Reuse in Post-Roman Societies: Christian and Islamic Attitudes Towards Ruins and Spolia, University of Hamburg and Zoom, December 5–6, 2022

The study of recycling and reuse in Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages has been a subject of long-standing enquiry. Throughout the decades, traditional approaches have been reconsidered and recycling and reuse of Roman material are no longer seen as passive responses to lack of resources and a declining economy, but rather characterized by a high degree of organization, with power, skills, knowledge and legal concerns also playing a role. Scholars have also stressed that reuse implies sometimes a process of appropriation, conversion or reidentification that turns ancient and foreign objects into attractive, valuable and meaningful vestiges in the present.

In this workshop we would like to discuss theoretical as well as practical aspects of reuse and perception of ancient ruins in Post-Roman societies, attending to cases of reuse and spoliation across the Mediterranean Sea, both in Christian and Islamic context, bringing together comparative and transcultural studies into a broader historical and more contemporary perspective.

Advance registration required for online participation. Please confirm your participation by December 5, 2022 (noon) to romanislam[at]uni-hamburg.de.