Neolithic Long Barrows and Enclosures as Landmarks of Ritual Landscape of Central and North Bohemia

Based on reconstruction of the spatial context of causewayed enclosures and long barrows of the Proto- and Early Eneolithic period, we attempt to model the phenomenon of the ritual landscape in Central and North Bohemia. Discussing the purpose and meaning of the long barrows and enclosures, they are being described as funerary and religious structures related to the cult of ancestors. An alternative explanation views them primarily, in economic terms, as territorial markers delineating the areas controlled by different communities. It seems likely that both of these interpretations are valid and well characterise the true nature of such structures. Both types of monuments should not be perceived as isolated structures, but just the opposite as they are part of a pattern of regional and super-regional identity of communities and individuals. In fact, they are crucial elements of the overall system of structuring of the prehistoric landscape.

The Thesean Ritual Landscape. Appropriation, Identity and Athenian Collective Memories

Un aspecto clave del crecimiento exponencial de la popularidad de Teseo entre los siglos VI y IV a.C. fue su creciente asociación con varios festivales y actos ritualizados. Fue especialmente el episodio de la aventura cretense el que dio forma a estos ritos. En sus reivindicadas y enfatizadas etiologías teseicas, estos festivales se revelan como mecanismos esenciales mediante los cuales se generaba la memoria cultural colectiva del héroe. Más allá de abordar simplemente el ritual como un objeto de expresión mnemónica, este artículo analiza los métodos contingentes y reconstructivos mediante los que se produce la memoria colectiva. Además, al examinar la experiencia corporeizada del recuerdo de Teseo, podemos valorar sobre un terreno mucho más firme su potencia creadora de diversas identidades atenienses.

“Reading the Ritual”: Representation and Meaning on an Etruscan Funerary Monument in Perugia

An unusual circular funerary monument in the National Archaeological Museum in Perugia (inv. no. 634) depicts a remarkable, multifigured narrative combining generic and unique scenes of Etruscan funerary ritual. Despite its singular character, this Archaic-period monument has never been the focus of an in-depth study. The monument features a frieze with two distinct scenes, each composed around a central focal point. On one side appears a prothesis scene in which a corpse occupies the central space with figures aligned on each side of the funerary bed. On the opposite side, figures are arranged on both sides of an altar featuring a burning fire, a scene without comparison in Etruscan funerary iconography. Though many of the figures have parallels within Etruscan imagery in both gesture and in attribute, much about this monument from its morphology to its pendant scenes is exceptional. Prothesis scenes, which appear almost exclusively in the Chiusi area and only during the Archaic period, are typically combined with images of funerary banqueting, dancing, and/or lamentation scenes. The pairing here with the altar/fire image raises interesting interpretive questions about the constitutive effect of these two events and how these may have been read and comprehended by the ancient viewer. Formally, the scenes invite connection and comparison, perhaps even to convey a symbolic and/or temporal relationship between these two events. The prothesis may have preceded and necessitated some sort of ritual purification by fire. Alternatively, the fire may reference a type of sacrifice part of funerary ritual. Neither, however, was part of the iconographic tradition. In attempting to these scenes, this paper uses a proxemics-based approach (a model used frequently in New World archaeology), to understand how the formal and physical characteristics of the monument reflect aspects of ancient visuality that is, the interplay between viewer, perception, and space. The figuration, composition, and morphology of this monument suggest that these scenes were intended less as narratives to be read and more as evocations of a ritual landscape whose broad contours could be perceived and understood with even a cursory engagement. These scenes are the visual evocation of ritual performance and environments. Though unusual in many aspects, the Perugia monument may have more far-reaching implications for ancient viewership.

The Astu of Athens

This chapter evaluates buildings in the astu (city center) of Athens, excluding the Akropolis and Agora. Buildings and monuments within distinct areas are treated together in order to consider the broader impact of discrete sectors of the city. The chapter concludes with an examination of the sight lines and viewing axes that crisscross the city, connected to and independent of the roadways and paths. These sight lines, axes, and roads link various parts of the city together via the built environment, thereby underscoring relationships in both architectural form and function. The chapter emphasizes how the changes to the built environment in the late sixth and early fifth centuries also transformed the ritual landscape and lived experience of the astu.