Material approaches to Roman magic : occult objects and supernatural substances / edited by Adam Parker and Stuart McKie.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Parker, Adam, 1988- editor.

McKie, Stuart (Historian), editor.

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Series:

TRAC Themes in Roman archaeology ; v. 2.

TRAC Themes in Roman archaeology ; volume 2

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Magic, Roman.

Magic, Ancient.

Roman provinces--Europe, Northern.

Roman provinces.

Classical antiquities.

Material culture.

Europe, Northern--Material culture.

Europe, Northern.

Europe, Northern--Antiquities, Roman.

Northern Europe.

Physical Description:

vii unnumbered pages, 135 pages : illustrations, map, plans ; 29 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; Havertown, PA : Oxbow Books, 2018.

Summary:

This second volume in the 'TRAC Themes in Roman Archaeology' series "seeks to push the research agendas of materiality and lived experience further into the study of Roman magic, a field that has, until recently, lacked object-focused analysis. Building on the pioneering studies in Boschung and Bremmer's (2015) Materiality of Magic, the editors of the present volume have collected contributions that showcase the value of richly-detailed, context-specific explorations of the magical practices of the Roman world. By concentrating primarily on the Imperial period and the western provinces, the various contributions demonstrate very clearly the exceptional range of influences and possibilities open to individuals who sought to use magical rituals to affect their lives in these specific contexts - something that would have been largely impossible in earlier periods of antiquity. Contributions are presented from a range of museum professionals, commercial archaeologists, university academics and postgraduate students, making a compelling case for strengthening lines of communication between these related areas of expertise."--Back cover.

Contents:

Series Forward / Sergio Gonzaléz Sánchez

Introduction: Materials, approaches, substances, and objects / Stuart McKie and Adam Parker

The medium matters : materiality and metaphor in some Latin curse tablets / Celia Sánchez Natalías

Phallic magic : a cross cultural approach to Roman phallic small finds / Allissa Whitmore

Little bottles of power : Roman glass unguentaria in magic, ritual and poisoning / Thomas Derrick

Victory of good over evil? : amuletic animal images on Roman engraved gems / Idit Sagiv

'The bells! The bells!' : approaching tintinnabula in Roman Britain and beyond / Adam Parker

Rubbing and rolling, burning and burying : the magical use of amber in Roman London / Glynn Davis

Linking magic and medicine in early Roman Britain : the 'Doctor's' Burial, Stanway, Camulodunum / Nicky Garland

The archaeology of ritual in the domestic sphere : case studies from Karanis and Pompeii / Andrew Wilburn

The legs, hands, head and arms race : the human body as a magical weapon in the Roman world / Stuart McKie

Amulets, the body and personal agency / Véronique Dasen.

Notes:

"The core of this book comes from a panel held at the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference (TRAC) 2015 entitled Charmed I'm Sure: Roman Magic--Old Theory, New Approaches, which was organized by Adam Parker."--Page [1]

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781785708817

1785708813

OCLC:

1031486191

Publisher Number:

99976504403