"The Funerary Archaeology of Byzantine Constantinople. New Approaches, New Discoveries"
"Mortuary practices are cultural phenomena common to humanity, and therefore burials and the “archaeology of death” have long been recognized as essential sources for all archaeologies.
By reason of its importance and size, the Byzantin capital of Constantinople occupies a central place in the historical development of Byzantine burial practices, and its funerary archaeology can be recognized as an essential source for understanding society, religion, and urbanism in the imperial city. However, despite this importance, in contrast to the funerary archaeology of Old Rome, that of Constantinople is relatively poorly documented and often badly preserved. Fundamental information is still lacking, and even what is known has never been systematically compiled and evaluated.
This conference seeks to address these issues by focusing on new approaches, new methodologies, and new discoveries. The aim is to synthesize and devise a new understanding of the funerary archaeology of Constantinople and its suburbs, moving beyond just the primary documentation of empirical data to consider challenges of its recovery and interpretation, and to build up a new diachronic understanding of the development of burial practices in the capital region from the 4th to the 16th centuries."
Organising Committee:
Martin Dennert (Freiburg)
Jesko Fildhuth (Freiburg)
Eric Ivison (New York)
Fabian Stroth (Freiburg)
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From the 16. - 17. January 2025, the conference ‘The Funerary Archaeology of Byzantine Constantinople. New Approaches, New Discoveries’ will take place.
Our colleague Petra Linscheid will give her lecture on ‘Dressing for Resurrection: Burial Clothes and Shrouds - Evidence from Constantinople and Beyond’.
The conference is organised by the University of Freiburg and the City University of New York.
The conference will be held via Zoom.