The development of this field of research is fundamental for our understanding of the transformation processes in this final period of classicism, which led to the configuration of mediaeval Europe, the embryo of our contemporary society. Historical periods have often been differentiated on the basis of emblematic episodes, but in reality they are founded on dynamic societies that continuously evolved or regressed. Late antiquity sketches out this situation for us. It shows us the unsustainability of forms of behaviour and ways of life and how different ideologies and beliefs gained or lost importance in the framework of integral transformations. The lCAC aims to take a new look at and reconstruct a historical period that was unpredictable in terms of its consequences and that shows us the fragility of the civilisations that were most sure of themselves.
Archaeology identifies the consequences of the phenomenon and, at the same time, helps us understand the historical documentation. Our research involves all the lines that converge in the ICAC’s programming. Archaeology of the ancient city finds the material indications based on an innovative concept of the town founded on new political, economic and demographic circumstances. A new town structured around different scenarios and rituals, in which what we call Christian archaeology identifies the new protagonist in classical society, while heralding the behaviours and hierarchies of the mediaeval period. Landscape archaeology shows us new ethnographic situations associated with a new concept of the territory and an evolution towards autarchy. The analysis of instrumentum domesticum and artistic productions reflects this new situation, constrained from the ideological point of view and with considerable evidence of atomisation and regionalisation.
The progressive rupture of the old Empire magnified the regional diversification and offers us elements that help us understand the diversity of a new Europe and the dynamics of the relations between people and territories.
Consult the different associated projects:
