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 Archaeological evidence • Astarte • Triangular mensa • Celtiberia • Bronze votives • Devotional gestures • Local divinities • Fons calidus • Aequi, pre-Roman sanctuaries • Civica religio • Hispania citerior • Spring • Written communication • Phoenicians • Roman cult places • Temples • Romanization • Brescia/Brixia • Fortuna Primigenia • Spatial analysis • Dedications • Graffiti • High-Imperial epigraphy • Theonymic formulas • Onomastics • Bronze • Roman • Thermal sanctuary • Rituals • Sanctuaries • Polytheistic inscriptions • Theonym • Archaeology • Ancient Rome • Ritual practices • Cult • Valle Camonica • Epigraphy • Iuppiter Aeternus • Votive table • Religion • Pre-Roman Italy • Severan dynasty • Latin inscriptions • Romanisation • Integration • Etruscan • Urbanism • Votive deposits • Indigenous sanctuary • Sanctuary • Valle Sabbia • Hispania Citerior • Ancient Italy • Religious practices • History • Clusium • II Iron Age • Inscriptions • Ancient Iberia • Callaecia • Northwest
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 es, en, 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.