My thesis focuses on the analysis of two Late Antique Egyptian textiles:mInstitute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology UM/IEAA 2004.1.4 and Victoria and Albert Museum, London 294-1887. Using stylistic, iconographic, and technical analyses, I was able to match these two fragments, in addition to identifying their probable location of manufacture and date. The IEAA textile contains three separate pieces, a neckband and two clavi, sewn together. Observations revealed that these decorative elements were recycled from earlier garments and were reused together based on pomegranate imagery. The IEAA clavi employ an unusual motif, which I identified as a composite representation of the pomegranate flower. Based on acquisition date, technical attributes, stylistic elements, and comparable fragments, I propose that the IEAA and V&A pieces were manufactured in Akhmîm, Egypt, during the 5th- 8th centuries A.D. This study enabled me to reweave the history of these two textiles.

Qasr al-Yahud, situated on the west bank of the Jordan River, 5 miles north of the Dead Sea and east of Jericho, features the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, believed to be the traditional site of the Baptism of Jesus1 and has a centuries-long tradition of ‘washing of the lepers’. Byzantine and Medieval authors attributed the waters of the Jordan river a special power to heal lepers who bathed in them, especially at the spot where Jesus was baptized. One piece of evidence for this comes from Gregory of Tour, who visited the site in the sixth century CE. After the site became sacred, traditions developed that were associated with the holy eatures of the water and its curative properties. When the emperor Constantius became ill, he asked to bath in the Jordan. The pilgrim Felix Fabri, from the end of the fifteenth century, described the prayers conducted by pilgrims on the banks of the river, dipped in the waters dressed in special clothing brought particularly for this purpose. Today ceremonies attended by thousands of people are Performed. In 1983 a rescue excavation was carried out at Qasr al-Yahud by the anthropologist Joe Zias. A mass grave of around 300 men, women and children was discovered at the site, 90% of which had been destroyed by road construction: thirty-four skeletons, however, were retrieved, probably representing a hospital population with cases of tuberculosis, leprosy and facial disfigurement. Such individuals travelled enormous distances, attracted to the site in the hope of washing away their illness. Anthropological evidence indicates that the individuals were probably Egyptian in origin, while structural analysis of the skulls proved that some were Nubian. They were buried in a Christian manner, lying on their backs, facing the rising sun. Some of the burial customs at this site, such as placing seeds from the Egyptian Balsam tree (Balanites Aegyptiaca) in the hands of the deceased, conform to Egyptian traditions. The arid climate of the Judean Desert helped to preserve 250 textiles and a few cords, among them many examples comprising two different textiles or more sewn together or patched one on another. The preservation of the material is fairly good, though some was damaged by bodily fluids. Radiocarbon dating of the textiles placed the date in the eighth to ninth centuries (787–877 CE). The textiles are made of linen and cotton, sometimes decorated with wool tapestry, brocade and selfbands. They include many cut-to-shape tunics except one which is woven-to-shape, head coverings, bandages and shrouds. This research combines historic sources, anthropological and botanic evidence, burial practices with the textiles. The material is of great importance because it gives us idea about the burial costumes used by Christians at the late Islamic period. In addition, those are the only textiles from this period found in Israel.

The rich tradition and profound spirituality of Judaism has touched people the world over for thousands of years. With the arrival in the Near East of Alexander the Great and the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the synagogue came to represent a new era of this powerful religion, one which witnessed a greater emphasis on shared religious experience and prayer. In turn, the synagogue, derived from the Greek, meaning an "assembly," has come to mean the Jewish house of worship, evolving into a "sacred realm," in which the Torah came to play a central role linking the biblical past with the messianic future. Of course, the synagogue has been much more that a house of worship--it served the Jewish people as a place of learning, a community center, and often as the official seat of Jewish self-government. Indeed, it is the institution most closely associated with the development of post-biblical Judaism throughout the ages. Sacred Realm: The Emergence of the Synagogue in the Ancient World offers the first comprehensive history of the architectural and archaeological development of the synagogue from the third century BCE to 700 CE. Telling the story of over one hundred ancient synagogues throughout the world and their place in the history of Judaism and of Western civilization, this book provides a fascinating representation of the cultural, intellectual, and artistic achievements of three thousand years of Jewish experience. Informative essays detail every aspect of the ancient synagogue, while beautiful illustrations and maps take the reader to the actual historic site. Sacred Realm is an accompaniment to a monumental exhibition organized by the Yeshiva University Museum in New York. Borrowing from museums in North America, Europe, and Israel, the exhibition presents a unique collection of artifacts and manuscripts--including many pieces never before displayed in the United States--and will depict for the first time an in-depth history of the synagogue during the Greco-Roman period. From fourth-century Egyptian incense burners and inscribed bowl fragments to fifth-century Gaza mosaics decorated with Menorah and Shofar, Piyyut (liturgical poetry) manuscripts, and assorted textile, column, and pottery fragments, this collection is the most significant presentation of ancient Jewish religious life ever assembled in the United States. Lavishly illustrated with both color and black and white photographs of the artifacts, manuscripts, maps, site diagrams, and reconstructions, Sacred Realm is not only a detailed record of this historic exhibit, but a guide to the evolution of Judaism's most sacred institution.