Investigating concepts of sacred landscapes on and beyond the northern frontier

Goldberg, Martin; Hunter, Fraser

Investigating concepts of sacred landscapes on and beyond the northern frontier

Resource type

Abstract

Creator (person)

Goldberg, Martin

Hunter, Fraser

Abstract

Concepts of sacred landscapes in the military zone are often dominated by altars and the rather rarer ritual architecture, but many expressions of belief lacked or avoided such an obvious visual presence. In this paper we consider southern and eastern Scotland, an area that saw a complex and shifting relation with the Roman world, in terms of its hoards and related deliberate deposits in the Roman Iron Age. Can we see meaningful patterns in landscape setting and material content of such hoards? Does a comparison with the frontier zone around Hadrian’s Wall, which saw longer-term permanent military settlement, reveal whether there were differences in perceptions of sacred landscapes between the military community and the local Iron Age populations? Were practices and locations shared, adopted, adapted, or kept deliberately separate? This paper will take a large-scale and long-term comparative view of deposition in this area.