Archaeology Research

Funding faith: The Early Byzantine church as an economic agent

 

Abstract:

In this seminar, Dr Keane will present her monograph, More than a Church: Late antique ecclesiastical complexes in Cyprus, based on her doctoral research.

The church annexes of late antique Cyprus were bustling places of industry, producing olive oil, flour, bread, ceramics, and metal products. From its earliest centuries, the church was an economic player, participating in agricultural and artisanal production. More than a Church brings together architecture, ceramics, numismatics, landscape archaeology, and unpublished excavation material, alongside consideration of Cyprus’s dynamic and prosperous 4th–10th-century history. Keane offers a rich picture of the association between sacred buildings and agricultural and industrial facilities comprehensively presenting, for the first time, the church’s economic role and impact in late antique Cyprus.

 

Time: Wednesday 23 September, 4:00–5:30pm

Place:  Room 301, 15 Southpark Terrace, Glasgow G12 8LG

 

As usual, we’ll head to Curlers Rest on Byres Road afterwards for informal discussion.

 

Online meeting details: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/322769070694793?p=1OqNGlxhQ5M9lQ9GMD

Meeting ID: 322 769 070 694 793

Passcode: uN3Qq7RS

For issues/questions with the Teams meeting, please contact Isobel Harvey (Isobel.Harvey@glasgow.ac.uk)

If you need alternative formats or other reasonable adjustments, please contact Julia Hopkin (j.hopkin.1@research.gla.ac.uk) so that arrangements, where possible, can be made.

 

---

First published: 16 September 2026