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Burnt animal sacrifice at the Mycenaean ‘Palace of Nestor’, Pylos

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Valasia Isaakidou ,
Paul Halstead ,
Jack Davis  and
Sharon Stocker
Valasia Isaakidou
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University of London, 31–34 Gordon Square, London Wo1H OPY, England. [email protected]
Paul Halstead
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield S1 4ET, England. [email protected]
Jack Davis
Affiliation:
Department of Classics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH 45221-0226, USA. [email protected], [email protected]
Sharon Stocker
Affiliation:
Department of Classics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH 45221-0226, USA. [email protected], [email protected]
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Extract

The burnt sacrifice of bare (defleshed) bones, described in Homer's Odyssey and well documented from Archaic and Classical Greece, is now clearly attested by burnt faunal remains from the ‘Palace of Nestor’ at Mycenaean Pylos. This evidance is of great importance for understanding both the historical role of sacrifice in Greek religion and the significance of fensting in Mycenaean palatial society.

Keywords

sacrificeanimalMycenaeanGreecearchaeozoology
Type
Papers
Information
Antiquity , Volume 76 , Issue 291 , March 2002 , pp. 86 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2002

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