Crosses inscribed over niches in Late Antiquity to consecrate an Early Roman chamber tomb (south wall, Tomb 6)

In applying its theoretical framework through field research, KCP addresses three central interpretive themes. These can shed light on not only the specific history of the port of Kenchreai but also its broader significance as a microcosm of urban society in the eastern provinces.

1. KCP explores the response of local cultural traditions to intense and sustained exposure to foreign cultural traditions. Since Kenchreai was situated between the Roman East and the Roman West, one hypothesis is that local mortuary forms blended separate funerary traditions. Moreover, it is unclear whether cultural assimilation between natives and foreigners is more or less visible in the cemeteries at the port town of Kenchreai, which was a polyethnic entrepôt, or at the larger provincial center of Corinth, which possessed a staunchly Roman architectural face and a colonial aristocracy.

Plan and section of Tomb 23

2. KCP investigates socioeconomic diversity in the local community and the organization and expression of power. The canonical form of the monumental tombs, which required a considerable investment of time and energy to construct and decorate, reflects the presence of an elite class at Kenchreai. The relative location of the tombs can reveal how local elites competed for prestige in a funerary theater. Moreover, burials within tombs and the associated epitaphs can reveal how families were organized, while the evidence for rituals during and after the funeral can show how ancestral memory was preserved.

3. KCP examines the spread of Christianity and its impact on local social structure. The new Christian ideology of salvation through death and the growing institution of the Church influenced the form and placement of funerary rituals and mortuary space throughout the Mediterranean world. The Christian use of the cemeteries at Kenchreai led to dramatic changes in the mortuary landscape involving the consecration of pagan burial spaces, the addition of new interments, and the creation of burial grounds around churches.