Between Rocks and ‘High Places’: On Religious Architecture in the Iron Age Southern Levant

In this paper we examine why common methodologies for determining ‘religious architecture’ do not account for the diverse and fluid ways in which religious behavior can be expressed. We focus on religious architecture from the Iron Age Southern Levant highlighting certain sites that ‘fall through th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Diederik J. H. Halbertsma, Bruce Routledge
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/9/740
Description
Summary:In this paper we examine why common methodologies for determining ‘religious architecture’ do not account for the diverse and fluid ways in which religious behavior can be expressed. We focus on religious architecture from the Iron Age Southern Levant highlighting certain sites that ‘fall through the cracks’ of current taxonomies. We propose a different way of approaching evidence for religious practice in the archaeological record, viewing religion as one dimension of social action made visible along a spectrum of ritualization.
ISSN:2077-1444