Archaeology

This paper will explore the relationship between the methodologies used in archaeology for recording buildings and landscapes and the development of computer visualisation technology, with specific reference to late antique and Byzantine archaeology. The principal aim is to highlight the applicability of visualisation technologies as the critical solutions to the presentation and investigation of survey data and reciprocally to demonstrate that meaningful computer visualisations benefit from a secure underpinning of archaeological survey data. My intention is to show that computer visualisation should not be seen solely as a vehicle for archaeological reconstruction but rather can be viewed as an integral part of the process of interpretation.

The first of two case studies is the Anastasian Wall Project, a survey of a massive linear fortification in Turkish Thrace, which presented a series of practical problems both in terms of data capture and representation. The applicability of computer-based techniques for the integration and visualisation of various forms of survey data will be further investigated through the study of the Alacami, a multi-period Byzantine church in Cilicia,
before some final comment is made on the current and potential roles of
computer visualisation in Byzantine archaeology.

Belief in the presence of malevolent spirits residing in the
ruins of abandoned cult buildings is an enduring theme in religious history. This short magazine article provides an introduction to the architectural, structural and sociological aspects of temple destruction and conversion in the late antique period.

This paper describes the longest ancient aqueduct system in the Mediterranean World, built in the 4th century A.D. to supply the city of Constantinople, then capital of the Byzantine Empire. Results are presented from ongoing investigations in the city and hinterland of modern Istanbul by an international team of archaeologists and hydrogeologists. The hydrogeological setting of the region resulted in the development of a unique water supply system, which survives both as archaeological remains and in the writings of contemporary historians.

This research project, incorporating fieldwork as a major component, seeks to advance our understanding of urbanism in Constantinople throughout its history by investigating the provisions for water supply. Completed by the emperor Valens in AD 373 and supplemented by additional channels in the 5 th -6 th centuries, this is the longest known Roman water supply system, the main branch from Vize being in excess of 250km. Archaeological and hydrogeological research is being carried out on the channels and bridges outside the city and the cisterns and reservoirs within. Fig. 1. 2002 Survey Location Map showing principal aqueduct routes.

Die gezielt zerstörten und durch Kirchen ersetzten Tempel sind an Ausdruckskraft kaum zu übertreffende Symbole für den Erfolg des Christentums im Römischen Reich, das sich im Konflikt mit den paganen Kulten erfolgreich durchgesetzt hatte. Die geistigen Grundlagen dieses epochalen Wandels und dessen gesetzliche Regelungen mit ihren regionalen Auswirkungen hatte F. W. Deichmann bereits vor rund 60 Jahren grundsätzlich erfasst. [1] Seit Konstantin den Aphroditetempel in Jerusalem durch die Grabeskirche ersetzen ließ, wiederholte sich der Vorgang auf ähnliche Weise, indem auf die Schließung eines Tempels dessen Entsühnung und Reinigung folgte. Die Dämonen wurden durch das Anbringen von Kreuzeszeichen ausgetrieben, die Exorzismen konnten aber auch die vollständige Zerstörung des Bauwerks bis in den Fundamentbereich hinein bedeuten. Ansonsten, so Deichmann, seien die weiteren Möglichkeiten sehr vielfältig und deshalb eigentlichen Regeln nicht unterworfen gewesen, wie auch Ost-und Westreich durch unterschiedliche Gesetzgebung getrennte Wege gegangen seien. In den Ländern vom Taurus bis zum Sinai habe die Wandlung vorzugsweise die Zerstörung des antiken Heiligtums bedeutet, während man in Athen und Rom die Tempelbauten länger geschont und erst spät in Kirchen umgewidmet habe. Die Wandlung des antiken Heiligtums sei ein Symbol der "Ecclesia triumphans", da man Gestalt, Sinn und Wesen der Tempel bewusst zerstört habe. Der Tempel könne daher nicht Vorläufer der Kirche sein, sondern nur als Spolie verwendet werden. Soweit F. W. Deichmann, an dem sich die von Richard Bayliss in Newcastle eingereichte Dissertation messen lassen muss. Um es vorwegzunehmen: Die Ergebnisse F. W. Deichmanns werden im Wesentlichen bestätigt, wobei es Richard Bayliss nicht darum ging, sie infrage zu stellen. Sein Ziel ist die Sichtung des archäologischen Materials, um im ersten Teil die "Temple conversion" allgemein als archäologisches und historisches Phänomen zu behandeln (3-64). Nach der Einleitung (3-7) und den historischen Passagen über die Zeit von Konstantin bis Theodosius (8-31: "The Fate of the Temples") folgen die archäologisch geprägten Kapitel, in denen Richard Bayliss die Wandlung der Tempel als mechanischen und chronologischen Ablauf beschreibt (32-49: "The Mechanics of Conversion", 50-57: "The Chronology of

This is a study of the Christianisation of the built environment: the physical manifestation of the transition from paganism to Christianity in the Greek East. The core of this thesis comprises an archaeological exploration of temple conversion in terms of structural mechanics, logistics, chronology and socio-political implications. 

This work provides a re-assessment of the fate of the temples – their deconsecration, destruction, preservation, abandonment and re-utilisation – by supplementing and questioning the historical record through reference to the wealth of available archaeological evidence.

Situated on the outskirts of the modern town of Kadirli is the best preserved late Roman church in eastern Cilicia. Its characteristics of design and construction are of pivotal significance for addressing the development of early Christian architecture in the region, as it represents the archetype of a definable group of
churches in the upper Cilician plain, which link the building traditions of Syria with those of Anatolia and the southern shores.

As it stands today, this structure known as the Alacami displays over a millennium and a half of local history, the liturgy of three different faiths and even more transitional building phases. In 1949 a full measured survey of the building was conducted by Michael and Mary Gough who in the same year were working at nearby Anazarbus. The results were never published and remained lost until 1994 when work commenced on cataloguing the Gough archive. 1 The following study presents the full details of the Gough's survey for the first time and provides a detailed discussion of the monument in context, charting its development from the Roman period to the present day.

Extract from Bayliss, R. 2001. Provincial Cilicia and the Archaeology of Temple Conversion, PhD Thesis, Newcastle University.

Presented here is a critique of the use of Theodosian Law Codes for the comprehension of the demise of pagan temples. The Code is a principal historical source for the study of the Christianisation of the built environment, and has been widely appropriated in the investigation of many other aspects of late antique urbanism. The great importance of this source is matched by the potential for its misinterpretation and misuse.

This work shows that the chronology of temple destruction and conversion is broadly reflected in the evolving legislation in the Code, but my detailed surveys of the material remains in my main thesis have demonstrated that this perspective is open to a great deal of variability on a local level.

Extract from Bayliss, R. 2001. Provincial Cilicia and the Archaeology of Temple Conversion, PhD Thesis, Newcastle University

In this paper I will examine the archaeology of provincial Cilicia, a relatively small region, but with an extraordinary wealth and diversity in the material remains from the Early Byzantine period.

I will discuss collectively a group of sixteen churches, for which temple origins have in the past been argued.

The purpose of my study is essentially twofold.

First, I wish to investigate further some of the key issues raised in the first half of this thesis, through a detailed study of individual monuments. This will enable the evaluation of an archaeological approach to issues of conversion technique, tradition, and the chronology of conversion.

The second objective is to assess the arguments and evidence that scholars have presented to demonstrate that the churches in question were in some way influenced by the pre-existence of a pagan temple. My investigation will provide a case study on the diagnostic features of temple conversion and enable us to evaluate these assertions.

All illustrations referenced can be found in Volume 2 of my thesis.

Extract from Bayliss, R. 2001. Provincial Cilicia and the Archaeology of Temple Conversion, PhD Thesis, Newcastle University

The chronology of destructive action against temples is relatively well defined in both the archaeological and historical records. However only a small number of actual temple conversions have been dated securely by reference to any historical source. Although the archaeological evidence is now beginning to exert more influence on this debate, few converted temples have actually been excavated and until recently post-Roman modifications to temples were often either neglected, misunderstood or  at worst ripped out without being recorded.

In this paper I will undertake an examination of the techniques employed to date the various forms of temple conversion, and will test the hypothesis that there is a chronological distinction between churches that – in one way or another – preserve in situ temple remains and those built on or near the site of a destroyed temple.

Gaining a full picture of societies in Antiquity involves the interpretative study of a variety of sources, primarily historical, archaeological and epigraphic. The following composition focuses on the rural hinterland of Myra in Lycia during the sixth century, through a critical combination of such evidence. Employing both a document of a saint's life and a rich archaeological record it becomes possible to piece together the social, political and geographical environment of the historical landscape. The principal literary source is the Life and Conduct of our Late Father Nicholas, a prominent holy man, rural leader and later a saint, compiled by one of his disciples shortly after his death. Of the archaeology there remains a whole landscape of settlements and churches nestled in the upland between Myra and the Elmali plain.

The scene is set with a general introduction to the topography, history and archaeology of  the region. There follows a discussion on the validity of the written history, regarding date, source and intention. The final part deals with themes deduced from the narrative and places them in a broader historical context of geography and archaeology. The appendix is an edited version of The Life and Conduct of our Late Father Nicholas which focuses on the story behind the hagiographic rhetoric.

Introduction This research project, incorporating fieldwork as a major component, seeks to advance our understanding of urbanism in Constantinople throughout its history by investigating the provisions for water supply. Completed by the emperor Valens in AD 373 and supplemented by additional channels in the 5-6 centuries, this is the longest known Roman water supply system, the main branch from Vize being in excess of 250km. Archaeological and hydrogeological research is being carried out on the channels and bridges outside the city and the cisterns and reservoirs within.