Gods, deities, symbolism, deposition, cosmology and intentionality are all features of the study of early ritual and cult. Archaeology has great difficulties in providing satisfactory interpretation or recognition of these elusive but important parts of ancient society, and methodologies are often poorly equipped to explore the evidence. This collection of papers explores a wide range of prehistoric and early historic archaeological contexts from Britain, Europe and beyond, where monuments, architectural structures, megaliths, art, caves, ritual activity and symbolic remains offer exciting glimpses into ancient belief systems and cult behaviour. Different theoretical and practical approaches are demonstrated, offering both new directions and considered conclusions to the many problems of studying the archaeology of cult and ritual. Central to the volume is an exploration of early Malta and its intriguing Temple Culture, set in a broad perspective by the discussion and theoretical approaches presented in different geographical and chronological contexts.

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
• Chapter 1 - INTRODUCTION
  • Introduction
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 2 - RITUAL AND CULT IN MALTA AND BEYOND: TRADITIONS OF INTERPRETATION
  • References
• Chapter 3 - MALTESE TEMPLE CULT: THE ANTECEDENTS
  • References
• Chapter 4 - OF GIANTS AND DECKCHAIRS: UNDERSTANDING THE MALTESE MEGALITHIC TEMPLES
  • To the medieval eye
  • Creating boundaries
  • Setting dates
  • Recognising a unique phenomenon
  • ‘Older than the Pyramids of Egypt or Stonehenge’
  • What will be inherited?
  • References
• Chapter 5 - RITUAL, SPACE AND STRUCTURE–THE CONTEXT OF CULT IN MALTA AND GOZO
  • Malta and its temples
  • Bodies and ritual meaning
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 6 - LANDSCAPE AND RITUAL IN LATE NEOLITHIC MALTA
  • Some characteristics of the Maltese archipelago
  • Where are monumental buildings placed in the landscape?
  • Invoking the landscape
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 7 - MAPPING CULT CONTEXT: GIS APPLICATIONS IN MALTESE TEMPLES
  • Introduction
  • The Sample and the GIS Process
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 8 - PUTTING CULT IN CONTEXT: RITUAL, RELIGION AND CULT IN TEMPLE PERIOD MALTA
  • Introduction
  • Definitions
  • The problem: distinguishing between religion and cult ritual
  • Investigating religion and cult, the case of Neolithic Malta
  • Monuments as temples, identifying ritual
  • Cult in the Maltese context
  • Greenstone axe pendants–cult amulets?
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 9 - THE MALTESE DEATH CULT IN CONTEXT
  • Introduction
  • The chronological setting
  • Żebbuġ phase
  • The Ġgantija phase
  • The Tarxien phase (c. 3000–2400 BC)
  • The importance of male memory in an enclosed space
  • The symbolism of the life cycle
  • Closure of the ritual cycle
  • The cosmic cycle
  • Conclusion: Nested cycles of cult
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 10 - FROM CABIRI TO GODDESSES: CULT, RITUAL AND CONTEXT IN THE FORMATIVE YEARS OF MALTESE ARCHAEOLOGY
  • The significance of context
  • Discoveries and definitions
  • Displacement and display
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 11 - EPHEBISM IN MALTESE PREHISTORIC ART?
  • Introduction
  • The Temple Period of Malta
  • Anthropomorphic imagery of the Temple Period
  • Assessing the symbolism of Temple Period anthropomorphic imagery
  • Ephebism: towards a better understanding of prehistoric Maltese art
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 12 - GENDER TENSION IN FIGURINES IN SE EUROPE
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 13 - RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE IN THE PREHISTORIC MALTESE UNDERWORLD
  • Introduction: making sense of caves
  • Dwelling, ritual and the other world: 5200–4400 BC
  • The placing of the dead: 4400–3600 BC
  • The elaboration of underground religion: 3600–2500 BC
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 14 - UNDERGROUND RELIGION REVISITED
  • Introduction
  • Original thesis
  • Critiques
  • New approaches
  • Concluding remarks
  • References
• Chapter 15 - THE PHOENICIANS AND THE MALTESE PREHISTORIC CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
  • Introduction
  • Tas-Silġ
  • Other megalithic sites
  • Tarxien
  • Settlement
  • Burial
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 16 - CULT OF THE DEAD OR CULT FOR THE DEAD: STUDIES OF JEWISH CATACOMBS IN MALTA IN CONTEXT
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
• Chapter 17 - ARCHITECTURAL ORDER AND THE ORDERING OF IMAGERY IN MALTA AND IRELAND: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE
  • Imagery and architectural form
  • Thresholds and their significance
  • Aesthetics and organization of imagery
  • Sensory experience
  • Mortuary practices
  • Imagery and order
  • Individual and collective experience
  • Conclusions: spiritual release and spiritual containment
  • References
• Chapter 18 - CULTURE AND CULT: SOME ASPECTS OF PASSAGE TOMB SOCIETY IN THE BOYNE REGION, IRELAND
  • Discussion
  • References
• Chapter 19 - WORKING STONE: MAKING MONUMENTS IN THE IRISH NEOLITHIC
  • Introduction
  • Living in and making island worlds
  • Stones in action
  • Knowth Site 16 passage tomb
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 20 - TOWARDS THE WITHIN: STONEHENGE AND ITS PURPOSE
  • The early years
  • The first big break
  • Ever increasing circles
  • To the Preselis and back
  • Of Bluestone and sarsen
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 21 - WALKING THE TRACK AND BELIEVING: THE SWEET TRACK AS A MEANS OF ACCESSING EARLIER NEOLITHIC SPIRITUALITY
  • Introduction
  • Artefact and assemblage: the Sweet Track as a Neolithic ‘package’
  • Site: the wood, layout and structure
  • Landscape: walking the track and believing
  • Interpretation: memorable places and Neolithic spirituality
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 22 - RESTING IN PIECES: DEPOSITION PRACTICES AT THE MOUND OF THE HOSTAGES, TARA, IRELAND
  • Pre-cairn deposit
  • Perimeter deposits
  • Pre-cairn annexes
  • Margins of the tomb
  • Tomb interior
  • Symbolic objects
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 23 - ENCLOSING PLACES: A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO CULT AND RELIGION IN NEOLITHIC CENTRAL EUROPE
  • Introduction–the archaeology of cult, ritual and religion
  • The method of contextual attribute analysis
  • Neolithic enclosures in Europe
  • Enclosing space–meanings and functions of enclosed cult places
  • Summary
  • References
• Chapter 24 - CARVING IDENTITY: THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF NEOLITHIC ROCK ART AND MEGALITHIC ART
  • Introduction
  • Art and identity
  • Natural monuments
  • Archaeological context
  • Carving contexts
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 25 - ANIMISM IN THE ROCK ART AND MATERIAL CULTURE OF PREHISTORIC SIBERIA
  • Embodied realism and the archaeology of cult
  • The role of visual narrative and material culture in the constitution of religious beliefs
  • Animism
  • Mythological reality captured in rock art location and narrative
  • Long term visual stimuli of religious narrative: a case study from Lake Baikal
  • Interpretation of the carvings
  • Relationship between grave goods and rock art
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 26 - THE SACRED ENGAGEMENT: OUTLINE OF A HYPOTHESIS ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF HUMAN ‘RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE’
  • Introduction: why religion needs material culture?
  • The human ‘religious sense’: basic ingredients of ‘religious intelligence’
  • The sacred engagement: anchoring the transcendental stance
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 27 - TIME, CYCLES AND RITUAL BEHAVIOUR
  • Introduction: practical ritual
  • Ritual and time
  • Ritual, time and cosmology in foraging societies
  • Summary
  • References
• Chapter 28 - THE SHIPPING NEWS: LAND AND WATER IN BRONZE AGE SCANDINAVIA
  • The passage of the sun
  • Högsbyn (Figure 28.2)
  • Snäckedal (Figure 28.3)
  • Summary
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 29 - THE LATE CLASSIC DROUGHT CULT: RITUAL ACTIVITY AS A RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS AMONG THE ANCIENT MAYA
  • Introduction
  • Cave rites
  • The cave
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Caves and climate
  • Iconography of jars
  • The Late Classic drought cult
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
• Chapter 30 - CULT IN COMETARY CONTEXT
  • Introduction
  • Tails of Taurid comets
  • Tales of torrid comets
  • Comets–the misidentified gods
  • Comets and archaeology
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
• Chapter 31 - CULT IN CONTEXT IN JOMON JAPAN
  • Generative schemes
  • Transformation and transcendence
  • Beyond reaction and resistance
  • Cult traditions in the later Jomon
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 32 - BRINGING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN: STANDING STONES ON THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL TIBETAN PLATEAU, 500 BCE–500 CE
  • Space to place: ritual, religion, and cult in theoretical context
  • The spaces of domestic rdo ring
  • Spaces to places: visibility of, access to, and representation of rdo ring
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 33 - THE MEANING OF RITUAL DIVERSITY IN THE CHALCOLITHIC OF THE SOUTHERN LEVANT
  • Chalcolithic social organization
  • Religious practice and specialists
  • Sacred places, sacred rites
  • Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 34 - HOUSING THE DEAD: BURIALS INSIDE HOUSES AND VESSELS IN THE NEOLITHIC BALKANS
  • 1. Burials inside the houses
  • 2. Matrilineal features of the house
  • 3. Burials inside the vessels
  • 4. Rebirth in the burial womb
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 35 - A FIRE CULT IN SOUTH EUROPEAN CHALCOLITHIC TRADITIONS? ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RITUAL CONTEXTS AND THE INSTRUMENTALITY OF FIRE
  • Introduction
  • The natural context
  • The architectural context
  • The house
  • The technological context
  • Ceramic models: house, fire and rituality
  • The firing of the house as a macro context and the ceramic models as a micro constructed context
  • Experiment: an artificial context for archaeological inspiration
  • Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 36 - A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO ANCIENT EGYPTIAN DOMESTIC CULT: THE CASE OF THE ‘LUSTRATION SLABS’ AT EL-AMARNA
  • Form and context
  • The role of the ‘lustration slabs’
  • Discussion and conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 37 - THE ULTIMATE REDUNDANCY PACKAGE: ROUTINE, STRUCTURE, AND THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF RITUAL TRANSMISSION
  • References
• Chapter 38 - THE DYNAMICS OF RITUAL ON MINOAN PEAK SANCTUARIES
  • Peak sanctuaries and the Minoan ritual landscape
  • Atsipadhes Korakias
  • Atsipadhes Korakias: densities and viewsheds
  • Dynamics of ritual
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 39 - IN WHAT CONTEXT? COMPETING AND COMPLEMENTARY APPROACHES TO CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS IN THE STUDY OF MINOAN RELIGION
  • References
• Chapter 40 - BROKEN POTS AND SEVERED HEADS: CULT ACTIVITY IN IRON AGE EUROPE
  • Introduction
  • The Iron Age head
  • Evidence from Iron Age Europe
  • Of broken pots
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 41 - CONTEXTS OF CULT IN HISPANIA CELTICA
  • Natural places
  • Sacred sites inside settlements
  • Roman sanctuaries to indigenous deities
  • Cemeteries as sacred places
  • Religious use/reuse of ancient cult places: a conscious link with the past?
  • Final considerations
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 42 - THE ROLE OF VOTIVE OBJECTS IN ROMAN RELIGIOUS PRACTICES BETWEEN THE FOURTH AND SECOND CENTURIES BC
  • Introduction
  • Archaeology of religion
  • Religion in context
  • The stage of the action: the sanctuary
  • Votive offerings
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 43 - ‘TOTEMS’, ‘ANCESTORS’ , AND ‘ANIMISM’ . THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF RITUAL, SHRINES AND SACRIFICE AMONGST THE TALLENSI OF NORTHERN GHANA
  • Introduction
  • The archaeology of ritual and shrines
  • NYOO 06 (A)
  • NYOO 06 (B)
  • The archaeology of sacrifice and the senses
  • Conclusions
  • References
• Chapter 44 - TOWARDS AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF PERFORMANCE
  • Another view from a different bridge
  • Cult in practice–ritual performance
  • Performance and Maltese festa
  • An archaeology of performance
  • References
• INDEX