Lanier Center for Archaeology Conference: Competition and Co-Existence
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 9:00 AM-6:00 PM
Ezell, Lipscomb University
Registration
Registration is now open!
General admission: $25.00
Students (of any institution): $15.00
Your registration fee covers your conference materials, refreshments, and lunch.
Late Antiquity was a time of religious fluidity, with the three great monotheistic faiths gaining dominance over the Mediterranean world. The efforts of archaeologists over the last two centuries have uncovered the material expression of those transformations. The legalization of Christianity under Constantine was a watershed moment, leading to the emergence of a new Christian material culture. At the same time, Jewish identity found a strong material expression in the numerous synagogue floors that survived from antiquity. The emergence of Islam, heralding the end of Antiquity, also found material expression in the earliest mosques. Pagan survivals had their own material expression too. Traditional scholarship focused on the fierce competition amongst these faiths, but some more recent archaeological discoveries appear to challenge this model. This fascinating period of religious transformation and the archaeology of these faiths is the focus of our conference.