Changing circumstances during Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period (4th-9th centuries A.... more Changing circumstances during Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period (4th-9th centuries A.D.) required Byzantine communities to make deliberate adjustments in order to survive, endure, and ultimately flourish again during the Middle Byzantine Period (10th-12th centuries). The role these communities had in decision-making can easily be overlooked, leaving instead hapless victims of insurmountable external pressures such as imperial manipulation, economic recession, Christian acculturation, or a general sense of inexorable decline. Although factors such as these played a role as each community deliberated on a complex and unique set of local concerns, the ultimate decisions each community made should not be assumed but rather investigated on the basis of both textual and archaeological evidence. The stoa is particularly well-suited for the study of reuse and therefore valuable for understanding the adaptive strategies implemented by Byzantine individuals and communities during the transition period from antiquity to the medieval period. The stoa was one of the most ubiquitous buildings of the Greco-Roman city and was highly adaptable for reuse, whether by incorporation into large structures such as churches or fortifications, or by subdivision into smaller units for uses such as housing, storage, or commercial activities. The stoa was commonly found not only in urban contexts, particularly in agorai and fora, but also at many extraurban sanctuaries. By compiling data on the reuse of stoas throughout the Byzantine Empire during the 4th - 10th centuries, four patterns of reuse can be identified: residential, economic, ecclesiastical, and defensive. Abandonment, or a lack of reuse, is a fifth pattern. These patterns of reuse provide insight into the lives of Byzantines outside of the imperial and ecclesiastic elites and inform the excavation of post-classical phases of stoas.
This guide is intended to provide a broad introduction to Byzantine amphora typologies. My hope i... more This guide is intended to provide a broad introduction to Byzantine amphora typologies. My hope is that this guide can serve as a useful starting point for the identification and dating of Byzantine amphorae, giving the reader direction for more detailed study of a particular specimen. With this goal in mind, I have gathered together here the most common classes of Byzantine amphorae. I have attempted to use the classification names which I found both most streamlined and widely referenced. Each amphora class has been illustrated with examples culled from a variety of sources, each of which is carefully cited. My descriptions of fabric, decoration, distribution, etc. have also been compiled from many sources as well as my own observations. The foundation of these descriptions, however, must be attributed as primarily derived from John Hayes’ 1992 Excavations at Saraçhane in Istanbul, Volume 2: The Pottery and Joanita Vroom’s 2014 Byzantine to Modern Pottery in the Aegean: An Introduction and Field Guide.
On the northwest shores of the Black Sea, evidence from several Greek colonies indicates the wors... more On the northwest shores of the Black Sea, evidence from several Greek colonies indicates the worship of a god named simply θεὸς μέγας, the Great God. The bulk of this evidence is centered at the colony of Odessos (modern Varna, Bulgaria). The identity of the Great God has provoked debate among scholars. Is he Greek, and if so which god? Or might he be Thracian? In this paper I first provide an overview of the existing evidence of the Great God. I then discuss various proposed identities of the god, with observations of the merits and limitations of each theory. Finally, I propose that the Great God is essentially Thracian rather than Greek and can be positively identified as the Getic deity Zalmoxis.
Changing circumstances during Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period (4th-9th centuries A.... more Changing circumstances during Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period (4th-9th centuries A.D.) required Byzantine communities to make deliberate adjustments in order to survive, endure, and ultimately flourish again during the Middle Byzantine Period (10th-12th centuries). The role these communities had in decision-making can easily be overlooked, leaving instead hapless victims of insurmountable external pressures such as imperial manipulation, economic recession, Christian acculturation, or a general sense of inexorable decline. Although factors such as these played a role as each community deliberated on a complex and unique set of local concerns, the ultimate decisions each community made should not be assumed but rather investigated on the basis of both textual and archaeological evidence. The stoa is particularly well-suited for the study of reuse and therefore valuable for understanding the adaptive strategies implemented by Byzantine individuals and communities during the transition period from antiquity to the medieval period. The stoa was one of the most ubiquitous buildings of the Greco-Roman city and was highly adaptable for reuse, whether by incorporation into large structures such as churches or fortifications, or by subdivision into smaller units for uses such as housing, storage, or commercial activities. The stoa was commonly found not only in urban contexts, particularly in agorai and fora, but also at many extraurban sanctuaries. By compiling data on the reuse of stoas throughout the Byzantine Empire during the 4th - 10th centuries, four patterns of reuse can be identified: residential, economic, ecclesiastical, and defensive. Abandonment, or a lack of reuse, is a fifth pattern. These patterns of reuse provide insight into the lives of Byzantines outside of the imperial and ecclesiastic elites and inform the excavation of post-classical phases of stoas.
This guide is intended to provide a broad introduction to Byzantine amphora typologies. My hope i... more This guide is intended to provide a broad introduction to Byzantine amphora typologies. My hope is that this guide can serve as a useful starting point for the identification and dating of Byzantine amphorae, giving the reader direction for more detailed study of a particular specimen. With this goal in mind, I have gathered together here the most common classes of Byzantine amphorae. I have attempted to use the classification names which I found both most streamlined and widely referenced. Each amphora class has been illustrated with examples culled from a variety of sources, each of which is carefully cited. My descriptions of fabric, decoration, distribution, etc. have also been compiled from many sources as well as my own observations. The foundation of these descriptions, however, must be attributed as primarily derived from John Hayes’ 1992 Excavations at Saraçhane in Istanbul, Volume 2: The Pottery and Joanita Vroom’s 2014 Byzantine to Modern Pottery in the Aegean: An Introduction and Field Guide.
On the northwest shores of the Black Sea, evidence from several Greek colonies indicates the wors... more On the northwest shores of the Black Sea, evidence from several Greek colonies indicates the worship of a god named simply θεὸς μέγας, the Great God. The bulk of this evidence is centered at the colony of Odessos (modern Varna, Bulgaria). The identity of the Great God has provoked debate among scholars. Is he Greek, and if so which god? Or might he be Thracian? In this paper I first provide an overview of the existing evidence of the Great God. I then discuss various proposed identities of the god, with observations of the merits and limitations of each theory. Finally, I propose that the Great God is essentially Thracian rather than Greek and can be positively identified as the Getic deity Zalmoxis.
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Papers by Travis Hill
The stoa is particularly well-suited for the study of reuse and therefore valuable for understanding the adaptive strategies implemented by Byzantine individuals and communities during the transition period from antiquity to the medieval period. The stoa was one of the most ubiquitous buildings of the Greco-Roman city and was highly adaptable for reuse, whether by incorporation into large structures such as churches or fortifications, or by subdivision into smaller units for uses such as housing, storage, or commercial activities. The stoa was commonly found not only in urban contexts, particularly in agorai and fora, but also at many extraurban sanctuaries. By compiling data on the reuse of stoas throughout the Byzantine Empire during the 4th - 10th centuries, four patterns of reuse can be identified: residential, economic, ecclesiastical, and defensive. Abandonment, or a lack of reuse, is a fifth pattern. These patterns of reuse provide insight into the lives of Byzantines outside of the imperial and ecclesiastic elites and inform the excavation of post-classical phases of stoas.
Conference Presentations by Travis Hill
The stoa is particularly well-suited for the study of reuse and therefore valuable for understanding the adaptive strategies implemented by Byzantine individuals and communities during the transition period from antiquity to the medieval period. The stoa was one of the most ubiquitous buildings of the Greco-Roman city and was highly adaptable for reuse, whether by incorporation into large structures such as churches or fortifications, or by subdivision into smaller units for uses such as housing, storage, or commercial activities. The stoa was commonly found not only in urban contexts, particularly in agorai and fora, but also at many extraurban sanctuaries. By compiling data on the reuse of stoas throughout the Byzantine Empire during the 4th - 10th centuries, four patterns of reuse can be identified: residential, economic, ecclesiastical, and defensive. Abandonment, or a lack of reuse, is a fifth pattern. These patterns of reuse provide insight into the lives of Byzantines outside of the imperial and ecclesiastic elites and inform the excavation of post-classical phases of stoas.