The Swedish Institute is organizing a conference entitled Bones, behaviour and belief. The osteological evidence as a source for Greek ritual practice that will take place in Athens, on the 10th-12th of September 2009.

The purpose of the conference is to highlight the role and contribution of the osteological evidence for our understanding of Greek sacrificial ritual, especially from a methodological perspective, but also to discuss the relation of the bone material to other categories of sources – texts, inscriptions, images and archaeological remains apart from bones. Of central interest are issues approachable from osteological evidence only and instances where the bone material presents a different picture than that derived from the written or pictorial sources. A group of prominent osteologists working on evidence from sanctuaries and cult places will present papers addressing questions of ritual practices from the bone material. To stimulate an increased integration of osteology in the study of Greek cult in the future and to bring out the relation of various categories of sources to each other, a group of leading scholars working on Greek religion and cult practice from other kinds of evidence than bones will participate in the discussions of the osteological papers as well as in the concluding table ronde.           

The conference will be held at the Italian School, Athens and all interested listeners are welcome to attend.

For further information, please contact gunnel.ekroth@antiken.su.se or jenny wallensten@sia.gr

Bones, behaviour and belief.

The osteological evidence as a source for Greek ritual practice  

An international symposium organized by the Swedish Institute at Athens, 10-12 September 2009    

Thursday 10/9

Italian School of Archaeology, Parthenonos 14-16 19.00               Opening lecture                        

Gerhard Forstenpointner (Veterinärmedizinische Universität, Wien): The archaeozoology of cult – perspectives and pitfalls of an experimental approach 

Followed by a reception at the Swedish Institute, Mitseon 9   

Friday 11/9

Italian School of Archaeology, Parthenonos 14-16 

9.00                 Coffee 

9.15                 Welcome and introductionGunnel Ekroth (Stockholm University): What we would like the bones to tell us: a sacrificial wish list  

1st Session    Sacred or secular 

9.45            Valasia Isaakidou (University of Sheffield) and Paul Halstead (University of Sheffield): Bones and the body politic? A diachronic analysis of structured deposition in the Neolithic-Iron Age Aegean 

10.30          Maria Vretemark  (Museum of Västergötland): Evidence of animal offerings in Iron Age Scandinavia 11.15          Coffee Break 

11.45               Peter Popkin (British Institute at Ankara): Recognition and interpretation of a singular Late Bronze Age animal sacrifice event at Kilise Tepe, Turkey  

12.30          Michael MacKinnon (University of Winnipeg): “Side” matters: Animal offerings at Ancient Nemea, Greece

 13.15          Discussion. Respondent: Robin Hägg 

13.45          Lunch Break  

2nd Session   Bones versus texts 

15.30               Dimitra Mylona (The Kalaureia Research Project, Swedish Institute at Athens):  Dealing with the unexpected. Strange animals in a Late Hellenistic/Early Roman cistern fill in the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros 

16.15               François Poplin (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris): Le sacrifice                                     bipartite de trois animaux de Thasos : de la précision dans l'ostéoarchéologie grecque 

17.30               Ola Magnell (University of Lund): The taphonomy of ritual bone depositions –  An approach to the study of animal bones and ritual practice with an example  from Viking Age Frösö, Sweden 

18.15               Discussion. Respondent: Stella Georgoudi   

Saturday 12/9

Italian School of Archaeology, Parthenonos 14-16 

3rd Session   Norms and rules 

9.30            Martine Leguilloux (Centre archéologique du Var) and Hélène Siard (Université de Paris IV–Sorbonne): Rituels sacrificiels et offrandes au Sarapeion C de Délos 

10.15               Sabine Sten (University of Gotland): Sacrificed animals in Swedish prehistoric                   graves 

11.00          Coffee Break 

11.30               Emmanuelle Vila (CNRS, Maison de l'Orient, Lyon): Les témoins ostéologiques directs ou indirects de rituels sacrificiels de deux sanctuaires d’Arcadie (Péloponèse) : Alios Elias et Athena Alea Tegea 

12.15          Armelle Gardeisen (CNRS, Montpellier): L'assemblage osseux comme un dernier état de la présence animale au sein des temples 

13.00               Deborah Ruscillo (Washington university in St Louis): Thesmophoriazusae: Mytilenean women and their secret rites 

13.45               Discussion. Respondent: Scott Scullion 

14.15               Lunch Break 

15.30               Table ronde  

 Invited discussants: 

Robin Hägg (University of Göteborg)

Stella Georgoudi (École pratique des hautes études, Paris)

Scott Scullion (Worcester College, Oxford)

Francis Prost (École normale supérieure, Paris)

Véronique Mehl (Université de Bretagne Sud)  

With the kind support of:

The National Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation

The Royal Swedish Academy of  Letters, History and Antiquitites

The Friends of the Swedish Institute at Athens  

Organizers:     Gunnel Ekroth, Department of Archaeology and Classical studies, Stockholm university, www.antiken.su.se                                   

Jenny Wallensten, Swedish Institute at Athens, www.sia.gr