Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0192
Giuseppe Garbati
ABSTRACT The present contribution examines relations between deities in the Phoenician context. Its principal aim is to reconstruct some of the ways in which the Phoenicians conceived of the divine dimension, its protagonists, and the connections between them.
{"title":"Divine Connections: Case Studies in the Phoenician Context","authors":"Giuseppe Garbati","doi":"10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0192","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0192","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The present contribution examines relations between deities in the Phoenician context. Its principal aim is to reconstruct some of the ways in which the Phoenicians conceived of the divine dimension, its protagonists, and the connections between them.","PeriodicalId":43115,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135685981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0337
Moshe Fischer (ל”ז), Alexander Fantalkin, Itamar Taxel, Liora Bouzaglou, Oren Tal
ABSTRACT This study presents an assemblage of complete and fragmented clay-made boat models uncovered during controlled archaeological excavations from Yavneh-Yam, which is located on the southern coastal plain of Israel. First, the relevant contexts from the Persian and early Hellenistic periods at the site that yielded these models are contextualized within the framework of contemporary geopolitical dynamics. This is in order to clarify the geopolitical status of Yavneh-Yam during these periods and the crucial role of the Phoenician agency. A detailed presentation of the boat models follows, including their typology, petrography (thin-section), and technological examination. Finally, we discuss a possible function and use of this group of votive objects, with far-reaching implications for deciphering the possible Phoenician ritual practices related to Phoenician seafaring activity in the Mediterranean.
{"title":"Clay Boat Models from Yavneh-Yam: Toward an Understanding of Their Chronology, Function, and Use","authors":"Moshe Fischer (ל”ז), Alexander Fantalkin, Itamar Taxel, Liora Bouzaglou, Oren Tal","doi":"10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0337","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0337","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study presents an assemblage of complete and fragmented clay-made boat models uncovered during controlled archaeological excavations from Yavneh-Yam, which is located on the southern coastal plain of Israel. First, the relevant contexts from the Persian and early Hellenistic periods at the site that yielded these models are contextualized within the framework of contemporary geopolitical dynamics. This is in order to clarify the geopolitical status of Yavneh-Yam during these periods and the crucial role of the Phoenician agency. A detailed presentation of the boat models follows, including their typology, petrography (thin-section), and technological examination. Finally, we discuss a possible function and use of this group of votive objects, with far-reaching implications for deciphering the possible Phoenician ritual practices related to Phoenician seafaring activity in the Mediterranean.","PeriodicalId":43115,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135685976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0177
Ida Oggiano, Fabio Porzia
ABSTRACT In this article, the authors analyze a widespread Persian-period terracotta figurine type in the Levant: the seated man with an atef crown or a cylindrical tiara and a hand touching his beard. As well as studying the specific attributes and the evolution of this iconography, the authors will address its association in cultic contexts with another figurine: the pregnant woman. By providing new arguments to identify the bearded man and the pregnant woman as (mainly) divine images, which are at the same time associated and distinct, the authors stress that the idea of a divine couple in an “open relationship” is of pivotal importance in understanding the organization of ancient polytheisms.
{"title":"The Bearded Man and the Pregnant Woman Terracotta Figurines: A Case of Divine “Open Relationship” in Persian-Period Levant?","authors":"Ida Oggiano, Fabio Porzia","doi":"10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0177","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0177","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In this article, the authors analyze a widespread Persian-period terracotta figurine type in the Levant: the seated man with an atef crown or a cylindrical tiara and a hand touching his beard. As well as studying the specific attributes and the evolution of this iconography, the authors will address its association in cultic contexts with another figurine: the pregnant woman. By providing new arguments to identify the bearded man and the pregnant woman as (mainly) divine images, which are at the same time associated and distinct, the authors stress that the idea of a divine couple in an “open relationship” is of pivotal importance in understanding the organization of ancient polytheisms.","PeriodicalId":43115,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135685824","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0209
Meir Edrey
ABSTRACT The Achaemenid rule is often perceived by modern scholars as religiously tolerant and nonintrusive, mainly due to the biblical narrative and the Cyrus decree. However, even if the Achaemenids did not impose their beliefs and religious ideology on their subordinates, Achaemenid and Zoroastrian influences seem to have seeped into the religion and cultic practices of peoples under their hegemony. In the southern Levant, dramatic changes to Phoenician cult practices occurred during the Persian period, some of which are consistent with principles of the Zoroastrian faith. Although written sources suggest the Achaemenids did interfere with the cultic practices of various peoples, it seems unlikely that they forced their system of beliefs on the Phoenicians, with whom they maintained good relations. It is, however, more than possible that as part of those warm relations, certain Zoroastrian ideas diffused into Phoenician society bringing about changes to the Phoenicians’ cultic practices.
{"title":"Achaemenid / Early Zoroastrian Influences on Phoenician Cultic Practices during the Persian Period","authors":"Meir Edrey","doi":"10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0209","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The Achaemenid rule is often perceived by modern scholars as religiously tolerant and nonintrusive, mainly due to the biblical narrative and the Cyrus decree. However, even if the Achaemenids did not impose their beliefs and religious ideology on their subordinates, Achaemenid and Zoroastrian influences seem to have seeped into the religion and cultic practices of peoples under their hegemony. In the southern Levant, dramatic changes to Phoenician cult practices occurred during the Persian period, some of which are consistent with principles of the Zoroastrian faith. Although written sources suggest the Achaemenids did interfere with the cultic practices of various peoples, it seems unlikely that they forced their system of beliefs on the Phoenicians, with whom they maintained good relations. It is, however, more than possible that as part of those warm relations, certain Zoroastrian ideas diffused into Phoenician society bringing about changes to the Phoenicians’ cultic practices.","PeriodicalId":43115,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135685826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0159
Ann E. Killebrew
ABSTRACT Renewed excavations on Tel Akko have uncovered evidence of large-scale Phoenician industrial iron smithing during the Persian period (sixth–fourth centuries BCE). It is distinguished not only by the scale of production but also by the integration of ritual activities with iron smithing. This article presents evidence for an iron workers’ cult at Tel Akko—a largely unexplored aspect of Phoenician religion and cultic practices.
{"title":"Phoenician Iron Smithing and Cult at Persian-Period Tel Akko","authors":"Ann E. Killebrew","doi":"10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0159","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0159","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Renewed excavations on Tel Akko have uncovered evidence of large-scale Phoenician industrial iron smithing during the Persian period (sixth–fourth centuries BCE). It is distinguished not only by the scale of production but also by the integration of ritual activities with iron smithing. This article presents evidence for an iron workers’ cult at Tel Akko—a largely unexplored aspect of Phoenician religion and cultic practices.","PeriodicalId":43115,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135685978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0357
Meir Edrey
Over the past few years, Phoenician studies have been reawakened after a long academic slumber, and many new studies on this extraordinary civilization that encompassed almost the entire Mediterranean basin have emerged (e.g., Quinn 2018; Elayi 2018; Edrey 2019; Sader 2019; López -Ruiz and Doak 2019; López-Ruiz 2021). Dalit Regev has added two new commendable studies to this growing body of works; New Light on Canaanite-Phoenician Pottery (2020) and Painting the Mediterranean Phoenician: On Canaanite-Phoenician Trade-Nets (2021), the latter of which is the focus of this review.The book commences with an introduction that delves into the ongoing debate surrounding the identity of the Phoenicians, seeking to define and examine their origins, territorial boundaries, and available sources (Ch. 1).1 Regev presents ample evidence to support the interchangeable use of the terms Canaanites and Phoenicians. She also mentions the frequently cited remarks of Augustine of Hippo from the fourth century CE on the people of North Africa, who supposedly referred to themselves as Canaanites, an assertion that has been convincingly refuted by Quinn (2018: 33–36). Later, Regev proposes a compelling theory concerning the rise of the use of the name Sidonians during the Hellenistic period (14). Regev rightfully argues for the continuity of the Canaanites in the form of the Phoenicians from the Bronze Age and to the Roman period, both culturally and genetically (compare Elayi 2018: 8), despite the lack of a common name throughout the ages. While the identification of the Phoenicians as Canaanites is quite common (e.g., Sader 2019: 4), Regev takes an unconventional approach by equating all Canaanites with Phoenicians, irrespective of their specific geographic location within this relatively large territory. This untraditional view enables her to associate virtually all economic activities of the Canaanites, extending from the eastern Jordan River to the southern Nile Delta, with the Canaanite-Phoenicians.Chapter 2 focuses on the framework by which these Canaanite-Phoenicians facilitated their trade activities. Regev puts forth the argument that all Phoenician trade was organized by the state, involving both officials and private agents operating within networks facilitated by a Phoenician diaspora. The chapter also delves into the mobility of Phoenician artisans across the Mediterranean, starting from the Bronze Age. In addition, Regev draws comparisons between the operational methods of the Phoenician diaspora trade network and other historical diaspora networks, such as the second-millennium BCE Mesopotamian trade colony at Kanesh, which may have started even earlier (Kulakoğlu and Öztürk 2015), or the medieval Jewish-diaspora trade network as exemplified by the documents of the Cairo Geniza (Goitein 1999).The all-encompassing approach to the Phoenicians as Canaanites and vice versa comes into play in Chapter 3, which deals with what Regev refers to as “Early Network
{"title":"Painting the Mediterranean Phoenician: On Canaanite-Phoenician Trade-Nets","authors":"Meir Edrey","doi":"10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0357","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0357","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past few years, Phoenician studies have been reawakened after a long academic slumber, and many new studies on this extraordinary civilization that encompassed almost the entire Mediterranean basin have emerged (e.g., Quinn 2018; Elayi 2018; Edrey 2019; Sader 2019; López -Ruiz and Doak 2019; López-Ruiz 2021). Dalit Regev has added two new commendable studies to this growing body of works; New Light on Canaanite-Phoenician Pottery (2020) and Painting the Mediterranean Phoenician: On Canaanite-Phoenician Trade-Nets (2021), the latter of which is the focus of this review.The book commences with an introduction that delves into the ongoing debate surrounding the identity of the Phoenicians, seeking to define and examine their origins, territorial boundaries, and available sources (Ch. 1).1 Regev presents ample evidence to support the interchangeable use of the terms Canaanites and Phoenicians. She also mentions the frequently cited remarks of Augustine of Hippo from the fourth century CE on the people of North Africa, who supposedly referred to themselves as Canaanites, an assertion that has been convincingly refuted by Quinn (2018: 33–36). Later, Regev proposes a compelling theory concerning the rise of the use of the name Sidonians during the Hellenistic period (14). Regev rightfully argues for the continuity of the Canaanites in the form of the Phoenicians from the Bronze Age and to the Roman period, both culturally and genetically (compare Elayi 2018: 8), despite the lack of a common name throughout the ages. While the identification of the Phoenicians as Canaanites is quite common (e.g., Sader 2019: 4), Regev takes an unconventional approach by equating all Canaanites with Phoenicians, irrespective of their specific geographic location within this relatively large territory. This untraditional view enables her to associate virtually all economic activities of the Canaanites, extending from the eastern Jordan River to the southern Nile Delta, with the Canaanite-Phoenicians.Chapter 2 focuses on the framework by which these Canaanite-Phoenicians facilitated their trade activities. Regev puts forth the argument that all Phoenician trade was organized by the state, involving both officials and private agents operating within networks facilitated by a Phoenician diaspora. The chapter also delves into the mobility of Phoenician artisans across the Mediterranean, starting from the Bronze Age. In addition, Regev draws comparisons between the operational methods of the Phoenician diaspora trade network and other historical diaspora networks, such as the second-millennium BCE Mesopotamian trade colony at Kanesh, which may have started even earlier (Kulakoğlu and Öztürk 2015), or the medieval Jewish-diaspora trade network as exemplified by the documents of the Cairo Geniza (Goitein 1999).The all-encompassing approach to the Phoenicians as Canaanites and vice versa comes into play in Chapter 3, which deals with what Regev refers to as “Early Network","PeriodicalId":43115,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135685982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0366
Ann E. Killebrew
The past five years have witnessed a plethora of publications devoted to the Phoenicians and their impact on the Mediterranean world (for an overview of key publications, see Sader 2019: xi and the book reviews by Megan Daniels, Meir Edrey, and Jolanta Młynarczyk in this issue). Three recently published books are critiqued in this review. Two monographs, authored by Hélène Sader and Meir Edrey, examine the history, archaeology, and identity of the Iron Age inhabitants of Phoenicia. These publications are especially significant as they fill a void in Phoenician studies—a field that in the past tended to focus on Phoenician influence outside the Levantine homeland. The third book, by Carolina López-Ruiz, explores the impact of the Phoenicians on cultural exchange and the spreading of their “orientalizing kit” (López-Ruiz’s term; see below) westward, which transformed much of the Iron Age Mediterranean world during the eighth and seventh centuries BCE.Sader’s book, The History and Archaeology of Phoenicia, includes a preface followed by six chapters that examine the origins and etymology of the term Phoenicia (Ch. 1), a survey of Iron Age Phoenicia (Chs. 2 and 3), Phoenician language and material culture (Ch. 4), religion (Ch. 5), economy (Ch. 6), and a conclusion.In her opening preface statement (xi–xv), Sader carefully lays out her approach to the Phoenicians. She begins with a brief summary of relevant publications spanning the past three decades. In contrast to these earlier publications that tended to present a global history of Phoenicia or the Phoenicians, she approaches the topic through the lens of primary textual and archaeological sources from the Phoenician homeland, a template which is used in each chapter. According to Sader, the territory of Phoenicia, as described by first-millennium BCE Greek authors, was dominated and defined by four distinct coastal Levantine polities or kingdoms: Arwad, Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre with their hinterlands. In her preface, she also refutes claims in recent publications that the Phoenicians are a modern invention (see, e.g., Martin 2017; Quinn 2018). Instead, she argues that the inhabitants of these four kingdoms shared a common Semitic language, customs, belief systems, and material culture. Thus, they can rightfully be referred to as “Phoenicians.”Chapter 1 opens with an introduction to the Phoenicians. Sader defines her terminology and builds a foundation upon which the remaining chapters are constructed. This includes the origin and etymology of the name Phoenicia, origins of the Phoenicians (i.e., inhabitants of Phoenicia), chronological and geographic setting, and a summary and discussion of the often problematic textual and archaeological evidence. Two very helpful tables summarize the periodization of excavated sites in northern Phoenicia (table 1.1) and southern Phoenicia (table 1.2).Chapter 2 presents the archaeological evidence from Iron I sites in the Phoenician homeland, which continues Late
{"title":"The History and Archaeology of Phoenicia; Phoenician Identity in Context: Material Cultural Koiné in the Iron Age Levant; and Phoenicians and the Making of the Mediterranean","authors":"Ann E. Killebrew","doi":"10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0366","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0366","url":null,"abstract":"The past five years have witnessed a plethora of publications devoted to the Phoenicians and their impact on the Mediterranean world (for an overview of key publications, see Sader 2019: xi and the book reviews by Megan Daniels, Meir Edrey, and Jolanta Młynarczyk in this issue). Three recently published books are critiqued in this review. Two monographs, authored by Hélène Sader and Meir Edrey, examine the history, archaeology, and identity of the Iron Age inhabitants of Phoenicia. These publications are especially significant as they fill a void in Phoenician studies—a field that in the past tended to focus on Phoenician influence outside the Levantine homeland. The third book, by Carolina López-Ruiz, explores the impact of the Phoenicians on cultural exchange and the spreading of their “orientalizing kit” (López-Ruiz’s term; see below) westward, which transformed much of the Iron Age Mediterranean world during the eighth and seventh centuries BCE.Sader’s book, The History and Archaeology of Phoenicia, includes a preface followed by six chapters that examine the origins and etymology of the term Phoenicia (Ch. 1), a survey of Iron Age Phoenicia (Chs. 2 and 3), Phoenician language and material culture (Ch. 4), religion (Ch. 5), economy (Ch. 6), and a conclusion.In her opening preface statement (xi–xv), Sader carefully lays out her approach to the Phoenicians. She begins with a brief summary of relevant publications spanning the past three decades. In contrast to these earlier publications that tended to present a global history of Phoenicia or the Phoenicians, she approaches the topic through the lens of primary textual and archaeological sources from the Phoenician homeland, a template which is used in each chapter. According to Sader, the territory of Phoenicia, as described by first-millennium BCE Greek authors, was dominated and defined by four distinct coastal Levantine polities or kingdoms: Arwad, Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre with their hinterlands. In her preface, she also refutes claims in recent publications that the Phoenicians are a modern invention (see, e.g., Martin 2017; Quinn 2018). Instead, she argues that the inhabitants of these four kingdoms shared a common Semitic language, customs, belief systems, and material culture. Thus, they can rightfully be referred to as “Phoenicians.”Chapter 1 opens with an introduction to the Phoenicians. Sader defines her terminology and builds a foundation upon which the remaining chapters are constructed. This includes the origin and etymology of the name Phoenicia, origins of the Phoenicians (i.e., inhabitants of Phoenicia), chronological and geographic setting, and a summary and discussion of the often problematic textual and archaeological evidence. Two very helpful tables summarize the periodization of excavated sites in northern Phoenicia (table 1.1) and southern Phoenicia (table 1.2).Chapter 2 presents the archaeological evidence from Iron I sites in the Phoenician homeland, which continues Late","PeriodicalId":43115,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135685984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0297
Federica Spagnoli
abstract:The promontory of Ras il-Wardija, on the northwestern cusp of the Island of Gozo, holds one of the most spectacular temples of the ancient Mediterranean dedicated to the Phoenician goddess Astarte. It dates to the fourth century BCE and hosted an important cult of Astarte/Hera/Juno throughout the Roman period (third–second centuries CE). The general plan has been clarified by the excavations of the Italian Mission between 1963 and 1967. In 2021 Sapienza University, thanks to an agreement with Heritage Malta and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, resumed research activities at Ras il-Wardija, studying the sanctuary’s cult and rituals through the pottery and small finds unearthed in the 1960s, but following new avenues of research. The discovery of several Punic dedication formulas similar to those found at Tas-Silġ suggests a link between the two cult places, probably stemming from festivities such as the Anagógia and Katagógia mentioned in classical sources.
{"title":"The Phoenician-Punic Sanctuary of Ras il-Wardija (Gozo): A Reassessment of the Cult and Ritual of Astarte in the Light of Recent Discoveries by the Sapienza Archaeological Mission at Gozo–Ras il-Wardija Project (2021–2022)","authors":"Federica Spagnoli","doi":"10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0297","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0297","url":null,"abstract":"abstract:The promontory of Ras il-Wardija, on the northwestern cusp of the Island of Gozo, holds one of the most spectacular temples of the ancient Mediterranean dedicated to the Phoenician goddess Astarte. It dates to the fourth century BCE and hosted an important cult of Astarte/Hera/Juno throughout the Roman period (third–second centuries CE). The general plan has been clarified by the excavations of the Italian Mission between 1963 and 1967. In 2021 Sapienza University, thanks to an agreement with Heritage Malta and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, resumed research activities at Ras il-Wardija, studying the sanctuary’s cult and rituals through the pottery and small finds unearthed in the 1960s, but following new avenues of research. The discovery of several Punic dedication formulas similar to those found at Tas-Silġ suggests a link between the two cult places, probably stemming from festivities such as the Anagógia and Katagógia mentioned in classical sources.","PeriodicalId":43115,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135685828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0280
Meritxell Ferrer, Mireia López-Bertran
ABSTRACT Phoenicians and Punic people constructed a liminal community in the funerary realm that this article will explore, highlighting the centrality of taste through the consumption of bread. The study will unfold in three stages: It will begin with an overview of the recent interest in the “archaeology of senses.” In a second step, the written sources and the material and visual culture related to the existence of the so-called bread of mourning will be presented. Finally, the article will discuss how taste participates actively in the creation of a sense of alterity for the funerary community.
{"title":"Creating Communities of Mourners through the Sense of Taste: The Consumption of Bread in Liminal Rites","authors":"Meritxell Ferrer, Mireia López-Bertran","doi":"10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0280","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0280","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Phoenicians and Punic people constructed a liminal community in the funerary realm that this article will explore, highlighting the centrality of taste through the consumption of bread. The study will unfold in three stages: It will begin with an overview of the recent interest in the “archaeology of senses.” In a second step, the written sources and the material and visual culture related to the existence of the so-called bread of mourning will be presented. Finally, the article will discuss how taste participates actively in the creation of a sense of alterity for the funerary community.","PeriodicalId":43115,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135685829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0229
Fanni Faegersten, Carolina López-Ruiz
ABSTRACT The stylized volute motif is attested throughout the Levant and in areas of Phoenician settlement or cultural influence. Much of the debate of this motif has focused on the volute’s appearance in Israelite monumental architecture (the so-called Proto-Aeolic capital). This article provides a fresh discussion of the motif’s depiction within Phoenician art and iconography through various media, including ivory and sculpture. The architectural versions in stone derive from a much larger repertoire in portable media and in wood, which included inlaying techniques and color patterns not easily transferable into stone. This essay stresses the symbolic meaning of the volute motif and its adaptability by other Mediterranean cultures, from Israel and Cyprus to Iberia. The volute, moreover, has the quality of an otherworldly hybrid entity, strongly associated with hybrid creatures and other stylized vegetal motifs invoking eternal regeneration, which explains the use of the motif in funerary and sacred contexts.
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