Sisters of Nazareth Convent

<p>This book transforms archaeological knowledge of Nazareth by publishing over 80 years of archaeological work at the Sisters of Nazareth convent including a detailed re-investigation in the early twenty-first century under the author's direction.</p><p>Although one of the world's most famous places and of key importance to understanding early Christianity Nazareth has attracted little archaeological attention. Following a chance discovery in the 1880s the site was initially explored by the nuns of the convent themselves – one of the earliest examples of a major programme of excavations initiated and directed by women – and then for decades by Henri Senès whose excavations (like those of the nuns) have remained almost entirely unpublished. Their work revealed a complex sequence elucidated and dated by twenty-first century study beginning with a partly rock-cut Early Roman-period domestic building followed by Roman-period quarrying and burial a well-preserved cave-church and major surface-level Byzantine and Crusader churches. The interpretation and broader implications of each phase of activity are discussed in the context of recent studies of Roman-period Byzantine and later archaeology and contemporary archaeological theory and their relationship to written accounts of Nazareth is also assessed.</p><p>The Sisters of Nazareth Convent provides a crucial archaeological study for those wishing to understand the archaeology of Nazareth and its place in early Christianity and beyond.</p>