Hull, Daniel (2006) The archaeology of monasticism; landscape, politics and social organisation in late antique Syria. PhD thesis, University of York.
Abstract
This thesis reassesses the role played by monasticism in the social, economic and political
changes of Late Antiquity in the eastern Mediterranean. In particular, it takes the Roman
province of Syria as its primary arena, and argues that monasteries were more active in
effecting social change in this region from the fourth to the seventh .centuries than has been
previously supposed. In arguing for such a role, a theoretical deco~struction of the nature of
archaeological research in Syria is carried out, and the reasons why the material culture of
that region has been consistently left out of wider intellectual debates are demonstrated.
Instead of monastic institutions being regarded as essentially separate from broader changes
affecting the :nay rural society was organised, a more varied, dynamic model is proposed.
Running contrary to many general commentaries on the late empire, which assert that the
eastern Mediterranean maintained a consistent and successful taxation base, it is argued
instead that more complex, localised methods of socio-economic control can be recognised
archaeologically. Instead of there being a lack of social transformation until the seventh or
eighth centuries in the eastern Mediterranean, it can be suggested that some areas in fact
witnessed a shift from a predominantly tax-based economy to one where tribute was given
to rural institutions as early as the fifth century.
By examining both the internal morphology of monastic sites as well as their broader
relationship with topography and surrounding settlement patterns, a case can be made that
monasteries were at the forefront of this shift. A landscape approach is adopted in order to
scrutinise this model, using an archaeological data set from the limestone massif of northwest
Syria. Three specific case studies are then used to contextualise these broad
conclusions. This thesis brings together information from a number of previous surveys in
the. region throughout the twentieth century, with results obtained through my own
fieldwork undertaken in 2003 and 2004.
Metadata
Awarding institution: | University of York |
---|---|
Academic Units: | The University of York > Archaeology (York) |
Identification Number/EthosID: | uk.bl.ethos.485099 |
Depositing User: | EThOS Import (York) |
Date Deposited: | 28 Sep 2015 09:18 |
Last Modified: | 28 Sep 2015 09:18 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:etheses.whiterose.ac.uk:9939 |
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