A place of burning: hero or ancestor cult at troy

Abstract

This article presents the evidence for Early Archaic ritual activity on the site of a Late Bronze Age cemetery a short distance outside the walls of Troy, at a spot known to excavators as “A Place of Burning.” Here, as at the West Sanctuary adjacent to the citadel, the evidence follows a pattern similar to that found in hero and ancestor cults at other sites. Growing population in the region may have led the inhabitants of Troy to use associations with Bronze Age remains as a way of strengthening territorial claims and bolstering the power of the local elite.