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

Giorgos Papantoniou and Athanasios K. Vionis
Additional contact information
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

Land, 2017, vol. 6, issue 2, 1-18

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.

Keywords: Cyprus; landscape archaeology; sacred space; political power; economy; religion; ideology; ancient sanctuaries; churches (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/6/2/40/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/6/2/40/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:6:y:2017:i:2:p:40-:d:101465

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().