BernBabylon Volume 1 (2024)

Date of presentation: 8 November 2024

DOI of publication on Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.15540016

Date of publication on Zenodo: 31 May 2025

Keywords: Network Analysis, Constructional Grammar, Sumerian

Abstract

This paper will use Network Analysis to showcase the connections between different morphemes contained within the Sumerian verbal prefix chain. It should also highlight the importance of Network Analysis for morphological research, especially in the field of constructional grammar. In a first step, my research is focused on the group of Sumerian verbal prefix chains containing the so-called neutral prefix with its variants -i- and -e- and their connections – or lack thereof – to other morphemes. Recording and interpreting the difference of usage of these variants by using Network Analysis is the purpose of this paper. As a basis for my research I use the verbs occurring in royal inscriptions of the Early Dynastic period of ancient Mesopotamia. For this I rely on the ETCSRI database, and for the later visualization of my datapoints on the program Gephi. The results show that a clear rigidity is visible in the prefix chains following an -i- variant of the neutral prefix, while the -e- variant seems to head a more flexible chain. By using Network Analysis for a more grammatical and morphological approach I was able to better visualize my results than it would have been possible with conventional methods.

Video Recording

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Bibliography

Edzard, Dietz Otto. 2003. Sumerian Grammar. Leiden: Brill.

Falkenstein, Adam. 1978. Grammatik der Sprache Gudeas von Lagash. Rom: Pontificium Institutum biblicum.

Foxvog, Daniel. 2008. Introduction to Sumerian Grammar. online

Jagersma, Abraham. 1955. A descriptive Grammar of Sumerian. Leiden.

Thomsen, Marie-Louise. 1984. The Sumerian Language: An Introduction to Its History and Grammatical Structure. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag.

Zólyomi, Gábor. 2016. An introduction to the grammar of Sumerian. Budapest.

Date of presentation: 7 November 2024

DOI of publication on Zenodo: 10.0.20.161/zenodo.15546404

Date of publication on Zenodo: …

Keywords: Mesopotamian Beliefs, Duality, Sin, Shamash

Abstract

For centuries, Mesopotamia has been a crucible in which numerous belief systems have blended, and a fertile ground from which different civilisations have emerged. Mesopotamian beliefs, which represent a great diversity, have incorporated many deities that form the cultural structure of the Middle East and Anatolia.
The main focus of this article is whether there was a dual structure among the belief systems of this geography, where many civilisations such as Sumer, Akkad, Assyria/Babylon and the monotheistic religions were born. Despite the Polytheistic Mesopotamian beliefs, the presence of a dual structure between the Sun and Moon gods is the main theme of this article. In Mesopotamian belief, Sin and Shamash were the focal points where this dual structure was observed. This dual structure is analysed and classified from two different perspectives: temporal and universal.
On the basis of the data obtained, it is evident that the division of tasks between these two deities demonstrates the duality between the netherworld and the upperworld. Throughout the research, the dual structures existing between Sin and Shamash have been categorised into temporal and universal aspects, and then analysed within the framework of these two different classifications.

Video Recording

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Bibliography

Çelebi, Nurgül. 2021. Sin Şamaş düalitesi ve dinlerdeki yansıması, Ankara Üniversitesi, Ankara.​

Hätinen, Aino. 2021. The Moon God Sin in Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Times. Münster: Zaphon Verlag.​

Leick, Gwendolyn (ed.). 1998. A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology. London: Rouledge.​

Leick, Gwendolyn. 1998. s.v. Sin. In A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology, ed. Gwendolyn Leick. London: Rouledge.​

Lurker, Manfred (ed.). 2004. A Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons. London: Rouledge.​

Lurker, Manfred. 2004. s.v. Shamash. In A Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons, ed. Manfred Lurker. London: Rouledge.​

Schmidt, Brian. 1999. s.v. Moon. In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, ed. Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking and Pieter W. van der Horst. Leiden, Boston, Köln: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.​

van der Toorn, Karel, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst (eds.). 1999. Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Leiden, Boston, Köln: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Date of presentation: 8 November 2024

DOI of publication on Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.15546569

Date of publication on Zenodo: 31 December 2025

Keywords: Northern Black Sea Littoral, Gray Ware, Hand-made Pottery

Abstract

The period from the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE is fascinating in the history of the Don Delta region. At the beginning of the 1st century BCE, the city of Tanais, the region’s most significant center of ancient culture, was captured by the Bosporan king Polemon I. However, it was quickly rebuilt and revived. During this time, 11 fortified settlements were established in the Don Delta. Years of research at these sites have identified the hillforts as Maeotian, with elements of Sarmatian culture. The connections between these hillforts and Tanais also seem indisputable. During this time, many changes occurred, particularly noticeable in material culture. One of them is the widespread distribution of a new category of ceramic vessels: gray ware. Another commonly found category of ceramic material is hand-made pottery.
In my presentation, I would like to attempt to showcase the features of Maeotian and Sarmatian cultures through these material categories.

Video Recording

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Bibliography

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Bespalyy, G. Ye. 1999. Khozyaystvennyye sooruzhenya Khaprovskogo gorodishcha. Istoriko-arkheologicheskiye issledovaniya v Azove i na Nizhnem Donu v 1998 16: 156–160.

Brachenko, S. N. 1957. Pravoberezhnoye Mokro-Chaltyrskoye gorodishche na Donu. Sovetskaya arkheologiya 2: 188–196.

Gorbenko, A. A. and V. M. Kosyanenko. 2011. Nekropol’ Paniardisa (Krepostnogo gorodishcha). Azov.

Kamenetskiy, S. I. 1974. Itogi issledovaniya podazovskogo gorodishcha. Sovetskaya arkheologiya 4: 212–222.

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Kozlovskaya, V. and S. M. Ilyashenko. 2018. Tamgas and tamga-like signs from Tanais. In Zeichentragende Artefakte im sakralen Raum. Zwischen Präsenz und Unsichtbarkeit, eds. W.E. Keil, S. Kiyanrad, C. Theis and L. Willer, 167–198. Berlin.

Kozlovskaya, V. and S. M. Ilyashenko. 2013. The lower city of Tanais. In Exploring the Hospitable Sea. Proceedings of the International Workshop on the Black Sea in Antiquity held in Thessaloniki, 21–23 September 2012, ed. M. Manoledakis, 83–94. Oxford.

Mayor, A. and J. Colarusso. 2014. Making Sense of Nonsense Inscriptions associated with Amazons and Scythians on Athenian Vases, Hesperia 83: 447–493.

Shelov, D. B. 1966. Nizhne-Donskaya ekspeditsiya v 1962–1963 gg, Kratkiya soobshcheniya instituta arkheologii 107: 92–99.

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Date of presentation: 7 November 2024

DOI of publication on Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.15590040

Date of publication on Zenodo: 11 June 2025

Keywords: Greek Pottery, Euboea, Early Iron Age

Abstract

Within the present talk I would like to summarise my research on the pendent semicircle skyphoi, a ceramic class produced in Euboea (Greece) between the 10th and the 8th century BCE, considered of great importance for the study of the Greek/Euboean trade within the Early Iron Age Mediterranean.
My approach has been that of tracking and studying all the available evidence about this class within a region-by-region survey, in order to reconstruct a diachronic map of distribution and to present an archaeologically based chronology for the ceramic class. Such work was felt necessary since the previous typological study, presented by Rosalind Kearsley during the late eighties, has been considered problematic in respect to the absolute chronology by several scholars soon after its publication, and a new proposal was still lacking despite the consistent growth of evidence that had since been discovered.
The new data acquired will be therefore presented critically, discussing the potentialities and the limits of the archaeological datum concerning the definition of an accurate and relatable chronology as well as its relation with the evolution of the vessel’s shape through time.

Video Recording

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Bibliography

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Forcellino, D. 2023. The Pendent Semicircle Skyphoi: an update. AION. Annali di Archeologia e Storia Antica Nuova Serie 30: 87–112.

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Kerschner, M. 2014. Euboean Imports to the Eastern Aegean and Eastern Aegean Production of Pottery in the Euboean Style: New Evidence from Neutron Activation Analyses. In Archaeometric Analyses of Euboean and Euboean Related Pottery: New Results and their Interpretations, Proceedings of the Round Table Conference held at the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Athens, 15 and 16 April 2011, eds. M. Kerschner and I. S. Lemos, 109–140. Wien.

Kourou, N. 2021. Pots and graves: The lost cemeteries of Early Iron Age Tenos. Bruxelles.

Catling, R. W. V. and I. S. Lemos. 1990. The Pottery. In Lefkandi II: The Ρrotogeometric Building at Toumba, Part I, eds. Popham, M. R., L. H. Sackett, and P. G. Calligas. London.

Popham, M. R. and I. S. Lemos. 1992. Review of KEARSLEY 1989, Gnomon 64 (2): 152–155.

Popham, M. R. and I. S. Lemos (eds.). 1996. Lefkandi III: The Toumba Cemetery: The Excavations of 1981, 1984, 1986 and 1992-1994: Plates, Supplementary Volume (British School at Athens) 29: i–205.

Reber, K. 2011. Céramique eubéenne à Naxos au début de l’Âge du Fer. In The “Dark Ages” Revisited, Acts of an International Symposium in Memory of William D. E. Coulson, University of Thessaly, Volos, 14–17 June 2007, ed. A. Mazarakis Ainian, 929–942. Volos.

Riis, P.J. and I. Sūkās. 1970. The North-East sanctuary and the first settling of Greeks in Syria and Palestine. Copenhagen.

Reber, K., S. Huber, and S. Fachard. 2008. Les Activités De L’école Suisse D’archéologie En Grèce 2007, Antike Kunst 51: 146–179.

Verdan, S., A. Kenzelmann Pfyffer, and C. Léderrey. 2008. Céramique géométrique d’Érétrie. Gollion.

Voza, G. 1999. Nel segno dell’antico. Archeologia nel territorio di Siracusa. Palermo.

Zanini, E. and S. Costa. 2011. Ceramica e contesti nel Quartiere Bizantino del Pythion di Gortina (Creta): alla ricerca della “complessità” nella datazione. In Late Roman fine wares: solving problems of typology and chronology: a review of the evidence, debate and new contexts, ed. M.A. Cau Ontiveros, 33–44. Oxford.

Date of presentation: 8 November 2024

DOI of publication on Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.15589773

Date of publication on Zenodo: 23 March 2026

Keywords: Moesia Inferior, Severus Alexander, Epigraphy

Abstract

The paper explores the military activities and geopolitical landscape in Moesia Inferior during Severus Alexander’s reign (230–235 CE). Drawing upon epigraphic evidence and historical accounts, the study focuses on the construction and restoration of fortifications, road networks, and strategic outposts in response to increasing threats from barbarian tribes and the Persian Empire.
The investigation highlights the pivotal role of provincial governor in overseeing these initiatives and adapting to changing geopolitical dynamics. Additionally, it investigates the imperial visit of Severus Alexander to Moesia Inferior in 234 CE. The movements of Roman military forces, particularly the vexillatio of legio XI Claudia in Crimea and along the Black Sea coast, are examined for strategic insights. The absence of Lower Moesian units in Severus Alexander’s Persian campaign is analyzed, with hypotheses proposed linking this occurrence to the looming threat posed by barbarian incursions. An analysis based on available archaeological and written sources sheds light on the situation in the province of Moesia Inferior, just before the crisis.

Video Recording

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Date of presentation: 8 November 2024

DOI of publication on Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.15589836

Date of publication on Zenodo: 27 March 2026

Keywords: Length-measuring Units, Mathematical Approaches, Grids

Abstract

Previous studies conducted on length metrology in Mesopotamia, from Ur III to Neo-Assyrian period, and in Iran on the Achaemenid period, in particular in Persepolis and Susa, have substantially added to our current knowledge of the field. However, it is the case with most of the studies that either they infer the length units from ancient textual sources, or they try to derive the units with the help of mathematical approaches.
This study tries to put the reliability of using only mathematical approaches, which used to be the most common methodology in previous studies, into test by examining the previously proposed units in Persepolis on most of the measurements on the current ground plan of the four Achaemenid buildings in Persepolis and see if the units can be confirmed by the majority of the plans. Our approach combines descriptive, historical, and analytic research that includes data collection, library research, analyzing of building plans of Persepolis, field surveys, observations, documentation, and the analysis of data with MATLAB and AutoCAD. The building plans that are used in this research were created by the arse-Pasargadae research foundation in 2015; however, this research focuses only on four Achaemenid building namely, the Hundred-Column Hall (486-424 BCE), Apadana (515 BCE), Hadish (486-465 BCE) and Tachar (486 BCE) in Persepolis.
We will also try to introduce an alternative methodology, which can be useful in cases where no textual sources are available to scholars. This alternative method includes drawing grids of same sized squares on architectural plans and then derives the length-measuring units based on how well the grids cover the whole plan and fall on the main outlines of the plan. The use of grids for inferring the length-units of a building is used for the first time in this study. However, there are Ottoman architecture plans with blind checkered grids, on which the ground plan of a building is laid as well as ancient Egyptian paintings which still have the primary grids, on which the paintings were scaled and carefully drawn. Such former use of grids has inspired the writers to take advantage of these grids for the purpose of ancient length metrology studies.

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Date of presentation: 7 November 2024

DOI of publication on Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.15534894

Date of publication on Zenodo: 30 May 2025

Keywords: Mountains, Sacred Landscapes, Religious Atmospheres

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the sacredness of remote mountainous landscapes in the Mediterranean, with a special focus on Attica and the Peloponnese during antiquity, from the Geometric to the Hellenistic era. Since large parts of Greece consist of mountainous regions, mountains did not only have an economic and social relevance, but are also places where sanctuaries were located, making them into sacred landscapes and places of ritual practices of ancient communities.
The exploration of mountains as sacred spaces prompts the questions about the human-environment interactions in these remote areas at the margin of the polis. In these sanctuaries, both the natural features such as altitude, visibility or vegetation as well as built architecture like temples, altars or temenos play an important role in creating a sacred atmosphere and offer insights into the ways in which ancient communities engaged with their environment. Moreover, mountains also play an important role in ancient myths and, in addition to their significance as places frequented by humans, making them into imaginary landscapes inhabited by deities and mystical creatures.
In summary, this paper aims to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of mountains as sacred landscapes, exploring the interconnections between mountainous regions, cult architecture and practices in peripheral areas.

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Bibliography

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Cardete, María Cruz. 2019. Long and Short‐distance Transhumance in Ancient Greece: The Case of Arkadia. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 38 (1): 105–121. doi: 10.1111/ojoa.12162.

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Guggisberg, Martin (ed.). 2013. Grenzen in Ritual und Kult der Antike: Internationales Kolloquium, Basel, 5-6 november 2009. Basel: Schwabe Basel.

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Kokkorou-Alevras, Georgia, Eirene Poupki, Alexis Eustathopoulos, Efstathia Rigatou, and Αchilleas Chatziconstantinou. 2019. An Overview on ancient Quarries of Southeastern Attica: The Ancient Quarries of Hymettus Revisited. Athens University Review of Archaeology 2 (2): 117–136.

König, Jason. 2022. The Folds of Olympus: Mountains in ancient Greek and Roman culture. Princeton.

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Papantoniou, Giorgos, Athanasios K. Vionis, and Christine E. Morris (eds.). 2019. Unlocking Sacred Landscapes: Religious and Insular Identities in Context. Nicosia: Astrom Editions.

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Romano, David Gilman, and Mary E. Voyatzis. 2015. Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project, Part 2: The Lower Sanctuary. Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens 84 (2): 207. doi: 10.2972/hesperia.84.2.0207.

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Zinn, Frank. 2020. Griechische Heiligtümer: Kult, Architektur und Funktion. Norderstedt: Books on Demand GmbH.

Date of presentation: 8 November 2024

DOI of publication on Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.15589892

Date of publication on Zenodo: …

Keywords: Silent Witness, Everyday Objects, Pottery, Hellenistic Ceramic

Abstract

Witnesses of time are people who have experienced historical events. In German history, the term is especially associated with Holocaust survivors, who can share firsthand accounts of their tragic experiences. However, witnesses of time do not always have to be people with memories and experiences; objects can also serve as so-called silent witnesses.
In historical studies, silent witnesses are artifacts that, through their existence and context, provide valuable information about history. Everyday objects are particularly significant, as their ordinary nature offers insights into the daily lives of people. As archaeologists, we encounter silent artifacts on a daily basis; their interpretation is a significant part of our scientific output. The most commonly preserved silent artifact from past cultures is pottery, which, unlike precious metals, can survive for millennia. Pottery, especially in the form of everyday objects like cooking pots or storage vessels, provides valuable insights into the daily life of ancient cultures.
The talk aims to view the pottery as a silent witness to the daily lives of the people who produced, used, and distributed it, employing the theoretical approach of everyday objects. As a case study, the Hellenistic pottery from the site of Sirkeli Höyük, Turkey, is used.

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Bibliography

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Bätscher, F. and S. Marxer. (accepted). Reprocessing Excavations from the 1990s. The Forgotten Sirkeli Höyük Hellenistic Contexts and their Pottery. ARWA Journals.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. 2010. Warum wir Dinge brauchen. In Mit den Dingen leben. Zur Geschichte der Alltagsgegenstände, eds. A. Ortlepp and C. Ribbat, 22–33. Transatlantische Historische Studien 39. Stuttgart.

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Kreutz, N. 2011. Die Siedlung auf dem Sirkeli Höyük (Prov. Adana) in hellenistischer Zeit- In Hellenismus in der Kilikia Pedias. Bericht zum Internationalen Kolloquium im Deutschen Archäologischen Institut Berlin am 13. und 14. Februar 2009, ed. A. Hoffmann, 139–154. Istanbul.

Kreutz, N. and K. Langenegger. 2019. Kulturstufe LCI 1. In Sirkeli Höyük. Ein urbanes Zentrum am Puruna-Pyramos im Ebenen Kilikien: Vorbericht der schweizerisch-türkischen Ausgrabungen 2006-2015, eds. M. Novák, E. Kozal, and D. Yaşin, …–…. Schriften zur Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 13. Wiesbaden.

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Marxer, S. 2020. Die Stratigraphie und die „Late Cilician 1“ (LCI 1) Keramik des Sektors C in Sirkeli Höyük, Masterthesis University of Bern.

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Marxer, S. 2024. Materielle Kultur in Bewegung. Die LCI 1-zeitliche Keramik aus Sirkeli Höyük, PhD thesis University of Bern / Philipps University of Marburg.

Novák, M., E. Kozal, and D. Yaşin-Meier (eds.). 2019. Sirkeli Höyük. Ein urbanes Zentrum am Puruna-Pyramos im Ebenen Kilikien: Vorbericht der schweizerisch-türkischen Ausgrabungen 2006–2015, Schriften zur Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 13. Wiesbaden.

Novák, M. et al. 2017. A comparative stratigraphy of Cilicia, Altorientalische Forschungen 44 (2): 150–186.

Ortlepp, A. and C. Ribbat. 2010. Einleitung. In Mit den Dingen leben. Zur Geschichte der Alltagsgegenstände, eds. A. Ortlepp and C. Ribbat, 7–21, Transatlantische Historische Studien 39. Stuttgart.

Pfälzner, P. 1995., Mittanische und Mittelassyrische Keramik. Eine chronologische, funktionale und produktionsökonomische Analyse, Berichte der Ausgrabung Tall Šēḫ Ḥamad/Dūr-Katlimmu 3. Berlin.

Rutishauser, S. 2019. Hellenistic sites in Plain Cilicia. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.2591735.

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Wierling, D. 2016. Besitzen und Benutzen, Geben und Nehmen. Die Dinge in der Alltagsgeschichte*, Zeitgeschichte-online. online.

Date of presentation: 7 November 2024

DOI of publication on Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.15589934

Date of publication on Zenodo: 10 June 2025

Keywords: Zooarchaeology, Cilicia, Functional Analysis

Abstract

During the 2018 campaign, a large collection of animal bones was found within Building D1 of Sirkeli Höyük. Laid down on a stone installation, the accumulation of animal bones comprises mostly sheep and goat bones, which can be assigned to the NCI 3 period (950–720 BCE) and the construction phase D6 of Building D1. Building D1 was originally founded in the NCI2 period (1130–950 BCE). Initially, it consisted only of one large room, with an open space lying to the south of the building. In the construction phases D7 and D6, five further rooms were added. With this expansion, Building D1 was given a public character.
The study presented here focuses on the analysis of the animal bone spectrum as well as the taphonomic factors that influenced the bones during the time the stone installation was in use. This study aims to reconstruct the function and cultural meaning of the stone installation and its animal bone collection. A further goal is to understand whether the architectural changes observed in Building D1 are also reflected in the animal bone assemblage.

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Bibliography

Deschler-Erb, S. 2006. Leimsiederei- und Räuchereiwarenabfälle des 3. Jahrhunderts aus dem Bereich zwischen Frauenthermen und Theater von Augusta Raurica. Jahresberichte aus August und Kaiseraugst 27: 323–346.

Ekroth, Gunnel, and Jenny Wallensten (eds.). 2013. Bones, behaviour and belief. The zooarchaeological evidence as a source for ritual practice in ancient Greece and beyond. Stockholm.

Mouton, A. 2004. Anatomie animale: le festin carné des dieux d’après les textes Hittites I: les membres an- térieurs. Colloquium Anatolicum 2: 67–92.

Novák, Mirko. 2019. Urbanistik. In Sirkeli Höyük. Ein urbanes Zentrum am Puruna-Pyramos im Ebenen Kilikien. Vorbericht der schweizerisch-türkischen Ausgrabungen 2006–2015, eds. Mirko Novák, E. Kozal, and D. Yaşin, 368–379. Wiesbaden.

Novák, Mirko, E. Kozal, and D. Yaşin (eds.). 2019. Sirkeli Höyük. Ein urbanes Zentrum am Puruna-Pyramos im Ebenen Kilikien. Vorbericht der schweizerisch-türkischen Ausgrabungen 2006–2015. Wiesbaden.

Orton, D. C. 2010. A New Tool for Zooarchaeological Analysis: ArcGIS Skeletal Templates for Some Common Mammalian Species. Internet Archaeology 28. doi: 10.11141/ia.28.4.

Popkin, P. 2013. Hittite animal sacrifice. Integrating zooarchaeology and textual analysis. In Bones, behaviour and belief. The zooarchaeological evidence as a source for ritual practice in ancient Greece and beyond, eds. Gunnel Ekroth and Jenny Wallensten, 102–114. Stockholm.

Rosenbauer, R. and S. Rutishauser. 2019. Fernerkundung. In Sirkeli Höyük. Ein urbanes Zentrum am Puruna-Pyramos im Ebenen Kilikien. Vorbericht der schweizerisch-türkischen Ausgrabungen 2006–2015, eds. Mirko Novák, E. Kozal, and D. Yaşin, 46–52. Wiesbaden.

Vogler, U. 1997. Faunenhistorische Untersuchungen am Sirkeli Höyük/Adana, Türkei (4.-1. Jahrtausend v. Chr.), PhD diss., Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

Date of presentation: 7 November 2024

DOI of publication on Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.15589973

Date of publication on Zenodo: 7 June 2025

Keywords: Resilience, Memory, Abandonment

Abstract

For decades, it was assumed that the special buildings at the Neolithic settlement of Göbekli Tepe (9500-8000 calBCE) were intentionally backfilled (“buried”) at the end of their use. But considering the landscape, earthquakes, and climate with strong winter rainfalls, severe land slide events led to their recurring destruction in Neolithic times. Yet, the inhabitants managed to repair the structures over hundreds of years, while others became abandoned. But were they?
My research at Göbekli Tepe reveals that ruins were in fact dynamic interaction spheres where the inhabitants intensively extracted building materials – pillar fragments, grinding stones, re-used wall stones – to maintain others. This, over time, led to the constant re-production of the site and the creation of memory spaces. But ruin interactions at Göbekli Tepe still take place nowadays – by archaeologists, conservation specialists, and countless visitors.
While focusing on the past, we often oversee that fieldwork forms a distinctly detectable re-occupation layer that I refer to as the Anthropocene horizon. While documenting its dimensions during a survey, I highlight to which degree the Anthropocene has already infiltrated the stratigraphy and raise awareness about the impact of excavations today. So, is there anything such as abandonment at all?

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Bibliography

Breuers, J., and M. Kinzel. 2022. „[…] but it is not clear at all where the […] debris had been taken from […]“ Chipped Stone Artefacts, Architecture and Site Formation Processes at Göbekli Tepe. In Tracking the Neolithic in the Near East: Lithic Perspectives on its Origins, Development and Dispersals. The Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on the PPN Chipped and Ground Stones Industries of the Near East, Tokyo, 12th-16th November 2019, ed. Y. Nishiaki, O. Maeda and M. Arimura, 469–488. Leiden.

Clare, L. 2020. Göbekli Tepe, Turkey. A brief summary of research at a new World Heritage Site (2015-2019). https://publications.dainst.org/journals/index.php/efb/article/view/2596.

Editorial Collective (ed.). 2023. What does this have to do with Archaeology? Essays on the Occasion of the 65th Birthday of Reinhard Bernbeck. Leiden.

Gebauer, A. B., L. Sørensen, A. Teather, and A. de Valera (eds.). 2020. Monumentalizing life in Neolithic Europe: Narratives of continuity and change. Oxford.

Hansen, S. (ed.). 2010. Leben auf dem Tell als soziale Praxis. Beiträge des Internationalen Symposiums in Berlin vom 26.-27. Februar 2007. Bonn.

Hess, C. W., and F. Manuelli (eds.). 2022. Bridging the Gap: Disciplines, Times, and Spaces in Dialogue Vol. 1. Sessions 1, 2, and 5 from the Conference Broadening Horizons 6 held at the Freie Universität Berlin, 24–28 June 2019. Oxford.

Kinzel, M. 2022. Göbekli Tepe – World Sensation between Scientific Research and Media Demands. In World Heritage Sites – Transnational Conservation, Communication, Cooperation, ed. A. Riedel and S. Winghart, 104–109. Berlin.

Kinzel, M., and L. Clare. 2020. Monumental—Compared to what? A perspective from Göbekli Tepe. In Monumentalizing life in Neolithic Europe: Narratives of continuity and change, ed. A. B. Gebauer, L. Sørensen, A. Teather and A. de Valera, 31–50. Oxford.

Kinzel, M., L. Clare, and Sönmez D. 2021. Built on rock—Towards a reconstruction of the ’Neolithic’ topography of Göbekli Tepe. Istanbuler Mitteilungen 70: 9–45.

Klinkenberg, V. 2016. Reading Rubbish: Using Assemblages to reconstruct Activities, Modes of Deposition and Abandonment at the Late Bronze Age DUNNU of Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria. Leiden.

Knitter, D., R. Braun, L. Clare, M. Nykamp, and B. Schütt. 2019. Göbekli Tepe: A Brief Description of the Environmental Development in the Surroundings of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Land 8: 72.

Nishiaki, Y., O. Maeda, and M. Arimura (eds.). 2022. Tracking the Neolithic in the Near East: Lithic Perspectives on its Origins, Development and Dispersals. The Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on the PPN Chipped and Ground Stones Industries of the Near East, Tokyo, 12th-16th November 2019. Leiden.

Riedel, A., and S. Winghart (eds.). 2022. World Heritage Sites – Transnational Conservation, Communication, Cooperation. Berlin.

Schmidt, K. 2010. Göbekli Tepe – der Tell als Erinnerungsort. In Leben auf dem Tell als soziale Praxis. Beiträge des Internationalen Symposiums in Berlin vom 26.-27. Februar 2007, ed. S. Hansen, 13–23. Bonn.

Schönicke, Julia. “All Places are Temporary Places”—Abandonment and Ruin Interactions at the Neolithic Settlement of Göbekli Tepe in the Neolithic and Anthropocene, Berlin.

Schönicke, Julia. 2022. There and Back Again – Towards a New Understanding of Abandonment Practices at the Neolithic Settlement Göbekli Tepe. In Bridging the Gap: Disciplines, Times, and Spaces in Dialogue Vol. 1. Sessions 1, 2, and 5 from the Conference Broadening Horizons 6 held at the Freie Universität Berlin, 24–28 June 2019, ed. C. W. Hess and F. Manuelli, 212–239. Oxford.

Schönicke, Julia. 2023. Capitalizing Ruins or Ruins of Capitalism—Göbekli Tepe and the Impact of Excavations in the Anthropocene. In What does this have to do with Archaeology? Essays on the Occasion of the 65th Birthday of Reinhard Bernbeck, ed. Editorial Collective, 421–438. Leiden.

Date of presentation: 8 November 2024

DOI of publication on Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.15590034

Date of publication on Zenodo: 7 June 2025

Keywords: Dance, Cyprus, Iconography

Abstract

Dance is a global phenomenon that appears all throughout human history in various contexts, with various purposes and in various forms. Archaeologically, despite the ubiquity of dance representations in ancient art and supporting evidence to dance as a social and cultic activity in ancient literary sources, only few approaches towards the subject have been made. The difficulty of reconciling one of the basic concepts of dance, movement, with the idea of stillness necessary for research, as well as an apparent lack in archaeological sources have caused researchers to shy away from the topic.
The primary objective of the PhD project Dance on Ancient Cyprus (DAnC) is to investigate the archaeological evidence of dance on the island of Cyprus during the Iron Age. The project aims to establish an understanding of how dance functioned within Cypriot society, what purposes it served, and how these aspects were conveyed iconographically.
In the present talk, the author reflects on past approaches to the study of dance in antiquity and examines the recently proposed methodology for analyzing ancient depictions of dance in Garfinkel’s Dancing at the Dawn of Agriculture (2021). Furthermore, the talk discusses how Garfinkel’s methodology is applied and adapted for the DAnC project.

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Bibliography

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