V O R T R A G – online
Ine Jacobs (University of Oxford)
Dienstag, 7. Juni 2022 um 18 Uhr
The classical city of Aphrodisias was badly damaged by an earthquake, probably around AD 620. Contrary to earlier assumptions, occupation of the city centre was resumed immediately thereafter and apparently on a
significant scale. Recent excavations and re-examination of older finds
have gathered a wealth of information about interventions that can be
ascribed to the so-called ‘Byzantine Dark Ages’ (second quarter of
the seventh to mid-ninth century). The picture which emerges is one of a
population intensely re-using surviving structures and material culture
from previous centuries. Most of these activities appear to be very
modest and pragmatic in nature. Nevertheless, a sizeable multi-roomed
complex, including a heated bath, was also constructed in and on top of
the earthquake debris. In this paper I will provide a first overview of
Dark Age interventions in the city centre and offer a reconstruction of
life at the site immediately after Antiquity.
