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The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Late Antique Art and Archaeology

The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Late Antique Art and Archaeology

The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Late Antique Art and Archaeology

Leonard V. Rutgers, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands
Neil J. C. Christie, University of Leicester
Robin M. Jensen, University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
August 2025
Not yet published - available from August 2025
Hardback
9781107037243
Price unavailable
Hardback

    Late Antiquity marked one of the most significant transitions in European history-one that saw the rise of Christianity and the transformation of the classical Mediterranean world of ancient Rome. The richness of its art and the wealth of its archaeological remains have increasingly been recognised in recent decades and new discoveries and ongoing research are currently altering the ways in which we perceive the period. These two volumes provide a wide-ranging guide to the art and archaeology of the period 300-700 CE. Key monuments and artifact-types are discussed and placed in their historical contexts, but significant attention is also paid to the main cities, regions and peoples playing a prominent role in the history of the period as well as to some key issues and debates in its study. The chapters are written by leading experts and will be invaluable for any student or scholar interested in the period.

    • Expert scholars provide clear and authoritative guidance to the richness and complexity of the art and archaeological evidence, with an emphasis on new discoveries and current trends
    • Challenges traditional approaches, and seeks to move the field beyond the paradigm of 'Christian archaeology'
    • An excellent starting-point for anyone working on a given topic, whether scholar, instructor or student

    Product details

    August 2025
    Hardback
    9781107037243
    2000 pages
    280 × 216 mm
    0kg
    Not yet published - available from August 2025

    Table of Contents

    • Volume 1: Introduction Leonard V. Rutgers, Jodi Magness, Robin M. Jensen and Neil Christie
    • 1. Pagan architecture Christophe J. Goddard
    • 2. Pagan iconography Stephan Faust and Troels Myrup Kristensen
    • 3. Church architecture Olof Brandt
    • 4. Monastic architecture Karel Innemee
    • 5. Veneration of saints Ann Marie Yasin
    • 6. Early Christian iconography Robin Jensen
    • 7. Jewish architecture Jodi Magness
    • 8. Jewish iconography Zeev Weiss
    • 9. Monumental civic architecture Gunnar Brands
    • 10. Private architecture Isabelle Baldini
    • 11. Military architecture Gwyn Davies
    • 12. The catacombs of Rome Vincenzo Fiocchi Nicolai
    • 13. Cemeteries Bonnie Effros
    • Part I. Artifacts and Evidence:
    • 14. Portraiture Marina Prusac Lindhagen
    • 15. Sarcophagi Jutta Dresken Weiland
    • 16. Wall painting Matteo Braconi, Dimitri Cascianelli and Giovanna Ferri
    • 17. Pottery Michel Bonifay and Paul Reynolds
    • 18. Glass Stefanie Nagel and Constanze Höpken
    • 19. Ivory Niamh Bhalla
    • 20. Metalwork Marlia Mango and Benjamin Fourlas
    • 21. Textiles and dress Sabine Schrenk
    • 22. Illuminated manuscripts Michelle Brown
    • 23. Epigraphy Antonio Felle
    • 24. Numismatics Andrew Burnett
    • 25. Transport and communication Colin Adams
    • 26. Technology in the later Roman Empire Serafina Cuomo
    • 27. Spolia Bente Kiilerich
    • Volume 2: Part II. Urbanism and the Countryside:
    • 28. Rome Paolo Liverani
    • 29. Constantinople Sarah Basset
    • 30. Alexandria Marjorie Venit and Julie Marchand
    • 31. Antioch Gunnar Brands and Andrea de Giorgi
    • 32. Jerusalem Oren Gutfeld
    • 33. Carthage Richard Miles
    • 34. Ravenna Debora Mauskopf Deliyannis
    • 35. Trier Winfred Weber
    • 36. Cities in the West Neil Christie
    • 37. Cities in the East Helen Saradi-Mendelovic
    • 38. Countryside Western Empire Campbell Grey
    • 39. Countryside Eastern Empire Stephen Mitchell
    • 40. Countryside Late Roman North Africa Anna Leone
    • 41. Countryside Balkans Renate Pillinger
    • Part III. Regional and Ethnic Variety:
    • 42. Peoples of Northern Europe Guy Halsall
    • 43. Peoples of Eastern Europe Florin Curta
    • 44. Peoples of Syria and Arabia Emma Loosley
    • 45. Egypt Jennifer Cromwell and Matthew Gibbs
    • 46. Armenia Christina Maranci
    • 47. Early Islam Marcus Millwright
    • Part IV. Issues and Debates:
    • 48. The Economy of the Later Roman Empire Jeroen Poblome
    • 49. The spread of Christianity Sebastian Ristow
    • 50. Barbarians and migrations Peter Heather
    • 51. Ethnicity and identity William Bowden.
      Contributors
    • Leonard V. Rutgers, Jodi Magness, Robin M. Jensen, Neil Christie, Christophe J. Goddard, Stephan Faust, Troels Myrup Kristensen, Olof Brandt, Karel Innemee, Ann Marie Yasin, Zeev Weiss, Gunnar Brands, Isabelle Baldini, Gwyn Davies, Vincenzo Fiocchi Nicolai, Bonnie Effros, Marina Prusac Lindhagen, Jutta Dresken Weiland, Matteo Braconi, Dimitri Cascianelli, Giovanna Ferri, Michel Bonifay, Paul Reynolds, Stefanie Nagel, Constanze Höpken, Niamh Bhalla, Marlia Mango, Benjamin Fourlas, Sabine Schrenk, Michelle Brown, Antonio Felle, Andrew Burnett, Colin Adams, Serafina Cuomo, Bente Kiilerich, Paolo Liverani, Sarah Basset, Marjorie Venit, Julie Marchand, Andrea de Giorgi, Oren Gutfeld, Richard Miles, Debora Mauskopf Deliyannis, Winfred Weber, Helen Saradi-Mendelovic, Campbell Grey, Stephen Mitchell, Anna Leone, Renate Pillinger, Guy Halsall, Florin Curta, Emma Loosley, Jennifer Cromwell, Matthew Gibbs, Christina Maranci, Marcus Millwright, Jeroen Poblome, Sebastian Ristow, Peter Heather; William Bowden

    • Editors
    • Leonard V. Rutgers , Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands

      LEONARD V. RUTGERS is Professor of Late Antiquity in the Department of History and Art History at Utrecht University. He is an archaeologist and a historian of religion. He is the author of the award-winning Jews in Late Ancient Rome: Evidence of Cultural Interaction in the Roman Diaspora (2000) and several other books, including The Hidden Heritage of Diaspora Judaism (1998), Subterranean Rome (2000), and, most recently, Making Myths: Jews in Early Christian Identity Formation (2009). He directs fieldwork in Italy where his projects include the use of radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis, GPR, 3D digital imaging and work in the field of aDNA. Major publications in that area include articles in Nature (2005) and the Journal of Archaeological Science (2009) and Cell (2022).

    • Neil J. C. Christie , Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology, Rome

      NEIL J. C. CHRISTIE is Professor of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Leicester in England. His research focuses on towns and rural development from late Roman to medieval times, especially in Italy, but also within Britain. Other interests cover defences and church archaeology. He is closely engaged with the Society for Medieval Archaeology (SMA) and is reviews editor for two UK-based journals. Recent publications include: A. Carneiro, N. Christie & P. Diarte-Blasco (eds), Urban Transformations in the Late Antique West: Materials, Agents, and Models (2020); P. Diarte-Blasco & N. Christie (eds), Interpreting Transformations of People and Landscapes in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: Archaeological Approaches and Issues (2018); The Fall of the Western Roman Empire. An Archaeological and Historical Perspective (2011).

    • Robin M. Jensen , University of Notre Dame, Indiana

      ROBIN JENSEN is the Patrick O'Brien Professor in the Department of Theology, and concurrent faculty in Art History and Classics, at the University of Notre Dame. She is also the author of From Idols to Icons: The Emergence of Christian Devotional Images in Late Antiquity (2022) and The Cross: History, Art and Controversy (2017), co-editor of The Routledge Handbook to Early Christian Art (2018), and co-author of Christianity in Roman Africa: The Development of Its Practices and Beliefs (2014). She recently completed a revised version of her first book, Understanding Early Christian Art (2023, originally 2000).

    • Jodi Magness , University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

      JODI MAGNESS is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She has published thirteen books, three of them award-winning, and dozens of articles in journals and edited volumes. Magness has participated on twenty excavations in Israel and Greece, including co-directing the 1995 excavations in the Roman siege works at Masada. Since 2011, she has directed excavations at Huqoq in Galilee. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and an Honorary (Past) President of the Archaeological Institute of America.