Phone: 00497612032069 Address: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften Abt. Byzantinische Archäologie Platz der Universität 3 Kollegiengebäude III, Raum 3501 79085 Freiburg
Cambridge Elements. The History of Constantinople, 2024
The Church of St. Polyeuktos is one of the most magnificent, but also most peculiar, architectura... more The Church of St. Polyeuktos is one of the most magnificent, but also most peculiar, architectural achievements in Byzantine Constantinople. The accidental rediscovery of the building during construction work in Istanbul in the 1960s is legendary and considered one of the most sensational finds in Byzantine archaeology. Built by the aristocrat Lady Anicia Juliana, the reconstruction of the structure and the interpretation of its strange forms continue to challenge scholars today. The building gave rise to a whole series of archaeo-historical narratives, in which the City’s Byzantine protagonists and major monuments were woven into a coherent plot. This Element on the archaeology of St. Polyeuktos takes a closer look at these narratives and subjects them to critical examination. In the end, the study of St. Polyeuktos will tell us as much about Byzantine architectural history in the second half of the twentieth century as about early Byzantine architecture itself.
In der Studie werden die Kapitellserien der Hagia Sophia, der Sergios- und Bakchoskirche und der ... more In der Studie werden die Kapitellserien der Hagia Sophia, der Sergios- und Bakchoskirche und der Irenenkirche erstmals systematisch untersucht. Zu- dem werden die Stifterepigramme der Sergios- und Bakchoskirche sowie der Polyeuktoskirche in die Untersuchung mit einbezogen, deren materielle Ausführung bislang zu wenig Beachtung gefunden hat. Der dabei erprobte Forschungsansatz, die justinianische Bauskulptur Konstantinopels als Textträger in den Blick zu nehmen ist ungewöhnlich, hat sich jedoch auf den zweiten Blick als naheliegend und in vielfältiger Weise als ergebnisreich erwiesen. Die Vorlage von mehr als 150 frühbyzantinischen Kapitellen dieser prominenten Kirchen Konstantinopels in mehr als 850 Fotografien und 50 Zeichnungen leistet einen grundlegenden Beitrag für die Byzantinische Archäologie.
This study is the first to systematically analyse the capital series of the Hagia Sophia, the Church of Sergios and Bakchos and the Church of Irene. In addition, the donor epigrams of the Sergios and Bakchos Churches and the Polyeuktos Church are included in the study, the material execution of which has received too little attention to date. The research approach of focussing on the Justinianic architectural sculpture of Constantinople as a text carrier is unusual, but at second glance has proven to be obvious and rich in results in many ways. The presentation of more than 150 early Byzantine capitals of these prominent churches of Constantinople in more than 850 photographs and 50 drawings makes a fundamental contribution to Byzantine archaeology.
In: Materiale Textkulturen, 14
Herausgegeben von: Irene Berti , Katharina Bolle , Fanny Opdenhof... more In: Materiale Textkulturen, 14
Herausgegeben von: Irene Berti , Katharina Bolle , Fanny Opdenhoff und Fabian Stroth
Gefördert durch: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
De Gruyter | 2017
"[...] this volume offers an important contribution to understanding incised texts and will be of value to students and scholars of various disciplines."
Alexandra Wilding in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018.04.43
"Skeuomorphs. Transmaterial Design in the Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean"
International Confe... more "Skeuomorphs. Transmaterial Design in the Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean" International Conference, Freiburg University, 17-19 November 2021
with Pelin Yoncacı-Arslan (Ankara), Jesko Fildhuth (Freiburg), Carey Thompson Wells (New York), E... more with Pelin Yoncacı-Arslan (Ankara), Jesko Fildhuth (Freiburg), Carey Thompson Wells (New York), Elena Boeck (Chicago), Robert G. Ousterhout (Philadelphia)
The churches in Byzantine and Umayyad-era Jordan and Palestine attest to a fascinating change in ... more The churches in Byzantine and Umayyad-era Jordan and Palestine attest to a fascinating change in visual culture in their significant alterations of mosaic pavements. The tesserae of animal and human figures were removed, shuffled, and reinserted to pixelate faces and other body parts. In the relevant field of study these phenomena have so far been summarized as ›Iconophobia‹ and too narrowly considered as damage or loss of the initial archaeological record. Instead, the manipulations and restricted recognisability even reinforce the visual and medial capacities of these images and evoke a stronger artifactual presence. These noisy surfaces have a retarding effect on perception and perpetuate the process of manufacture. This perspective holds significant potential for future archaeological research concerning the aesthetics of abstraction, the interplay of ornament and figure, text and image, order and disorder. The FRIAS Project Group SurFace explores new methodological approaches to describe, analyze and (hope)fully understand the complexity of such multi-layered image-artifact relations.
Vortragsreihe am Leibniz-Wissenschaftscampus Byzanz zwischen Orient und Okzident 11.05. Mainz/Fra... more Vortragsreihe am Leibniz-Wissenschaftscampus Byzanz zwischen Orient und Okzident 11.05. Mainz/Frankfurt
27th EAA Annual Meeting (session: New Technologies, New Theories? Reflections on the Perception a... more 27th EAA Annual Meeting (session: New Technologies, New Theories? Reflections on the Perception and Simulation of Building Environments and Architecture) 6–11 September 2021
Conference: Bildtaktiken. Visuelle Subversion zwischen Spiel und Widerstand, Tagung des Forschungsschwerpunkts Historische Bildkulturen, Wolfenbüttel , 2020
Internationaler Workshop „Verrätselung von Geschriebenem", Internationales Wissenschaftsforum Heidelberg, 2019
Die Präsenz von Schrift ist zumeist mit dem Bestreben verbunden, Mitteilungen zu machen und zu ko... more Die Präsenz von Schrift ist zumeist mit dem Bestreben verbunden, Mitteilungen zu machen und zu kommunizieren. Es gibt aber auch Fälle, in denen dem Leser das Entschlüsseln der Botschaft bewusst erschwert wird, z. B. durch kryptographische Inschriften, die ungewöhnliche, sonst nicht gebräuchliche Zeichen verwenden oder an sich bekannten Zeichen andere Lesungen zuweisen. Letzteres kann einerseits ganz elementar der Geheimhaltung dienen, andererseits aber auch auf andere Intentionen zurückzuführen sein. So finden sich Beispiele, in denen die Aufgabe gerade umgedreht wird: Der Leser muss sich Gedanken machen, wie die konkret gewählten Schriftzeichen zu identifizieren und zu entschlüsseln sind, damit sie ihrer Situierung entsprechend einen Sinn ergeben. Der Workshop zeigt die Vielfalt der hieran anknüpfenden Fragen in einer breiten interdisziplinären Zugangsweise auf. Dabei bringt er Vertreter verschiedener Disziplinen zusammen, die zeitlich vom 3. Jahrtausend v. Chr. bis in die Gegenwart und räumlich vom europäischen Mittelalter bis Ostasien und Indonesien reichen.
Cambridge Elements. The History of Constantinople, 2024
The Church of St. Polyeuktos is one of the most magnificent, but also most peculiar, architectura... more The Church of St. Polyeuktos is one of the most magnificent, but also most peculiar, architectural achievements in Byzantine Constantinople. The accidental rediscovery of the building during construction work in Istanbul in the 1960s is legendary and considered one of the most sensational finds in Byzantine archaeology. Built by the aristocrat Lady Anicia Juliana, the reconstruction of the structure and the interpretation of its strange forms continue to challenge scholars today. The building gave rise to a whole series of archaeo-historical narratives, in which the City’s Byzantine protagonists and major monuments were woven into a coherent plot. This Element on the archaeology of St. Polyeuktos takes a closer look at these narratives and subjects them to critical examination. In the end, the study of St. Polyeuktos will tell us as much about Byzantine architectural history in the second half of the twentieth century as about early Byzantine architecture itself.
In der Studie werden die Kapitellserien der Hagia Sophia, der Sergios- und Bakchoskirche und der ... more In der Studie werden die Kapitellserien der Hagia Sophia, der Sergios- und Bakchoskirche und der Irenenkirche erstmals systematisch untersucht. Zu- dem werden die Stifterepigramme der Sergios- und Bakchoskirche sowie der Polyeuktoskirche in die Untersuchung mit einbezogen, deren materielle Ausführung bislang zu wenig Beachtung gefunden hat. Der dabei erprobte Forschungsansatz, die justinianische Bauskulptur Konstantinopels als Textträger in den Blick zu nehmen ist ungewöhnlich, hat sich jedoch auf den zweiten Blick als naheliegend und in vielfältiger Weise als ergebnisreich erwiesen. Die Vorlage von mehr als 150 frühbyzantinischen Kapitellen dieser prominenten Kirchen Konstantinopels in mehr als 850 Fotografien und 50 Zeichnungen leistet einen grundlegenden Beitrag für die Byzantinische Archäologie.
This study is the first to systematically analyse the capital series of the Hagia Sophia, the Church of Sergios and Bakchos and the Church of Irene. In addition, the donor epigrams of the Sergios and Bakchos Churches and the Polyeuktos Church are included in the study, the material execution of which has received too little attention to date. The research approach of focussing on the Justinianic architectural sculpture of Constantinople as a text carrier is unusual, but at second glance has proven to be obvious and rich in results in many ways. The presentation of more than 150 early Byzantine capitals of these prominent churches of Constantinople in more than 850 photographs and 50 drawings makes a fundamental contribution to Byzantine archaeology.
In: Materiale Textkulturen, 14
Herausgegeben von: Irene Berti , Katharina Bolle , Fanny Opdenhof... more In: Materiale Textkulturen, 14
Herausgegeben von: Irene Berti , Katharina Bolle , Fanny Opdenhoff und Fabian Stroth
Gefördert durch: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
De Gruyter | 2017
"[...] this volume offers an important contribution to understanding incised texts and will be of value to students and scholars of various disciplines."
Alexandra Wilding in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018.04.43
"Skeuomorphs. Transmaterial Design in the Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean"
International Confe... more "Skeuomorphs. Transmaterial Design in the Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean" International Conference, Freiburg University, 17-19 November 2021
with Pelin Yoncacı-Arslan (Ankara), Jesko Fildhuth (Freiburg), Carey Thompson Wells (New York), E... more with Pelin Yoncacı-Arslan (Ankara), Jesko Fildhuth (Freiburg), Carey Thompson Wells (New York), Elena Boeck (Chicago), Robert G. Ousterhout (Philadelphia)
The churches in Byzantine and Umayyad-era Jordan and Palestine attest to a fascinating change in ... more The churches in Byzantine and Umayyad-era Jordan and Palestine attest to a fascinating change in visual culture in their significant alterations of mosaic pavements. The tesserae of animal and human figures were removed, shuffled, and reinserted to pixelate faces and other body parts. In the relevant field of study these phenomena have so far been summarized as ›Iconophobia‹ and too narrowly considered as damage or loss of the initial archaeological record. Instead, the manipulations and restricted recognisability even reinforce the visual and medial capacities of these images and evoke a stronger artifactual presence. These noisy surfaces have a retarding effect on perception and perpetuate the process of manufacture. This perspective holds significant potential for future archaeological research concerning the aesthetics of abstraction, the interplay of ornament and figure, text and image, order and disorder. The FRIAS Project Group SurFace explores new methodological approaches to describe, analyze and (hope)fully understand the complexity of such multi-layered image-artifact relations.
Vortragsreihe am Leibniz-Wissenschaftscampus Byzanz zwischen Orient und Okzident 11.05. Mainz/Fra... more Vortragsreihe am Leibniz-Wissenschaftscampus Byzanz zwischen Orient und Okzident 11.05. Mainz/Frankfurt
27th EAA Annual Meeting (session: New Technologies, New Theories? Reflections on the Perception a... more 27th EAA Annual Meeting (session: New Technologies, New Theories? Reflections on the Perception and Simulation of Building Environments and Architecture) 6–11 September 2021
Conference: Bildtaktiken. Visuelle Subversion zwischen Spiel und Widerstand, Tagung des Forschungsschwerpunkts Historische Bildkulturen, Wolfenbüttel , 2020
Internationaler Workshop „Verrätselung von Geschriebenem", Internationales Wissenschaftsforum Heidelberg, 2019
Die Präsenz von Schrift ist zumeist mit dem Bestreben verbunden, Mitteilungen zu machen und zu ko... more Die Präsenz von Schrift ist zumeist mit dem Bestreben verbunden, Mitteilungen zu machen und zu kommunizieren. Es gibt aber auch Fälle, in denen dem Leser das Entschlüsseln der Botschaft bewusst erschwert wird, z. B. durch kryptographische Inschriften, die ungewöhnliche, sonst nicht gebräuchliche Zeichen verwenden oder an sich bekannten Zeichen andere Lesungen zuweisen. Letzteres kann einerseits ganz elementar der Geheimhaltung dienen, andererseits aber auch auf andere Intentionen zurückzuführen sein. So finden sich Beispiele, in denen die Aufgabe gerade umgedreht wird: Der Leser muss sich Gedanken machen, wie die konkret gewählten Schriftzeichen zu identifizieren und zu entschlüsseln sind, damit sie ihrer Situierung entsprechend einen Sinn ergeben. Der Workshop zeigt die Vielfalt der hieran anknüpfenden Fragen in einer breiten interdisziplinären Zugangsweise auf. Dabei bringt er Vertreter verschiedener Disziplinen zusammen, die zeitlich vom 3. Jahrtausend v. Chr. bis in die Gegenwart und räumlich vom europäischen Mittelalter bis Ostasien und Indonesien reichen.
Homo Pictor. Image Studies and Archaeology in Dialogue, International Conference at IAW Freiburg ... more Homo Pictor. Image Studies and Archaeology in Dialogue, International Conference at IAW Freiburg 28.–30.06.
Durham University (UK), Conference: The Materiality of Text - Placement, Perception, Presence, 24... more Durham University (UK), Conference: The Materiality of Text - Placement, Perception, Presence, 24–26.09.2012
New York, International Late Antiquity Network, International Conference, Property and Power in L... more New York, International Late Antiquity Network, International Conference, Property and Power in Late Antiquity, 14.7.2014, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) New York (NY)
St. John’s College, Oxford University, Late Antique and Byzantine Archaeology and Art Seminar, 30... more St. John’s College, Oxford University, Late Antique and Byzantine Archaeology and Art Seminar, 30.5.2013
2022 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct)
Emerging modern technologies including Mixed Reality (MR) are gradually becoming an inherent comp... more Emerging modern technologies including Mixed Reality (MR) are gradually becoming an inherent component of higher education. Studies concerning the effectiveness of their use as a didactic tool have been conducted in several fields of research. While the benefits of spatial representation through MR have already been employed in the fields of cultural heritage and museums, hardly any research is dedicated to higher archaeological education. In this paper, we present the first results of the ongoing development of the MARBLE-App of the research programme »Mixed and Augmented Reality in Blended Learning Environments« on the integration of MR into everyday archaeological higher education. The results are presented on the basis of learners' feedback from a focus group study carried out with archaeology students on understanding the spatial complexity of an archaeological structure. They show an increase in the students' impression, their self-reflected learning gains and their engagement towards spatial-related topics in the field of archaeology.That said, we perceive a high potential yet to be explored for the use of this technology in archaeological spatial education.
A. Arbeiter - D. Korol, Der Kuppelbau von Centcelles. Neue Forschungen zu einem enigmatischen Denkmal von Weltrang, Iberia Archaeologica , 2016
New Reflections on Scene B4 at Centcelles:
Although the panel is badly destroyed, two larger mo... more New Reflections on Scene B4 at Centcelles:
Although the panel is badly destroyed, two larger mosaic surfaces provide a certain identification of one male person standing in front of a red background. The common scholarly interpretation of scene B4 as sacrifice of Abraham (Schlunk 1988) and as Habakkuk with angel (Recio 1998) cannot stand verification done by new photos and old copies. Based on the observation of spare remains of a horizontally rectangular structure in the upper zone, the panel seems to show a representation of the paralyzed man. Despite some single doubts the interpretation of scene B4 which considers the protagonist as a healed paralytic is more convincing than other ones.
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The building gave rise to a whole series of archaeo-historical narratives, in which the City’s Byzantine protagonists and major monuments were
woven into a coherent plot.
This Element on the archaeology of St. Polyeuktos takes a closer look at these narratives and subjects them to critical examination. In the end,
the study of St. Polyeuktos will tell us as much about Byzantine architectural history in the second half of the twentieth century as about early Byzantine architecture itself.
This study is the first to systematically analyse the capital series of the Hagia Sophia, the Church of Sergios and Bakchos and the Church of Irene. In addition, the donor epigrams of the Sergios and Bakchos Churches and the Polyeuktos Church are included in the study, the material execution of which has received too little attention to date. The research approach of focussing on the Justinianic architectural sculpture of Constantinople as a text carrier is unusual, but at second glance has proven to be obvious and rich in results in many ways. The presentation of more than 150 early Byzantine capitals of these prominent churches of Constantinople in more than 850 photographs and 50 drawings makes a fundamental contribution to Byzantine archaeology.
Herausgegeben von: Irene Berti , Katharina Bolle , Fanny Opdenhoff und Fabian Stroth
Gefördert durch: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
De Gruyter | 2017
"[...] this volume offers an important contribution to understanding incised texts and will be of value to students and scholars of various disciplines."
Alexandra Wilding in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018.04.43
International Conference, Freiburg University, 17-19 November 2021
In the relevant field of study these phenomena have so far been summarized as ›Iconophobia‹ and too narrowly considered as damage or loss of the initial archaeological record. Instead, the manipulations and restricted recognisability even reinforce the visual and medial capacities of these images and evoke a stronger artifactual presence. These noisy surfaces have a retarding effect on perception and perpetuate the process of manufacture. This perspective holds significant potential for future archaeological research concerning the aesthetics of abstraction, the interplay of ornament and figure, text and image, order and disorder.
The FRIAS Project Group SurFace explores new methodological approaches to describe, analyze and (hope)fully understand the complexity of such multi-layered image-artifact relations.
The building gave rise to a whole series of archaeo-historical narratives, in which the City’s Byzantine protagonists and major monuments were
woven into a coherent plot.
This Element on the archaeology of St. Polyeuktos takes a closer look at these narratives and subjects them to critical examination. In the end,
the study of St. Polyeuktos will tell us as much about Byzantine architectural history in the second half of the twentieth century as about early Byzantine architecture itself.
This study is the first to systematically analyse the capital series of the Hagia Sophia, the Church of Sergios and Bakchos and the Church of Irene. In addition, the donor epigrams of the Sergios and Bakchos Churches and the Polyeuktos Church are included in the study, the material execution of which has received too little attention to date. The research approach of focussing on the Justinianic architectural sculpture of Constantinople as a text carrier is unusual, but at second glance has proven to be obvious and rich in results in many ways. The presentation of more than 150 early Byzantine capitals of these prominent churches of Constantinople in more than 850 photographs and 50 drawings makes a fundamental contribution to Byzantine archaeology.
Herausgegeben von: Irene Berti , Katharina Bolle , Fanny Opdenhoff und Fabian Stroth
Gefördert durch: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
De Gruyter | 2017
"[...] this volume offers an important contribution to understanding incised texts and will be of value to students and scholars of various disciplines."
Alexandra Wilding in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018.04.43
International Conference, Freiburg University, 17-19 November 2021
In the relevant field of study these phenomena have so far been summarized as ›Iconophobia‹ and too narrowly considered as damage or loss of the initial archaeological record. Instead, the manipulations and restricted recognisability even reinforce the visual and medial capacities of these images and evoke a stronger artifactual presence. These noisy surfaces have a retarding effect on perception and perpetuate the process of manufacture. This perspective holds significant potential for future archaeological research concerning the aesthetics of abstraction, the interplay of ornament and figure, text and image, order and disorder.
The FRIAS Project Group SurFace explores new methodological approaches to describe, analyze and (hope)fully understand the complexity of such multi-layered image-artifact relations.
Although the panel is badly destroyed, two larger mosaic surfaces provide a certain identification of one male person standing in front of a red background. The common scholarly interpretation of scene B4 as sacrifice of Abraham (Schlunk 1988) and as Habakkuk with angel (Recio 1998) cannot stand verification done by new photos and old copies. Based on the observation of spare remains of a horizontally rectangular structure in the upper zone, the panel seems to show a representation of the paralyzed man. Despite some single doubts the interpretation of scene B4 which considers the protagonist as a healed paralytic is more convincing than other ones.