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Processions, propaganda, and pixels: Reconstructing the Sacred Way between Miletos and Didyma

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Wilkinson, TC 

Abstract

The Sacred Way connecting the city of Miletos to the sanctuary of Didyma has long been considered one of the best-documented examples of a processional road from the ancient world. Views of the road have become ossified around an orthodox reconstruction of the route, which is assumed to have remained relatively static from the Archaic to the Roman period. A reexamination of the full epigraphic and archaeological evidence, incorporating the latest research in the region, highlights the many gaps in our knowledge and the possibility that the route and identity of the Sacred Way may have changed substantially through time. Computational modeling of the local topography confirms the feasibility of alternative routes and the effect that probable long-term landscape change around Panormos might have had. This article calls for a fresh characterization of the Sacred Way from Miletos to Didyma, which envisages multiple periods of (re)invention and (re)construction from the Archaic period right up to the modern day.

Description

Keywords

4301 Archaeology, 43 History, Heritage and Archaeology

Journal Title

American Journal of Archaeology

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0002-9114
1939-828X

Volume Title

122

Publisher

University of Chicago Press
Sponsorship
European Commission Horizon 2020 (H2020) Marie Sk?odowska-Curie actions (700769)