Manama, Feb. 10 (BNA): The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Bahrain, organised a lecture on the Christianisation of town and countryside in the Byzantine provinces from the fourth to the seventh centuries CE. The lecture was held at the Bahrain National Museum and delivered by Associate Professor Athanasios Vionis of the Archaeological Research Unit at the University of Cyprus.

The lecture coincided with celebrations marking Cyprus’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union and was attended by Dr. Salman Ahmed Al Mahari, Director General of Archaeology at BACA, along with several cultural figures.

Associate Professor Vionis examined the role of Christianity in shaping both urban and rural landscapes during the Byzantine period. He also discussed the wider impact of the spread of Christianity across the Byzantine provinces, highlighting its influence on urban planning and residential development to accommodate places of worship and religious gatherings, which in turn contributed to the evolution of associated arts and architectural forms.

Athanasios Vionis is Associate Professor of Byzantine Archaeology and Art in the Department of History and Archaeology, and Director of the Archaeological Research Unit at the University of Cyprus. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Ancient History and Archaeology from Durham University in the United Kingdom and earned his PhD in Medieval and Post-Medieval Archaeology in 2005. He conducted postdoctoral research at KU Leuven in Belgium and, in 2018, was appointed Coordinator of the Commission for Byzantine Archaeology by the Bureau of the International Association of Byzantine Studies.

His research focuses on landscape archaeology, archaeological survey, settled and sacred landscapes, GIS applications in archaeology, spatial use, pottery technology and production, food preferences, and daily life during the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. He has published a book on the Ionian Islands in the medieval and post-medieval periods and has authored more than 70 academic papers and scholarly contributions.

H.K, A.J