Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HOLYHOST (Welfare and Hosting buildings in the “Holy Land” between the 4th and the 7th c. AD)
Reporting period: 2020-10-01 to 2022-09-30
The work carried out intended to put light on the rise of welfare in late Antiquity through the study of the buildings that hosted charitable activities. Throughout the 2-year research, the topic was addressed in two different dimensions, each responding to one of two main objectives. The first objective was to provide, through the analysis of archaeological evidence, a better understanding of the practices linked to hospitality, welfare, accommodation and care in Antiquity. To meet this, the fellow undertook the exploration of literary sources in order to, firstly, gather data related to the layout of these facilities and, secondly, conduct archaeological surveys in the Near East, in search of hosting charitable buildings among the remains of ancient sites. The second objective aimed to observe and analyse the spread of the phenomenon in the Near East, its evolution and transformation, from antiquity to the present day. To address this ambitious project, the fellow joined forces with several specialists. Furthermore, since the programme even had the ambition to observe establishments belonging to other areas of the Mediterranean Basin, the fellow also went in a third direction, starting to explore welfare and charitable organizations through a direct participation. This was done in Paris, the host city of her fellowship, with the idea of observing the practical, economic and political aspects of the topic, motivations of the volunteers and reception of the aid by the beneficiaries, as well as the nature of the relationship that is established between the providers and the receivers. As we will see, the new raised key-research questions confirmed the relevance of analysing this topic by focusing on its architectural and urban dimension.
The main work focused on late antique hospices in the Near East, approached through architectural study and archaeological research. Previously, the phenomenon was abundantly studied through ancient texts and the social history has taken great interest on the topic, highlighting the central role of a new value, the “love of the poor” according to the words of the father of the Church Gregory of Nazianzus, in the rise, the wealth and the establishment of the Christian Church during the 4-6th centuries AD. The texts of the Church Fathers and ancient chroniclers have provided much information on the phenomenon. The first period (2021) mainly focused on research in libraries and through online documentary resources on ancient literature and modern publications as well as on the setting up of a database to list the recorded buildings and information about them regarding their architecture and organisation. During the second period (2022), on the basis of the concrete data she collected during this period, the fellow implemented and conducted archaeological research and survey in the field, in the Near East, and particularly in the vicinity of the ancient Provincia Arabia.
The other two parts of the work concern more recent, modern and contemporary situations related to welfare and charity. The fellow, closely working with a historian of the modern period and a sociologist, observed and analyzed different forms of charity, relief and humanitarian action jointly, in the Near East from Iron Age to present day, as a means of governance and social regulation, referring to these activities as various forms of aid which are undertaken by individual or collective actors to alleviate situations of precarity. They focused on the different modes of actions and of legitimation of these forms of aid and their social and political repercussions. The basic assumption supports the idea that, in the Middle East at different times, assistance has been an instrument of domination, but also of integration of different population categories perceived as likely to disrupt or destabilize the social order. In most cases, these actions entail relations of dependence, subordination or even control and stigma, between the giver/donor and the receiver. Furthermore, the Middle East appeared as a geographical field of study which lends itself particularly well to examine aid patterns and practices for many reasons. Firstly, as the cradle of the three monotheistic religions, it was the place where religious and charitable institutions first appeared. Secondly, the region is a particularly relevant laboratory and field for the observation and analysis of practices over time thanks to the wealth and variety of documents and material traces available. The very broad historical framework aimed to approach the subject with an openness conducive to understanding the evolution of the actors, modes of action and representations underlying these initiatives. The study also stood out for the particular attention it paid to the spatial and material dimension of these practices, which has seldom been explored to date; it is in this context that the architectural and archaeological study specifically conducted by the fellow is the most clearly situated. The hypotheses raised were structured around four cross-cutting themes that address the question of the relationship between the actors of assistance and the authorities, the role of religion and its articulation with secular frames of reference, the regulation of human mobility and the material traces left by these activities. Finally, the programme has been expanded in yet another way, by observing assistance activities issues through direct participation. For this purpose, the fellow took part as a volunteer in the actions of two associations which are involved in providing free food and shelter to people with little or no resources, in Paris - her fellowship host city. What she discovered and particularly struck her and finally made a strong connection between this experience and the HOLYHOST programme is the role of architecture in this context. The study indeed shows how the phenomenon is embedded in the landscape and urbanism and why it is relevant to address it through such a lens; how observing today’s practices for instance can help us understand how buildings were used in ancient periods.
The exploitation and dissemination of the results of the work took different forms: 2 preliminary archaeological and field reports, 1 interview in a journal for a non-specialized public, 3 scientific and peer-reviewed papers, 1 lecture in an international conference, 5 lectures in university seminars and meetings.
The other two parts of the work concern more recent, modern and contemporary situations related to welfare and charity. The fellow, closely working with a historian of the modern period and a sociologist, observed and analyzed different forms of charity, relief and humanitarian action jointly, in the Near East from Iron Age to present day, as a means of governance and social regulation, referring to these activities as various forms of aid which are undertaken by individual or collective actors to alleviate situations of precarity. They focused on the different modes of actions and of legitimation of these forms of aid and their social and political repercussions. The basic assumption supports the idea that, in the Middle East at different times, assistance has been an instrument of domination, but also of integration of different population categories perceived as likely to disrupt or destabilize the social order. In most cases, these actions entail relations of dependence, subordination or even control and stigma, between the giver/donor and the receiver. Furthermore, the Middle East appeared as a geographical field of study which lends itself particularly well to examine aid patterns and practices for many reasons. Firstly, as the cradle of the three monotheistic religions, it was the place where religious and charitable institutions first appeared. Secondly, the region is a particularly relevant laboratory and field for the observation and analysis of practices over time thanks to the wealth and variety of documents and material traces available. The very broad historical framework aimed to approach the subject with an openness conducive to understanding the evolution of the actors, modes of action and representations underlying these initiatives. The study also stood out for the particular attention it paid to the spatial and material dimension of these practices, which has seldom been explored to date; it is in this context that the architectural and archaeological study specifically conducted by the fellow is the most clearly situated. The hypotheses raised were structured around four cross-cutting themes that address the question of the relationship between the actors of assistance and the authorities, the role of religion and its articulation with secular frames of reference, the regulation of human mobility and the material traces left by these activities. Finally, the programme has been expanded in yet another way, by observing assistance activities issues through direct participation. For this purpose, the fellow took part as a volunteer in the actions of two associations which are involved in providing free food and shelter to people with little or no resources, in Paris - her fellowship host city. What she discovered and particularly struck her and finally made a strong connection between this experience and the HOLYHOST programme is the role of architecture in this context. The study indeed shows how the phenomenon is embedded in the landscape and urbanism and why it is relevant to address it through such a lens; how observing today’s practices for instance can help us understand how buildings were used in ancient periods.
The exploitation and dissemination of the results of the work took different forms: 2 preliminary archaeological and field reports, 1 interview in a journal for a non-specialized public, 3 scientific and peer-reviewed papers, 1 lecture in an international conference, 5 lectures in university seminars and meetings.
The main progress is to have shed light, through archaeology or the analysis of architecture, on the one hand on the phenomenon of assistance and on the other hand on a part of ancient society which, being poor, is not the most likely to leave archaeological remains. From a methodological point of view, the fellowship enabled the updating of the inventory of late antique charitable facilities in the Near East. It also saw progress in the identification of the hosting buildings in a specific region, i.e. Provincia Arabia, and the start of new archaeological fieldwork. Another significant part of the work has been to combine history, sociology and archaeology in order to address some issues related to charity from various sources, from ancient times to the present day, in the Near East and also in France. In doing so, the work has above all opened research avenues, showing the multiplicity of facets from which the topic can be approached, or could be approached in the future.