Although first excavated by Paolo Orsi in 1901, and published soon afterwards, the small sanctuary, probably a Thesmophorion, at Bitalemi just outside ancient and modern Gela became better known only after Piero Orlandini’s excavations in 1963–1967. Several elaborate preliminary reports were published within a few years, including some spectacular photographs of votive deposits with neatly stacked pots and in situ remains of ritual meals. These are important illustrations of Greek colonial ritual practices. Also the ceramic finds, particularly Corinthian imports, raised interest, even beyond pottery specialists, because of their value for understanding the chronologies of Gela itself and of Corinthian pottery and the materials associated with it. The finds suggested that the Bitalemi sanctuary was founded in the middle of the seventh century BCE, sometime after the foundation of the city, was rearranged in the mid sixth century, closing off the earlier stratigraphy, and mostly (though not completely) abandoned after the Carthaginian destruction of the city in 405 BCE.
Even though articles kept coming out, the Orlandini excavations at Bitalemi were never fully published. The volume under review partly remedies that: it covers the oldest levels up to the Late Archaic rearrangement of the site; besides the results and finds of the Orlandini excavations, it moreover discusses limited additional excavations done in 1991 and 1994 to clarify some remaining issues. A second volume, treating the finds from the mid sixth century onwards, is in preparation. The book, a team effort by thirteen scholars, is a massive achievement — quite literally, since it contains nearly 600 large text pages and over 200 plates, but also in its ambition to offer a complete documentation of the excavation and its finds, within a wide interpretative context. All this resulted in a 27-page bibliography, but also in a densely printed 96-page ‘catalogue of deposits’ that doubles as a catalogue of in situ finds, another 36 pages listing the items not found in a ‘deposit’ (more about that below) and a 25-page table listing the deposits within stratigraphical phases.
Considering the length of the catalogues and lists, the introduction of the site, its excavation history and its structures in the first two chapters is brief at only 25 pages. Nevertheless, it offers a good overview of the work done on the site and the general stratigraphy as documented by Orlandini, followed by an interpretative sketch of the historical development of the sanctuary deduced from this. There is no further contextual introduction or general explanation of what was found. Surprisingly, therefore, the stacks of votives and the primary deposits that helped make the site famous mostly remain out of sight until the final parts of the book. Only the architectural remains are introduced, but since these are scant, the discussion focuses on the single more complete structure, a small mudbrick enclosure which is convincingly interpreted as an open, or just temporarily covered, ceremonial space rather than an actual shrine.
The bulk of the book, two chapters covering 363 pages, is dedicated to the finds and the deposits they are associated with. Although this is not stated, it seems that all surviving finds are catalogued and discussed. While this completeness is admirable, the practical usefulness of the long lists of short catalogue and deposit entries is doubtful. They amount to printed databases, without the links and search options of a digital format. The data would have been much more accessible in a digital form, perhaps in combination with summary printed tables. The listing of the (apparently) in situ objects, with their inventory numbers, within a deposit list, while the other items have a catalogue number besides their inventory numbers, complicates matters further. Concordances are offered only for some categories of finds, and they are somewhat hidden in the chapter that discusses the finds. While there is a general subject index (including vase names, toponyms, themes and names of vase painters in a single list), there is no index of inventory or catalogue numbers, or deposit numbers, making it very difficult to trace individual items and contexts. Again, a digital database or even a more basic electronic edition would have been very helpful here. One can only hope that either the authors or a daring scholar will take the time to enter the information at some point and offer an online version of the data presented in the book.
The lack of accessibility of the lists of finds and deposits is partly compensated for by the very long Chapter V, which offers elaborate discussions of all object categories: imported (mainly Corinthian) and local pottery, grouped by production place and vase shapes, terracottas, metal, glass and bone finds, (loom-)weights etc. Even though the format of the subchapters dedicated to specific traditional categories (vase shapes by production place for pottery, material-based otherwise) written by different authors varies considerably, most offer the same information: besides a general description of the relevant category, highlighting some individual items too, there is much synthetic contextual information, often combined with tables and graphs. In fact, there are also many lists in the text again, some of which overlap with information already offered in the previous chapter. Together with the frequent long series of brief object and context descriptions, this sometimes makes for tough reading.
Fortunately, there is a lot more than just catalogue data in this chapter. The discussions cover chronological developments of the items themselves and their occurrence at Bitalemi, and their spatial distribution in the excavation. This leads to interpretations of the use of the finds, also in view of their specific find contexts, especially in the multiple, often primary, deposits. The contextual and functional interpretations in particular have considerable overlap with some of the discussion in the three final synthetic chapters, which themselves offer some repetition too — as seems unavoidable since Chapter VI is about the chronological phase covered by the book, Chapter VII covers votive practices and rituals and Chapter VIII offers a conclusion focusing on the cult at Bitalemi. Overall, a more concise presentation of the interpretative parts of the text would have helped to create a more accessible text.
Leaving aside these issues regarding the format, however, the running texts are clearly written and well-organized. Besides useful information on both the finds themselves and their roles at Bitalemi, they offer precise insights into the general stratigraphy of the site, its spatial organization, ritual practices and developments over time. This in turn offers some feedback regarding the more direct interpretation of the excavated remains and the deposits they are connected to. There is one puzzling omission in the text, though: there is no clear explanation of what the ‘deposits’ which form the key component of the contextual interpretation of the excavation really are. Obviously, they are seen as the basic stratigraphical unit, the distinctive result of a deposition or another activity affecting the soil, but this is apparently seen as self-evident, and the connection of the deposits to the more general stratigraphy remains unclear. Perhaps more importantly, the apparent assumption that all deposits are the results of separate moments of deposition and were subsequently at least partly undisturbed is not explained or discussed. Considering that by far most of the deposits contain only a single object, or sometimes even fragments only, this seems problematic. Also because many deposits containing multiple objects were clearly heaped together with the addition of dug up sand, and taking into account the presence of foundations and other structures dug into pre-existing layers, it seems likely that many of the deposits are secondary, or perhaps not even proper deposits at all. Many of the finds can be expected to have ended up where they did as a the result of decades of digging, displacing old things to make space for new ones and cleaning, filling and levelling — not necessarily detached from their original surroundings, but neither likely to be with the items that initially accompanied them. Although the likelihood that much material was moved around and mixed over time is repeatedly mentioned, the implications are hardly taken into account. More reflection on such formation processes would have strengthened and clarified the interpretations offered.
In addition, the interpretations of the use of objects and the formation of deposits are strongly based on a straightforward functionalist approach, assuming that items, especially pots, were always used in the most obvious way, dictated by their shapes: small oil containers must have contained scents, drinking vessels imply wine drinking, etc. This seems to be overly simplistic in a context which is at least partially votive, where ceramic items in particular may have primarily been left behind as dedications, used for libation only, or even offered as empty, ‘non-functional’ objects of some value. Likewise metals, partly scrap and unworked ‘aes rude’ as often seen in sanctuaries, may have been offered primarily for status and value, and not all jewelry was necessarily intended as a personal gift by the woman who first wore it. Taking such potential complexities into account would also perhaps resolve some issues, raised in the final chapter, regarding the composition of the larger deposits, which do not always fit obvious (mono-) functional straightjackets. It might also help to address some intriguing details that now remain unnoted, for example, the fact that almost all of the 22 Attic figured items in the catalogue are small fragments, while there are plenty of complete pots, including Corinthian figured ones. At the same time, a more flexible approach could possibly help clarify the rituals leading to some (parts of) deposits that do seem to be formed by the, mostly complete, remains left behind immediately after a ceremonial gathering, or the stacks and other groupings that rather seem to be more slowly formed votive deposits. Precisely these appealing and nearly unique contexts that helped make Bitalemi famous now remain somewhat undervalued.
In contrast to the limited attention to direct archaeological interpretation, much space is dedicated to rather speculative, text-based views regarding less visible (aspects of) rituals that may have taken place in the sanctuary: meals, particularly consumption of meat, methods and location of food preparation, or the roles of various participants (men, women, priests). It is praiseworthy that such issues are discussed and many suggestions are interesting, but they could be better supported by further reflection, starting with a closer look at the archaeological remains, not only at Bitalemi, but also at the many other sites that are cited for comparison. Nevertheless, even as it is, the contextualization offers useful historical conclusions, particularly that use of the sanctuary was quite sporadic initially, and visits and expenditure intensified over time. There are also useful evaluations and corrections of earlier interpretations by Orlandini and others.
While the total number of illustrations is impressive, they are quite old-fashioned, with the bulk of the finds shown only in very small black and white photographs, which, while good and scaled, do not show much. The numbers of colour photographs (of finds only) and profile drawings of pottery are relatively limited. The 38 pages of excavation photographs, supplemented by many drawings in the text, are a treat, though. This abundant visual documentation of his work stands in stark contrast with Orlandini’s amazingly summary excavation diaries, presented in the appendices, together with very short reports of the 1994 excavation season and the (limited) zoological remains.
All in all this is an essential book, clearly reflecting the enormous effort invested in its making, and offering an unusually detailed and rich view of a small Archaic Greek sanctuary. Considering the wealth of data and reflection that is offered, the few things I found lacking in interpretative discussion are really minor, and in view of the immense work they have done, I certainly cannot blame the authors for not having done more. In any case, one important quality of this book is that it offers a lot of material for further analysis and reflection.