Religion/Cult | American Journal of Archaeology

Syncretic Religious Practice at Dedoplis Gora (Caucasian Iberia) in the First Century CE

website — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:12:33 +0000

Monuments discovered through archaeological excavations provide information about the pre-Christian religion in Kartli (Caucasian Iberia, modern Georgia). Particularly remarkable is a grandiose temple complex discovered in central Georgia, where the kings of Kartli worshiped Iranian (Zoroastrian) gods merged with local Georgian astral deities. In the Dedoplis Gora palace, which is located 3 km south of the temple complex, three rooms (N10, N20, N26) yielded sanctuaries. The presence of three household sanctuaries in one building suggests that they had different users. In this article, I suggest that room N10 with an altar was a Zoroastrian-type domestic shrine where permanent residents of the palace of Dedoplis Gora offered daily sacrifices and prayed. Meanwhile, the noble owners of the palace prayed in room N20, based on the luxurious items found on the altar. It is likely that the Zoroastrian altar in room N20 was used to worship the Greek cult of Apollo, based on the statuettes found there. Room N26 may have been used for a ritual related to a local cult of fertility, agriculture, and harvest. Coexistence of different religions in the same household is not surprising in the kingdom of Kartli in the first century.

The post Syncretic Religious Practice at Dedoplis Gora (Caucasian Iberia) in the First Century CE appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

Horns, Crenellations, and Snakes: The Significance of Egyptian Censers in the Houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum

website — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 20:27:15 +0000

This article explores the significance of censers with Egyptian forms or featuring Egyptian-looking motifs found in the houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum. I offer the first full publication of seven unstudied bronze censers, many with known archaeological contexts. The typological analyses reveal that five artifacts featuring altar horns or crenellations originated in Egypt and the Levant, while two others, decorated with Egyptian uraeus snakes, are typical Roman tripods. From a modern perspective, these censers seem to reflect the influence of Egyptian culture in Early Imperial Italy. Comparable artifacts and images from the archaeological sites around Vesuvius, however, indicate that, despite their Egyptian origin, not all censers were likely to have been recognized as such. The horned altars can be linked conceptually to Isiac cults, but, like the other censers, they come from houses without any evidence of veneration of Egyptian deities, as would be attested by Egyptian motifs decorating walls or shrines. Being luxurious cult instruments without a demonstratable connection to cult practices, the censers reveal the versatile, often ambiguous ways in which Egyptian artifacts were perceived and used in Roman society. In doing so, they highlight the complex blend of cultural exchange, domestic and public religion, and Roman interpretation of Egyptian motifs.

The post Horns, Crenellations, and Snakes: The Significance of Egyptian Censers in the Houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

The Sanctuary of Apollo Hyperteleatas in Laconia: A Central Perioikic Cult in the Malea Peninsula

website — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 19:54:35 +0000

The aim of this article is to investigate the local religious habits of the perioikoi (dwellers around), the free populations living in small city-states (poleis) in Laconia and Messenia during the Archaic and Classical periods, when Laconia was under Spartan control. As a case study, I examine the sanctuary of Apollo Hyperteleatas, located beside the Molaoi Plain in the Malea Peninsula of Greece. The discussion considers the sanctuary of Apollo Hyperteleatas from a multimodal perspective, by looking at the bronze dedications and by placing the site in the setting of the Malea Peninsula. I argue that this cult site was of regional importance to the communities living in the Molaoi Plain and more widely in the Malea Peninsula. As a focal point in the religious life of the communities, the sanctuary contributed to a local identity that bonded people living in the area. The study of the sanctuary gives us a local perspective on perioikic cults and a broader view of Laconian religion.

The post The Sanctuary of Apollo Hyperteleatas in Laconia: A Central Perioikic Cult in the Malea Peninsula appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

Visual Experience in a Pompeian Domestic Space: Analysis Using Virtual Reality–Based Eye Tracking and GIS

website — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 16:10:50 +0000

Ancient sources indicate the importance that views and viewing had in Roman society, particularly in the domestic sphere. Archaeological studies have found evidence of this in the remains of Roman houses while at the same time remarking on the ritualistic character of the activities they hosted. View planning would therefore have been part of the homeowner’s social paraphernalia. Although relevant, these studies have relied on direct experience of physical remains, or models that privileged the single perspective frame. Human perception proves to be more complex, influenced by body and eye movement and illumination. This research, based on three case studies from the House of the Greek Epigrams in Pompeii and combining virtual reality–based eye-tracking technologies and geographic information systems, presents a novel investigation of perception in the Roman house and its manipulation for the construction of social identity.

The post Visual Experience in a Pompeian Domestic Space: Analysis Using Virtual Reality–Based Eye Tracking and GIS appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

Revisiting the Archaeobotany of Prehistoric Crete

website — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 16:10:50 +0000

This article provides a new archaeobotanical synthesis for prehistoric Crete. It brings together all the published plant records from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites across the island, as well as unpublished archaeobotanical information for nine other prehistoric sites: Aposelemi, Chalepa, Mesorachi, Mesorachi Akri, Sopata, Chryssi, Chalasmenos, Juktas, and Alonaki. Following a previous synthesis in 2013, the records were compiled into a single database and the data synthesized according to plant type (cereals, legumes, fruits and nuts, oily plant taxa/condiments, and other wild/herbaceous plant taxa). The results of this synthesis are presented in comparison with those from the earlier one in order to highlight both consistent and new trends evident in recorded plant data over the previous decade. The comparison shows that the number of archaeobotanical records for prehistoric Crete has doubled in the last 10 years, augmenting plant data for certain cultural periods (such as Postpalatial) and types of contexts (such as ritual). This synthesis also reviews the methodological practices and lines of research associated with the new records, providing an up-to-date account of the archaeobotanical discipline. Overall, this synthesis acts as a current and comprehensive base reference point for both archaeologists and archaeobotanists studying prehistoric Crete.

The post Revisiting the Archaeobotany of Prehistoric Crete appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

The Christian Building at Dura-Europos: Rethinking the Archaeology of the World’s Oldest House Church

website — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

In his final report of the excavations at Dura-Europos, Syria, the scholar Carl Kraeling established the site’s Christian Building as the ancient world’s preeminent example of a domus ecclesiae, a house converted into a church through architectural adaptation. In Kraeling’s interpretation, a private domestic structure (House M8A) built in 232 CE was later remade as a community-owned church through a single, deliberate program of modification. This article engages with legacy ideas about the Christian Building, unexplored archival records, and recent studies of Dura-Europos to rethink the building’s phases, functions, and dating. I argue that House M8A was not the domus ecclesiae that Kraeling envisioned—wholly, instantly, and permanently converted to a church—but a Christian house that retained a domestic aspect even as it was adapted for religious activity. The article proposes new phases for the building and advances an earlier chronology for its construction in the late second or early third century CE, a time that better fits revised estimates of Dura’s Roman development. This reinterpretation of the world’s oldest domestic church building bears significant repercussions for our understanding of early Christian architecture and communities and underscores the value of critical thinking and revisiting legacy ideas in archaeology.

The post The Christian Building at Dura-Europos: Rethinking the Archaeology of the World’s Oldest House Church appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

The First Koinon Temple of Roman Sardis: A Sanctuary from the First Century Through Late Antiquity

website — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

An artificial terrace in the center of the city of Sardis in western Asia Minor formed a focus of urban life from the Early Imperial period until the early Byzantine era. Following the earthquake of 17 CE, the terrace became a major sanctuary of the imperial cult belonging to the koinon of Asia. The lavishly ornamented octastyle temple and broad range of honorific monuments attest the importance of the sanctuary for the first three centuries CE. In the fourth century, the temple was largely demolished, and the sanctuary plaza converted to elite housing. This region was later enclosed by an impressive fortification wall built almost entirely out of spolia from the temple and sanctuary. The houses were destroyed by one or more earthquakes in the early seventh century, and while most of the area was apparently abandoned, traces of occupation cast light on this little-known period of Sardis’ history.

The post The First Koinon Temple of Roman Sardis: A Sanctuary from the First Century Through Late Antiquity appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

A Mason’s Mark from the Stelida Peak Sanctuary, Naxos

website — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

This archaeological note reports on an architectural block from the peak sanctuary at Stelida on Naxos that is inscribed with a mason’s mark, the first such example from the island and one of only a handful outside of Crete and Akrotiri on Thera. The context of recovery immediately to the south of the sanctuary leads us to suggest that it originally formed part of the building’s back wall, the sign facing Thera, and Crete beyond—signaling a connection to and possibly protection from these important political loci. An alternative hypothesis sees the block as an altar. The design of the mason’s mark, a simple cross, is well attested at Knossos and several other sites on Minoan Crete, plus at Akrotiri on Thera, and at Mycenae in the Argolid. It is argued that this mason’s mark provides further evidence for Knossian politico-religious influence at Stelida.

The post A Mason’s Mark from the Stelida Peak Sanctuary, Naxos appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

Kızıldağ, Karadağ, and Sacred Peak Sites in Central Anatolia During the Late Bronze and Iron Ages

website — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Mountain peaks and rocky outcrops have long been recognized to have been crucial components of the religious beliefs of people in Anatolia during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Archaeologically, however, sanctuaries that are associated with these features are much less understood. This article considers what is known about Anatolian peak sites textually and archaeologically for the second and first millennia BCE. While Late Bronze Age textual accounts of rituals and built features on peaks are abundant, archaeological data is comparatively scarce. The converse is true during the Iron Age, from which there are several archaeologically attested kinds of monuments associated with rocky outcrops and peaks, including stelae and step monuments, but a limited textual record. Assessing the evidence for continuity and innovation in peak-site usage across the two periods sheds new light on the Bronze to Iron Age transition, contributing additional nuance to what is increasingly recognized to have been a highly variable and localized phenomenon. In particular, the Iron Age peak sanctuaries of Kızıldağ and Karadağ and the associated settlement of Türkmen-Karahöyük serve as a useful case study for the ways in which Late Bronze Age precedents were consciously adapted into new forms in the Iron Age.

The post Kızıldağ, Karadağ, and Sacred Peak Sites in Central Anatolia During the Late Bronze and Iron Ages appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

The Presentation Scene on the Ivory Pyxis Lid from Mochlos: A Reconstruction and Reinterpretation

website — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

This article presents evidence for a new reconstruction of the presentation scene portrayed on the Late Bronze Age ivory pyxis excavated at Mochlos. Previously undetected locks of hair, anatomical parts, dress, and attributes facilitate a recreation of the figures. It argues against Soles’ assertion that the goddess holds a lily to crown the shorter male as king and that the leading male is a hero or god based on imagery on the Ur III cylinder of Gudea. It finds instead that the goddess holds an olive branch, and the composition echoes the iconography in Old Syrian paintings and glyptic, including on one seal that was actually found at Mochlos. Supported by iconographic and textual evidence, this study proposes that the ritual, adopted and adapted from the Near East, depicts a Minoan ruler offering a vessel to the goddess for her blessing over the couple, possibly marking a dynastic marriage, and that the pyxis and jewelry found within it were bridal gifts.

The post The Presentation Scene on the Ivory Pyxis Lid from Mochlos: A Reconstruction and Reinterpretation appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.