The Double Church Complex of al-Jumayil – Exploring the Peripheral Regions of the Byzantine Empire

By using interdisciplinary approaches to examine remnants of anthropogenic landscape management, agricultural practices, economic exchange, and local production, the FWF project "Rethinking Periphery in Late Antique Arabia" seeks to understand the function of peripheral rural settlements in the Byzantine East. This initiative highlights the importance of rural communities within larger socioeconomic and religious networks, whereas scholarly attention has historically focused on urban areas. Excavations at the site of al-Jumayil (Jordan), carried out over four field seasons (2021-2024) by the Department of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna, revealed the remains of a single-nave double church complex. Though the architectural type is known in the region, the site shows notable variations in the internal structure, construction phases, and later modifications. Architectural features such as construction joints, wall cracks, and changes in flooring phases document the transformation of a single church into a double-church complex, likely accompanied by the relocation of the local necropolis, parts of which now lie beneath the southern nave. Internal modifications — benches, niches, and partition walls — alongside reused architectural elements (spolia) such as chancel screens and epitaphs, reflect a prolonged use of the complex well into the Early Islamic period. The presence of later structural changes, dated to the Fatimid Era, indicates a gradual shift in function and the continuity of Christian architectural spaces within a new dominant religious Islamic context. Through the analysis of stratigraphy, material culture, and architectural evolution, the site of al-Jumayil offers unique insights into the resilience and adaptation of peripheral Christian communities during a time of profound political and religious transformation. As such, it serves as a key case study for understanding the dynamics of rural life, local agency, and inter-regional connectivity in the Late Antique and Early Islamic periods—central aims of the project “Rethinking Periphery in Late Antique Arabia”.