Places and spaces are key factors in how individuals and groups construct their identities. Identity theories have emphasised that the construction of an identity follows abstract and universal processes but is also deeply rooted in specific historical, cultural, social and material environments. The essays in this volume explore how various groups in Late Antiquity rooted their identity in special places that were imbued with meanings derived from history and tradition. In Part I, essays explore the tension between the Classical heritage in public, especially urban spaces, in the form of...

Juliette Day read a fascinating paper on this subject at the SLS Conference in 1998, and has now turned it into a published Study. It is distinguished by her great care about issues of both topography and dating in relation to Palestine, and in the process she both corrects other scholars and gives a notable overview of a special period.