Between Text and Artifact: Integrating Archaeology in Biblical Studies Teaching (Archaeology and Biblical Studies)

7..ANGENBERG:REAl.lZINGDIVERSITY 189

broughtaboutthemostabruptchangesintheregion,therehadbeeninnu-
ential factors before,such as the politicsofHerod the Gre<Jt and an
increaseofRoman presenceduringthceraoftheprocurators.Thetwo
wars,moreover,affectedthedeepstructuresoftheentireregionbyltltro-
ducingmanynewsettlersandrelocatinglargegroupsofpeoplewithinthe
region. New cities wcre founded (Neapolis) and old ones altered
(Jerusalem);manyjewslosttheirlivesorhadtosettleinplacesthatprevi~
ouslywerenotsodenselyoccupied(Darom,Galilee),thusformingnew
centersofpopulationandreligion. WhilethesetwoeVCnlScausedcata-
strophicdisruptionsandanonlygradualreconstructionofjewishlifein
Palestine, theyusuallylcdtoanincreasein paganpresence. Fromthe
pointofthenon-jewishpopulation,however,theRomanizationofPales-
tineinthewakeofthetwowarsmeantanaccelerationofanotherwise
continuousprocessofintegr:lIingan imporwntregionintothereligious
andpoliticalsystemofthepluralisticEastcrnEmpire.
NeedlesstoS<"1y,theeffectsofthetworevoltsoftenmakeit impossible
toreadbackfromlaterevidenceandreconstructtheculturalprofileofear-
lierhabitation,unlessthearchaeologicalrecordcomesupwithconclusive
evidence todoso. While theoverall pictureshowsgenerallygradual
changes,onestillmustavoidspe<lkingofanycontinuityintermsofcult
andreligiousaffiliationonalocallevel,especiallyforthetimeIx=foreand
after70.
Thecomplexnatureofpaganismopensawidefieldforlocal,regional,
andsocialstudies.Paganismhadmanyfaces.AsjosephGeigersketches
thepicture:

localcults,still verymuchintheiroriginalguise,orbeneath:1thinor

thickcrveneerofinterpretationGraec.l,likethoseofMamas-ZeusatGaza,

Greekcults properlikethatofDionysusat Scythopolis,Romancults,

headedbythecultsoftheEmpcrors,chieflyinthefourPalestiniancities

named:Ifterthem,:llldtheinfluxofthcso-calledorientalreligions,evi-

denced for inst:lllce by the Mithraeull1 in Cacsarea, made up the

complexityofwhatw('referto.for:1I:lckofa bettertcnn.aspaganisrn.-^1

TheevidenceisunequallydistributedoverthewholeofPalestine.We
havemuchmoreinformationonthereligiouslifeandvariouscultsofthe
citie.s,whichwerepresumablyl:lfgelyGreek-speakingorbilingual.than
onthemostlyAramaic-speakingruralhinterland.Therewerepagansset-
tlingatthefringesofpredominatelyjewishterritoriessuchasNabateans
inthesouthandcasl,Phoeniciansinthenorthandwest,lture:msinthe

IGdgcr."AstX"ctsofPalc.,tinianl'agani,m...S.