Iron age pottery from Garvão votive deposit

The Iberian Peninsula was an attractive area in ancient times due to its abundance in geological resources. Hence, the Iberian Iron Age is a period of successive social and political transformations, sometimes resulting in conflicts [1]. In 1982, an impressive votive deposit was discovered in Garvão (SW Portugal) revealing an important Iron Age II holy site [2]. Beside some uncertainties, this region is marked by very strong Mediterranean cultural influence but the inhabitants are celtic. The materials recovered (mainly pottery) were intentionally deposited, carefully arranged in order to optimize the available space [2, 3]. The pottery recovered shows that during Iron Age this archeological site was a merging geostrategic point of the Iberian societies with strong influences of the Mediterranean world and the Iberia celtic influences. Pottery fragments are one of the most common signs of human occupation. Its aesthetic aspects are extensively studied as one of mankind’s earliest expressions of representational art. But the ceramic characteristics depend also on the technology accessibility, the relationship of the societies with their environment, especially with the availability of raw materials, and on the commercial and cultural connections with other societies [4, 5]. Raw materials used by these communities provide essential information to understand specific historical periods. The geological resources are particularly useful for this purpose because even processed they can figure out identifiable signatures of provenance or technology used. Moreover, their intermittent occurrence and human necessity justify the existence of trade routes. A detailed study of the pottery based on stylistic analysis was envisaged which allowed the classification into different clusters. Special emphasis will be given to the provenance of the pottery, the technological aspects and the relationship between populations and Garvão holy site. The study of geological raw materials applying and combining modern techniques of earth materials sciences and the principles of physical sciences (e.g. geology and chemistry) can provide answers and a better understanding of the Garvão importance in this area of the Iberian Peninsula. A multi-analytical methodology was setup using optical and electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction. The combination of these techniques applied to selected Garvão pottery materials allowed the recognition of the ceramic phase composition, firing temperature, kiln atmosphere, ceramic manufacturing processes and origin of raw materials. With this study, connections with Mediterranean areas and with local production areas were underlined revealing that Garvão was a multicultural area. References [1] Alfenin, R. & Pariera, R.: Taller Poliorcética, Conclusiones, in “Poliorcética, Fortificación y Patrimonio (Asalto y Defensa de Plazas Fuertes)”, Editorial Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, pp. 307-322, 2005. [2] Beirão, C. de M., Tavares, C., Soares, J., Varela, M. and Varela, R.: Depósito votivo da II Idade do Ferro de Garvão. Notícia da primeira campanha de escavações, O Arqueólogo Português, 3, 45-136, 1985. [3] Beirão, C. de M., Tavares, C., Soares, J., Gomes, M. and Varela, R.: Um depósito votivo da II Idade do Ferro, no sul de Portugal, e as suas relações com as culturas da Meseta, Veleia, 2-3, 2017-221, 1985-86. [4] Maggetti, M. & Galetti, G.: Late La Téne pottery from western Switzerland: one regional or several local workshops? in Maggetti, M. & Messiga, B. (eds) “Geomaterials in Cultural Heritage”. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 257, 63-80, 2009. [5] Arnold, D.: Linking society with the compositional analyses of pottery: a model from comparative ethnography. in: Livingstone Smith, A., Bosquet, D. & Marttineau, R. (eds) “Pottery Manufacturing Process: Reconstitution and Interpretation”. British Archaeological Reports International Series. Archaeopress, Oxford, 1349, 1-12, 2001. Acknowledgments This work was financial supported by “Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia” (FCT) through the project PTDC/HIS-ARQ/108758/2008 and the PhD grant SFRH/BD/67093/2009

Relics of ritual performances at the Piano del Tamburino. Himera

The archaeological excavations which are taking place in an area called Piano del Tamburino, a part of the Greek colony of Himera in Sicily, have brought to light evidence of ritual practices. The on-site research deals with various reconstructions of “ritual behaviour and meanings” and the problems related to cultic and ritual religious phenomena in the Greek world. In order to obtain a solid database on which to start the research, all the types of material classes involved in the formation of the "votive assemblages" found in the two areas were analysed paying particular attention to the significance of the dedicated objects. The individual assemblages are presented with a critical eye in relation to their context of occurrence. The analysis of the context in particular assumes that the votive assemblage, or the votive deposit, should be considered as an archaeological category in its own right and should be analysed as such. These terms are here taken to mean a coherent set of materials of different types and nature brought together for ritual activity, the result of an intentional choice. The deposit itself can have different variants that reflect the occasion that determined its creation. Recognizing the contextual elements has made it possible to isolate the motivation, albeit not always exclusive, that generated the deposit and attempt to place it in one of the categories proposed. The deposit-altar ST43 within the so-called Area 12, the best-preserved deposit on the Piano del Tamburino, could be a good example to help understand both the ritual dynamic and the motivation besides the deposition itself. Moreover, ST43 could be used to underline the difference between the deposition of miniature and normal-sized vessels inside a pit. The understanding of the peculiarity of the ceramic employed in ceremonies would help us in the reconstruction of the ritual practices and dynamics for the Area 12 and will allow us to compare this area with other sacred situations in Sicily and Magna Graecia

Una brocchetta dipinta dal tempio di Astarte nell'area sacra del Kothon a Mozia

During the XXXIV season of excavations carried out by Rome «La Sapienza» University Expedition to Motya, a votive deposit (D.4362) lying west of the Temple of Astarte – Temple C4 of the Sacred Area of the Kothon – was brought to light. In addition to several cult objects and offerings, the deposit included a Punic painted juglet (lekythos) which may epitomize once again the complexity of the cultural tendencies ruling the ceramic repertoire of Motya during the 5th century B

Excavations at Tas-Silg, Malta : a preliminary report on the 1996-1998 campaigns conducted by the Department of Classics and Archaeology of the University of Malta

The area known as Tas-Silg is situated in the south-eastern part of the island of Malta, close to Marsaxlokk harbour. In reality the place name refers to the small church dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows (hence Tas-Silg) situated at the point where the narrow · road from Zejtun forks out in two directions: to Delimara and Xrobb il-Ghagin due south-east and to Marsaxlokk village due south-west. A British-period fort occupying the highest point of the elongated hill further south along· the first road also carries the same place name. The lower and more compact hill on which the excavations have been conducted is called 'Ta' Berikka' , but since it is so close to the above-mentioned church (only 50 m to the north) the tradition of calling it Tas-Silg is now well established and there is no sense in changing it. The site has a commanding view of the Marsaxlokk harbour to the south and overlooks two other bays, Marsascala and St Thomas's bay, to the north-east. On all sides the slope is broken up by man-made terraced fields There is no doubt that the topography of the site must have been a determining factor in its choice for the establishment of a religious centre in the Temple period of Maltese pehistory (3000--2500 BC), though one must keep in mind that close to Tas-Silg there are three other prehistoric temple sites. each one with a completely different topography. The Temple people were quite introverted in their cultural isolation and do not seem to have been much interested in seafaring and in the outside world. The situation changed radically in the following age, the Bronze Age. when the island was occupied by people who set up villages on naturally defensible hilltops, occasionally fortifying them with artificial ramparts. The Tas-Silg hill with its temple ruins was occupied by these people, but it is not as yet clear for what purpose. The scenario changed again in historical times when the central and western Mediterranean started to be parcelled out among the commercial powers originating in the eastern Mediterranean. The Greeks do not seem to have even tried 10 colonize Malta as they did in neighbouring Sicily. The Phoenicians, however, did occupy the island, apparently through a slow process of peaceful penetration and eventual political and cultural assimi lation. It was in this period that the ruins of the megalithic temple were transformed into a Phoenician extraurban shrine dedicated to Astarte, which in time expanded into a full y-fledged sanctuary with an international reputation. The last chapter in the millennia- long history of the site was written when the colonnaded courtyard in front of the old temple was transformed into an early Christian church. Any use made of the site in the following Arab period is, once again, poorly understood.peer-reviewe

Contextual significance of ritual evidence in Malta

Archaeology has not yet provided us with the proper tools and the right means for reading the minds of our prehistoric ancestors from the material evidence they left us. When and if such means are ever made available, we may rest assured they will be the product of science and technology rather than of archaeology itself. TiII then such a scenario is bound to remain in the realm of wishful thinking and science fiction. With our feet planted firmly in the ground the most we can hope to do, in the meantime, in the field of religious thought, is to try to reconstruct, by using that same material evidence. the rituals through which our ancestors might have expressed their beliefs in the supernatural.peer-reviewe

Gifts to the gods? : votive deposition in north-eastern France from 250 BC to the age of Augustus, a numismatic perspective

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