1. Archaeology without archaeologists: investigations by the Sisters of Nazareth, 1881-1913 -- 2. Architectural archaeology: systematic recording by Henri Senès, 1936-1964 -- 3. Bringing the site into the 21st century: archaeological work at the convent, 2006-2010 -- 4. An illusion of riches: the Sisters of Nazareth convent museum -- 5. Reinterpreting the Sisters of Nazareth site: Roman-period transformations -- 6. Making a place of pilgrimage: the Sisters of Nazareth site in the Late Roman and Byzantine periods -- 7. The pilgrims' return: Crusader and later structures at the Sisters of Nazareth site -- 8. Wider implications of the Sisters of Nazareth site for Roman, Byzantine and Crusader archaeology and history -- 9. Is this the house of Jesus? Memory, materiality and the long-term transmission of topographical knowledge.

"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. 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women - and then for decades by Henri Senès, whose excavations (like those of the nuns) have remained almost entirely unpublished.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, 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 also assessed. 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"-- Provided by publisher.

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