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The inhospitable, arid region of the Negev desert was home to several extraordinarily rich settlements sustained by agriculture and the export of wine in late antiquity and the Byzantine period. A very significant factor in the urban outline of these towns were grand churches. The churches show a particular style in architecture and ornamentation, unostentatious and yet monumental. The collectively shared architectural language suggests a conscious decision, taken to define the towns in the Negev as an individual cultural space distinct from its neighbouring regions.
In my research, I focus on the meaning of these churches for the towns. I aim to connect new results in archaeological research with a revisit of the churches and their architecture to better understand of the role the churches played in the cultural developments that made the Byzantine towns in the Negev such an interesting story of success and demise.
In the colloquium, I presented some of my research questions to subject them to the very helpful comments of my colleagues. We had a fruitful discussion with constructive feedback.