East Roman Archaeology: Goals and Challenges, with Marica Cassis - Medievalists.net

"Archaeology reveals what texts cannot see—the material evidence of how people actually lived, worked, and organized their societies. While historians rely on written sources that often reflect elite perspectives, archaeological evidence provides direct access to settlement patterns, economic systems, trade networks, and daily practices across all social levels, offering a more complete picture of East Roman society."

"Medieval archaeology in the East Roman world has faced significant challenges in establishing itself as a distinct field. It exists in a complex space between classical archaeology and Islamic archaeology, struggling for recognition and methodological independence. These disciplinary boundaries have historically limited the field's development and prevented fuller integration of archaeological evidence into broader historical understanding."

"The future of East Roman archaeology lies in closer collaboration between archaeologists and historians, where material evidence and textual sources inform each other. By examining sites, artifacts, and stratigraphic sequences alongside documentary evidence, scholars can construct more nuanced narratives that account for both what texts reveal and what they obscure about medieval Near Eastern societies."

Marica Cassis discusses the relationship between archaeology and traditional historiography in studying the East Roman world. Archaeology provides unique insights into material culture, settlement patterns, economic structures, and daily life that written sources often overlook or cannot adequately document. However, the field faces significant challenges in establishing its identity and methodological independence. Archaeological evidence can illuminate aspects of society invisible to texts, such as trade networks, agricultural practices, and demographic changes. The discipline has struggled for recognition as a distinct field, often positioned between classical and Islamic archaeology. Despite these obstacles, medieval Near East archaeology offers promising prospects for understanding the complexities of East Roman civilization through material remains, complementing and sometimes challenging traditional historical narratives.

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