Elizabeth Weinberg

Elizabeth's PhD research examines sanctuaries used exclusively, or primarily, by women living in Greek colonies in Sicily. While ancient authors assert that these colonies maintained links to their Greek homelands through the reproduction of festivals such as the Thesmophoria, archaeology has shown that the structural layout and material cultures of many sacred sites differ from those found in mainland Greece, reflecting unique rituals and possibly belief systems. The geographical location, building materials and structures, and material culture of these sanctuaries more closely mirror those of sanctuaries found at indigenous and Phoenician settlements. Were Greek women appropriating elements of local religions to create a ‘Sicilian’ identity linked to their colonised, ‘primitive’ landscape? Or were indigenous Sicilian women living in Greek colonies creating these spaces, integrating their own beliefs and traditions to maintain their cultural identities?

This thesis combines the methodologies of topoalanysis of sacred space and neuropsychology to illustrate the relationship between cognitive memory, social memory, and identity to place.

Elizabeth's PhD research is supervised by Dr. Sian Lewis and Dr. Ralph Anderson.

• Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Periods
• Women and Gender in Antiquity
• Greek Religion
• Osteoarchaeology
• Cognitive approaches to Religion
• Sensory Archaeology
• Phenomenology 
• Material Study of Religion