EAA 2025 Belgrad "Intertwined Pasts" - Session EMPOWERING HEIGHTS: THE IMPACT OF HUMAN AGENCY ON ANCIENT UPLAND SANCTUARIES BETWEEN NATURE AND RITUAL

Akropolis

This session aims to examine the significance and functions of upland sanctuaries in ancient civilizations, with a particular focus on – but not limited to – Etruscan-Italic, Greek, and Roman examples. The discussion will address the ways in which they were integrated into the broader socio-political and economic structures of their respective cultures, as places where collective memory was both created and sustained. These sites, frequently situated on mountain peaks, but not limited to them, played a pivotal role in a multitude of contexts extending beyond the purely religious. Consequently, they have been inadequately addressed in a multitude of scenarios. The exception to this seems constituted by the case of Minoan peak sanctuaries. The analysis of the spatial distribution and ritual practices associated with these sanctuaries, in addition to an exhaustive examination of the archaeological evidence, including artifacts and structural remains, are among the anticipated outcomes. Both the artifacts and the landscapes surrounding these sanctuaries retain their significance over time becoming an integral part of our heritage. The principal objective is to identify the defining characteristics of an upland sanctuary. In what circumstances might it be appropriate to adopt an emic or an ethic perspective? Can common patterns of development be recognized in these sanctuaries, despite the unique characteristics of each culture? What characteristics do these sanctuaries possess? What can be said about the rituals performed at these locations? Can specific societal layers be identified? What were the functions of upland sanctuaries within the social and political structures of ancient communities? How were natural landscapes integrated into the religious and mnemonic discourse of these sanctuaries?

For information, you can contact the session organizers: Dr. Aura Piccioni, Universität Trier (piccioniuni-trierde); Marianna E. S. Negro, M.A. University of Cambridge (mesn2cam.acuk); Laura Sarli, M.A. Universität Trier (laurasarli1994gmailcom)

Submissions open:

20th December 2024

Deadline for submissions:

6th February 2025

Format: Hybrid

Guidelines for Contributions from the EAA Belgrade Meeting 2025 internet site: www.e-a-a.org/EAA2025/Programme/Papers%20and%20Posters/EAA2025/Programme_tabs/Contributions.aspx; www.e-a-a.org/EAA2025/EAA2025/Programme_tabs/Guidelines.aspx(please, check also in the case of different accepted languages)

The Session Organizers

Aura Piccioni, Marianna Negro, Laura Sarli

Empowering Heights: the Impact of Human Agency on Ancient Upland Sanctuaries between Nature and Ritual

Session status: Accepted

Session schedule

1

Introduction

2

#2082 Open air shrines and cults in ‘high places’ of the Late Bronze Age Aegean -  E. Salavoura (Greek Ministry of Education)

3

#1080 Anthropomorphic megalithism in northern Puglia. Reconstructive hypotheses of a protohistoric place of worship - M. L. Nava (University Suor Orsola Benincasa, Naples)

4

#1166 Hidden in the Heights: Exploring the Ritual Role of Prehistoric Hilltop Sites in Prigorje, Croatia - F. Ovcaric, L. Drahotusky-Bruketa, L. Šejić, J. Mavrović Mokos (University of Zagreb)

5

#997 From the sea to the mountain: the cult of Cupra between Piceno and Umbria - N. Frapiccini (Ministry of Culture - Ducal Palace Urbino - DRMN Marche)

6

#331 Between Devotion and Ritual: Dog Sacrifice in Ancient Italic and Mesoamerican upland-sanctuaries - L. Sarli (Trier University/University of Perugia)

7

#1156 On the very highest point – sanctuaries on mountaintops in Central Italy - M. Bolder-Boos (University of Mainz)

8

Discussion

 

9

#1049 Sacred Heights and Timeless Worship: Ritual Practices and Religious Continuity in Greek Mountain Sanctuaries - C. Marti (University of Marburg)

10

#122 Divine Nature: the Upland Sanctuaries of Attica and Arcadia - A. Piccioni (Trier University)

11

#880 Support Your Local Storm-God: Hymettos, Parnes, and the Dynamics of Ritual on Attic Mountaintops - A. Belis (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

12

#1042 Mountains and Terraced Sanctuaries in the Hellenistic West: A Case Study of the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia in Praeneste - L. Jofer (German Archaeological Institute/University of Munich)

13

#2012 Characteristics and functions of the upland sanctuaries of Umbria, c. 525-290 BCE: A regional survey - M. von Bechtolsheim (The Open University)

14

#2477 Sanctuaries in the Shadows: Rethinking Umbrian Rituals Before Rome - A. Zapelloni Pavia (European School Rhein Main)

15

#302 Rituals on the Peaks: The Enduring Umbrian Religious Identity in Gubbio Amid Roman Expansion - M. E. S. Negro (University of Cambridge)

16

Discussion

 

17

#413 Hilltop Sanctuaries as Navigational Markers on the Coasts of Hispania Citerior - M. E. Rodriguez Barbieri (University of Alicante)

18

Discussion

Accepted posters

ID

Title

124

The Identities of the Peoples from the Peak Sanctuaries in the Marche Region: Some Case-Studies - A. Piccioni (Trier University)

2452

Artemis' Sanctuary at Brauron: The Sacred Place of Marble Children - J. Dworniak (Piotrków Academy/University of Łódź)

 

 

Keynote-Speaker: T. Mattern (Trier University), Sanctuary and Identity

 

 

 

Session Organizers: Dr. Aura Piccioni, Universität Trier (piccioniuni-trierde); Marianna E. S. Negro, M.A. University of Cambridge (mesn2cam.acuk); Laura Sarli, M.A. Universität Trier (laurasarli1994gmailcom)