Protection and Purity

Symbolic Functions of the Iron Age Saunas of the Iberian Northwest

Bibliographic Data

ID6044591
AuthorsNadya H Prociuk, Nadya Prociuk (The University of Texas at Austin, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume29
Issue1
Pages125-140
Publication date2019-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCambridge Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0959-7743 • E-ISSN: 1474-0540
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0959774318000422
OpenAlexW2889656198
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited17

Iron Age saunas, unique to the Castro Culture of northwestern Iberia, have puzzled archaeologists since the nineteenth century. Initially interpreted as kilns, crematoriums, or ovens, their function has since been established as bathing structures; however, the social significance of these saunas has yet to be firmly established. This study provides a new approach to understanding the ways in which Castro communities utilized specialized buildings to serve specific needs related to ritual cleansing and protection. Through an analysis of their placement, structure and decoration, I argue that these buildings functioned to purify and protect people of Castro communities from spiritual and physical danger. Members of Castro society inhabited a world buffeted by the shifting political and economic powers of the Iron Age. The bath structures under study, covered in apotropaic symbols, functioned in liminal spaces to cleanse and prepare Castro people for the dangers that awaited them beyond the walls of their communities and neutralized any potential spiritual contamination they may have acquired upon their return

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Liminality · Political science · Politics · Archaeological and Historical Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Law · Medieval Architecture and Archaeology

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