This volume is composed of revised papers originally presented in 2014 at the first symposium in the series ‘The Emergence of Sacred Travel: Experience, Economy, and Connectivity in Ancient Mediterranean Pilgrimage’, sponsored by the Danish Council for Independent Researchers. It contains thirteen chapters on material ranging from the Near Eastern Axial Age (800–200 bce) to Late Antiquity, an introduction and two response papers. The chapters are arranged roughly chronologically and are diverse in geographic and cultural scope, focusing primarily on Greek and early Christian material. Only one chapter deals with Near Eastern material in-depth and only two address Roman subjects. Although this may be a disappointment to specialists in some fields, it is by no means a criticism of the volume, but rather a call for similar volumes focused on other areas.
In their introductory chapter the editors highlight the volume's general interest in reconstructing religious experience by means of architecture and other archaeological remains, and its desire to explore ‘how we can work with pilgrimage based on material evidence, and how we can use pilgrimage as an analytical framework in studying religious practices and experiences in the ancient world’ (p. 6). They also point out the methodological challenge of identifying pilgrimage sites and interpreting them ‘based exclusively or primarily on material evidence’ (p. 2). This raises one of the great tensions of the volume: how does one identify pilgrimage sites without recourse to the literary and epigraphic record? This underlying theme is fundamental to the volume and is discussed eloquently in J. Elsner's response chapter. The editors also address the problem of defining pilgrimage. As they note, definitions vary widely in the scholarship, and some of those definitions are not practical when dealing with the archaeological record. They therefore call for flexible definitions, which are provided throughout the volume. The introduction is a useful entrée into the field of pilgrimage studies and this volume.
In the first substantial chapter J. McCorriston maintains that ‘the ancient Near East of the Bronze and Iron Ages arguably was formative to the emergence of great pilgrimage traditions in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam’ (p. 11) and tracks the emergence of pilgrimage from the mobile societies of the Neolithic and Bronze Age to post-exile Judaism. She argues that pilgrimage among mobile societies could be syncretised with state formation, using Judaism as her prime example.
I. Nielsen presents an admirable synthesis of the evidence available for the processions, entrances and architectural context of the mystery cults of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis and at Andania and of Kabeiros in Thebes. This may serve as an ideal primer for students and scholars alike. Nielsen not only provides a synopsis of the material and previous scholarship but she frames her examination as one of mini-pilgrimages. This conceptualisation reminds the reader that pilgrimages need not be of great length.
B. Wescoat examines movement through the physical space of the sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace. Specifically, she analyses the evolution of the sacred way that ran from the city to the centre of the sanctuary itself. In so doing, she demonstrates that the sacred way was carefully manipulated over generations to provide a unique experience for the pilgrims that visited the site. This is most convincingly achieved in her discussion of descents and ascents, light and dark, and restriction and release. Although there is little evidence of the form of the rituals performed at Samothrace, Wescoat manages to reconstruct pilgrims’ experience of the topography and its relationship to the mysteries themselves.
K. Jürgens provides a useful summary of what is known of the Hellenistic agora, temenos of Artemis at Magnesia-on-the-Menander and the procession associated with the Panhellenic festival of Artemis Leukophryene, while also supplying ‘a plausible reconstruction of the processional route based on infrastructural considerations and the symbolic structure embedded within the state’ (p. 92). Jürgens makes good use of the epigraphic, iconographic and artistic evidence to explain his reasoning and the significance of the festival. By doing so, his efforts epitomise the volume's various themes and reveal the experiences of pilgrims (especially theoroi) within the physical and conceptual context of the festival.
A. Petsalis-Diomidis’s contribution is among the most interesting. She argues for the importance of ‘palimpsest’ and ‘virtuality’ at the Amphiareion at Oropos by demonstrating the importance of epigrams and dedications in Hellenistic literature and linking these literary sources to epigraphic and sculptural material from the Amphiareion. By doing so she cleverly exposes the ways in which the epigraphy and dedications were manipulated in the Hellenistic period to invoke Classical material, commemorate present and past pilgrims and build ideological and political ties with other Hellenic communities. This is a chapter that rewards rereading and careful consideration in relation to many other sites.
M. Grünewald analyses the archaeological remains of thermal spring sanctuaries north of the Alps. He argues that long-distance pilgrimages to spas were undertaken in the Gallic and Germanic provinces in the Roman period, contrary to earlier scholarly opinion. While this contribution is less concerned with the topography of individual sanctuaries than many of the others in this volume, its clear argument is significant and does a great deal to resolve a lingering problem in the study of pilgrimage in the West.
S. Stevens turns the discussion from regional sanctuaries to local tombs, arguing that the Romans’ visits to their ancestors’ tombs constituted a sort of local pilgrimage. Stevens's case is compelling and highlights the difficulty of defining pilgrimage in a comprehensive, yet restrictive manner. Stevens demonstrates that long- and short-range, religious and secular travel could be considered pilgrimage according to broad definitions.
A.M. Yasin embarks on an examination of the use of imperial and late antique monumental arches for ‘dramatic intensification’ of visitors’ experiences at the late antique Christian pilgrimage sites of Qal'at Sem'an, Sinai, Abu Mena and Tebessa to demonstrate similarities in the way monumental arches are used to punctuate pilgrims’ physical and conceptual progress to and from their objectives in the classical, late antique, pagan and Christian eras.
H. Hunter-Crawley revisits the sites of Abu Mena and Qal'at Sem'an to study the practical experiences of pilgrims to those sites. She points out that the approach to the Mena's tomb was characterised by ever-narrowing spaces and slowing movement, from the open countryside to the saint's tomb and basilica. Here the communal experience of pilgrimage is juxtaposed with a more intimate interaction with the Mena's remains. Hunter-Crawley sees parallels with the bodily transformations achieved in the local bathhouses and physical changes in ampullae exposed to the sacred oils of the site. She also argues for a similar process at Qal'at Sem'an in which pilgrimage was a mimesis of Symeon's way of life.
L. Blanke in her study of the Monastery of St Shenoute (The White Monastery) summarises the textual evidence for the growth of the site as a destination for pilgrims from the fourth to the twelfth centuries and the archaeological remains of the monastery, dating from the fourth to seventh centuries. Her analysis of these sources is suitably sceptical of direct connections but provides an elegant demonstration of the benefits of an inclusive approach.
Kristensen promises to ‘propose some ways in which a broader palette of archaeological approaches can shed light on one particular pilgrimage site, Meriamlik’ (p. 224). Kristensen's analysis encompasses textual evidence from the fourth century and archaeology from the late fifth century and later. This evidence is used to illuminate the ‘religious economy’ of the site. This reveals that pilgrimage was a means by which religious sites and communities survived and grew wealthy, as well as a reflection of Christian faith and practice beginning in the fourth century.
V. Drbal categorises Christian pilgrimage sites in two groups; some had been sites of pagan pilgrimage before being superseded by Christian pilgrimages. He argues, based on textual evidence, that Mamre in Palestine was the focus of Christian, Jewish and pagan pilgrimage simultaneously in Late Antiquity. This argument challenges literary evidence from Eusebius and other Christian sources and thereby asserts the primacy of archaeology. This approach is of particular value in this volume and reveals the potential of archaeological evidence to resolve contradictions in the literary record.
The volume concludes with responses by J. Elsner and J.N. Bremmer. Elsner highlights the lack of attention paid to archaeology in previous scholarship of ancient pilgrimage and to pilgrimage in the archaeology of ancient religion. He points out the importance of the volume's focus on archaeology in an attempt to move away from the elite focus of literary, documentary and oral texts. He also, however, recognises the absence of unambiguous archaeological traces of pilgrimage and the resulting dependence on literary evidence to identify pilgrimage centres securely. Here Elsner penetrates to the heart of this collection. Many of the contributions reconstruct the experiences of pilgrims at sites which can only be identified as pilgrimage centres by means of the literary record. Elsner also theorises that pilgrimage is not an objective act, but rather a ‘post hoc description’ (p. 270) applied to journeys only in retrospect and as part of a narrative that redefines experiences as pilgrimage. This narrative is, then, the progenitor of pilgrimage and can only be transmitted through text (literary, documentary or oral). This leaves one to wonder, as Elsner does, how we might move beyond this dependence on textual evidence.
In the second response, Bremmer questions the utility of the terms ‘pilgrim’ and ‘pilgrimage’ in scholarship of antiquity. Bremmer points out that no direct equivalent to our modern usage of these terms exists in classical Greek or Latin. Thus, we are in danger of erroneously projecting modern conceptions of pilgrimage on antiquity. Here we face the problem of attempting to reconstruct motivations and intentions through the archaeological record. The literary record can provide us with windows into the minds of ‘pilgrims’ but the archaeological record cannot. The book concludes quite suitably with Bremmer's statement that ‘both texts and artefacts are necessary to acquire a full picture of ancient and modern pilgrimages’ (p. 281), but also with a sense that there is more to be done. Bremmer is certainly correct that both literary and archaeological evidence must be brought to bear on these issues, but we might also hope for more theoretical consideration of their use. This volume constitutes an important and welcome step in that direction, and I hope we may look forward to more in the future.
