B. Öhlinger, Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres for social gatherings (8th–6th centuries BCE), in: J. Lamaze, B. Maguelone (eds.), Around the Hearth. Ritual and commensal practices in the Mediterranean Iron Age from the Aegean World to the Iberian Peninsula, (Berlin 2021), 185-216

Full text

Around the Hearth
Ritual and commensal practices
inthe Mediterranean Iron Age
from the Aegean World to the Iberian Peninsula
Edited by
Jérémy Lamaze and Maguelone Bastide

ISBN 978-3-11-073827-8
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-073366-2
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-073376-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021934675
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;
detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Cover images: Hearth with sun symbol, Acropolis of Monte Polizzo (Sicily), by
Christian Mühlenbock (front cover); Oppidum de la Roque, Fabrègues, Hérault.
D’après Pierre Larderet, DAO Jean-Claude Roux (back cover).
Typesetting: Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd.
Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck
www.degruyter.com

Contents
Jérémy Lamaze
Hearth or Altar?
Around the Hearth: An Introduction 1
Aegean World
Gunnel Ekroth
Behind closed doors? Greek sacrificial rituals performed inside buildings
intheEarly Iron Age and the Archaic period 13
Evangelia Simantoni-Bournia
Hearth-temples in the sanctuary of Hyria on Naxos 40
Karine Rivière
La cuisine ou l’autel ? Foyers, cultes et commensalités dans la Grèce de l’Âge du fer
(xe–viiie s. av. J.-C.) 71
Jérémy Lamaze
De la difficulté d’interprétation des pièces à foyer dans le monde grec au début de
l’Âge du fer : un état des lieux 84
Thrace
Maguelone Bastide
Les foyers fixes à l’intérieur d’édifices en Thrace aux époques archaïque et
classique : un marqueur cultuel ? 117
Zornitsa Krasteva
Decorated clay hearths from Hellenistic Thrace 137
Sicily
Birgit Öhlinger
Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres for social
gatherings (8th–6th centuries BC) 185

VI Contents
South of France
Claire-Anne de Chazelles
Les foyers domestiques de l’Âge du fer dans le Sud de la France (viie–ier s. av. J.-C.).
Objets utilitaires ou symboliques ? 219
Iberian Peninsula
Maria Carme Belarte
Forme, fonction et signification des foyers dans la culture ibérique
(600–200 av. J.-C.) 255
Maguelone Bastide
Conclusion: building a fireplace to build a world 277
Index: English words 281
Index: French words 285
Index of Toponyms 289

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110733662-008
Birgit Öhlinger
Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces
and hearths as ritual centres for social
gatherings (8th–6th centuries BC)
Abstract: This study investigates commensality in Western Sicily (8th–6th centuries
BC) in different social spaces. The focus is on ritual meals at festive events, starting
with an investigation of fireplaces and hearths and their architectural and spatial
contexts as direct evidence for the preparation and consumption of food. Together
with the associated archaeological finds, certain patterns of commensality and their
associated social spaces are identified and compared to highlight potential social
functions.
Keywords: Commensality, Communal Meal, Hearths, Ritual and Commensal Prac-
tices, Western Sicily, Social Spaces.
Commensalité en Sicile occidentale – le
foyer comme point focal des rituels pour les
rassemblements sociaux (e–es. av. J.-C.)
La présente étude examine la commensalité en Sicile occidentale (e–e s. av. J.-C.)
dans les espaces sociaux. L’accent est mis sur les repas rituels dans le cadre d’événe-
ments festifs, en commençant par l’étude du foyer et de son contexte architectural et
spatial en tant que vestiges de la préparation et de la consommation des aliments.
Certains modèles de commensalité sont définis et comparés les uns aux autres selon
leur contexte, et mis en relation avec les découvertes archéologiques associées, pour
mettre en évidence leurs fonctions sociales potentielles.
Mots-clés: Commensalité, repas communautaires, foyers, pratiques rituelles et de
commensalité, Sicile occidentale, espaces sociaux.
Birgit Öhlinger, Institute of Archaeologies, University of Innsbruck, e-mail: birgit.oehlinger@uibk.
ac.at
Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Erich Kistler and Christian Heitz for their useful comments
on earlier drafts of this chapter. I am also grateful to Christian Mühlenbock for providing me the plans
and photographs of house 2 on Monte Polizzo.

186 Birgit Öhlinger
1Introduction
In Iron Age Sicily, the ritual consumption of food and/or drink was a key element of
local social practice.¹ Evidence of commensality in indigenous communities can be
found either through direct or indirect archaeological markers.² Direct evidence for
the preparation and consumption of food is primarily the presence of cooking instal-
lations and/or gear (hearth, firedogs, grill hooks) with remains of ashes and char-
coal, and the presence of associated cooking and banqueting equipment, botanical
and faunal remains. Indirect evidence is represented through waste disposal, either
in the form of loose dumps and fills or ritual deposits containing debris from com-
mensal rituals. Such archaeological evidence of commensality is found in domestic,
cultic and funerary contexts and refer to different social spaces, which are linked to
diverging strategies of intragroup identity formation.³ These social spaces determine
the choice, selection, preparation and consumption of the components of the meal,
the location and spatial organisation as well as the activity sequence of such events.
Depending on the social space, in which the ritual meal is located, different rules or
registers of consumption and commensality can be at play, and these determine what
is consumed, where, how and by whom. This means that not only the consumed
products themselves, but also their handling and the spatial location in which they
are consumed, are predefined to a certain degree. This results in different commen-
sal patterns being reflected in the material culture. The paper aims to analyse these
patterns and underlying registers within the diverging social spaces in Western Sicily
through a comparative study using significant case studies. As these social spaces
are not static but subject to fluid transformation processes, I will also address how
these dynamics were shaped by contact with non-local social groups and the accessi-
bility and flow of external material culture. The focus of the study is an investigation
of hearths and fireplaces as direct evidence for the preparation and consumption of
food, analysing their architectural and spatial contexts as well as the material asso-
ciated with them.
1Ö 2015b; 2015a; 2016a; 2016b; Ö et al. (forthcoming); recently F 2016, for
commensality in general see: C 1997; B 1999; J 2008; H 2017.
2Ö 2015b, p. 159–193.
3H 1996; H 1998, 116; 2008, 16–17; D – H 2001; P P 2003;
T 2007; D 2010; H – V 2011; F 2011.
4In the sense of B 1984; 2009.
5G – B 1996; A 1986.

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 187
2 Local communities – places and spaces
ofcommensality
Any investigation in commensality and feasting requires some understanding of
local social structures, and, as such, I briefly present the predominant settlement
and burial evidence of the region here before I make some general comments on
cooking installations in Iron Age Sicily. The most widespread settlement type in
Western Sicily since the early Bronze Age constitutes a hilltop site located in a pro-
tected and geographically advantageous position close to a river. The settlements
were laid out in hamlet-like groups of circular buildings with rectangular and circular
annexes grouped in clusters around an open area. Archaeologically traceable ritual
activities are limited to communal meals and the deposition of votives, most often
leftovers from the meal, within and around the central building of the compound.
In this sense, these buildings had also a communal as well as a ritual function that
transcended their use as residences. The fact that there are no archaeological traces of
clearly –defined or topographically– delimited sacral zones or sanctuaries fits with
this picture. The associated necropoleis were situated along the slopes and consisted
mainly of rock-cut chamber tombs with multiple burials. Archaeological and ethno-
logical comparatives studies suggest that this form of settlement and burial can be
linked to extended family or clan-like social structures.¹
This particular format of habitation complex, in connection with multiple burials
in rock-cut chamber tombs, remained almost unchanged until the second phase of
the Iron Age, and until the 6th century BC in many settlements.¹¹ The settlement struc-
tures only changed in the course of the 6th century BC when the circular houses with
annexes were replaced by agglutinated rectangular buildings with tiled roofs. By the
end of this phase, cult areas become more clearly defined, developing as separate
areas, making them archaeologically more visible. They were either physically sep-
arate or, in some cases, were marked by particular construction styles incorporating
Greek style architectural terracottas, as found at Sabucina, Colle Madore or Morgan-
tina (Fig. 1).¹² In some places, large cult buildings with Greek architectural elements,
with an altar placed in front of the building, were constructed, as at Monte Iato, Monte
San Mauro, Palike or Vassallaggi.¹³ A change in cult practices can also be traced
within these precincts in the increased dedication of valuable votive offerings, includ-
6U 2006.
7S 1997; S 2009.
8S 1997, p. 153–155 with references; H 2006, p. 93, 100 f.; K 2011, with references.
9B 2013, p. 116–118.
10K 2011; Ö 2015b, p. 47–54 with references.
11S 2009, p. 363; H 2006, p. 100; B 2013, p. 122.
12A 1997, p. 172; V 1999; P 2009b.
13V B 1962, p. 401; P 1998–1999, p. 211; M 2008.

188 Birgit Öhlinger
ing Greek style terracotta figurines, weapons and jewellery. The change in settlement
structures is also paralleled by the successive abandonment of multiple burials, which
are replaced by single burials in fossae and cappuccina graves or cremation burials.¹
Hearths and fireplaces are documented in a rather uniform and consistent
manner, in various contexts throughout the whole period of the study, as attested in
the vicinity of residential buildings, ritual and cultic sites as well as necropoleis, as
will be shown below. Typologically two forms of cooking installations can be distin-
guished, dating back to the Bronze Age and remaining largely unchanged until the
Late Archaic period.¹ Such hearths are not only limited to the indigenous settlements
but are also know from Motya, a Phoenician town on the west coast.¹ Especially in
association with domestic buildings, circular flat platforms of fired clay, with a height
of about 0.04–0.07m and a diameter ranging from 0.48m to 1.40m, can be found.¹
Their fabric is similar to locally produced coarse ware.¹ The clay was applied directly
onto the floor and burnt by the heat of the fire indicating that this was not a mobile
feature but a fixed installation. Some examples were decorated with simple geometric
symbols before firing. In the settlement of Montagnoli in the south-western part of
Sicily, for example, the clay platforms were decorated with several lines of stamped
regular circles that were impressed with a tool (Fig. 2). The decorative pattern resem-
bles that of locale stemmed and impressed ware, the so called ceramica incisa, which
was adorned with complex patterns of geometric shapes, very often featuring con-
centric circles. In the settlement of Polizzo in western Sicily, several clay platforms
were decorated with a stylized sun symbol, which was pressed into the still wet clay
with the thumb or impressed with appropriate tools (Fig. 3).¹ Again, similar symbols
can be found in miniaturized form on incisa vessels, where concentric circles are
surrounded by rays or drops.² Any significant meaning for the various decorative
patterns on the fireplace remains unclear and we are unsure whether they should be
interpreted as a kind of identity sign or potter’s mark. In any case, their appearance
indicates a certain investment and effort, perhaps underlining the central physical
position and symbolic meaning of the hearths for commensality.
In addition to these more elaborate hearths, more simple fireplaces without raised
rims and decoration can be found in the archaeological record. For their construction,
a thin layer of clay was spread directly onto the earth in a shallow depression and fired
in the course of the cooking process. These types of fireplaces are usually larger and are
14S 2011; on the development of funeral practices see: B 2013, p. 122–127.
15V 2003, 266–67.
16F 2002.
17For a detailed description with further references see S 2003, p. 266–267; M
2008, p. 49.
18M 2008, p. 49.
19M 2008, p. 49.
20S 2003, p. 145, Fig. 153, nr. 93.

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 189
documented with diameters of up to 3m (h1, Building E, phase 1, Monte Polizzello – see
below). Due to their construction technique, they are often badly preserved, making
any detailed reconstruction and systematic comparison difficult. In addition, only few
hearths and fireplaces are published with detailed information, making any in-depth
description difficult to provide in the following appraisal.
3 Commensality around the Hearth from
the8thtothe first half of the 6th century BC
3.1 Commensality within domestic spaces
Fireplaces and hearths as indicators of meal preparation are often found in the central
circular buildings within the compounds. The central living and meeting spaces for
the respective compound community are defined by their architecturally elaborate
entrances, central fireplaces and surrounding benches.²¹ Until the second phase of
the Iron Age, these buildings were the main place for communal ritual and dining –to
think in terms of a binary opposition between public and private sphere in this early
context is therefore not appropriate. The settlement of Montagnoli di Menfi (8th–7th
century BC), in the province of Agrigento, offers a good example of such structures,
despite its fragmentary state of preservation (Fig. 4);²² the site was destroyed by fire
around the middle of the 7th century BC. In comparison to the Bronze Age settlement of
Mokarta²³ where cluster-like structures of circular and rectangular annexes are better
preserved, at Montagnoli di Menfi three building complexes are clearly distinguisha-
ble. They are separated from each other by an open area with their entrances facing dif-
ferent directions suggestive of three compounds in which each building with its hearth
(Buildings 1, 7 and 4) forms the focus.² The buildings consist of foundations of low
walls composed of quarry stones, while the upper walls and roofing are thought to be
constructed using organic materials (Fig. 5). Building 1 is the largest of the three, with
an inner diameter of over 8m. A 0.55m-wide and 0.20m-high bench made of quarried
stone and covered with clay is running along the inner wall. The central hearth is made
of a flat clay platform, with a diameter of about 0.92m, decorated with impressed con-
centric circles. For the hearth’s construction, a thick layer, c. 0.05m, of clay was applied
directly to the floor. The following finds were retrieved from underneath the debris of
the building: Fragments of a large, open incisa vessel with a handle, an amphora with
handles and incised decoration, two matt-painted bowls (so called ceramica dipinta),
21Ö 2015a, p. 419–421
22C 1990; 1992; 2000; 2002; Ö 2015b, p. 58–61.
23T – N 2000; T 2009, p. 30.
24K 2011, p. 136–138; Ö 2015b, p. 50–54.

190 Birgit Öhlinger
the lower part of a large olla with dipinta decoration, fragments of an amphora, the
lower part of a pithos with dipinta decoration and a large bowl with a diameter of
0.50m. A particularly striking piece is a kernos-like vessel that might be associated
with some kind of cultic practice.² In particular, the two bowls and the storage vessels
can probably be associated with the storage, preparation and consumption of food.
Building 7 is somewhat smaller with a diameter of about 7m. It is also equipped
with a bench along the inner wall. The central hearth with a maximum diameter of
1.40m and a minimum of 1m is considerably larger than that in Building 1 (see Fig.2). It
is made using the same technique as the hearth in Building 1 and consists of a c.0.07m
high circular clay platform. It is, however, better preserved and more richly decorated
with three rows of impressed circles. One row runs along the outer edge of the rim,
while two run along the outer edge of the surface of the platform. The circles have
diameters of 0.06m and are applied at irregular intervals.² Although the building’s
destruction and collapse, caused by fire, has damaged the platform, causing multiple
breakages and fractures over its surface, its west side and decoration is well preserved.
An inverted cooking pot was found next to the hearth, while three cylindrical clay and-
irons were found around the feature. The latter indicate that cooking pots were not
placed directly in the charcoal, but on the clay stands. Notable among the finds from
the area around the hearth were elaborately produced and decorated incisa and dipinta
vessels, including amphorae and jugs as well as a hydria with graffiti on its base.²
Building 4 has an oval to rectangular layout and a bench running along the inner
wall. On the bench some shallow ceramic bowls and a number of fragments of hand
spindles were recovered. A similar terracotta hearth also came to light in Building 4.
However, it is not centrally located as were the hearths in buildings 1 and 7, but is situ-
ated in the south-western area directly next to the bench. It has an oblong oval shape
with a maximum length of c. 0.40m.² Seven clay andirons were found in the sur-
rounding area where they indicate cooking activities.² Another oval-shaped hearth
with an approximate diameter of 0.35m was found in the area west of Building 4. Also
here some clay andirons were found around the hearth.
The hearths and cooking pots with supports in the central buildings of the com-
pounds clearly demonstrate the preparation of meals within these locations, while
the surrounding benches and tableware suggest that these meals were also consumed
there. Further information on these commensal practices and the food consumed is
provided by two ritual deposits in the area between building 3 and 4. Although an exact
25Similar pieces have been found in Metapiccola, Colle Madore and the Cittadella in Morgantina.
Ö 2015b, p. 59 with references.
26C 2000, p. 265.
27C 2000, p. 265.
28The hearths in the area of building 4 are not published in detail –the information is taken from
the plan. C 2000, p. 267.
29Another hearth with clay andirons was found in building 6.

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 191
description of the deposits has not been published, the finds mentioned provide an
insight into local ritual behaviour, while similar deposits are known from several sites
all over Sicily.³ These deposits usually consist of a shallow pit dug into the ground.
After depositing the objects, the pit was filled with earth and sometimes marked with
a stone circle above ground. This indicates that they were created and sealed in the
course of a single ritual act. The pits between building 3 and 4 contained fragments
of ceramics and animal bones, including many astragals of cattle and sheep/goat as
well as one terracotta astragal.³¹ When appraised within the wider depositional type,
these finds can be viewed as the remains of ritual meals. The animal bones and the
terracotta astragal, a ritual item, indicate that meat consumption played an important
role within commensal practices and was part of a wider ritual in which the remains
of the sacrificed animal were deposited. In these cases, meat consumption appears to
be something extraordinary pertaining to certain rituals. According to Hayden’s defi-
nition, if the slaughtering of an animal and its consumption does not correspond to
the daily diet, it implies that any corresponding meals can be classified as feasting.³²
These findings are also in line with Dietler’s definition of feasting, where the ritual
aspect is a crucial distinction between a feast and a daily meal.³³ This means that
feasts were held in the central buildings of the compounds, where the feasting partici-
pants gathered around the central hearth sitting on benches. Detailed archaeozoolog-
ical data, which could indicate a minimum number of individual animals consumed
and, consequently, a quantitative assessment for such communal meals, is unfortu-
nately not available for Montagnoli; however, different animal species, namely cattle
and sheep/goat, show that several animals were slaughtered for this event. In this
respect, it can be assumed that the deposit relates to a feast of a relatively large group.
These quantities suggest that, not only did the household members of the compound
take part in the corresponding ritual events, but also guests. The limited space in
the meeting building indicates that only a select group of people could take part in
such events. Although access was certainly reserved for higher-ranking persons, the
others probably celebrated outside in the open air in the courtyard of the compound.
The context for such feasts was the compound while the household were cast in the
role of host. The social framework for these larger events extended beyond the family
and included people from surrounding compounds or settlements. Such feasts gave
the host the opportunity to consolidate or enhance its status and prestige.³ The link
30For deposits see: Ö 20015b, p. 161–165.
31C 1992, p. 196; C 2000, p. 269.
32Hayden speaks of a feast whenever special foods are consumed at a communal meal, where “spe-
cial” is defined as anything that is not generally served at daily meals. H 2001, p. 28; Ö
2015b, p. 174–178; see also F 2016, p. 907–909.
33D 2001; D – H 2001, 3.
34J – E 1987, p. 176–186; E 1994, p. 953; U 2006; B 2009, p. 350; D–
H 2001; D 2010.

192 Birgit Öhlinger
between the central meeting house and the organisation of opulent sacrificial meals
is reflected in a terracotta model of a hut found on Monte Iato, based on the central
hut of the compound, with a bull figurine perched on top of the roof, where it is surely
representative of the sacrificial animal for the household’s feast (Fig. 6).³
Similar commensal rituals can also be assumed for the settlement phase of the site
of Monte Polizzello in the middle Platani valley, which developed into a central cult
site from the late 7th century BC (see below) (Fig. 7).³ As at Montagnoli, the settlement
consisted of several circular buildings, of which Building E was the central meeting
and feasting building, indicated by its size and the central fireplace (first phase, 8th
century BC) (Fig. 8). In contrast to Montagnoli, at Monte Polizzello the hearth is not
a decorated affixed feature, but consisted of an area of spread clay (Fig. 8, h1). With
a diameter of nearly 3m it far surpasses the usual size for hearths.³ Among the finds
from the interior were numerous partially burnt animal bones, a fragment of a deer
antler and a cow horn, some ceramic vessels and three stone knives, which may be
related to ritual slaughtering.³ The dimensions of the fireplace and its 0.20–0.25m
thick ash layer indicate large, or frequently occurring, feasts. A large number of par-
ticipants is suggested by the size of the building which, with a diameter of 14.7m, is
one of the largest circular structures documented in this region. It might therefore
reflect an important host that has succeeded in gathering a large number of support-
ers around the hearth. The power and transcendent quality of the host and the house-
hold is perhaps also reflected in the development of the former residence into a cult
site when the compound was abandoned (see below).³
Evidence of this kind of feasting is also known from Monte Polizzo, a settlement
6km southwest of Salemi. This settlement spread over an area of several mountain
ridges. On the summit plateau of the so-called acropolis, a demarcated communal cult
place had developed by the 6th century BC (Fig. 9). On the slope, houses 1–4 provided
evidence for commensal practices (Area A, 625–550 BC). Investigations conducted by
Christian Mühlenbock showed that festive gatherings around the internal hearths
occurred in three houses.¹ The faunal analysis revealed that sheep, cattle, pigs and
some red deer were consumed, with sheep dominating the assemblage, followed
35See in detail for such hut models and their connection to feasting, as well as the role of cattle in
local ritual practice: Ö 2016a, 108–110; I 2009, p. 162–167; see also for ethnological exam-
ples: H 2001, p. 56, Fig. 2.7; H 2014, p. 191–193, Fig. 6.10; C 2001.
36P 2009a; Ö 2015b, p. 62–75.
37P 2009, p. 134.
38P 2009, p. 135.
39Similar developments can be observed in Greece during the 8th-6th century BC. Mazarakis Ainian
assumes that “ruler dwellings” were used for cult activities during the “Dark Ages”, while later special
buildings for religious purposes devolved. The communal meal played the central role in both build-
ings. Mazarakis Ainian 1988; 1997. See also B 2005; R 2009, U  K 2020.
40M et al. 2001; 2002; 2003; 2004; M 2008, 2013, 2015; Ö 2015b, p. 89–98.
41M 2008.

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 193
directly by cattle.² Imported and local drinking vessels show that ritual drinking also
played an important role.³ The ritual and cultic sphere of such events is particularly
evident in house 2 (Phase 2: 600–550 BC) (see Fig. 3). The house consisted of three
rooms, of which only room I is surrounded by four walls. Room II is only enclosed
by a northern wall and lies open to the south and east, and may constitute a type of
courtyard.
Of central importance is a platform made of stone slabs measuring 1.5x1.5m. Due
to the discovery of a Phoenician transport amphora on top of the feature and deposits
of bones and tokens next to it, the structure has been interpreted as an altar. Next to
this altar, just south of the northern wall, is the central fireplace. The hearth consisted
of a clay platform with a diameter of about 0.65m, as also seen at Montagnoli, and was
decorated with a circle surrounded by dots impressed by fingerprint. This motif is
also seen on a hearth at another spot of Monte Polizzo: on the hearth on the acropolis
the decoration is clearly preserved and interpreted by the excavator as “simplified
version of a sun”. The spatial proximity of the hearth and the altar connects the
two on a symbolic level and reveals the close connection between ritual/cultic and
commensal practices. In the immediate vicinity of the hearth, an abundance of local
cooking pots and eating bowls were found, leading Mühlenbock to the assumption
that not only cooking, but also dining, took place in room II. 44 local and 44 imported
drinking vessels, which Mühlenbock associated with the consumption of wine, point
to ritual drinking. According to him, the presence of 16 jugs, clearly serving vessels,
give an impression of the number of people who could be served wine at the same
time. The same applies to house 1, whose owners probably held the largest social
gatherings, as suggested by the size of the floor plan. The wealth of ceramic finds from
this house, demonstrate that it is the richest house, the storage capacity of which far
exceeds that of the other houses.
90 kilos of cooking ceramics were found around the three central hearths of the
house (room I, II, IV), which clearly facilitated the simultaneous preparation of large
quantities of food and identify the household as an enthusiastic host. Mühlenbock
suggests that in house 1 up to 40 guests can be hosted and feasts were aimed at a
42M 2008, p. 132, see also: F 2016.
43M 2008, p. 143–165.
44The altar was constructed after 570 as C2 cup sherds underneath the structure confirm. M-
 2008, p. 54, 145.
45M 2008, p. 54–55.
46M 2008, p. 54.
47A second one was found in room III that belonged to the first phase of the building or a prede-
cessor building. Similar cooking surfaces have been found all over the settlement some of them with
impressed motives. See M 2008, p. 54–55, 145.
48M 2008, p. 146–7.
49M 2008, p. 84.

194 Birgit Öhlinger
wider audience beyond the family. The high number of drinking and mixing vessels,
which are reminiscent of opulent drinking events, also points in this direction.
The few presented case studies have shown that feasting within the settlements
and the social space of the household played a central role within the local commu-
nities of Western Sicily. From a social point of view, such feasts and celebrations con-
tributed to strengthening the cohesion of the household and the wider community
and increasing the prestige of the host and the attractiveness of the household for
neighbours and invited guests. Through the division and allocation of resources,
social bonds between the participants are established, while the ostentatious display
of the strengths of the household serves to endorse members for future marriages and
alliances.¹ Through a conscious gift economy, social dependencies are created which
can be used accordingly by the host.
3.2 Commensality within funerary spaces
Similar remains of feasting have also been found within funerary contexts, although
not as frequently, and they seem to end, or at least decrease, with the close of the 6th
century BC seemingly in line with changes in settlement and burial practices.²
The earliest evidence dates back to the Bronze Age, as seen in the necropolis of
Valle Oscura in Marianopoli on the slope of Montagna di Balate. There, the remains
of fireplaces and associated layers in the vicinity of the rock-cut chamber tombs have
been interpreted as signs of ritual gatherings and banqueting in honour of the ances-
tors.³ Evidence of similar funerary feasts can be found in the necropolis of Morgan-
tina on the slope of the so-called Cittadella hill, where fragmented animal bones of
sheep, pigs and cattle in connection with ash-layers may relate to ritual meals.
Clearer evidence of ritual activities are found in the East Necropolis of Polizzello,
which was in use during the compound-phase of the settlement (8th century BC to the
mid-6th century BC; see above) (see Fig. 7). In front of the rock-cut chamber tombs
5 and 5A in sector A, and in front of tombs 24 and 25 in sector B, several installa-
tions and ritual deposits point to social gatherings. In front of the two graves, 5 and
5A, a circular stone structure, interpreted as an altar, and several deposits relate to
ritual activities. Deposits 7 and 8, in particular, contained votive objects and waste
50M 2008, p. 173.
51F 2011, p. 529.
52Ö 20015b, p. 178.
53F 1999, p. 197–198.
54Leighton 1993, 97–110. Leighton R., 1993. The Protohistoric settlement on the cittadella, Morganti-
na studies 4. Princeton/NJ
55D M 1988; 1988–1989; D M 1991; F 1999; Ö 20015b, p. 71–72.
56D M 1988, p. 35; F 1999, p. 196; for the finds within the tombs and their association

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 195
from animal sacrifices. The larger deposit 7 is comprised of a considerable number of
pottery fragments, cattle bones, bull mandibles, two amphorae with bull horn motifs,
a cup-shaped hollow vessel, two shallow basins on a high foot, as well as two matt-
painted clay hut models. Deposit 8, directly to the north of deposit 7, also contained
burnt animal bones. Cattle bones, together with the two amphorae with impressed
bull horns from deposit 7, highlight once more the symbolic significance of cattle as
sacrificial animal. Interestingly no evidence of fireplaces has been found, neither
were cooking pots or other cooking utensils discovered to attest the preparation of
meals in front of the tombs. As the classification of the ceramic forms found in the
deposits has yet to be published, the only direct indication of consumption left are the
animal bones themselves. An architectural structure a few meters north of tomb 25
may indicate social gatherings. It is a room attached to the rock face and open to the
front with benches on both sides. The seats in the room were perhaps reserved for a
particular group of people, whose inclusion would confirm their prominent position
within the community. Permanent installations catering for sacrifice and communal
gatherings attest to regular feasting activities connected to the chamber tombs, an
association which possibly points to ancestor worship.
Such feasts in honour of the dead and ancestors have a dual function. On the one
hand, they have an integrative nature, as they produce a sense of togetherness and
identity as they forge a sense of shared ancestry. On the other hand, they could serve
as a means for social competition. Individuals or families could use these gatherings
to out-do each other as powerful hosts and to show the importance of their ancestors
and lineage. Their descendancy and claim to power is confirmed and legitimized by
their connection to the ancestors. This link to the ancestors, and potentially former
heads of the compounds, might be expressed in the hut models found in deposit 7
depicting the central ritual-place and meeting-house, where feasts were hosted by the
head of the household. The connection between the tombs and the central ceremonial
building of the compounds becomes even more explicit in the case of the Late Bronze
Age necropolis of Mokarta, where tomb architecture adopts aspects of the main cer-
emonial buildings. The Middle Bronze Age tombs of Monte Campanella (Milena),
in addition to having central circular cavities in their ceilings probably symbolizing
smoke outlets, feature rock-cut benches running along their inner walls, thereby
mirroring the interior of real meeting houses.¹ In this respect, the close connection
with banquets see D’A 2018; B 2018; significant are the finds of matt-painted jugs, which
might point to libation or consumption. D’Agata interprets the small bowls and oinochoai as a set for
funerary banquets.
57D M 1988, p. 35.
58K 1996; C 2000.
59K 1988, p. 72 f.; W 1995; D – H 2001, p. 69.
60K 2011, p. 133–136.
61MC 1992, p. 40; Fig. 20.

196 Birgit Öhlinger
between domestic and funerary space within compound-settlements is evident. This
connection consolidates the host’s claim to, and control of, these ritual events, as is
the case in domestic ceremonial contexts where the compound household is host to
such events, using them to reify its claims to power.
In both spaces, funerary and domestic, the consumption of meat is documented.
In the case of funerary contexts, a comprehensive study of ceramic forms is yet to
be published and the extent to which ritual drinking played an important role in
these spaces is therefore uncertain, but might be assumed. The presence of a cup in
deposit 7 indicates some form of drinking practice. The two amphorae, from the same
deposit, could either have contained beverages or food materials. In this respect, they
may reflect the distribution of food, in the same sense that storage vessels have been
interpreted in domestic spaces. The absence of fireplaces or hearths in front of the
tombs in Polizzello is striking, and may indicate that food was not prepared in-situ but
was brought along, as put forward for cult contexts by Ferrer.²
4 Commensality around the Hearth from the second
half of the 6th to the first half of the 5th century BC
It was not until the 6th century BC that an increasing differentiation of ritual spaces
within the settlements occurred.³ Specific and delimited areas developed in tandem
with cult buildings, the latter showcasing borrowings from Greek temple architecture
in the form of tiled roofs and architectural terracottas. Ritual depositions that increas-
ingly included votives such as jewellery, weapons, and terracotta figurines indicate a
change in cult practice as well.
This development is especially noticeable at Sabucina, where a cult place was
established outside the new settlement with agglutinating rectangular buildings
(Fig.10). This cult site was demarcated with a temenos wall and was furnished with
a rectangular building (Building B), with a tiled roof and Greek antefixes, and a tra-
ditional circular communal building (Building A). Roofed fireplaces between the two
buildings indicate the preparation of meals at the cult site. These meals included the
consumption of meat – especially pork – as it is evident from related deposits of bone
fragments within Building B. During the first half of the 5th century BC, a second rec-
tangular building was erected, immediately east of the cult building B, that possibly
served as a banqueting and meeting house. With this new structure, an exclusive place
of commensality, with limited access, was now emerging. While the development of
62F 2016, p. 911.
63Ö 20015b, p. 179–193.
64P 2009b; Ö 2015b, p. 76–87; 2016a 111–113.
65S M 1981, p. 91.

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 197
specific banqueting houses as spaces for elite consumption reflects the social demar-
cation of a certain group, the opposite can be argued for some cult sites, where a new
outward openness might be seen in the erection of altars in front of sacred buildings
(as discussed further below in the context of Monte Iato). With such installation, a new
place was created for conducting shared identity-forming meetings and sacrificial per-
formances. Such performances on the altar square were certainly performed in front of
a large audience, where limited access is unlikely, in contrast to the exclusive banquet-
ing rooms. In this respect, two different social spaces are evident. In the first case, the
context, above all else, creates a community experience that connects the audience
with each other and aims primarily at social bonding. The connecting element here
is a transcendent power to which all feel equally affiliated and to which the sacrifices
at the altar are addressed. In the second case, the context allows for social differenti-
ation through spatial separation. This demand for exclusivity is supported by a new
architecture inspired by Greek influences and the consumption of special foods and
dishes. Both social spaces and dynamics can, however, be at play in one and the
same festive event, just as individual agents can easily be involved in both spaces and
switch from one to the other.
The fact that these places and social spaces could exist side by side is exempli-
fied by Monte Iato after the monumentalization of the cult district with the second
phase of the so-called Aphrodite Temple (Fig. 11). In its first phase, the building
functioned as a huge meeting place, comparable to the central circular buildings of
the compounds, but on a wider social scale, it most likely functioned on a commu-
nity level beyond the household units. Nevertheless, commensality continued to
lie at the centre of these festive gatherings, as shown by two fragmentary fireplaces,
associated with cooking pots and animal bones, inside the structure and at least one
more in the forecourt of the building (Fig. 12). The fireplaces have been very poorly
preserved and therefore their exact dimensions can no longer be determined. In some
cases, these are merely areas with concentrated charcoal, which indicate a fireplace.
They can be reconstructed as simple cooking installations without any lavish decora-
tion on the spread clay that was burned by the hearth fire as some lumps of burnt clay
and earth indicate. The impression of such a construction is given by a later hearth
lying to the northeast of the temple (Fig. 13). For its construction, a shallow pit with
66Ö et al. 2019; Ö et al. (forthcoming).
67The assignment of the temple to Aphrodite comes from graffiti on a pottery fragment in a Hellen-
istic deposit. Therefore, it is unclear which deity was worshipped there in the Archaic period. I
et al. 1984, p. 86–99
68K et al. 2013; 2014; 2015; 2018; Ö 2015a, 422–423; 2015b, 182–185; 2016b, see for the
Greek context: R 2009.
69K et al. 2018; 280–291; Ö et al. 2019.
70It was installed around 460 BC in the course of the abandonment of the entire cut area. K
etal. 2015, 132 (here still dated to the reconstruction period of the ramp).

198 Birgit Öhlinger
a diameter of 0.90m was dug into the ground, which was then covered with a 0.08m
thick layer of clay.
In its second phase, around 500 BC, the function of the so-called Aphrodite Temple
changed to become more generally a cult building, as indicated by a new layout, the
absence of fireplaces and the construction of an altar in the forecourt. The altar, meas-
uring 1.62 (north-south) x 1.20m (east-west) and 0.25m high, consisted of a layer of
large limestone blocks, with the spaces in between filled with smaller stones. It was
most probably used for burned offerings as suggested by Hans Peter Isler.¹ Alongside
this transformation, the so-called Late Archaic House with its annex rooms H and I,
featuring banqueting rooms with klinai in the upper storey, and several other build-
ings designed for social gatherings (building L, K, O, P) were erected in the direct vicin-
ity (see Fig. 11). Despite the new appearance of the so-called Aphrodite Temple, the
links to old traditions were not severed. In this sense, the altar for burnt offerings can
be interpreted as the symbolic successor to the central fireplaces in the interior. It is
probably no coincidence that the altar lies above at least two fireplaces, one belonging
to the first phase and another one constructed shortly before the first phase. Memory
of the hearths within the central buildings of the compounds as a key feature for com-
mensality, is now manifest in an architecturally new form, that of a Greek-style altar.
In this respect, the altar takes over the symbolic meaning of the central hearths as
the focal point for social gatherings. With the construction of the altar, the point of
sacrifice, over consumption, became the main focus for these meetings. This resulted
in a new inter-household social space, creating social bonds between households and
settlements. While these community-building rituals around the altar now took place
in the open air and were open to a wide range of local and distant cult participants, the
actual place of commensality was partially transferred to the surrounding buildings
with restricted access. This is especially evident in the banqueting rooms on the upper
floor of the Late Archaic House, where privileged access is also reflected in the archae-
ozoological remains from the drain in the basement, which attest the consumption of
fish and sea urchins, while similar foodstuffs were not available for feast participants
outside, where meat and cereal products were solely consumed.²
The relatively high proportion of deer, in addition to cattle, sheep, goats and pigs,
is conspicuous, demonstrating the special position of deer consumption in ritual
contexts at Monte Iato.³ Comparably high amounts of deer, although not bones but
mainly antler fragments, were found on the acropolis of Monte Polizzo. Here several
dumps with ceremonial debris (zone E and B) as well as numerous ceramic fragments
from the summit plateau testify to extensive and regular feasting. Recovered bones
of sheep, cattle, pig and deer indicate meat consumption at these events, while frag-
71I et al. 1984, p. 63.
72K et al. (forthcoming); Ö et al. 2019; Öhlinger et al. (forthcoming).
73Ö et al. 2019; K et al. (forthcoming).
74M et al. 2004; C 2007.

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 199
ments of deer antler may be associated with specific rituals of a deer cult, as suggested
by Ian Morris and Christian Mühlenbock. The ceramics, both locally-produced and
imported drinking vessels, large storage containers and amphorae also refer to feast-
ing. Cooking pots and the remains of hearths (among them a clay platform with a
sun symbol comparable to the main cooking surface in House 2 – see Fig. 3), attest to
open-air cooking activities in the cult area.
Similar feasting activities can be traced in Polizzello, where the already men-
tioned central compound of the settlement developed into a cult site (see below) (see
Fig. 8). At Polizzello, the former residence of the central compound had evolved
into an important cult site during the 6th century BC. A corresponding change is also
reflected in the necropolis, which indicates that the former pattern of settlement and
its social structures were abandoned. Thus, multiple burials in the chamber tombs 5
and 25 end in the first half of the 6th century BC, just as ritual activities in front of the
tombs slowly decrease, a cessation which may be connected with the development
of the acropolis area into a place of worship. The graves of the former compound
settlement no longer represent the place where ritual celebrations are held for the
self- representation of the head of the household, as the social structures or identity
formation of the society had changed. The new arena of social competition was the
cult site on the Acropolis, with Building E at its centre. A final sacralization of the
entire acropolis area can be dated to the middle of the 6th century BC, when all the cir-
cular buildings were converted into stone platforms where only their circular shape is
reminiscent of former residential buildings of the compound settlement. These trans-
formative measures include the sealing of buildings E, A, B and D, which are each
filled with earth and covered with a layer of stone. Ritual deposits are subsequently
sunk into these sealing layers, which indicate a ritual memorialisation of the build-
ings. A number of fireplaces, dotted around the earth-sealed buildings of the com-
pound phase, provide evidence for the cooking of meals. Several benches next to the
fireplaces may indicate shared common seating during feasts held in the open air.
Although meals are also documented here for the compound phase, certain changes
become apparent after its transformation into a cult site. As seen at Monte Iato, the
former fireplace of the central meeting house of the compound, house E, was archi-
tecturally redesigned after the house’s abandonment and, by setting up another fire-
place over it, it was symbolically transferred to the cult space (Fig. 8, h2). This was
then monumentalized with a baldachin-like structure and converted into an altar for
burnt offerings (fig. 14). The fact that this fireplace and altar continued to be at the
centre of communal feasting is demonstrated by the deposits which had been dug
75M et al. 2004; 2003; M 2015, p. 242–8; see also Ö et al. 2019; K etal.
(forthcoming).
76Ö 20015b, p. 62–75.
77P 2009a, p. 94.
78P 2009, p.125–139, Ö 2016a, 114–115.

200 Birgit Öhlinger
into the sealed platform of the building containing ceramic fragments and animal
bones. From the number of deposits, we can deduce that the frequency of, and prob-
ably also the number of participants at such events increased enormously. However,
the deposits also indicate a change in ritual practice, which now incorporated dedica-
tions of valuable votives such as weapons, jewellery and ivory objects.
5Conclusion
Gathering around the hearth or fireplace was a central part and social practice of local
live. The central ritual aspect that prevailed was the consumption of meat preceded by
animal sacrifices. Those sacrifices certainly adhered to specific registers of commen-
sality which determined how and by whom the animal was slaughtered and cut, which
parts were prepared and how, and who received what piece. The faunal remains
show that cattle, sheep/goat, pigs (wild and domesticated) as well as deer were con-
sumed. Among these, cattle had a specific symbolic significance especially in domes-
tic but also in funerary spaces, as evidenced by the cattle figurines and horn-shaped
appliques on vessels, and also in the deposition of real horns. At least in some cultic
spaces, deer was also of symbolic significance and its presence might refer to a specific
cult that aimed to establish a connection to local tradition and rootedness. Besides the
consumption of meat, ritual drinking was represented in all spaces. Although a focus
on drinking rituals was not detectable in Montagnoli in the 8th century – 7th century
BC, it became visible at Polizzo in the houses of the late 7th century – middle of the 6th
century BC through the increase in imported drinking vessels. This does not necessar-
ily mean that ritual drinking was only gaining importance at that time, since the local
ceramic repertoire simply does not include shapes that can be attributed exclusively to
the consumption of drinks, and organic residue analyses that could provide insights
are widely missing. In addition to wine, beer was probably also consumed at least in
cultic contexts, as recently confirmed by organic residue analyses.¹
Within domestic feasts the locus of commensality was the hearth within the
central circular buildings of the compounds around which participants gathered to
eat and drink together, while in funerary spaces no uniform architectural settings for
social gatherings for feasting existed. Only in the cemetery at Polizzello is the open
building with internal benches comparable to the central buildings of the compounds.
The close connection between the two spaces is also attested by the shape of some
tombs that are reminiscent of the central feasting buildings of the compounds. This
79P 2009, p. 163 f.; 130.
80J 2001, p. 277.
81M – N 2017; K -M 2015, p. 393 f.; see also M et al. 2003, p. 279; for
beer production see J et al. 2005; D – H 2006.

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 201
link between indicates that in both cases the household served as the host. Although
the social spaces of commensality are different, the politics of commensality remain
the same, namely to display the influence and power of the household in order to
promote social bonding for the benefit of the host.
During the 6th century BC, cultic spaces are formulated as distinct spatial locations,
and a spatial separation between cult and/or sacrifice and consumption becomes evident.
This is demonstrated in the banqueting rooms at Monte Iato and Sabucina, which were
delimited places for shared meals. This separation is also accompanied by a social hierar-
chization, as evidenced at Monte Iato by the exclusive foodstuffs consumed in the upper
storey of the Late Archaic House. This social differentiation is not only characterized by
the delicacies, but also by the way they were consumed. Food and drinks were enjoyed
lying down on klinai instead of sitting according to traditional practice. Likewise, the
consumption of exquisite foods such as sea urchins required a certain connoisseurship
making the banquets a diacritical event (see diacritical feasting: Dietler 2001, 85–88).
In contrast, the altar square creates a community-generating social space for a larger
number of cult participants showing that different registers of consumption applied
depending on location and social setting. The fireplaces and benches in Polizzello,
where ritual meals were held in the open air, can also be interpreted in this way of social
bonding of a wider community. In both cases, the stone altar at Monte Iato and the mon-
umentalized roofed fireplace at Polizzello become the new foci for social gatherings but
not necessarily for commensality as they no longer constituted the place where meals
were actually cooked and consumed. These celebrations were no longer hosted by the
household, but rather, these areas formed a new inter-household and inter-settlement
social space. The small and medium scale feasting within the compound hosted by the
household changed due to transformation processes within society. Through the for-
mation of large cult areas and sanctuaries, new places of encounter and commensality
were created that served to build up social relationships beyond the households of com-
pounds. Within these transformation processes, the former function of the hearth as a
place for social gatherings was replaced in some sites by the altar, which became the new
hearth as a place for social bonding on a symbolic level.
Bibliography
A C., 1997. Urbanism at Archaic Morgantina, in: H. Damgaard Andersen (ed.),
Urbanization in the Mediterranean in the 9th to 6th centuries BC, Copenhagen (ActaHyp 7),
1997, p. 167–193.
A A., 1996. Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Minneapolis.
B A., 2018. La Tomba 24 e 25 della Necropoli Est di Polizzello: l’influenza culturale greca nelle
tradizioni funerarie di un insediamento indigeno della Sicilia centrale, in: E. Herring - E. O’Donoghue
(eds.), The Archaeology of Death. Proceedings of the Seventh Conference of Italian Archaeology Held
at the National University of Ireland, Galway, April 16–18, 2016. Oxford, p.343–353.

202 Birgit Öhlinger
B E., 1999. Soziologie des Essens: Eine sozial- und kulturwissenschaftliche Einführung in
die Ernährungsforschung (Grundlagentexte Soziologie). Weinheim.
B P., 1984. Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. London.
B P., 2009. Entwurf einer Theorie der Praxis: Auf der ethnologischen Grundlage der
kabylischen Gesellschaft. Frankfurt am Main.
B R., 2005. Ritual and domestic life in prehistoric Europe. London.
B N., 2013. Bestattungssitten zwischen Tradition und Modifikation. Italikà 2. Wiesbaden.
C J., 2000. The birth of Gods and the beginnings of agriculture. Cambridge.
C P., 1997. Approaches to the study of food, health and identity, in: P. Caplan (ed.), Food,
health, and identity. London, p. 1–31.
C G., 1990. L’insediamento di Montagnoli nei pressi di Selinunte. Un contributo per
la conoscenza delle popolazioni anelleniche lungo il corso finale del Belice, in: G. Nenci –
S.Tusa– V. Tusa (eds.), Gli elimi e l’area elima: fino all’inizio della prima guerra punica. Atti del
Seminario di Studi (Palermo-Contessa Entellina, 25–28 maggio 1989), Archivio storico siciliano
14–15. Palermo, p. 325–333.
C G., 1992. Nuovi dati su scavi condotti nel versante orientale del basso Belice e nel
bacino finale del Platani, in: Giornate Internazionali di Studi sull’Area Elima (Gibellina, 22–26
ottobre 1994). Pisa-Gibellina, p. 191–202.
C G., 2000. Nuovi dati sull’insediamento di Montagnoli presso Menfi, in: Terze Giornate
Internazionali di Studi sull’Area Elima (Gibellina – Erice – Contessa Entellina, 23–26 ottobre
1997). Pisa, p. 263–71.
C G., 2002. (ed.), La Sicilia nel II millennio a.C., Triskeles. Caltanissetta.
C M. J., 2001. Akha Feasting: An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective, in: M. Dietler – B. Hayden
(eds.), Feasts. Archaeological and ethnographic perspectives on food, politics, and power.
Washington, p. 144–167.
C J. M., 2007. Traditions in Profile: A Chronological Sequence of Western Sicilian Ceramics
(7th-6th c. BC), doctorat, University of New York, New York.
D´AGATA A., 2018. La Necropoli Est di Polizzello: Riti e deposizioni dalle tombe 5 e 5, in: E. Herring
- E. O’Donoghue (eds.), The Archaeology of Death. Proceedings of the Seventh Conference
of Italian Archaeology Held at the National University of Ireland, Galway, April 16–18, 2016.
Oxford, p. 333–342.
De Miro E., 1988–1989. Gli “indigeni” della Sicilia centro-meridionale, Kókalos 34–35, p. 19–46.
D M E., 1988. Polizzello, centro della Sicania, QuadAMess 3, p. 25–41.
D M E., 1991. Eredità egeo-micenee ed alto arcaismo in Sicilia. 3. Polizello, in: D. Musti–
A.Sacconi – L. Rocchi – L. Rocchetti – R. Scafa – L. Sportiello – M. Giannotta (eds.),
La Transizione dal Miceneo all’Alto Arcaismo. Dal palazzo alla città Atti del Convegno
Internazionale (Roma, 14–19 marzo 1988. Rom 1991, p. 593–617.
D M., 2001. Theorizing the feast: rituals of consumption, commensal politics and the power in
African contexts, in: Dietler M. et Hayden B. (eds.) 2001, p. 65–114.
D M., 2010. Archaeologies of Colonialism. Consumption, Entanglement, and Violence in
Ancient Mediterranean France. Berkeley.
D M. et Hayden B. (eds.) 2001. Feasts: Archaeological and ethnographic perspectives on food
politics and power. Washington, D.C.
D M. et Herbich I. Liquid Material Culture: Following the Flow of Beer Among the Luo of
Kenya, in: H.-P. Wotzka (eds.), Grundlegungen. Beiträge zur europäischen und afrikanischen
Archäologie für Manfred K.H. Eggert. Tübingen, p. 395–408.
E T. K., 1994. Political Domination and Social Evolution, in: T. Ingold (ed.), Companion
encyclopedia of anthropology. Humanity, culture and social life. London, p. 940–961.
Fà M.L. (ed.), 2002. Mozia. Gli scavi nella “Zona A” dell’abitato. Bari.

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 203
F M., 2013. Feasting the Community: Ritual and Power on the Sicilian Acropoleis (10th- 6th
centuries BC), Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 26.2, p. 211–34.
F M., 2016, Feeding the Community: Women’s Participation in Communal Celebrations,
Western Sicily (Eighth-Sixth Centuries BC), J Archaeol Method Theory 23, p. 900–920.
F G., 1999. Necropoli dei centri indigeni della valle del Platani: organizzazione, tipologie,
aspetti rituali, in: M. Barra Bagnasco – E. De Miro – A. Pinzone (eds.), Magna Grecia e Sicilia.
Stato degli studi e prospettive di ricerca. Atti dell`Incontro di Studi Messina (2–4 dicembre
1996), Pelorias 4. Messina, p. 195–197.
F C., 2011. Commensality, society and culture, Social Science Information 50.3, p. 528–548.
G G. et Belk R.W., 1996. I’d like to buy the world a coke: Consumptionscapes of the “less affluent
world”, Journal of Consumer Policy 19, p. 271–304.
G C. – C M. – V W K. – W R.-M. (eds.), 2006, Sikania. Tesori archeologici
dalla Sicilia centro-meridionale secoli XIII – VI a.C. = Archäologische Schätze aus Zentral- und
Südsizilien; Katalog der Ausstellung Wolfsburg – Hamburg. Catania.
H Y., 1998. Eating the dead: mortuary feasting and the politics of memory in the Aegean
Bronze Age societies. in: Branigan K. (ed.), Cemetery and society in the Aegean bronze age
(Sheffield studies in Aegean archaeology). Sheffield, p.115–132.
H Y., 2008. Time, performance, and the production of a mnemonic record: from feasting to
an archaeology of eating and drinking, in: Hitchcock L.A. – Laffineur R. – Crowley J. (eds.), DAIS:
The Aegean feast; proceedings of the 12th International Aegean Conference/12e Rencontre
Égéenne Internationale, University of Melbourne, Centre for Classics and Archaeology, 25–29
March 2008 (Aegaeum 29). Liège, p. 3–20.
H C.A., 2017. The social archaeology of food: Thinking about eating from prehistory to the
present. New York.
H B., 1996. Feasting in prehistoric and traditional societies, in: Wiessner P.W. et Schiefenhövel
W. (eds.), Food and the status quest: An interdisciplinary perspective. Providence, RI, p.
127–147.
H B., 2001. Fabulous Feasts. A Prolegomenon to the Importance of Feasting, in: Dietler M. et
Hayden B. (eds.), Feasts. Archaeological and ethnographic perspectives on food, politics, and
power. Washington, p. 23–64.
H B., 2014. The Power of Feasts. From prehistory to the present. Cambridge.
H B. et Villeneuve S., 2011. A century of feasting studies, Annual Review of Anthropology 40,
p.433–449.
H T., 2006. Local responses to colonization in the Iron Age Mediterranean. London.
I H.P., 2009. Die Siedlung auf dem Monte Iato in archaischer Zeit. Jahrbuch des Deutschen
Archäologischen Instituts 124, p. 135–222.
I H.P. – Isler-Kerényi C. – Lezzi-Hafter A., 1984. Der Tempel der Aphrodite. La ceramica
proveniente dall’insediamento medievale. Cenni e osservazioni preliminari, Studia Ietina 2.
Zürich.
J J. – A K. L. – A S. J. – G E. – J R. – L G. – L C., 2005.
“Drinking Beer in a Blissful Mood”: Alcohol Production, Operational Chains, and Feasting in the
Ancient World, Current Anthropology 46, p. 275–303.
J A. et Earle T. K., 1987. The evolution of human societies. From foraging group to agrarian
state. Stanford.
J, M. 2008, Feast: Why humans share food. Oxford.
J L. L., 2011. The evolution of ritual feasting systems in prehispanic Philippine chiefdoms,
in:D M. et Hayden B. (eds.), Feasts. Archaeological and ethnographic perspectives on
food, politics, and power. Washington, p. 267–310
K G., 1988. Einführung in die Religionssoziologie. Darmstadt.

204 Birgit Öhlinger
K E., 2011. Wohnen in Compounds: Haus-Gesellschaften und soziale Gruppenbildung im
Frühen West- und Mittelsizilien (12.-6. Jh. v. Chr.), in: G M. et Horsnaes H. W. (eds.),
Communicating Identity in Italic Iron Age communities. Oxford, p. 130–154.
K E. et Mohr M., 2015. Monte Iato I, Two Late Archaic Feasting Places between the Local
and the Global. In: Kistler, E. – Öhlinger, B. – Mohr, M. – Hoernes M. (eds.), Sanctuaries and
the Power of Consumption. Networking and the Formation of Elites in the Archaic Western
Mediterranean World. Proceedings of the International Conference in Innsbruck, 20th-23rd
March 2012, Philippika 92. Wiesbaden, p. 385–415.
K E. et Mohr M., 2016. The Archaic Monte Iato: Between Coloniality and Locality, in: Baitinger,
H. (ed.), Materielle Kultur und Identität im Spannungsfeld zwischen mediterraner Welt und
Mitteleuropa. Material Culture and Identity between the Mediterranean World and Central
Europe. Akten der Internationalen Tagung am Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseum Mainz,
22.-24. Oktober 2014. RGZM-Tagungen 27. Mainz, p. 81–98.
K E. – Ö B. – S M., 2013. “Zwischen Aphrodite-Tempel und spätarchaischem
Haus”: Die Innsbrucker Kampagne 2011 auf dem Monte Iato (Sizilien) : Das FWF-Projekt
P22642-G19 und die mit ihm verbundenen Forschungsziele. Jahreshefte des Österreichischen
Archäologischen Institutes in Wien 82, p. 227–258.
K E. – Ö B. – M N. – S M., 2014, “Zwischen Aphrodite-Tempel und
spätarchaischem Haus”. Die Innsbrucker Kampagnen 2012 und 2013 auf dem Monte Iato
(Sizilien), Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes in Wien 83, p. 157–200.
K E. – Ö B. – D T. – I R. – W B. – S G., 2015, “Zwischen
Aphrodite-Tempel und spätarchaischem Haus II”. Die Innsbrucker Kampagne 2014 auf dem Monte
Iato (Sizilien), Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes in Wien 84, p. 129–164.
K E. – Ö B. – D T. – M N. – I R. – W B. – F G.,
2018, “Zwischen Aphrodite-Tempel und spätarchaischem Haus II”. Die Innsbrucker Kampagne
2015 und 2016 auf dem Monte Iato (Sizilien), Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen
Institutes in Wien 87, p. 249–299.
K E. – F G. – T U. (forthcoming). Feasting at the Edge – Traditional
vs. Modern Consumptionscapes at Archaic Monte Iato (Western Sicily), in: MorganC.–
Charalambidou X. – Crielaard J.P. (eds.), Feasting with the Greeks: Towards a Social
Archaeology of Ritual Consumption in the Greek World. Oxford.
K I., 1996. Negotiating equality through ritual: a consideration of Late Natufian and Pre-Pottery
Neolithic A period mortuary practices, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 15, p. 313–336.
M L. (ed.), 2008, Il santuario dei Palici. Un centro di culto nella Valle del Margi, Collana
d’area 11. Palermo.
M A A., 1988. Early Greek Temples: Their Origin and Function, in: Hä R. (ed.), Early
Greek cult practice. Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium at the Swedish Institute at
Athens (26–29 june, 1986). Göteborg, p. 105–119.
M A A., 1977. From rulers’ dwellings to temples. Architecture, religion and society in
early Iron Age Greece 1100–700 B.C., SIMA 121. Jonsered.
MC B. E., 1992. The Early Bronze Age Village of La Muculufa and Prehistoric Hut Architecture
in Sicily, AJA 96, p. 23–44.
M M. et Notarstefano F., 2017. The Consumption of Beer on Archaic Monte Iato (Sicily):
Preliminary results and insights gained from gas chromatographical analyses, in Scienza e
archeologia : un efficace connubio per la divulgazione della cultura scientifica, Pisa, p. 135–141.
M I. – J T. – B E. – T S., 2001. Stanford University Excavations on the Acropolis
of Monte Polizzo, Sicily, I: Preliminary Report on the 2000 Season, MemAmAc 46, p. 253–271.
M I. – J T. – B E. – T S., 2002. Stanford University Excavations on the Acropolis
of Monte Polizzo, Sicily, II: Preliminary Report on the 2001 Season, MemAmAc 47, p. 153–198

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 205
M I. – J T. – B E. – G B. – T S. – H T. – M W. –
SH.-P., 2003. Stanford University Excavations on the Acropolis of Monte Polizzo, Sicily,
III:Preliminary Report on the 2002 Season, Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 48,
p.243–315.
M I. – J T. – G B., 2004. Standford University excavations on the acropolis
of Monte Polizzo, Sicily, IV: Preliminary report on the 2003 season, Memoirs of the American
Academy in Rome 49, p. 197–279.
Mü Ch., 2008. Fragments from a Mountain Society. Tradition, Innovation and Interaction
at Archaic Monte Polizzo, Sicily, GOTARC Series B, Gothenburg Archaeological Thesis 50,
Göteborg.
Mü Ch., 2013. Having an Axe to Grind: An Examination of Tradition in the Sicilian Iron
Age, in: Bergerbrants S. et Sabatini S. (eds.), Counterpoint. Essays in archaeology and heritage
studies in honour of Professor Kristian Kristiansen, BAR International series 2508. Oxford,
p.401–409.
Mü Ch., 2015. Expanding the Circle of Trust. Tradition and Change in Iron Age Communities
in western Sicily, in: Fejfer J. – Moltesen M. – Rathje A. (eds.), Tradition. Transmission of Culture
in the Ancient World, ActaHyp 14. Copenhagen, p. 239–268.
N-C C., 2016. Feasting, in: Stein F. – Lazar S. – Candea M. – Diemberger H. – Robbins
J. – Sanchez A. – Stasch R. (eds), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology. http://doi.
org/10.29164/16feasting.
Ö B., 2015a. Indigenous Cult Places of Local and Interregional Scale in Archaic Sicily:
a Sociological Approach to Religion. in: Kistler E. – Öhlinger B. – Mohr M. – Hoernes M.
(eds.), Sanctuaries and the Power of Consumption. Networking and the Formation of Elites
in the Archaic Western Mediterranean World. Proceedings of the International Conference in
Innsbruck, 20th-23rd March 2012, Philippika 92. Wiesbaden, p. 417–30.
Ö B., 2015b. Ritual und Religion im archaischen Sizilien: Formations- und
Transformationsprozesse binnenländischer Kultorte im Kontext kultureller Kontakte, Italiká Bd.
4. Wiesbaden.
Ö B., 2016a. Ritual and religion in archaic Sicily: Indigenous material cultures between
tradition and innovation, in: Baitinger, H. (ed.), Materielle Kultur und Identität im
Spannungsfeld zwischen mediterraner Welt und Mitteleuropa. Material Culture and Identity
between the Mediterranean World and Central Europe. Akten der Internationalen Tagung am
Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseum Mainz, 22.-24. Oktober 2014. RGZM-Tagungen 27.
Mainz, p. 107–120.
Ö B., 2016b. Ritueller Konsum am Monte Iato. Ein überregionaler Kultplatz im Binnenland
des archaischen Siziliens, in: Grabherr G. et Kainrath B. (eds.), Akten des 15. Österreichischen
Archäologentages in Innsbruck 27. Februar-1. März 2014, Ikarus Band 9. Innsbruck, p. 265–274.
Ö B. – K E. – W B. – I R. – D T. – W G. –
F G., 2019. Monte Iato: negotiating indigeneity in an archaic contact zone
in the interior of western Sicily, in: Booms D. et Higgs P.J. (eds.), Sicily: Heritage of the World.
British Museum Research Publication 222. London, p. 7–17.
Ö B. – L S. – F G. – T U. (forthcoming). Lifting the lid on
local culinary practices in a changing world: Cooking pots in archaic Sicily (7th – 5th century
BC), Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology.
P R. – G C. – P D. (eds.), 2009a. Polizzello. Scavi del 2004 nell’area del
santuario arcaico dell’acropoli. Palermo.
P R. – G C. – C, M. (eds.), 2009b. Sabucina: cinquant’anni di studi e ricerche
archeologiche. Caltanissetta.
P E., 2009. Cap. 3. Il settore centrale, in: Panvini et al. 2009b, p. 123–176.

206 Birgit Öhlinger
P P M. 2003. Food, Identity and Culture: an Introduction, in: Parker Pearson M. (ed.),
Food, culture and identity in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (BAR international series 1117).
Oxford, p. 1–30.
P M., 1998–1999. Vassallaggi (S. Cataldo, Caltanissetta). La necropoli meridionale, scavi 1956,
NSA 9–10, p. 207–395.
P S. (ed.) 2015, Between Feasts and Daily Meals: Toward an Archaeology of Commensal
Spaces. Berlin.
R K., 2009, Vom Versammlungsraum zum Tempel – Überlegungen zur Genese der
monumentalen Tempelarchitektur, in: Jaeder B. (ed.), Religion. Lehre und Praxis. Akten des
Kolloquiums Basel, 22. Oktober 2004. Athen, p. 95–110.
S M M., 1981. Sabucina. Studio sulla zona archeologica di Caltanissetta. Caltanissetta.
S G., 2011. Hybridity and Hierarchy: Cultural Identity and Social Mobility in Archaic Sicily,
in: Gleba M. et Hornsnaes H. W. (eds.), Communicating Identity in Italic Iron Age communities.
Oxford, p. 113–129.
S F., 1997. Tipologie abitative archaiche nei centri indigeni occidentali: il caso di Monte
Maranfusa, in: Isler H. P. et Käch D. (eds.), Wohnbauforschung in Zentral und Westsizilien.
Sicilia occidentale e centro-meridionale: ricerche archeologiche nell’abitato. Fünfundzwanzig
Jahre Züricher Ausgrabungen auf dem Monte Iato (Zürich, 28. Februar – 3. März 1996). Zürich,
p. 151–164.
S F. (ed.), 2003. Monte Maranfusa. Un insediamento nella media valle del Belice. L’abitato
indigeno. Palermo.
S F., 2009. Spazio abitativo e architettura domestica negli insediamenti indigeni della
Sicilia occidentale, in: Belarte M. C. (ed.), L’espai domèstic i l’organització de la societat a la
protohistòria de la Mediterrània occidental, actes de la IV Reunió Internacional d’Arqueologia
de Calafell (Calafell – Tarragona, 6 al 9 de març de 2007), Arqueo Mediterrània 11. Barcelona,
Tarragona, p. 363–377.
T D., 2009. Cap. 2. Il settore settentrionale dell’acropoli, in: P et al. 2009b, p. 9–121.
T S., Da Mokarta a Monte Polizzo: la transizione dell’età del Bronzo Finale all’età del Ferro,
in: Congiu M. – Miccichè C.- Modeo S. (eds.), Eis Akra. Insediamenti d’altura in Sicilia dalla
Preistoria al III sec. a.C. (Caltanissetta 2009), p. 27–52.
T S. – N S. F., 2000. L’epilogo sicano nella Sicilia occidentale: il caso Mokarta – capanna
1, in: Terze Giornate Internazionali di Studi sull’Area Elima (Gibellina – Erice – Contessa
Entellina, 23–26 ottobre 1997). Pisa, p. 963–977.
T K.C. (ed.), 2007. The archaeology of food and identity. Carbondale.
U C., 2006. Anlässe und Formen von Festen mit überlokaler Reichweite in vor- und früharchaischer
Zeit. Wozu dient der Blick in ethnologisch-anthropologische Literatur?, in: Freitag K. – Funke
P. – Haake M. (eds.), Kult – Politik – Ethnos. Überregionale Heiligtümer im Spannungsfeld von
Kult und Politik; Kolloquium (Münster, 23. – 24. November 2001), Historia – Einzelschriften 189.
Stuttgart, p. 17–41.
U C. et Kistler E., 2020. Die Entstehung Griechenlands, Oldenbourg Grundriss der Geschichte, 46,
Oldenburg.
Valentino M., 2003. La ceramica da fuoco e da cucina, in: Spatafora F. (ed.), Monte Maranfusa:
Uninsediamento nella media Valle del Belice: l’abitato indigeno. Palermo, p. 255–268.
V B A. W., 1962. News Letter from Rome, AJA 66, 1962, p. 393–401.
V S., 1999. Colle Madore. Un caso di ellenizzazione in terra sicana. Palermo.
W R. D., 1995. From Secret Society to State Religion: Ritual and Social Organisation in
Prehistoric and Protohistoric Italy, in: Christie N. (ed.), Settlement and economy in Italy, 1500
BC – AD 1500. Papers of the Fifth Conference of Italian Archaeology, Oxbow Monograph 41.
Oxford, p. 83–88.

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 207
Fig. 1: Map with the sites mentioned in the text (NASA – visible earth LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid
Response – modified by Birgit Öhlinger).
Fig. 2: Montagnoli di Menfi. Hearth with clay andirons in building 7
(Birgit Öhlinger, after C 2000, Taf. XXXVIII, 1).

208 Birgit Öhlinger
Fig. 3: Monte Polizzo. House 2 with hearth of the Acropolis with sun symbol (Mü 2008,
Fig. 18. 65).

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 209
Fig. 4: Compounds of Montagnoli di Menfi (Birgit Öhlinger, after C 2000, Taf. XXXV).

210 Birgit Öhlinger
Fig. 5: Montagnoli di Menfi.
Reconstruction of building 1 (with
fireplace of building 7) (Birgit Öhlinger,
after C 1990, Fig. 21–23).
Fig. 6: Clay hut model V2618 found at
Monte Iato (Zürcher Ietas-Grabung).

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 211
Fig. 7: Monte Polizzello. Topography and Acropolis area (Birgit Öhlinger with google earth).

212 Birgit Öhlinger
Fig. 8: Monte Polizzello. Acropolis: Hypothetical reconstruction of the compound- and cult site-
phase (Birgit Öhlinger, after T 2009, 312, Tav. 1).

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 213
Fig. 9: Monte Polizzo. Map of the settlement (Mü 2013, Fig. 2).

214 Birgit Öhlinger
Fig. 10: Sabucina. Cult place outside the new settlement (Birgit Öhlinger, after M M
R., 1993. Sabucina, recenti scavi nell’area fuori le mura, in: Atti del convegno Storia e archeologia
della media e bassa valle dell’Himera. Palermo. 137–182, 142, Fig. 4).
Fig. 11: Monte Iato around 500 BCE (second phase of the so-called Aphrodite Temple). LHA: Late
Archaic House. Red: upper storey, AT: Aphrodite Temple, dr: drain, yellow: streets (Birgit Öhlinger,
Universität Innsbruck).

Commensality in Western Sicily – Fireplaces and hearths as ritual centres 215
Fig. 12: Monte Iato. First phase of the so-called Aphrodite Temple with fireplaces (Birgit Öhlinger,
Universität Innsbruck).

216 Birgit Öhlinger
Fig. 13: Monte Iato. Hearth made of
spread clay (Birgit Öhlinger, Universität
Innsbruck).
Fig. 14: Monte Polizzello. Hypothetical
reconstruction of the altar for the
burnt offerings (Birgit Öhlinger, after
P 2009, 1176, Fig. 40).