Nazareth as a Byzantine Pilgrimage Centre, lecture by Ken Dark (University of Reading), King’s College London, February 6, 2018, 5:30–7:00 pm

Although one of the world’s most famous places, until recently Nazareth has been the subject of surprisingly little archaeological study. However, since 2004 work by the Nazareth Archaeological Project has enabled a new synthesis and interpretation of the archaeology of Nazareth, both in the Roman period and as a Byzantine settlement. As a consequence, Byzantine Nazareth, previously considered a small and unimportant place of pilgrimage in Late Antiquity, can be seen as a large, polycentric, pilgrimage centre. This lecture will outline the newly-available evidence and consider the rise and decline of the fourth- to eighth- century settlement at Nazareth and what this tells us about wider questions concerning pilgrimage, economy and society.

Ken Dark is an archaeologist based at the University of Reading. He established and directs the Nazareth Archaeological Project, and has directed and co-directed many other archaeological projects in Israel, Turkey and Britain. He has written numerous books and journal papers, and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Anthropological Institute.