The Byzantine Dark Ages (Debates in Archaeology) by Michael J. Decker

Author:Michael J. Decker [Decker, Michael J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472536051
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2016-02-24T23:00:00+00:00

On this evidence, the large-scale abandonment of Aphrodisias in the early seventh century does not seem to represent simply a dramatic change in settlement pattern, in which a constant regional population redistributed itself differently across the landscape. Rather, it appears to mark a real and significant reduction in population.

At Aizanoi in northern Phrygia, the urban and literary focus of epigraphic survey undoubtedly biases the record towards the late antique period (most inscriptions cease in the seventh century). The population of Aizanoi declined in the seventh century when the inhabitants possibly trickled into the countryside (Rheidt 2003; Niewöhner 2006). Nor is much insight gained from the best of the published survey work from Galatia. On the Konya Plain, Baird (2004) noted evidence for an increase in settlement density from the fifth to seventh centuries (‘Early Byzantine’); material was found on 85 sites, an increase from the prior Roman period. Site size also expanded considerably from the Roman/Early Byzantine period. Extensive survey work has also been conducted by members of the Japanese Institute of Anatolia (which also covers part of Cappadocia – see below). Anderson (2008) examined material from 200 sites recorded by this mission and dated 58 of them to the Early Byzantine (AD 330–630) and 35 to the Middle Byzantine (AD 630–1100). Although Anderson acknowledges the lack of diagnostic sherds for Middle Byzantine sites, he also maintains the widely held view that overall site numbers fell across the region during this period. Site size also expanded considerably from the Roman/Early Byzantine period. The excavations at Çadır Höyük have revealed Dark Age occupation and have recorded remnants of an agricultural complex that may have been continuously occupied from the fifth century through the end of the eleventh century, at which time the settlement was apparently destroyed by Seljuk attacks.

Allcock and Roberts (2014) have incorporated results from the Central Anatolian Survey, a project aimed at investigating the Neolithic period in central Anatolia. This was an early, extensive survey that covered territory ranging from Ankara to as far east as Niğde and Nevşehir (Todd 1980). The focus of the Kaman-Kalehöyük general regional survey, directed since 1986 by Sachihiro Omura (1998, 2007, 2008), has evolved over the years to include not only a special interest in tel sites (höyüks) but also other features in the landscape. Byzantium is nonetheless not the principal concern of the investigators who, to date, have catalogued 1,500 sites. The third project noted by TAY (Türkiye Arkeolojik Yerleşmeleri Projesi) for the Byzantine period aims at recording architectural remains. This tremendously mixed bag, none of which focuses on the Byzantine era presents tough methodological problems. One of them is periodization, which Allcock and Roberts work out via a true longue durée approach by grouping together sites of the Roman and Byzantine period (AD 395–1071). While such methods may be appropriate for the Neolithic, which at its shortest range extends over millennia, its efficacy for historical periods is debatable. Nonetheless, it is helpful to see other differences ironed out by ignoring other forms of periodization.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.