The following panel brings together researchers from Laboratory of Studies on the Ancient City (Labeca) and Laboratory for Roman Provincial Archaeology (LARP), both from the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of University of São Paulo (Brazil), to promote a methodological discussion on changes in space from a multiple-agency perspective. Since Henri Lefebvre's La production de l'espace (1974) and other Spatial Turn theorists, the study of space and spatialisation(s) has been responsible for the development and review of spatial parameters adopted by Archaeology, which inspired new technologies and enabled the integration of different archaeological sources to discuss spatial transformations. This was evident in the emergence of Archaeology of Landscape (Ashmore; Knapp, 2000) and interdisciplinary approaches such as Lived Ancient Religion (Rüpke, 2011) as well as mutual and dialectical relationships between religiosity and urbanity (Martin et al., 2022). In general, these approaches assumes that space is individually experienced and, therefore, shaped through social interaction. These foreground assumptions fostered the development of new methodologies and interpretations to attest the multiple-agency character of spatial production, which could be traced in data from topography, architecture and various archaeological findings.

Therefore, the objectives of this panel are twofold. First, it aims to discuss multiple agencies which can be attested in buildings or in (built) spaces through study cases on the ancient Mediterranean, especially from the perspective of researchers from non-hegemonic centres. Second, it addresses discussions developed in the two laboratories from Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of University of São Paulo (Brazil) along the last decades (cf. Florenzano, 2019; 2023; Kormikiari et al., 2011; Florenzano; Hirata, 2009). To fulfil these aims, our discussion will be focused on how space is produced, selected, rejected or appropriated through social interaction between different agents, without losing sight of spatial capacity to affect, constrain and lead diverse actors in establishing new socio-material relationships. It discusses different uses of spaces and buildings, as well as their varied effects on different agents.

So, this panel is composed by six papers by researchers who discuss a wide range of case studies on the Ancient Mediterranean to address methodological issues and their possibility on drawing new interpretations of material sources. The first paper, presented by Prof. Cristina Kormikiari, develops a comparative analysis on burial and ritual structures known as Tophets after parameters of Landscape Archeology with the aim of reflecting on different uses of these structures in the Phoenician-Punic World. Then, Prof. Juliana Figueira da Hora focuses on votive finds of the Sanctuary of Artemis in Thasos to understand how the sanctuary was appropriated and used by women throughout the Archaic Period. After, Felipe Perissato presents his agent-based analysis to the ritual practice of first-fruits offerings (απαρχή) and its relation to the development of fortified peribolos' walls at Eleusis in western frontier of Attica during Late Classical Period. His argument seeks the identification of multiple agencies on aparché practice, as well as its impact on the expansion of the inner court and monumentalisation of the sanctuary at Eleusis, to overcome an interpretation only defensive for the development of fortified peribolos' walls. Then, Mariana Figueiredo Virgolino presents preliminary results of her post-doc research on the location of urban Asklepieion in the landscape of Classical Corinth, which aims to frame this sanctuary as not only a religious and healing place, but also as a place where Corinthian political values were promoted. In the fifth paper, Letícia Aga Pereira Passos presents an analysis of the forum of Tel Dor as a place for circulation of Roman coins to understand how this place was appropriated by multicultural agents during different socio-religious practices. Lastly, Guilherme Diogo Rodrigues analyses the Archaic gateway of Thasos, known as the Passage of Theoroi, to assess different appropriations of this place in the context of urban and religious development of the city.

The presentations will be complemented by a discussion at the end involving all contributors of the panel and the audience.

Presentations:

Short introduction: space from a multiple-agency perspective (5 min.)

A multifaceted place: the so-called Tofet within the Phoenician-Punic World, a comparative approach (20 min.)

Prof. Dr. Maria Cristina Nicolau Kormikiari

Associate Professor of Mediterranean Archaeology at Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo

Coordinator of the Laboratory of Studies on the Ancient City (LABECA-MAE-USP)

CNPq Scholarship holder of Research Productivity.

Votive offerings at the Sanctuary of Artemis in Thassos: Agencies and materiality in women's lives in the Archaic Period (20 min.)

Prof. Dr. Juliana Figueira da Hora

Associate researcher at Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo

Researcher of the Laboratory of Studies on the Ancient City (LABECA-MAE-USP).

CNPq Scholarship holder of Research Productivity.

Protecting Gifts of Demeter: an agent-based analysis to the practice of απαρχή and the development of fortified peribolos' walls in Eleusis, Attica (ca. 480 – 360 B.C.) (20 min.)

Dr. Felipe Perissato

Doctor in Archaeology

Alumnus from Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo

within a cotutelle-agreement with

Max-Weber-Kolleg für kultur- und sozialwissenschaftliche Studien, Universität Erfurt

Researcher of the Laboratory of Studies on the Ancient City (LABECA-MAE-USP)

“Soothing Horrid Pains”: Arguments concerning the Location of the Urban Asklepieion in Classical Corinth (20 min.)

Dr. Mariana Figueiredo Virgolino

Post-Doc at Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo

Researcher of the NEREIDA – Fluminense Federal University (UFF)

Researcher of the Laboratory of Studies on the Ancient City (LABECA-MAE-USP)

Identity and Socio-religious interaction at Tel Dor's forum: an analysis of coin circulation in the Roman Period (20 min.)

Letícia Aga Pereira Passos, MA

PhD candidate in Archaeology at Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo

Researcher of the Laboratory for Roman Provincial Archaeology (LARP-MAE-USP)

Theoroi Passage: a window into Thasos' urban religiosity and spatial appropriations (20 min.)

Guilherme Diogo Rodrigues, BA

Master's student in Archaeology at Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo

Researcher of the Laboratory of Studies on the Ancient City (LABECA-MAE-USP)

Discussion (30 min.)

References:

ASHMORE, W; KNAPP, B. (2000). Archaeologies of Landscape: Contemporary Perspectives. Willey-Blackwell.

FLORENZANO, M. B. B. Ocupação territorial e definição de fronteiras no Mediterrâneo Antigo. São Paulo: Intermeios / Fapesp, 2023.

FLORENZANO, M. B. B. Khoríon – Χωρίον: cidade e território na Grécia Antiga. São Paulo: Intermeios / Fapesp, 2019.

FLORENZANO, M. B. B; HIRATA, E. F. V. Estudos sobre a Cidade Antiga. São Paulo: Edusp, 2009.

KORMIKIARI, M. C. N; HIRATA, E. F. V; ALDROVANDI, C. (org.). Estudos sobre o espaço na Antiguidade. São Paulo: Edusp / Fapesp, 2011.

LEFEBVRE, H. (1991). The Production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell. Original from 1974.

MARTIN, C; FUCHS, M; IORI, E; KELLER, S; LÄTZER-LASAR, A; O‘REILLY, M; RAU, S; RÜPKE, J; URCIUOLI, E. R; WAGNER, S. (2022). Entangling Urban and Religious History: A New Methodology. Version 1 (Preprint). Zenodo. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7002796. Available at: https://zenodo.org/record/7002796 Access in 05.09.2023.

RÜPKE, J. (2011). Lived Ancient Religion: Questioning 'Cults' and 'Polis Religion'. Rivista di Storia delle Religioni, n. 5, p. 191-241.