Writing and Religious Traditions in the Ancient Western Mediterranean
open access | peer reviewed
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edited by
- Lorenzo Calvelli - Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia - email orcid profile
- María Dolores Dopico Caínzos - Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, España - email orcid profile
Abstract
From the sacred spaces of the Iberian Peninsula to those of Italy and the surrounding islands, this volume opens a window onto the vibrant world of ancient religions as seen through the lens of epigraphy. Inscriptions are investigated as objects conveying written messages that could circulate among humans but were also addressed to the divine. Their analysis contributes to the understanding of rituals and gestures that have long disappeared but that can be reconstructed through a refined interdisciplinary approach. By weaving epigraphy with archaeological evidence and literary sources, the book conjures a rich tapestry of individual and collective practices, offering readers not only accomplished scholarship but also a vivid journey into the multifaceted universe of sanctuaries in the ancient Mediterranean.
Keywords Temples • History • Pre-Roman Italy • Ritual practices • Valle Camonica • Epigraphy • Inscriptions • II Iron Age • Astarte • Archaeology • Devotional gestures • Etruscan • Religion • Theonym • Bronze • Triangular mensa • Fortuna Primigenia • Thermal sanctuary • Severan dynasty • Hispania citerior • Northwest • Theonymic formulas • Votive table • Integration • Clusium • Latin inscriptions • Urbanism • Ancient Italy • Roman • Brescia/Brixia • Iuppiter Aeternus • Religious practices • Roman cult places • Bronze votives • Sanctuaries • Celtiberia • Hispania Citerior • Rituals • Phoenicians • Ancient Iberia • Written communication • High-Imperial epigraphy • Graffiti • Local divinities • Archaeological evidence • Onomastics • Romanization • Civica religio • Votive deposits • Indigenous sanctuary • Cult • Romanisation • Dedications • Valle Sabbia • Spring • Polytheistic inscriptions • Sanctuary • Callaecia • Spatial analysis • Fons calidus • Ancient Rome • Aequi, pre-Roman sanctuaries
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-931-3 | e-ISBN 978-88-6969-931-3 | ISBN (PRINT) 978-88-6969-932-0 | Published Sept. 24, 2025 | Language en, es, it
Copyright © 2025 Lorenzo Calvelli, María Dolores Dopico Caínzos. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.