ABSTRACT
This chapter re-examines the Roman-period and Byzantine phases of the Church of the Annunciation site, the largest excavated area in central Nazareth. The conventional interpretation of the site by its excavator, Bellarmino Bagatti, has played a central role in shaping broader perceptions of Nazareth in these periods. Reinvestigating the published data supports parts of Bagatti’s interpretation and requires substantial revision of others. The site had been used for agricultural processing, storage and possibly occupation, before a series of features, identified here as refuge tunnels dating to the First Jewish Revolt, were constructed. Following these, and the construction of large cisterns, an architecturally sophisticated fourth-century stone structure was built. This was associated with the veneration of two caves, one of them the famous Cave of the Annunciation. This structure, perhaps one of the earliest known rural Christian churches, was succeeded by cobbled paving associated with the deposition of ceramic lamps, probably representing continuing Christian religious activity. In the fifth century, a small but richly decorated basilican church was constructed, probably the Byzantine Church of the Annunciation, along with other buildings plausibly interpreted by Bagatti as a monastery.
