17-12-24 – International Workshop: “Religious Secularity at Byblos: a Laboratory Synthesising the Materiality of the Eastern Mediterranean in the Middle Bronze Age”
We are pleased to announce the programme for the international workshop “Religious Secularity at Byblos: A Laboratory Synthesising the Materiality of the Eastern Mediterranean in the Middle Bronze Age”, organised by Professor Gianluca Miniaci and Camilla Saler.
This workshop is organized in the framework of the project Godscapes: Modeling Second Millennium BCE Polytheisms in the Eastern Mediterranean, https://godscapes.unict.it/?page_id=1944 , (PI: Nicola Laneri, Catania University; Unit coordinator: Gianluca Miniaci, University of Pisa) founded by the scheme PRIN 2020, Italian Ministry of University and Research.
Since the Early Bronze Age, Byblos has flourished as a vibrant hub for the exchange of materials, cultures, and religious practices among diverse societies in the Eastern Mediterranean basin. Its material culture exemplifies the coexistence and interplay of various traditions, creating a fertile ground for cultural innovation. As a key trading centre, Byblos became a crucible for the exploration and formation of new and alternative identities within its material culture.
Artifacts from the Middle Bronze Age at Byblos reveal a dynamic blend of Levantine, Egyptian, Eastern Mediterranean, and South-West Asian influences, blurring the distinctions between the old, the foreign, and the novel. This cultural fusion is especially evident in Byblos’ religious landscape, where the city’s multicultural nature encouraged a flexible and inclusive approach to spirituality, allowing for the coexistence and even merging of diverse religious practices and deities, leading to the emergence of new ontologies within a single urban environment.
This workshop delves into the distinctive character of Middle Bronze Age Byblos and its material culture, focusing on how it embodies “globalization” through the exchange of ideas and craftsmanship. It explores how foreign elements were assimilated into new material forms and how the interaction of diverse traditions in Byblos sparked the development of fresh cultural perspectives, social norms, and identities. Lastly, it investigates how the fusion of varied religious practices is reflected in the material culture of this transformative period.
The event will be held in person on December 17, 2024, in Room B of “Le Benedettine” Conference Center (Piazza San Paolo a Ripa d’Arno 16, Pisa) and in live streaming at the following link: https://bit.ly/ReligiousSecularityatByblos
The workshop is funded by the student association VOLO – Viaggiando Oltre L’Orizzonte with contributions from the University of Pisa.
Programme
9:00-9.15 Greetings and Opening
9:15-9:35 Michel de Vreeze (Durham University) The Early Bronze Age roots of Byblos’ religious economy. Byblos from a regional perspective.
9:35-9:45 Question and discussion
9:45-10:05 Marta D’Andrea (University of Rome “La Sapienza”) Religious Entanglements between Byblos and Western Palestine in the Early and Middle Bronze Age: Overlooked Proxies for Socio-Political Ties?
10:05-10:15 Question and discussion
10:15-10:35 Chiara Pappalardo, Roberta Sanna, Nicola Laneri (University of Catania) Knowledge Graphs of Material Religion: Connecting the Data from Byblos
10:35-10:45 Question and discussion
10:45-11:15 Coffee Break
11:15-11:35 Julien Chanteau (Musée du Louvre) Byblos Sacred Space in the Middle Bronze Age
11:35-11:45 Question and discussion
11:45-12:05 Lorenzo Nigro (University of Rome “La Sapienza”) Temples orientation at Byblos and cultural interaction
12:05-12:15 Question and discussion
12:15-12:35 Bianca Eugenia Berti (University of Rome “La Sapienza”) The Temple of Ba’alat at Byblos, a stratigraphic update
12:35-12:45 Question and discussion
12:40-14:40 Lunch Break
14:40-15:00 Alexander Ahrens (Orient Department, German Archaeological Institute) Salad Bowl or Melting Pot? Egyptian Imports, Egyptianizing Objects, and the Merging of Material Culture and Cultural Traits at Middle Bronze Age Byblos
15:00-15:10 Question and discussion
15:10-15:30 Camilla Saler (University of Pisa) Egyptian and Egyptianizing Objects in the Votive Deposits of Byblos and their Integration into Local Religious and Social Practices
15:30-15:40 Question and discussion
15:40-16:00 Amel Bouhafs (ENiM – ASM UMR 5140, Paul Valéry University, Montpellier) “Bi-national deities” : Egyptian gods in Byblos ? Selection, Appropriation, Translation and Assimilation
16:00-16:10 Question and discussion
16:10-16:30 Gianluca Miniaci (University of Pisa) Byblos: A Laboratory for Resheph and the Smiting God Iconography
16:30-16:40 Question and discussion
16:40-17:00 Concluding remarks and closing round table
