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Landscape Archaeology and Sacred Space in the Eastern Mediterranean: A Glimpse from Cyprus

Author

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  • Giorgos Papantoniou

    (Research Training Group 1878: Archaeology of Pre-Modern Economies, Abteilung für Klassische Archäologie, Institut für Archäologie und Kulturanthropologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Lennéstr. 1, D-53113 Bonn, Germany)

  • Athanasios K. Vionis

    (Department of History and Archaeology, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus)

Abstract

This article aims to raise issues for discussion about the change in the use and concept of sacred landscapes, which were originally constructed in the era of the Cypriot kings (the basileis ), but then continued to function in a new imperial environment, that of the rule of the Ptolemaic strategos and later of the Roman proconsul and the various Christian bishops. Our archaeological survey project in the Xeros river valley, titled ‘Settled and Sacred Landscapes of Cyprus’, reveals that these new politico-economic structures were also supported by the construction of symbolically charged sacred landscapes. Thus, while outlining the long history of the island as manifested from the diachronic study of Cypriot sacred landscapes, we identify three pivotal phases: first, the consolidation of the Cypriot polities and the establishment of a ‘full’ sacred landscape; second, the transition from segmented to unitary administration under the Ptolemaic and Roman imperial rule and the consolidation of a more ‘unified sacred landscape’; and finally, the establishment of a number of Christian bishoprics on the island and the movement back to a ‘full’ sacred landscape. Moving beyond the discipline of Cypriot archaeology, this contribution aims to serve as a paradigm for the implications that the employment of the ‘sacred landscapes’ concept may have when addressing issues of socio-political and socio-economic transformations. While it is very difficult to define or capture the concept of landscape in a pre-modern world, it offers a useful means by which to assess changing local conditions. We have also attempted to situate the term in archaeological thought, in order to allow the concept to become a more powerful investigative tool for approaching the past.

Suggested Citation

  • Giorgos Papantoniou & Athanasios K. Vionis, 2017. "Landscape Archaeology and Sacred Space in the Eastern Mediterranean: A Glimpse from Cyprus," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-18, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:6:y:2017:i:2:p:40-:d:101465
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Athanasios K. Vionis & Giorgos Papantoniou, 2019. "Central Place Theory Reloaded and Revised: Political Economy and Landscape Dynamics in the Longue Durée," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-21, February.
    2. Giorgia Maria Francesca Di Paola, 2018. "Central Place and Liminal Landscape in the Territory of Populonia," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-16, August.
    3. Galina Trebeleva & Andrey Kizilov & Vasiliy Lobkovskiy & Gleb Yurkov, 2022. "Evolving Cultural and Historical Landscapes of Northwestern Colchis during the Medieval Period: Physical Environment and Urban Decline Causes," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Giorgos Papantoniou & Athanasios K. Vionis, 2018. "The River as an Economic Asset: Settlement and Society in the Xeros Valley in Cyprus," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-29, December.
    5. Giorgos Papantoniou & Giorgos Bourogiannis, 2018. "The Cypriot Extra-Urban Sanctuary as a Central Place: the Case of Agia Irini," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-27, November.
    6. Athos Agapiou & Athanasios Vionis & Giorgos Papantoniou, 2021. "Detection of Archaeological Surface Ceramics Using Deep Learning Image-Based Methods and Very High-Resolution UAV Imageries," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-16, December.
    7. Ioannis N. Vogiatzakis & Theano S. Terkenli & Maria Gabriella Trovato & Nizar Abu-Jaber, 2018. "Landscapes in the Eastern Mediterranean between the Future and the Past," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-5, December.
    8. Jody Michael Gordon, 2018. "Transforming Culture on an Insula Portunalis: Port Cities as Central Places in Early Roman Cyprus," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-28, December.
    9. Robert T. Nyamushosho & Shadreck Chirikure & Ari Sitas & Eric N. Maṱhoho, 2022. "Modelling Land Use in The Gold Belt Territories of Iron Age Southern Zambezia," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-27, August.

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