Late Antique Archaeology

In the traditional “topographical” approach, centred on the identification of the places
recorded in the ancient itineraria, several rural complexes perfectly matching the model of
villa rustica were classified as «mansiones», a term conventionally used to define an idealised
type of road-station. Consequently, some villas have been withheld as a typological model of
“mansio”. More recently, an increasing number of rural complexes has been classified as
villa-mansio. The topic has attracted the attention of a few scholars, but a systematic review
and a critical discussion is still awaited. This will be attempted here in the light of a few
case-studies of rural complexes from late-antique South-Western Mediterranean.

Здания позднеантичных и раннехристианских церквей отли-чаются значительно большим разнообразием в зависимости от провинции и региона, чем более раннее римское или более позд-
нее византийское искусство и архитектура. Большинство раннех-ристианских церквей было более привержено местным тради-циям, чем стремлению подражать Риму или Константинополю,
«Новому Риму». Эта «центральность» провинций, как кажется, стала сущностной чертой аннехристианского искусства, которая отличает его от более однородного искусства более раннего рим-
ского и более позднего византийского периодов. В то время как романизация проложила путь для христианизации, большин-ство раннехристианских церковных построек, отражало скорее локальную идентичность, чем преданность Риму или Константи-
нополю. Достигнутое разнообразие было вновь потеряно после падения пан-средиземноморской державы, когда Византийская империя сократилась до территории чуть больше, чем Малая Азия, а иконоборческие споры повлекли за собой стандартиза-цию православного искусства.

International conference on 'The Wastern Mediterranean in the 5th century', organised by the Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme (MMSH) and set to take place in Aix-en-Provence from 22 to 24 April 2020, was cancelled due to the covid-19 outbreak. As the conference was not postponed, it wil be made available only through its proceedings, between 2020-2021.

Including:
D. Sacco, A. L. Ermeti, G. Cesaretti, Tranformations des paysages urbains et ruraux dans le nord de la région des Marches: habitat, climat, environnement.

ch. VII of my book 'Ehrenstatuen in der Spätanike' (Wiesbaden 2012)
On occasion of the 70th anniversary of Louis Robert, Hellenica IV (1948). I happily and gratefully celebrated this masterpiece with friends and colleagues at Sapienza Università di Roma, 18-19 November 2019; particular thanks to Prof. Gianfranco Agosti and my venerated friend Prof. Ignazio Tantillo.
The chapter explores the motives of late antique honorific verse inscriptions and their relationship to late antique pangyrics and to the iconography of late antique honorific statues.
I have not been able to rework this chapter. Cross-references to pages and chapters in the book remain unchanged while the numbering of footnotes starts with 1.
Happy for every comment!

The development of large necropoli in Salona (west, north, east, southeast) was conditioned by ancient communications, city walls, and early Christian complexes. Complying with the laws of burials, which were obtained from the beginning of the 1st century till the end of Antiquity, necropoli ultimately "encircled the town". Cremation ceremonies were more prevalent in the beginning, however, there was a gradual increase in number of inhumations from the 2nd century on. Recorded burials span from the simplest ones to those more luxurious, which leads to conclusion that the dead were of different social statuses, backgrounds, and religions. For this paper, the most intriguing period when dealing with the necropoli of Salona is the 4th century, which demonstrates the burials of the first Christians alongside the pagan burials. The difference between the pagan and the Christian burials in the 4th century is not considerably significant, with the except of the wider area north of the city where the three largest early Christian cemeteries developed during Late Antiquity. However, the general conclusion remains that, despite the differences, the pagan and the Christian burials are taking place simultaneously on all of the four large Salona cemeteries. This situation, moreover, is not limited only to the capital of the province of Dalmatia but is similar in the other parts of the Roman Empire.

The newly commissioned series, ‘Global Perspectives on Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology’, is excited to solicit high-quality research relating to the archaeology of the ancient Mediterranean world. The series’ remit includes the period from the Mediterranean Bronze Age through the Byzantine period (c. 3200 BCE – 1453 CE). Although nominally focused on the Mediterranean Sea and areas which immediately border it, the series also welcomes studies on areas slightly further afield which are linked to the Sea by cultural, social, economic, religious, or political connections, and where the Mediterranean zone is directly relevant. It will include both the presentation of new archaeological material as well as syntheses and discussions of existing material and work, and volumes may represent either monographs or edited collections (stand-alone, or the result of specialist workshops). Although focused on the material culture of the region, the series also explicitly encourages the union of archaeological and historical material wherever possible and appropriate. A guiding principle of the series would be the inclusive appreciation of all available material from a particular area, time, and culture, even if the primary focus is on the archaeological aspects. Finally, as suggested by its name, the series is particularly interested in publishing works which adopt a broad comparative and cross-cultural approach, as well as those which bring together concepts and themes more common in the study of archaeology from elsewhere in the world (most notably the Pacific and Australasia) with those from the Old World. In a connected theme, the series is also keen to promote concepts of connectivity and networks which transcend normal regional and geographic limits.

Editors:
Jeremy Armstrong – University of Auckland (js.armstrong@auckland.ac.nz)
Gijs Tol – University of Melbourne (gijs.tol@unimelb.edu.au)

Board:
Amelia Brown – University of Queensland
Lieve Donnellan – University of Melbourne
Elizabeth Greene - University of Western Ontario
Ray Laurence – Macquarie University
Nicolas Monteix – Rouen University
Rebecca Phillipps – University of Auckland
Jeroen Poblome – KU Leuven
Fernando Quesada Sanz - Autonomous University of Madrid
Christopher Smith – University of St Andrews

Nel Mediterraneo tardoantico una delle classi ceramiche più diffuse è la Terra
Sigillata Africana, l’African Red Slip Ware di J.W. Hayes. Si definisce in questo modo un gruppo di vasellame fine da mensa, rivestito con una vernice argillosa, di colore che varia dal rosso all’arancione, sinterizzata, cioè quasi vetrificata. Tale classe ceramica fu prodotta all’interno di officine specializzate, rinvenute in gran parte dell’attuale territorio tunisino, in un periodo compreso tra la fine del I secolo d.C. e il VII secolo d.C e forse anche nei primi decenni dell’VIII secolo. Una produzione che ebbe un’importanza non solo locale, ma che risultò di straordinario successo in tutto il mondo romano. I manufatti degli ateliers nordafricani furono distribuiti su rotte di lunga distanza anche oltre i confini del Mediterraneo, dettando la moda nel campo delle ceramiche fini da mensa per un lungo periodo anche nei primi due secoli dell’alto Medioevo.

The production of wine and oil during post-villa occupation at a site deserves special attention as an indicator of continued exploitation of land, even if within a changed economic framework; continuity of diet and technical traditions; and a stable resident population. Scales of production can also give insights into secular and ecclesiastical demand for these products. This paper examines three case studies in Spain, France, and Italy.