Etruscan coastal sanctuaries and the ancient Mediterranean : a view from the sea
Etruscan coastal sanctuaries and the ancient Mediterranean : a view from the sea
This thesis presents a holistic approach to landscape, reuniting maritime and terrestrial worlds, by using a case-study of Etruscan coastal sanctuaries. It highlights the importance of a maritime perspective for assessing ancient landscape turned towards the sea, and the role of coastal monuments within a maritime and terrestrial whole. It aims to break boundaries between land and sea created by current cognitive maps, creating a seamless approach to the landscape, crossed by paths of movement. The ancient conception of geography differed from our own: it was qualitative and value-laden, not abstract or Euclidean. Equally, the sea was invested with meaning and temporalities: a place into a space. Within this land/sea-scape, Etruscan sanctuaries were placed within the ‘liminal space’ between land and sea, bridging worlds and mediating passage.
Too often fragmented by study, the maritime Mediterranean was united by ‘connectivity’ across its sea- its core – from which the rest of the world was viewed. Mediterranean seafarers shared similar, specialised concerns, relating to their ‘maritime’ needs. The coastal sanctuaries of Etruria played into the practical, navigational needs of these seafarers; placed, however, within the liminal space – along qualitative, one-dimensional paths of movement – they took advantage of their position in order to control passage and access to the sea, bringing power and wealth to an emerging elite. The collective memory of myth and symbolism, embedded in cognitive maps and layers of memory and experience, was embodied in the natural and cultural topography of the landscape, re-inscribed with every journey. The sanctuaries afforded meaning at every level, playing into this ‘collective unconscious’, legitimising their power and placing it beyond question. This case study placed Etruria back into an interactive unity, demonstrating the existence of Mediterranean koiné of maritime experience, material and immaterial: a seafaring diaspora.
University of Southampton
2005
Luchetti, Alexandra
(2005)
Etruscan coastal sanctuaries and the ancient Mediterranean : a view from the sea.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
This thesis presents a holistic approach to landscape, reuniting maritime and terrestrial worlds, by using a case-study of Etruscan coastal sanctuaries. It highlights the importance of a maritime perspective for assessing ancient landscape turned towards the sea, and the role of coastal monuments within a maritime and terrestrial whole. It aims to break boundaries between land and sea created by current cognitive maps, creating a seamless approach to the landscape, crossed by paths of movement. The ancient conception of geography differed from our own: it was qualitative and value-laden, not abstract or Euclidean. Equally, the sea was invested with meaning and temporalities: a place into a space. Within this land/sea-scape, Etruscan sanctuaries were placed within the ‘liminal space’ between land and sea, bridging worlds and mediating passage.
Too often fragmented by study, the maritime Mediterranean was united by ‘connectivity’ across its sea- its core – from which the rest of the world was viewed. Mediterranean seafarers shared similar, specialised concerns, relating to their ‘maritime’ needs. The coastal sanctuaries of Etruria played into the practical, navigational needs of these seafarers; placed, however, within the liminal space – along qualitative, one-dimensional paths of movement – they took advantage of their position in order to control passage and access to the sea, bringing power and wealth to an emerging elite. The collective memory of myth and symbolism, embedded in cognitive maps and layers of memory and experience, was embodied in the natural and cultural topography of the landscape, re-inscribed with every journey. The sanctuaries afforded meaning at every level, playing into this ‘collective unconscious’, legitimising their power and placing it beyond question. This case study placed Etruria back into an interactive unity, demonstrating the existence of Mediterranean koiné of maritime experience, material and immaterial: a seafaring diaspora.
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Published date: 2005
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Local EPrints ID: 465884
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/465884
PURE UUID: 4fbaf67a-9459-41a7-b922-1e2209d024bc
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 03:26
Last modified: 05 Jul 2022 03:26
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Author:
Alexandra Luchetti
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