Light is a universal theme. Scholars have discussed its theosophical points, but it has rarely been addressed archeologically. Can light, though immaterial and evanescent, be understood and thus become an archeological object? Different sources – photometrical, archeological, and textual – point to the possibilities of exploiting light, either directly – through objects that transform or redirect it – or indirectly – through references that mention it, and occasionally exalt its signification. Mosques represent a pertinent subject for an archeology of light because they take light into account in its three dimensions: as a vector of perception, spatial organizer, and significant symbol.
Julie Bonnéric. An Archaeology of Light in Classical Islam. Studying an Immaterial Phenomenon in Medieval Mosques. 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Apr 2012, Varsovie, Poland. pp.15-26. halshs-01986959. Archived at https://perma.cc/DT2V-JVV8.
