Although Christian charity played an important role in Late Antique society, less is known about the places where it was practised. My ongoing dissertation project "Orte der Wohltätigkeit im spätantiken östlichen Mittelmeerraum", pursued at the University of Graz and the Max Weber Centre in Erfurt, deals with places of charity in the Eastern Mediterranean in Late Antiquity and the methodological problems of pin it archaeologically down. Written sources refer to places for travellers (xenodocheia), the poor (deaconries, ptocheia) or the sick (nosokomeia), among others, but in most cases, corresponding archaeological evidence is lacking. Nevertheless, care for the poor and needy was not only provided in specific institutions such as xenodocheia or deaconries but also in more public places such as atria of churches and porticoes, as literary sources inform us.

The paper deals with acts of charity performed in (semi-)public spaces, thus addressing the problem of sources and methodology of various usages in multifunctional building complexes, as well as the question of ancient labels for buildings according to purpose (“institutions”) in relation to a modern scholarly architectural typology. As the study of the written and material evidence so far shows, the importance attached to charity in atria and porticoes in the written sources is not reflected in the archaeological record. The invisibility of charity therefore calls for a refined interdisciplinary approach that includes not only literary and epigraphic sources but also small finds, in addition to other methodological tools, such as bio-archaeology and anthropological analogies. By combining the results of the different disciplines, an attempt will be made to elucidate the significance of atria and porticoes in Late Antique daily life and their relationship with the needy. The paper therefore seeks to contribute to a better understanding of public space in Late Antiquity seen through the lens of charity and its importance in society.