The Rock As a Topos of Faith. the Interactive Zone of the Rock-Cut Monuments

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Rock As a Topos of Faith. the Interactive Zone of the Rock-Cut Monuments Geoarchaeology and Archaeomineralogy (Eds. R. I. Kostov, B. Gaydarska, M. Gurova). 2008. Proceedings of the International Conference, 29-30 October 2008 Sofia, Publishing House “St. Ivan Rilski”, Sofia, 153-162. THE ROCK AS A TOPOS * OF FAITH THE INTERACTIVE ZONE OF THE ROCK-CUT MONUMENTS – FROM URARTU TO THRACE Valeria Fol Centre of Thracology “Prof. Alexander Fol”, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1000 Sofia; [email protected] ABSTRACT. The article discusses the rock topoi of faith as places for profession of a mysterial faith and ritualism, which should not be ethnically defined, because in its core lies the honoring of the stone/rock as a location for divine advent. Initial observations of natural and rock-cut topoi of faith in a like constructions in greater detail, as well as archaeological mountain environment have been done in the Eastern sites (mainly fortresses) and finds related to them in Strandzha Mediterranean as early as the second half of the XIX c., Mountain, Sakar Mountain, the Rhodopes and Eastern Stara however it is only recently that their cultural-historical role and Planina (Haemus). The interpretation of the megaliths is being their regional interactions began to be researched without the inserted in the widely accepted thesis for their functions as ritual faith and the cults professed in them to be charged with tombs of the population of the coastal hinterland. Some of the ethnic definitions. There are a series of examples from the dolmens had been used a lot from the middle of the II until the Southeastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor where the middle of the I mill. BC, but the problem of whether they are stone/rock is identified as a sacred symbol, a place of divine aristocratic tombs or they document a mass practice rests advent and of getting in touch with the divine inception. In the open (cf. Thracian…, 1976; 1982; Triantaphyllos, 1983; 1985; Mediterranean world and in Southeastern Europe in particular, 1992; Delev, 1984; Mo υτσορουλουσ , ∆ηµητροκσλλι , 1988; the aniconic period of the thought images – uncultivated or Moutsopoulos, 1989; Fol, V., 1993b, 13-14; 1998; 2000, 11-16; fairly uncultivated stones – is very well represented in the Beksac, 2003). The recent observations on the megalithism in written and the material sources. The idea that a divine Europe don’t take account of the stone monuments in the essence can be manifested in a rock is preserved in many South-East (cf. Guilaine, 1998; 1999), but the archaeological places during the Roman Era too. landscape in this part of the continent remains exciting. The burials in the dolmens dated at the end of the II – beginning of The researches of rock-cut and megalithic monuments, as the I mill. BC indicate only their last use, but the concept of the well as of the sacred locations where they are built or where building up of the megaliths could be archaeologically removed they are formed – most frequently in mountain massifs – are back to the end of the Chalcolithic (Fol, V., 1993a; 1993b, 9- done in Southeast Europe since the 60s. From the beginning 76, 147-168; 1997; 1998; 2000; 2001a; 2001b; 2002; 2003a; of the 7th decade of the XX c. the rock-cut and megalithic 2003b; 2004b; 2004c; Fol, V. in Fol et al., 2000, 171-192). monuments in the Bulgarian part of Ancient Thrace are being actively researched by interdisciplinary teams, organized The progress in the study of Thracian antiquity, and more mainly by the Institute of Thracology, affiliated with the specifically on Thracian rites and rituals, allows the re- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences ( Thracian…, 1976; 1982). interpretation of certain types and groups of monuments. This These teams have researched the dolmens and the dolmen- is particularly important for the studies on the oral orphism . The _____ classificational term for this faith is does reveal the hope in the *In this research the term topos is used in the sens of a "place (even a death and the new birth of the main male God and, location of a grave), a deposit, a geographical location", completely respectively, in a life beyond of the ones, who believe in him. separated from oikos (and its derivatives). The direct and the Because this faith after the Mycenaean epoch is continued to metaphorical meaning of locus communis, put into the term before be exercised in Ancient Thrace, where it becomes a state Aristotle's' definition (Arist. Rhet. 2. 23. 1-38 Ross) is most appropriate ideology of the most powerful royal dynasties, and mainly of for the research, especially because it assumes the clarification regarding the space outside the profane. The terrain-rite-like the Odrysae, the clarified classificational term Thracian expansion of the term, which I am introducing as a working Orphism had been introduced. During the Mycenaean epoch methodical instrument of the research, is conditioned from the this faith is identified in rock-cut, mountains’ and caves’ permanent interpretation and re-interpretation of the written sources sanctuaries (the studies on Thracian oral Orphism started with and the sample selection of objects and finds – see detailed analysis Fol, 1986; cf. Fol in: Fol et al., 2000, 171-220 and the in Fol, V., 2007. references; Fol, 2002; Fol, V., 2003a) (Fig. 1). 153 Fig. 1. The “Stone” is a rock-cut sanctuary in Strandja Mountain (Malko Turnovo region), with solar disks and sacrificial pits; archaeoastronomical research shows that from the mid II mill. BC on this sacred place the Sun was observed during the summer solstice The analysis of the linguistic data concerning the name of the reason to suggest that they were built as memorials of the Thracian Hero Peiroos on the basis of Hittite-Anatolian- aristocratic élite, rather than for kings only. All the more, the Thracian arguments has come to the conclusion that traces of the funeral rite are very faint and, at least for the Pirva/Peiroos was a rock-deity or deity/rock-solar deity in present, they evidence just the generally known practice of Thrace at the time of the Trojan War (Gindin, 1978; breaking vessels at the entrance. Tsimburskii, 1984). The Slavonicization of the Balkan Peninsula resulted in the superposition of the characteristics of the Thracian deity onto Slavic thunder-god Per-/Pir- in Slav. Perun/Pirin, conserved in oronyms as Perelik, Persenk, Perperek and others. According to A. Fol, the Balkan – Asia Minor ethnic and cultural unity for the time between the beginning of the II mill. BC until the Trojan War was manifested in cultural and historical realia in the Hittite-Anatolian-Thracian zone. A rock solar deity Pirva/Peiroos was worshipped in that zone (Fol, 1986, 15-16). V. Tzymburskiy localized the cult of that deity also in Troad, in the Zéleia locality, in which the Median kings hunted traditionally, and it later became a cult centre of Apollo. According to Strabo, Lydian kings also hunted there (Fol, 1986, 128). The Per-/Pir- first component of the theonym could be discerned in the toponym Perke , the other name of Thrace – “Rocky Mountain”. So, a very probable semantic sequence rock (mountain) – rocky (mountainous) god – god-Son of the Great Mother-Goddess for the region of Thrace/South-Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, Crete, Southern Italy and Sicily is already proposed (Fol, 1986, 17; Fol et al., 2000, 76). If the name Perke of Ancient Thrace represents a naming of rock-cut and Fig. 2. Rock-cut throne in the sanctuary king’s residence “Perperek”, megalithic religiousness, the classic toponym Thrake is related Eastern Rhodopes to the mysterial magic contacts with the gods (Fig. 2). The dolmens are the most abundant megalithic monuments in Thrace. Up to now, their registered number is c. 850 for the territory of Southeastern Bulgaria, the European part of Turkey and Northern Greece. However, this number is far from the real one. They are built up on the low ridges, alone or in a group, but always turned to face one of the solar directions (Fig. 3). The dolmens are covered with a mound embankment. Sometimes their façade is of slabs and very often they are supplied with a supporting frame along the circle. The dolmens may have one or two chambers, with or without an entrance corridor. The construction may vary. Even in the cases when the dolmens are double, i.e. adjoined, they do not have the Fig. 3. Dolmen with two chambers and crepis-facade near the village of same building technique or a similar layout. All these facts give Hlyabovo, Sakar Mountain 154 Such one-sided explanations have been offered until quite inaccessible niches, which can be reached only if a person recently for the other megalithic monuments as well. It is not hangs suspended on a rope from the top of the rock, and that possible to make hypotheses about the rituals accompanying complicated burial rites and cults where practiced. Many of the the erecting of menhirs or which reflected their worshipping. niches are shallow, or as some of the researchers describe them – unfinished. At the same time, it can be seen that niches However, the stone circles, and especially those forming a were hewn one over the other, without following the line of the complex with stone constructions and having a (sacrificial?) older one. This situation was typical of monuments both in stone in the middle, can be perceived as an early form of an Thrace and in Phrygia (cf. the summary of the functions of the open-air temple. The circle with designated centre is also a niches in Berndt-Ersöz, 1998, 89-92, 95 with the references; cf. familiar plan in the main written evidence about the for the functionя of niches-doors – Roller, 1999, 54; in Urartu – mountainous sanctuary of Dionysus (Fol, 1993, 135-154, N26).
Recommended publications
  • Thracians and Phrygians
    TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents i List of Figures List of Tables m Editor's Note vi vii Introduction on behalf of Centre for Research and Assessment of the Historic Environment (TAÇDAM) at Middle East Technical University Ankara, TURKEY AssocProf.Dr. Numan TUNA, the Director Introduction on behalf of the Institute of Thracology Sofia, BULGARIA Assoc.Prof.Dr. Kiril YORDANOV, the Director and Dr. Maya VASSILEVA Opening Speech on behalf of Scientific Institutions Prof .Dr. Machteld J. MELLINK Thracian-Phrygian Cultural Zone 13 Maya VASSILEVA Sofia, BULGARIA Megaliths in Thrace and Phrygia 19 Valeria FOL Sofia, BULGARIA Early Iron Age in Eastern Thrace and the Megalithic Monuments 29 Mehmet ÔZDOÔAN Istanbul, TURKEY Some Connections Between the Northern Thrace and Asia Minor During the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age 41 Attila LASZLO Ia§i, ROMANIA Bryges and Phrygians: Parallelism Between the Balkans and Asia Minor Through Archaeological, Linguistic and Historical Evidence 45 Eleonora PETROVA Skopije, MACEDONIA Sabas/Sabazios/Sabo 55 Alexander FOL Sofia, BULGARIA Burial Rites in Thrace and Phrygia 61 Roumyana GEORGIEVA Sofia, BULGARIA Die Ausgrabung der Megalithischen Dolmenanlage in Lalapasa 65 MuratAKMAN Istanbul. TURKEY The Early Iron Age Settlement on Biiyukkaya, Bogazkoy: First Impressions 71 Jurgen SEEHER German Institute of Archaeology, Istanbul The Early Iron Age at Gordion: The Evidence from the Yassihoyiik Stratigraphie Sequence 79 Robert C. HENRICKSON and Mary M. VOIGT Philadelphia, USA Roman Phrygia 107 D.H. FRENCH Waterford, UK Phrygia: Linguistics and Epigraphies HI Petar DIMITROV Sofia, BULGARIA Phrygian and the Southeast European Namebund 115 Adrian PORUCIUC lasi, ROMANIA Une Inscription en Langue Inconnue 119 Catherine BRIXHE et Thomas DREW-BEAR Lyon, FRANCE Conservation and Reconstruction of Phrygian Chariot Wheels from Mysia 131 Hande KÔKTEN Istanbul, TURKEY Microstructural Studies on Some Phrygian Metallic Objects 147 Macit ÔZENBAS and Lèvent ERCANLI Ankara, TURKEY Panel Discussions 157.
    [Show full text]
  • Goodwill Between Neighbors
    Chapter 2 Goodwill between Neighbors In 1975, negotiations were underway between experts from Bulgaria and Yugoslavia regarding an exhibition, Prehistoric Art in the Bulgarian Lands , soon to open at the Belgrade History Museum. The museum director expressed concern about the title because “there is a dif- ference between the Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian meaning of [the word] ‘lands’” and required clarification about “which lands you refer to—the pres- ent or the past.” He worried—not without reason—that in Bulgarian schol- arship, the term was used to refer to all the historical kingdoms that extended beyond the current Bulgarian borders. The Bulgarian representative, trying to defuse tensions, “answered jokingly that most probably there would be no artifacts from Macedonia,” pinpointing the exact reason for the misgiv- ings of his Yugoslav colleague. 1 In a compromise, the exhibition premiered in Belgrade under a new title, Prehistoric Art in Bulgaria . 2 The contested place of Macedonia in the historical repertoires of Bul- garia and Yugoslavia caused much controversy once Bulgaria launched its international cultural offensive because it triggered rival interpretations of the past in the two countries. In October 1977, the Croatian journal Oko published a dispatch from New York City reporting on Bulgaria’s Thracian Treasures exhibition that had just opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The article lambasted the exhibition catalog, which featured a map that 62 GOODWILL BETWEEN NEIGHBORS 63 incorrectly showed the Balkan borders.
    [Show full text]
  • 150506-Woudhuizen Bw.Ps, Page 1-168 @ Normalize ( Microsoft
    The Ethnicity of the Sea Peoples 1 2 THE ETHNICITY OF THE SEA PEOPLES DE ETNICITEIT VAN DE ZEEVOLKEN Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam op gezag van de rector magnificus Prof.dr. S.W.J. Lamberts en volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties. De openbare verdediging zal plaatsvinden op vrijdag 28 april 2006 om 13.30 uur door Frederik Christiaan Woudhuizen geboren te Zutphen 3 Promotiecommissie Promotor: Prof.dr. W.M.J. van Binsbergen Overige leden: Prof.dr. R.F. Docter Prof.dr. J. de Mul Prof.dr. J. de Roos 4 To my parents “Dieser Befund legt somit die Auffassung nahe, daß zumindest für den Kern der ‘Seevölker’-Bewegung des 14.-12. Jh. v. Chr. mit Krieger-Stammesgruppen von ausgeprägter ethnischer Identität – und nicht lediglich mit einem diffus fluktuierenden Piratentum – zu rechnen ist.” (Lehmann 1985: 58) 5 CONTENTS Preface ................................................................................................................................................................................9 Note on the Transcription, especially of Proper Names....................................................................................................11 List of Figures...................................................................................................................................................................12 List of Tables ....................................................................................................................................................................13
    [Show full text]
  • On the Roman Frontier1
    Rome and the Worlds Beyond Its Frontiers Impact of Empire Roman Empire, c. 200 B.C.–A.D. 476 Edited by Olivier Hekster (Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands) Editorial Board Lukas de Blois Angelos Chaniotis Ségolène Demougin Olivier Hekster Gerda de Kleijn Luuk de Ligt Elio Lo Cascio Michael Peachin John Rich Christian Witschel VOLUME 21 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/imem Rome and the Worlds Beyond Its Frontiers Edited by Daniëlle Slootjes and Michael Peachin LEIDEN | BOSTON This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC 4.0 License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016036673 Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 1572-0500 isbn 978-90-04-32561-6 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-32675-0 (e-book) Copyright 2016 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • CHG Library Book List
    CHG Library Book List (Belgium), M. r. d. a. e. d. h. (1967). Galerie de l'Asie antérieure et de l'Iran anciens [des] Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire, Bruxelles, Musées royaux d'art et dʹhistoire, Parc du Cinquantenaire, 1967. Galerie de l'Asie antérieure et de l'Iran anciens [des] Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire by Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire (Belgium) (1967) (Director), T. P. F. H. (1968). The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin: Volume XXVI, Number 5. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art (January, 1968). The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin: Volume XXVI, Number 5 by Thomas P.F. Hoving (1968) (Director), T. P. F. H. (1973). The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin: Volume XXXI, Number 3. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art (Ed.), A. B. S. (2002). Persephone. U.S.A/ Cambridge, President and Fellows of Harvard College Puritan Press, Inc. (Ed.), A. D. (2005). From Byzantium to Modern Greece: Hellenic Art in Adversity, 1453-1830. /Benaki Museum. Athens, Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation. (Ed.), B. B. R. (2000). Christian VIII: The National Museum: Antiquities, Coins, Medals. Copenhagen, The National Museum of Denmark. (Ed.), J. I. (1999). Interviews with Ali Pacha of Joanina; in the autumn of 1812; with some particulars of Epirus, and the Albanians of the present day (Peter Oluf Brondsted). Athens, The Danish Institute at Athens. (Ed.), K. D. (1988). Antalya Museum. İstanbul, T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Döner Sermaye İşletmeleri Merkez Müdürlüğü/ Ankara. (ed.), M. N. B. (Ocak- Nisan 2010). "Arkeoloji ve sanat. (Journal of Archaeology and Art): Ölümünün 100.Yıldönümünde Osman Hamdi Bey ve Kazıları." Arkeoloji Ve Sanat 133.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Role of the Roman Army in the Province of Lower Moesia (Moesia Inferior) INSTITUTE of EUROPEAN CULTURE ADAM MICKIEWICZ UNIVERSITY in POZNAŃ
    Economic role of the Roman army in the province of Lower Moesia (Moesia Inferior) INSTITUTE OF EUROPEAN CULTURE ADAM MICKIEWICZ UNIVERSITY IN POZNAŃ ACTA HUMANISTICA GNESNENSIA VOL. XVI ECONOMIC ROLE OF THE ROMAN ARMY IN THE PROVINCE OF LOWER MOESIA (MOESIA INFERIOR) Michał Duch This books takes a comprehensive look at the Roman army as a factor which prompted substantial changes and economic transformations in the province of Lower Moesia, discussing its impact on the development of particular branches of the economy. The volume comprises five chapters. Chapter One, entitled “Before Lower Moesia: A Political and Economic Outline” consti- tutes an introduction which presents the economic circumstances in the region prior to Roman conquest. In Chapter Two, entitled “Garrison of the Lower Moesia and the Scale of Militarization”, the author estimates the size of the garrison in the province and analyzes the influence that the military presence had on the demography of Lower Moesia. The following chapter – “Monetization” – is concerned with the financial standing of the Roman soldiery and their contri- bution to the monetization of the province. Chapter Four, “Construction”, addresses construction undertakings on which the army embarked and the outcomes it produced, such as urbanization of the province, sustained security and order (as envisaged by the Romans), expansion of the economic market and exploitation of the province’s natural resources. In the final chapter, entitled “Military Logistics and the Local Market”, the narrative focuses on selected aspects of agriculture, crafts and, to a slightly lesser extent, on trade and services. The book demonstrates how the Roman army, seeking to meet its provisioning needs, participated in and contributed to the functioning of these industries.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology
    JOURNAL OF ANCIENT HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY JAHA Romanian Academy JOURNAL OF ANCIENT HISTORY Technical University Of Cluj-Napoca AND ARCHAEOLOGY Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14795/j.v1i2 ISSN 2360 – 266X ISSN–L 2360 – 266X No. 1.2 /2014 CONTENTS STUDIES REVIEWS ANCIENT HISTORY Victor Cojocaru Horaţiu Cociş ONCE MORE ABOUT ANTONIA TRYPHAINA 3 RADU OLTEAN, DACIA. THE ROMAN WARS.VOLUME I. SARMIZEGETUSA ..............................................57 Dragoș MITROFAN THE ANTONINE PLAGUE IN DACIA AND MOESIA INFERIOR 9 Csaba Szabó KREMER, GABRIELLE (MIT BEITRÄGEN VON CHRISTIAN GUGL, CHRISTIAN UHLIR UND MICHAEL Olivier Hekster UNTERWURZACHER), GÖTTERDARSTELLUNGEN, ALTERNATIVES TO KINSHIP? KULT – UND WEIHEDENKMÄLER AUS CARNUNTUM......59 TETRARCHS AND THE DIFFICULTIES OF REPRESEN- TING NON-DYNASTIC RULE 14 Imola Boda ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIAL RADA VARGA, THE PEREGRINI OF ROMAN DACIA (106–212) 61 Vitalie Bârcă RETURNED FOOT EXTERIOR CHORD BROOCHES Gaspar Răzvan Bogdan MADE OF A SINGLE METAL PIECE (TYPE ALMGREN C. GĂZDAC, F. HUMER, LIVING BY T HE COINS. 158) RECENTLY DISCOVERED IN THE WESTERN ROMAN LIFE IN THE LIGHT OF COIN FINDS PLAIN OF ROMANIA. NOTES ON ORIGIN AND AND ARCHAEOLOGY WITHIN A RESIDENTIAL CHRONOLOGY 21 QUARTER OF CARNUNTUM ..................................63 Silvia Mustață, Iosif Vasile Ferencz, Cristian Dima A ROMAN THIN-CAST BRONZE SAUCEPAN FROM THE DACIAN FORTRESS AT ARDEU (HUNEDOARA Florin Fodorean COUNTY, ROMANIA) 40 Z. CZAJLIK, A. BÖDŐCS (EDS.), AERIAL ARCHAEOLOGY AND REMOTE SENSING FROM THE BALTIC TO THE ADRIATIC. SELECTED PAPERS OF THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE AERIAL TH TH DIGITAL ARCHAEOLOGY ARCHAEOLOGY RESEARCH GROUP, 13 – 15 OF SEPTEMBER 2012, BUDAPEST, HUNGARY 65 Ionuț Badiu, Radu Comes, Zsolt Buna Xenia-Valentina Păușan CREATION AND PRESERVATION OF DIGITAL R.
    [Show full text]
  • From Archaeolinguistics to Archaeomythology
    HABILITATION THESIS FROM ARCHAEOLINGUISTICS TO ARCHAEOMYTHOLOGY by Adrian Poruciuc, Ph.D. Professor at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi, Faculty of Letters Senior Researcher (half-post) of the Romanian Academy, Iaşi Branch, Institute of Archaeology in Iaşi Fellow per la Letteratura, Compagnia di San Paolo – Bogliasco, Genova Fellow of the Institute of Archaeomythology, Sebastopol, California, USA Doctor honoris causa of the Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava 2012 1 Contents Abstract 3 Rezumat 6 I. Beginnings – in historical linguistics 9 II. Interdisciplinary features in Archaeolinguistica 17 III. Archaeolinguistics and onomastics 22 IV. Archaeolinguistics and substrate studies 28 V. Archaeolinguistics and the domain of Old Germanic loans 41 VI. Archaeomythology enlarged by archaeolinguistics in Prehistoric Roots 50 VII. Envisaged progress 62 References 66 2 Abstract The text below represents a synthetic report meant to sustain my application for a habilitation title. I chose a special line of my career as a researcher, namely the line of development “from archaeolinguistics to archaeomythology,” each of the main steps being presented in one of the seven chapters, arranged in chronolological order. The first chapter (“Beginnings – in historical linguistics”) refers to my first steps in the field of historical linguistics (during the 80s of last century), more specifically to my early achievements in Germanic and Indo-European studies. I repeatedly refer to the important influence exerted on my career by a great scholar, Professor Gheorghe Ivănescu of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi. I also point out significant contacts that I had, during that period, with a whole series of outstanding scholars (Mircea Petrescu-Dîmboviţa, Cicerone Poghirc, Marija Gimbutas, Herbert Pilch, Hans-Matin Gauger, Zbigniew Gołąb, Eric Hamp and others).
    [Show full text]
  • The Myth of Orpheus
    BRYGGENS MUSEUM Bulgarian/Norwegian (Bilateral) Conference in Bergen The myth of Orpheus Thracian and Norse myths, mythology and archaeology Do you want to attend an exciting conference about the Orpheus myth and its impact on our common European cultural heritage? NIKU and Bergen City Museum invites you to join this conference for people interested in mythology and archaeology. The one and a half day conference is open to the public. This conference is a side event to the exhibition Legends in Gold. Thracian Treasures from Bulgaria, and you will as part of the conference have the opportunity to join a guided tour through the exhibition. Legends in Gold. Thracian Treasures from Bulgaria is displayed at Bryggens Museum from 2 September until 10 December 2017 – a mythical world of ancient Thracian culture represented by archaeological treasures dating back several thousand years. The exhibition is produced by the Bulgarian National History Museum in co-operation with twelve other museums in Bulgaria. www.legenderigull.no Conference organiser: The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) and Bergen City Museum Inge Lindblom: Senior Advisor, NIKU [email protected] Janicke Larsen: Head of exhibitions and public outreach, Bergen City Museum [email protected] Venue: Bryggens Museum, Dreggsalmenning 3, 5003 Bergen, Norway Period: 8th – 9th November 2017 Language: English Moderator: Stefka G. Eriksen (Research director, NIKU) Registration: Sigrid Samset Mygland (senior curator, Bergen City Museum) [email protected] Program The program will be updated on a continuous basis. The paper titles are tentative. Day 1 (8th November) 11.00 – 12.00 Registration 12.00 – 12.30 (Welcome and introduction speeches) Welcome: By the organisers: Janicke Larsen and Inge Lindblom Opening speech/Introduction: Guro Vikør, The Norwegian Ministry of foreign affairs: Bilateral experiences on Cultural Heritage, Bulgaria/Norway 12.30 – 14.00 (Technical Key note speech) Diana Gergova, Center of Thracology "Prof.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tradition of Funeral Customs in Thrace, Which in the Roman Times
    electronic version at http://arheologie.ulbsibiu.ro/ Acta Terrae Septemcastrensis, VI, 1, 2007 TRADITION OF ETHNIC IDENTITY IN THE FUNERAL RITES DURING THE HISTORY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE: THE CASE OF THRACE Jan Bouzek (Czech Republik) and Lidia Domaradzka (Bulgaria) Key-words: Thrace, Romans, funeral customs, inscriptions. Abstract. The tradition of funeral customs in Thrace, which in the Roman times preserves that of previous generations of Thracian aristocracy is not an isolated phenomenon; it has parallels in other parts of the Roman empire, e-g in some parts of Gallia, in Galatian in Asia Minor, in peripheral areas of Syria etc. The paper should investigate the traces of these funeral traditions in archaeological material and the corpus of inscriptions and try to contribute to clear some less known aspects of this particular phenomenon. Historical, cultural and ethnic identities were formed by the individuals who felt themselves part of them and even nowadays the individual people depend on intentional dimensions of human self-definition. Modern nations are basically different form the ancient ethnic groups, which were more dependent on their leaders, on family relations, on the systems of clients etc., but also old nations were expressions of intentional self-classification of their members and their neighbours who contributed to the self-definition of the former. The ethnic entity was a communicative expression of particularity (specificity) of individual groups, as self-representation of the group as different from its neighbours. Ethic identity had its roots in the language, in the oral tradition, in the religion, rituals und in common symbolic codes of the particular nation (cf.
    [Show full text]
  • Nachrufe Für Verstorbene Mitglieder
    Sitzungsberichte der Leibniz-Sozietät 88(2007), 23–32 Nachrufe für verstorbene Mitglieder Die Festversammlung zum Leibniztag 2006 gedachte der seit dem letzten Leibniztag verstorbenen Mitglieder der Leibniz-Sozietät sowie der verstorbe- nen Mitglieder der früheren Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR, von de- ren Ableben sie Kenntnis erhielt. Thomas Beth, verstorben am 17. August 2005 in Waldbronn Gerd Laßner, verstorben am 24. August 2005 in Augustusburg Arnold Graffi, verstorben am 30. Januar 2006 in Berlin Alexander Fol, verstorben am 01. März 2006 in Sofia Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. rer. nat. Thomas Beth * 16. 11. 1949 † 17. 8. 2005 Mit Thomas Beth ist ein Gelehrter internationalen Formats von uns gegangen, der zur Informatik, in Sonderheit zur Systemsicherheit und zur Kryptogra- phie, sowie zur Quanteninformatik Wesentliches hinzugefügt hat. Er gehörte zu den wenigen Forschern, denen es vergönnt war, von den abstrakten Grund- lagen ihrer Wissenschaft bis zu ihren Anwendungen kreativ tätig zu sein. Thomas Beth studierte Mathematik, Physik und Medizin an der Universi- tät Göttingen und promovierte 1978 im Fach Mathematik an der Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, an der er sich auch auf dem Gebiet Informatik 1984 ha- bilitierte. Berufen zum Professor of Computer Science am Royal Holloway College der University of London wurde er der Leiter der Abteilung „Com- puter Science and Statistics“ und begründete die Fachgruppe Kryptographie. Bereits 1985 folgte Thomas Beth einem Ruf als Ordinarius für Informatik an die Universität Karlsruhe. Er gehörte zu den Gründungsmitgliedern des In- stituts für Algorithmen und Kognitive Systeme, das er seitdem als dessen Sprecher vertrat. Für Thomas Beth war das Verständnis algorithmischer Strukturen im Rahmen von Gesamtsystemen ein wesentliches Ziel.
    [Show full text]
  • Orphic Thrace and Achaemenid Persia
    Orphic Thrace and Achaemenid Persia Diana Gergova The issues concerning the areas in which the Achaemenid presence in the Balkans influenced the culture of ancient Thrace naturally arouse interest amongst researchers. Abundant archaeological material and, even more, the examples of toreutics discovered south of the River Danube, as well as various written sources enlighten the issues (Marazov 1977; Kalojanov 1988; Board- man 2000; Tacheva 2000; Jordanov 2002; Megaw & Ruth 2002; Jordanov 2003; Valeva 2006; Valeva 2008, etc.). The period of Achaemenid presence, influence, diplomatic and commercial exchange in Thrace began in 520 BC with Dareios I leading his forces over the Bosporus and up the Danube, and continued to around 400 BC (Megaw [& Riith?] 2002, 488). Dareios’ intention to enlarge his possessions in Europe (i.e. in Thrace, Macedonia and Greece) involved the incorporation of territories abounding in natural resources, including in particular the gold and silver mines of Thrace. When, in the middle of the fourth century BC, Philip II took control of the mines, he was able to obtain an annual income of 1,000 talents. Where the Thracian logos intertwines with the Scythian one in his discourse, Herodotos narrates the story of Dareios’ route through European lands and details the relations between the Achaemenids and the Thracian tribes, both along the north Aegean coast and along the west Pontic. Naturally, not every aspect was related by him, and, accordingly, reconstructions of Thraco-Persian relation- ships have been accompanied by various hypotheses (Tacheva 2006). Paying particular attention to the lack of resistance on the part of the Thracian Odrysae and the Hellenic poleis along the west Pontic coast, inves- tigators have identified a preliminary diplomatic and strategic organization of Dareios’ march that was not mentioned by Herodotos.
    [Show full text]