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Crusader Urban Archaeology in the Kingdom of Jerusalem: Methodologies, Constraints and Possibilities: The Cases of Jerusalem and Acre

Crusader Urban Archaeology in the Kingdom of Jerusalem: Methodologies, Constraints and Possibilities: The Cases of Jerusalem and Acre

Paper by Adrian Boas

Given at France and Israel: Methodologies in Medieval Archaeology, New Perspectives – A Workshop, in Jerusalem on May 27, 2019

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Excerpt: I might have called this paper a Tale of Two Cities for that certainly what it is – a tale of two very different cities and how they contribute to our understanding of the Crusader period and the Latin East and of some of the difficulties and challenges facing us in studying them Jerusalem and Acre are indeed very different cities rather like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are today. One an inland city, a city of government, proud somewhat laid-back, conservative, seeming almost as if it wishes not to taint itself with everyday things, and the most important a holy city. The other a port city cosmopolitan lively bursting with activity ever-expanding full of foreign visitors full of merchants of merchandise crowded filthy – something of an unholy City. Because of their almost equal importance during the Crusader period and because they were so very different from one another Jerusalem and acre are the main focus for scholars studying the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Frankish urban life in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Adrian Boas of Haifa University is an archaeologist/historian of the Latin East. Click here to visit his website or follow him on Twitter @adrianboas2

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Top Image: Crusader’s Refectory in Acre – photo by Dennis Jarvis / Flickr

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