Ritual Deposits

A metalwork hoard dated to the Wilburton phase of the later Bronze Age, found at Barway close to the Isle of Ely in the Cambridgeshire Fens, is reported. Consideration of the hoard, in the context of later prehistoric hoarding in the local landscape, reveals that particular sorts of artefacts were associated with particular places in the landscape. In particular a strong association between later Bronze Age hoards and causeways connecting the Isle of Ely to the outside world is identified, and an interpretation suggested. This study demonstrates the potential of a detailed contextual approach for providing a more nuanced understanding of later Bronze Age metalwork deposition that moves away from a simplistic wet-dry dichotomy.

Les fouilles extensives menées dans l’aire maya ont mis au jour tout un ensemble de dépôts rituels associés aux édifices. Cette connexion entre dépôts et architecture est soulignée par le caractère intentionnel de leur placement au sein des structures. L’Acropole Nord de Tikal a révélé de nombreuses étapes de construction et dépôts rituels depuis le Préclassique moyen (800 av. J.-C.), jusqu’au Classique terminal (950 apr. J.-C.). La succession d’offrandes dans l’espace comme dans le temps peut donc être lue sous la forme d’une séquence.
Une relecture des anciennes fouilles conduites de 1958 à 1966 par le Projet Tikal sous la direction de W. Coe, a permis d’établir un corpus de 298 dépôts rituels et 125 traces de feux. Après une superposition des séquences architecturales et de déposition, les offrandes sont caractérisées en fonction de leur position stratigraphique (période de construction, d’occupation et d’abandon). Regroupées en « assemblages d’offrandes », elles sont ensuite observées selon des critères spatiaux, typologiques et statistiques.
Les autres catégories de dépôts, feux et sépultures, sont également analysées en regard de l’histoire architecturale. Enfin, ces témoins rituels sont interrogés sur une base plus émique, à la recherche d’indices concernant le sens que leurs accordaient les Mayas. En définitive, certains types d’offrandes récurrentes et de feux rituels font certainement partie de cérémonies liées au bâti, lors de l’inauguration puis de l’occupation d’un espace ou dans un but apotropaïque. D’autres ont probablement une agentivité propre, peut-être comme média vers l’inframonde, ou portent des pétitions différentes aux entités non-humaines.

The terp region of the northern Netherlands is an area with excellent preservation conditions, which make this a suitable area for the study of
the remains of ritual practice in the past. One of the most extensively excavated terps is the terp settlement of Ezinge, which has its origins
around 500 BC. An inventory of find assemblages that can be interpreted as ritual deposits, resulted in the identification of 142 deposits from the Iron Age alone, many of which are associated with houses. This contribution is concerned with the deposits associated with the life-cycle of houses or performed during inhabitation for the benefit of the inhabitants. Several of these deposits include human remains, either inhumation burials or single, sometimes modified human bones. It is argued that these ritual practices were concerned with the identity, prosperity and continuity of the household, and that the house can be considered a representation of the household.

Vindplaatsen met een rituele functie zijn archeologisch moeilijk grijpbaar, zeker als dat alleen maar `plekken’ in het landschap waren, zelfs niet afgebakend. In zijn 'Germania' noemt de Romeinse historicus Tacitus die herhaaldelijk. In latere heiligenlevens van missionarissen worden `heidense’ heiligdommen ook vermeld. Spannend, maar hoe identificeer je dat soort sites? Tot op zekere hoogte aan de hand van concentraties van oppervlakte-, detector- of opgravingsvondsten die qua aard, samenstelling én landschappelijke situering afwijken.

A La Tène period settlement, which was studied as part of a
master’s thesis, had been discovered on the edge of the village of
Chevenez JU in 2012. The western half of the area excavated this
year yielded a deposit of 13 completely preserved ceramic vessels
placed upside down in a pit. Numerous other structures nearby
were associated with two buildings, one of which had replaced
the other, probably when it was destroyed by fire. The western
half, which was analysed in the thesis, also yielded the remains of
other buildings, evidence of iron processing and traces of paths
and small ditches. Based on the typochronology, the radiocarbon
dating and on the architectural assessment of the later building, it
can be dated to the Middle to (early) Late La Tène period. At the
present state of research it is not possible to decide whether the
settlement consisted of just one or more than one farmstead.

Classical Greek domestic ritual relied heavily on the use of multi-functional objects. The same cup could be used for drinking and to perform a libation; a louterion for daily bathing or ritual purification. These objects circulated throughout the house, oscillating fluidly between ritual and mundane functions. Most rituals in the house created a temporary sacred space, experienced only during the ritual performance. The ritual of egainio, however, permanently but invisibly affected the space of the household. This foundation ritual was performed during a building’s construction or renovation when numerous vessels were deposited along with sacrificial detritus in a pit next to a wall and then sometimes burned in situ before being buried underneath a new floor. These rituals resulted in the removal of these vessels from circulation within the household, the cups no longer used for drinking, the miniature vessels never to take part in another ritual. The Greek ritual has borne far less scrutiny than its Near Eastern counterpart, being the subject of only three dissertations within the past thirty years (Müller-Zeis 1994, Weikart 2002, Hunt 2006). Foundation rituals in a domestic context, where they are essential to understanding the full picture of domestic religion, are even more understudied, addressed mainly in archaeological reports (a notable exception is Rotroff 2013). This paper examines foundation deposits associated with houses in dialogue with their architectural environs to analyze the effect these deposits have on the formation and experience of domestic space. The burial of these foundation deposits permanently but invisibly altered the character of the household’s space, imbuing it with sacred significance while not impeding daily activities. These practices blurred the boundaries of sacred and profane within the house, encouraging a reevaluation of the terms as they apply to the Greek house and sacred space in the Greek world writ large.

"The opening and closing of spaces has been extensively documented at an ethnographic level in the Andes. At the archaeological level however, we have numerous examples of the first type and not many testimonies of abandon of a particular enclosure or settlement. In Juella, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, we have a unique context that includes the closure of a door, a burial of an unborn in the occupation floor, and the intentional burial of some objects. In the context of an occupation restricted to the Regional Developments Period, we consider that the material found and analyzed here is related to rituals and ceremonies of the closure and symbolic death of this space. From radiocarbon dates obtained from this particular event and its relationship to the overall site context, we believe that this event not only had to do with the abandonment of the structure, but is closely related to the site as a whole, and to the time of the Inca conquest of the region as well.
Las ceremonias de apertura y cierre de espacios han sido ampliamente documentados a nivel etnográfico en el mundo andino. A nivel arqueológico sin embargo, contamos con numerosos ejemplos del primer tipo y no tantos que testimonien el abandono de un determinado recinto o asentamiento. En trabajos realizados en Juella, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, nos encontramos ante un singular contexto que incluye el tapiado de una puerta, la inhumación sobre el piso de ocupación de un nonato y el entierro intencional de algunos objetos. Consideramos, en el marco de una ocupación restringida al Período de Desarrollos Regionales, que la materialidad hallada, y aquí analizada, se encuentra relacionada con rituales y ceremonias ligadas al cierre y a la muerte simbólica de este espacio. A partir de la obtención de diversos fechados radiocarbónicos, que incluyen uno de este evento particular, y su relación con el contexto general del sitio, pensamos que este acontecimiento no solo tuvo que ver con el abandono del recinto, sino que se encuentra íntimamente ligado con el del sitio en su totalidad, al tiempo que este último se relaciona con la conquista inkaica de la región."

Sena Gallica is a roman colony founded at the mouth of Misa river (Marche region). Preventive archeology in Senigallia allows us to reconstruct its history, in particular its early stages, referred to the beginning of the 3rd century B.C. The application of an exact project and a precise urban plan is preceded by land reclamations and water drainages. These operations are necessary to prepare the site, before setting the new urban fabric and building new structures. The discovery of several closed deposits, linked to works of urban planning or when buildings are still in construction, allows us to recognize a clear evidence of ritual activity. Ritual deposits in Sena Gallica can be related to private or public contexts: these could be interpreted as foundation deposits, if the evidence denounces the desire to propitiate human action or to give strength and solidity to new buildings; these could also be piacula, if the sacrifice was officiated to repair men’s offences against natural order, or natura loci; in one case it can be assumed that the foundation of the city was accompanied by a public ritual of foundation, such as other Roman and Latin colonies of republican period. The paper presents some cases of ritual deposits which will be analyzed with particular attention to archaeological evidence, urban context and literary sources. Principal aim is to specify the way of application of roman religious heritage in Sena Gallica, which seems to take on specific traits depending on the context and the investigated period. At the same time, it is possible to define common traits of ritual activity, that in every case is closely linked to human action in planning, building and management of urban structures.

Archaeologists commonly track the circulation of objects through provenance and interaction studies, but determining why those objects moved is difficult. In a ritual economy, the economic implications of ritual obligations provide one such impetus for object circulation. This perspective is explored through an analysis of ethnographically documented ritual movements of people and objects, and the use of ritual objects within ceremonies by the Huichol (Wixárika) of the Sierra Madre Occidental. This case study is used to determine whether ritually deposited assemblages can be identified as such archaeologically, and to evaluate criteria proposed for identifying ritual deposits in the archaeological record.

Consecutivamente a los hallazgos de la temporada 2017 frente al altar 15, aparecido en la Acrópolis V (sondeo 4, Operación V.2), la Operación V.5 tuvo como objetivo determinar la existencia de un patrón en la actividad ritual relacionada con altares y estelas. El par altar 8 y estela 22 fue seleccionado por su ubicación en el centro del Grupo C y porque se podía aprovechar de la secuencia cerámica de la estructura III. La excavación 2018 incluye el sondeo 1 y sus extensiones. Por otra parte, como complemento a la operación de restauración de la estela 24, el sondeo 2 fue implantado atrás y adelante de ella. Tres trabajadores (Julio Zumtecun y Hectór Pop de la Comunidad de Uaxactún, y Gerardo Más, de Santa Elena) participaron a los trabajos de la Operación V.5.

[On the question of the character of ritual deposits]
The concept of ritual deposits (hoards) is unevenly used within archaeology. Thus, the question of the character of ritual deposits is an important issue to consider in theoretical as well as methodological terms. Artefacts in deposits are recurring phenomena for various periods and in different parts of the world, constituting an essential source material for our understanding of the past. This article aims to explore the theoretical implications of the notion of ritual deposits, and discuss methodological aspects of renewed studies of assemblages of valuable artefacts. A model is discussed of how to study the biographies of objects as symbolism in rituals, and treat compound deposits as cohesive entities. Conceivably, it was precisely the combination of certain artefacts and their expression of meaning that gave rise to collective cultural aspirations, which demonstrates that deposits were the result of complex actions and beliefs.

This paper reports the results of recent investigations of ceramic figurines and musical instruments from Classic Belize River Valley site of Baking Pot, located approximately 8 km northeast of the modern town of San Ignacio in the Cayo District of Belize. Analysis of the iconographic features of the Baking Pot collection indicate that the figurines and instruments are mostly mold-made items, with a division of mostly figurine fragments, fragments of musical instruments, or unknown fragmented items. A nearly equal division of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic items are present in the collection. Anthropomorphic fragments almost always include heads or headdresses and hair. A few arm or leg appendage fragment are present as well. Zoomorphic items are often heads as well, with dogs, bats, and birds frequently represented. Other items included in the collection include ceramic beads and censer fragments, but do not represent much of the collection. Lastly, some artifacts recovered were so fragmented and without explicitly diagnostic traits, and are counted in this analysis as unknown fragments, as it is unclear if they were instruments or figurines themselves, but clearly were not part of ceramic wares such as vases, bowls, plates, or other serving types.

Le site de Colmar «Aerodrome » , fouille en 2008 par l’INRAP, a livre soixante-quinze fosses de plan circulaire identifiees a des fosses de stockage. Aucun rejet detritique evoquant une activite domestique proche n’a ete observe. Dix-neuf fosses ont livre des restes humains dont treize inhumations primaires et onze depots secondaires. Cinq depots d’animaux entiers ou partiels (suines et cervides) ainsi que deux gigots de chevreuil ont ete mis au jour, isoles ou reposant dans des creusements accueillant des sepultures, mais toujours separes des corps humains par une epaisseur de sediment. La ceramique recueillie et une serie de dates radiocarbones permettent de dater l’ensemble du site du Neolithique recent, et de l’attribuer plus precisement a la culture de Munzingen. La majorite des individus inhumes sont en position flechie sur le cote. On note une tombe «a etage » comptant trois niveaux d’inhumations, le niveau inferieur etant occupe par une sepulture asymetrique reunissant un adulte en position flechie et un enfant en position inorganisee. Plusieurs indices de reinterventions sur les squelettes humains – mais egalement animaux – ont ete notes. Cinquante-six perles en cuivre formant deux «colliers » ont ete deposees aupres d’un corps reposant sur le ventre. Ces objets connaissent d’assez nombreux paralleles dans la culture de Cortaillod ou ils apparaissent trois fois sous forme de depots. Les analyses realisees sur huit des perles de Colmar montrent qu’elles ont ete faconnees dans un cuivre arsenie connu sous le nom de cuivre du Mondsee. Ce cuivre, probablement originaire du Nord-Est des Alpes, joue un role majeur dans l’expansion de la premiere metallurgie. Au vu de leur repartition et de l’origine de la matiere premiere utilisee, on peut supposer que les perles cylindriques caracteristiques du IV e millenaire sont mises en forme en territoire Cortaillod a partir de baguettes de cuivre importees (par l’intermediaire de la culture de Pfyn et/ ou de Mondsee ?). Plutot qu’a des parures, peut-etre faut-il les identifier a des objets d’echange. Nous proposons de reconnaitre a Colmar un ensemble fonctionnant a la fois comme une petite necropole et comme un secteur devolu a des pratiques rituelles impliquant des offrandes sous forme animale et, peut-etre, humaine.

During the South Scandinavian TRB thousands of axes were intentionally deposited in wetlands or on dryland locales. Much of the research into these axes has concentrated on the often-perfect axes found in wetland hoards.  Increasingly it has become apparent that flint axes were also intentionally burnt and then deposited, often in large quantities, in particular locales that differed from the locales of unburnt axes (Larsson 1989, 2004). The flint axes were not simply thrown in a fire, which would lead to a dramatic shattering of the flint, but were carefully heated up, causing the flint to first change colour and then fracture into several large pieces (Larsson 2004). This paper seeks to understand the relationships between (i) the medium of transformation, i.e. wholeness vs. fragmentation, and fire vs. water, (ii) the conceptual functionality of flint and axes, as well as (iii) the deposition locations. These relationships are explained using 4 different structuralist-based models, emphasizing the variety of possible ways these entwined conceptual and physical relationships can be understood.

Larsson, L. (1989) “Brandopfer: Der Frühneolitische Fundplatz Svartskylle Im Südlichen Schonen, Schweden.” Acta Archaeologica 59: 143-153

Larsson, L. (2004) “Axeheads and Fire-the Transformation of Wealth.” Lithics in Action: Papers from the Conference Lithic Studies in the Year 2000. Ed. Elizabeth A. Walker, F. F. Wenban-Smith, and Frances Healy. Oxford: Oxbow. 197-205

"In this paper, I survey archaeological evidence for deliberate deposits mostly
containing ceramic vessels but also stones and animal bones. They were
discovered at a Late Bronze Age settlement, dated to the 9th-8th centuries,
situated in the northern part of the contemporary city of Wrocław in
southwestern Poland. Their stratigraphical contexts indicate that their
deposition took place at the very end of the use of the site, i.e. after the
accumulation of the thick occupational layers. Based on the fine
preservation of the vessels and their distribution, I argue that they are
remains of practices performed in a common settlement area, resulting in
the deposition of used ceramics. I also refer to a broad concept of the notion
of ‘pottery deposits’ and compare the presented evidence with similar finds
from other sites with a similar chronology."