'THE SO-CALLED CULT STRONGHOLDS IN EARLY MEDIEVAL POMERANIA' The major research issue to which this article is devoted is the identification and presence of settlement structures in Pomerania, referred to in archaeological literature as... more
'THE SO-CALLED CULT STRONGHOLDS IN EARLY MEDIEVAL POMERANIA' The major research issue to which this article is devoted is the identification and presence of settlement structures in Pomerania, referred to in archaeological literature as cult gords. The construction features and excavated sources, registered in areas enclosed with a ring of ramparts, have been charac-terised in the article as they can undermine the settlement or military functions of the gords. This is corroborated by a poorly preserved cultural layer (or lack thereof) and presence of artefacts and/or historical objects which would indicate a temporary (thus non-utilitarian) nature of the human groups' stay. The predetermined criteria were observed in more than a dozen Pomeranian gords, subjected to a possibly detailed analysis. As a result, further observations were made which allow to hypothetically include some of the surveyed gords to the group of facilities which may pertain to satisfying needs related to cults and rituals.
In the area east of the river Jordan, eight Iron Age structures identified as cultic have been excavated. This paper presents the evidence as published and discusses the relevance of the cultic identification of the structures.
Cooking pits are numerous in the prehistoric archaeology of Northern Europe. At the same time, due to their lack of artefacts, they are strangely anonymous. They occur as isolated finds, in smaller or larger numbers at settlements,... more
Cooking pits are numerous in the
prehistoric archaeology of Northern Europe. At
the same time, due to their lack of artefacts, they
are strangely anonymous. They occur as
isolated finds, in smaller or larger numbers at
settlements, in relation with cemeteries and on
so-called ^specialized cooking pit sites».
Especially the latter group of finds has given
rise to speculations about cultic or ritual sites
and activities, but the speculations have been
hampered by the lack of clear evidence in the
shape of artefacts or anything else that could
support the theories. This paper deals with the
problem of the specialized cooking pit sites by
posing two essential questions: are the
apparently similar phenomena representing
similar prehistoric realities in the entire
distribution area of the specialized cooking pit
sites? and are the cooking pits representing the
core activity on these sites or are they in fact nothing more than a biproduct?
Although cult places have been the focus of research from the earliest beginning of archaeology in Palestine, not much attention has been given to the two sites discussed below, both dating from the later Iron Age. In Samaria a large... more
Although cult places have been the focus of research from the earliest beginning of archaeology in Palestine, not much attention has been given to the two sites discussed below, both dating from the later Iron Age. In Samaria a large trench was dicovered in the 1931-33/35 excavations, subsequently published by E.L. Sukenik as feature E 207. He describes a system of rock-cut trenches filled with an enormous amount of pottery sherds and figurines, which he interpreted as an `Israelite shrine' . In her excavations in Jerusalem Kathleen Kenyon found a large cave also filled with broken pottery and figurines. Cave I, as she called it, was described in her book Digging Up Jerusalem and has recently been published more fully. The striking similarity in repertoires and the possible relations between these two sites certainly deserves attention. As both sites fall outside the standard categories of temples, gateway cult places and `high places', they may reveal information on religious practices on which the scriptures do not elaborate, namely those of the common people. The aim of this paper is to to present the published evidence anew and to venture some thoughts on the function and meaning of these cult places.
Specialized cooking pit sites have attracted some attention during the last decades. They are constituted by a large number of cooking pits either organized in rows or apparently scattered unsystematically around the site. However, even... more
Specialized cooking pit sites have attracted some attention during the last decades. They are constituted by a large number of cooking pits either organized in rows or apparently scattered unsystematically around the site. However, even in the latter case it is very seldom that they cut each other. This gives the impression that the often quite large number of pits must have been in use over a rather limited period of time. Unfortunately, the pits are very seldom furnished with anything but fire-cracked stones and charcoal, so the use of the pits is still a matter of discussion. However, research seems to favour an interpretation of the sites as places of cult connected to the use of fire. The present investigation took the outset in these and other assumptions about the cooking pit sites and tried by means of different excavation methods and scientific analyses to get a step further. A major question was: is a cooking pit site just a cooking pit site or are the cooking pits just a symptom of the action? A phosphate mapping gave an especially intriguing hint of the answer to that question.
This article concerns a heap of stones (røys) or a cluster of such heaps bearing the name Horgen / Horgane in Hardanger, Western Norway, and argues that the name is ancient. This argument is based on the fact that the gender and meaning... more
This article concerns a heap of stones (røys) or a cluster of such heaps bearing the name Horgen / Horgane in Hardanger, Western Norway, and argues that the name is ancient. This argument is based on the fact that the gender and meaning of the name correspond to the Old Norse usage, but deviates from the current usage, of the term horg in the area. This leads on to the conclusion that the site is therefore the first very probable hǫrgr cult site that we know of. The background of the name seems to be that the site is located in the centre of a headland forming the border between the medieval districts of Harðangr og Hǫrðaland and as such it may support the theory that ‘barrier, enclosure’ was the original meaning of Germanic *harguz, as argued in Heide 2014: Hǫrgr in Norwegian names of mountains and other natural features.
