Contested spaces

How are archaeology and art related to understanding New Testament texts, for example, narratives of the Lord's Supper and other meals? An international group of archaeologists, art historians, and New Testament scholars investigate the function of spaces in Roman houses and temples in Pompeii, Herculaneum, Corinth, Rome, Ostia, Ephesus, and Judaea. Another concern is more fully to understand the relationship between different architectural forms, Roman domus, villae, and insulae, in relation to Paul's letters and the gospels, in order to enable informed interpretation of leadership, meal customs, social relationships, and ethics in those contested spaces.