Un Santuario di Frontiera, fra <i>Polis</i> E <i>Chora</i>

Bacchielli, Lidiano

doi:10.1017/s0263718900006233

Cited by 2 publications

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References 2 publications

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“…The function of the extra-urban sanctuaries has mainly been discussed for the colonial poleis (Greco 1990; Leone 1998; Pugliese Carratelli 1989) and for Cyrene (Bacchielli 1994; Fabbricotti 2007; Menozzi 2002; 2007; Parisi Presicce 1984) in a general view and mainly as ‘radiating centres' for the ‘Hellenisation’ of the territory and of the local tribes, as well as serving as ‘political and cultural boundaries' of the polis and its chora (Di Filippo Balestrazzi 2006; Fabbricotti 2007; Menozzi 2002; 2007; Parisi Presicce 1984). However, this religious and consequentially political ‘acculturation’ of the territory should also be seen as a two-way process, in which the Greco-Roman world met the local pre-existing cultures and interacted with them in very different ways which also changed from period to period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extramural rock-cut sanctuaries in the territory of Cyrene

Menozzi

2015

Libyan Stud

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Chieti University's team in Libya has been mapping and studying the extraordinary patrimony in rupestrian architecture, looking at both funerary and sacred spaces. Particular attention has been paid to the rock-cut sanctuaries in the areas to the east (Ain Hofra/Bu Miliou areas) and to the west (Baggara and Budrag) of Cyrene, which also represent the most problematic zones for looting and vandalism. Therefore, the principal need for these areas has been to plan a project of mapping and recording that is as systematic as possible for this huge patrimony. The resulting data, coming from surveys, non-invasive geo-prospecting, laser scanning of the main monuments, diagnostic mapping of the damaged monuments, as well as from the excavations, have been recorded in a multilayer GIS. In combination with the surveys, a series of excavations have also been organised in several areas in order to have stratigraphic information from sample areas, which have been chosen on the basis of both their typology/monumentality and the degree of risk of damage and looting. These sanctuaries are generally located on the steep slopes of deep canyons, typically associated with water springs, wild landscape, chthonian cults and also, therefore, funerary areas. They are generally monumentalised and emphasised by rock-cut architecture. Among the most interesting finds are the sanctuaries of Budrag and Ain Hofra, with votive inscriptions, rocky altars and shrines. Particularly interesting is the discovery of a rocky high-relief statue of Dionysus, attesting a possible open-air sanctuary in the area of Baggara. It is a unique example of rocky sculpture in Cyrene and it could be one of the best-preserved examples from the Greek world. Distinguishable by their topography, architectonic features and distance from the town, these rocky sanctuaries attest to a reciprocal osmosis between Greco-Roman and Libyan cultural, artistic and ritual elements. The levels of hybridisation and reciprocity vary from case to case and from period to period, suggesting different degrees of Greco-Roman impact, which seem to be, generally speaking, inversely proportional to the distance from Cyrene, giving space and voice to the cults and rites of the local tribes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extramural rock-cut sanctuaries in the territory of Cyrene

Menozzi

2015

Libyan Stud

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Cyrene Papers: The First Report. The Documents

Uhlenbrock

1985

Libyan stud.

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Over the course of the last nine years, a large number of documents have come to light that chronicle more fully American interest in Cyrenaica in the 1880s and in the first two decades of this century. The documents mainly pertain to the 1910–1911 archaeological excavation of Cyrene by Richard Norton on behalf of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Archaeological Institute of America, during the course of which Herbert Fletcher DeCou, staff epigrapher, was fatally shot. But the material also refers to hitherto unnoticed American visits to Cyrenaica for archaeological purposes in 1883 and 1887, as well as the first official American expedition in the spring of 1909. While some of these papers are already well known and also have been the source of several studies regarding the murder of DeCou, most of the material has remained largely unexplored by scholars interested in Cyrenaica. For this reason they are presented here with the expectation that future articles on specific aspects of the Cyrene papers will be forthcoming shortly.

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Un Santuario di Frontiera, fra Polis E Chora

Cited by 2 publications

References 2 publications

Extramural rock-cut sanctuaries in the territory of Cyrene

Extramural rock-cut sanctuaries in the territory of Cyrene

Cyrene Papers: The First Report. The Documents

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