From Pagan Temple to Church in Late Antiquity Palestine A View from Hippos-Sussita

Abstract

The destruction of pagan temples and/or their conversion to churches during the Late Antiquity have been the subject of much study and speculation. For a long period debate on this topic was shaped chiefly by various literary accounts, while archaeological data were somewhat neglected. The purpose of this article is to provide some observations on this issue from a strictly archaeological perspective. The occasion for this are the results of the Polish excavations at Hippos-Sussita. A large basilica that has been unearthed there was built directly on the remains of an earlier Roman temple. The first section of the paper presents elements of the Roman temple which have been identified in various parts of the church area. The second part briefly discusses the other sites in Palestine which have yielded archaeological evidence of churches built over pagan temples.