Insegnamento
CHRISTIAN AND MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Docente
FRANCESCA ROMANA STASOLLA
The course aims to provide basic knowledge and understanding in the context of Christian and medieval archeology, with the aim of allowing the student to apply the knowledge acquired in a competent and efficient way, to understand the historical-archaeological dynamics at the basis of the transformation of the Roman world and of the transition to the modern age and of acquiring the methodological tools for a correct archaeological interpretation of the late ancient and medieval world.
The aim of the module is the introduction to the objectives, contents, and methods of Christian and medieval archeology, providing knowledge of the birth and development of Christianity and its artistic and architectural manifestations, as well as a basic knowledge of the transformation processes of the period from late antiquity to the fifteenth century. The problems connected with the origin and development of the Christian place of worship and their annexes, the cemetery system, and funerary rituals, the characteristics of the Christian epigraphy, the development of a specific iconography and its connection to the late antique art will be discussed. Particular attention will be given to the elements of transformation of the late ancient society, of the urban systems, and of the funerary organization. The module will also focus on elements determined for the definition of the new urban models, the forms of population of the territory, the development of places of worship, the presence of the Germanic populations and the formation of the noble society. Specific lectures will be dedicated to the archeology of production with regard to ceramic, metals, and glass.
W.H.C. Frend, The archaeology of early Christianity: a history, London 1996.
J. Graham-Campbell – M. Valor – M. Carver, The archaeology of Medieval Europe, I, Aarhus 2011.
The program includes a series of on-line lectures, with various topics that embrace the main themes of Christian archeology (birth and development of Christianity, the elaboration of religious buildings, the process of Christianization, the cult of martyrs, the development of monasticism, the phenomenon of pilgrimages) and medieval archeology. Wide-ranging phenomena (such as commercial dynamics, urban development), as well as different areas of Europe, will be examined. Specific lectures will be dedicated to the production processes of some products, such as ceramic, metal, glass.
The procedures to complete the self-assessment will be provided.
The evaluation will consist in an oral exam (questions concerning general and specific topics addressed during the lessons; recognition/description of monuments, sculptures, vases, artefacts analyzed in the lessons; knowledge of the examined archaeological sites and periods).
The acquired knowledge and competencies will allow the graduates to be employed as professional archaeologists in a wide range of potential institutions, such as those connected to cultural heritage management, protection and valorization, e.g. museums, archaeological sites; public administrations; academic and research entities; archaeological excavations associations or cooperatives; organizations working in the field of tourism, history, architecture etc.