Introduction [Journal of Mediterranean Studies]

Abstract

Ancient sites are today perceived as places of culture, the testimonials of a distant, little known and mythicized past. They are looked on with awe by the learned, and often with curiosity by those who have not been taught to appreciate their value. The original function of certain sites is more easily identifiable than that of others. The specific use of a Greek or Roman theatre site may be apprehended, even though most of the documented trace of its former life may be lost. Very few of the plays performed in these sites have come down to posterity, however, the few that luckily have somehow survived, allow modern visitors to conjure up, in their minds’ eye, what the site may have been like in Greek and Roman times, as well as the type of performance staged there. This is not the case with more ancient sites, such as neolithic temples. In this instance, the only texts left to posterity are inscribed in worn stones and spaces of these sites, timelessly simple, but encoded with sophisticated belief systems concerning life, reproduction and death. It is not always easy to imagine what the temples must have originally looked like, and it is even more difficult to guess at their function. It is practically impossible to grasp the type of rituals or ceremonies that were enacted on this holy ground, and their significance in the eyes of the community of the time. It is even more difficult to visualise the community itself, its appearance, its habits, its beliefs.