Jewish, Christian, and Graeco-Roman Travel in the Hellenistic, Roman, and Early Byzantine Periods (300 BCE–600 CE)
Program Unit Type: Consultation
Accepting Papers? Yes
Call For Papers: This consultation explores Jewish, Christian, and Graeco-Roman travel and movement between 300 BCE and 600 CE. In its fourth and final year, we will organize two sessions.
(1) “The Material Culture of Pilgrimage in Roman Palestine (Apart from Jerusalem), 63 BCE to 640 CE.” In this open session, co-sponsored with the “Archaeology of Roman Palestine,” we focus on other forms of pilgrimage that flourished in the larger region of Palestine. These include travel to and worship at Samaritan, Greco-Roman, Idumean, and Nabatean shrines along the coastal plain, in Herodian urban centers, Decapolis cities, Samaria, Petra, and elsewhere during the 1st century BCE to 4th century CE, and a shift in the 4th century CE toward Christian pilgrimage to holy sites in Galilee, the Judean desert, Transjordan, and other locations associated with the life of Jesus. To this end, we invite proposals on papers dealing with any aspect of these two topics, including archaeological perspectives on specific sites, travel logistics, lodging, market exchange, and artifacts that may have facilities the experience of pilgrims in Jerusalem and around Palestine from the 1st century BCE to the early 7th century CE.
(2) “Travel in Antiquity.” This open session accepts papers dealing with any aspect of travel or movement, whether real or imagined, in the Hellenistic, Roman, and Early Byzantine periods. We particularly encourage the development of interdisciplinary approaches and the integration of Jewish and Christian travel into the broader study of the ancient Mediterranean.
Program Unit Chairs
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