focus on monuments and environments ranging from Christian churches to catacombs, martyria, and baths, as well as classes of objects of religious significance such as ceramics, lamps, and icons. Finally, the volume locates the archaeology of the Early Christian world in fifteen regional studies stretching from Britain to Persia, highlighting the unique historical contexts that have shaped scholarly discussion across time and space. The thorough, carefully-researched essays offer the most intensive, state-of-the-art treatment of recent research into the archaeology of Early Christianity available

XIII List of Contributors P. 1 The archaeology of early christianity: the history, methods, and state of a field / William R. Caraher and David K. Pettegrew Part I : The archaeology of ancient christianity P. 31 Archaeology of the gospels / James F. Strange P. 47 New Testament archaeology beyond the gospels / Thomas W. Davis Part II : Sacred space and mortuary contexts P. 67 The catacombs / Vincenzo Fiocchi Nicolai P. 89 Martyria / David L. Eastman P. 105 Burials and human remains of the eastern Mediterranean in early christian context / Sherry C. Fox and Paraskevi Tritsaroli P. 127 Churches / Charles Anthony Stewart P. 147 The archaeology of early monastic communities / Derlene L. Brooks Hedstrom P. 167 Baptisteries in ancient sites and rites / H. Richard Rutherford P. 189 Baths, christianity, and bathing culture in late Antiquity / Dallas Deforest Part III : Art and artifacts in context P. 209 The art of the catacombs / Frabrizio Bisconti P. 221 Visual rhetoric of early christian reliquaries / Galit Noga-Banai P. 237 An anarchéologie of icons / Glenn Peers P. 257 Spolia and the “Victory of Christianity” / John Michael Frey P. 275 Early christian mosaics in context / Karen C. Britt P. 297 Pottery / R. Scott Moore P. 313 Lamps / Maria Parani P. 333 Statues / Troels Myrup Kristensen P. 351 Amulets and the ritual efficacy of christian symbols / Rangar H. Cline Part IV : CHRISTIAN archaeology in regional perspective P. 369 Christian archaeology in Palestine: the Roman and Byzantine periods / Joan E. Taylor P. 391 Jordan / Robert Schick P. 411 Syria / Emma Loosley P. 431 The church of the east until the eighth century / Stefan R. Hauser P. 451 Armenia / Christiana Maranci P. 473 The holy Island: an archaeology of early christian Cyprus / Jody Michael Gordon and William R. Caraher P. 495 Asia Minor / Peter Talloen P. 515 Community, church, and conversion in the prefecture of Illyricum and the Cyclades / Rebacca Sweetman P. 537 The early christian archaeology of the Balkans / William Bowden P. 557 The archaeology of early Italian churches in context, 313-569 CE / Alexandra Chavarría Arnau P. 581 The christianization of Gaul: buildings and territories / Bastien Lefebvre P. 603 Britain and Ireland, 100-700 CE / David Petts P. 623 Christian landscapes in the Iberian Peninsula: The archaeological evidence (fourth-sixth centuries) / Alexandra Chavarría Arnau P. 645 Incorporating christian communities in north Africa: churches as bodies of communal history / Susan T. Stevens P. 665 Archaeology of early christianity in Egypt / Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom P. 685 Index