RT Article
T1 Cup-Marks and Citadels: Evidence for Libation in 2nd-Millennium b.c.e. Western Anatolia
JF Bulletin of ASOR
IS 378
SP 1
OP 23
A1 Luke, Christina
A1 Roosevelt, Christopher H. 1972-
LA English
PB The University of Chicago Press
YR 2017
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1577310020
AB Shallow conical depressions hewn into bedrock, known as cup-marks, have been documented at and around 2nd-millennium b.c.e. citadels in the Marmara Lake basin of the Gediz Valley, western Anatolia. These rupestral features are among the best indications of the presence of libation ceremonies in the region and provide evidence that local communities shared in cultural traditions spread over western and central Anatolia. Libation rituals in the basin were probably intended to summon the divine for protection, stewardship of the dead, and/or assurance of agricultural prosperity through maintenance of stable environmental conditions. Periodic catastrophes, resulting from massive inundations and/or droughts typical to the region, weigh in favor of an environmental interpretation. We frame our discussion of the topography and archaeology of the Gediz Valley and the evidence for Middle to Late Bronze Age cup-marks within the context of historical geography and the archaeology of Anatolia.
K1 Gediz River
K1 Hittite
K1 Kaymakçý
K1 Lake Marmara
K1 Landscape archaeology
K1 Water
DO 10.5615/bullamerschoorie.378.0001