Scholarship on ancient religion has traditionally relied on visual and literary representations of cult to reconstruct the details, procedures and characteristics of religions and their practices. This one-day conference shifts the focus away from deliberate representations and towards the material evidence, focusing on the artifacts, residues, tools, instruments, and monuments themselves as the lens through which we can illuminate religious activity in the ancient Mediterranean world. It invites an interdisciplinary panel of international scholars addressing diverse religious practices and groupings across the Mediterranean from the Archaic to Late Roman periods, through, for example, faunal remains, votives, cult statues, amulets, and curse tablets.

There will be a roundtable discussion on the morning of Saturday, May 18 from 9:00am to 12:00pm in the Lecture Room of the American Academy in Rome. If you would like to participate, please contact jknust [at] bu.edu (jknust[at]bu[dot]edu) or Claudia_Moser [at] brown.edu (Claudia_Moser[at]brown[dot]edu).