KEYNOTE. FROM GESTURES TO TRACES: EUBOEANS IN THE SANCTUARIES AT HOME AND ALONG THE SEA ROUTES
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 22/02/2021

In the context of the circumnavigations of the Mediterranean in the 1st millennium BC, attention has been drawn by the historians mainly to the transfer of gods and sacred objects (the Greek aphidrumata), as well as to the constitution of pantheons in the newly established settlements, and to the creation of Mediterranean mythology, while there was less interest in the ritual practices themselves and the traces they have left. What archaeological traces, then, did rites leave in the places of worship in polytheistic ancient societies? This question deserves further research. Following the Euboeans in the Aegean and further away in the Mediterranean is a good study case, in view of the many cultic assemblages recently excavated on Euboea, in the Aegean, Northern Greece and Italy. Beyond the architectural remains and material culture, we will therefore investigate the ecofacts and gestures of the ancient people. The aim of this keynote, as an introduction to the session, is to open the discussion on the identity markers of the Euboeans and the local and foreign populations with whom they were in contact at home and overseas.


Author(s): Huber, Sandrine (University of Lille; Swiss Archaeological School in Greece)