Great Churches and Archaeology

Archaeology and religion have a long history together--many of the earliest investigators into the archaeological past were priests and priest-scholars, and much of what science is today grew out of the various religious movements. Hard to believe these days, I must admit.

But over the years, archaeologists have continued our fascination with the scientific pieces of religious belief, this fascination taking many different flavors and investigating most of the religions of the world. So, I assembled a photo gallery of churches that have interesting archaeological histories to them ('churches' including synagogues, mosques, temples, shrines, etc.), and why archaeologists are interested in them.

The photogallery called Great Churches of the World: A Survey, was built on a bunch of files I had lying around, and I know there are lots of others. Suggestions for additions (including churches of all kinds with an archaeology component to their history) would be warmly welcomed.

• Great Churches of the World: A Survey
• Churches and Archaeology, more text-based descriptions of churches
• Religious Scholars in Archaeology, a list of the more prominent archaeologist-priests