Hesperia
Burying Fragments in the Vicinity of Dwellings: Late 3rd-Millennium BCE Bothroi Reconsidered
by Polina Kapsali
Hesperia, Volume 94, Issue 3
Page(s): 261-303
Stable URL:
Year: 2025
ABSTRACT:
Bothroi are a distinctive feature of late 3rd-millennium BCE living environments in mainland Greece, but their usage and purpose remain unclear. This article critically examines the paradigms influencing their study and argues that bothroi have often been analyzed through a dichotomy between practical and ritual interpretations, limiting our present understanding. By focusing on the spatial relationships of bothroi and their fills, this study offers an alternative approach. While centered on Lerna, it also incorporates evidence from other mainland sites, suggesting that activities associated with bothroi played a role in reinforcing the connections of people to specific places during a period when living environments were undergoing significant transformation.