La rurificación de la religión. Foci y suggrundaria en el vicus romano de Falacrinae (Cittareale, Rieti, Italia)

The results of the archaeological exploration of the Roman vicus of Falacrinae, located in the upper Sabina 78 miles northeast of Rome, provide excellent first-hand material for testing the concept of the 'rurification” of religion. The frequentation of the area goes back at least to the late neolithic period, but it was only in the Archaic period that a temple was built, which soon became a sort of pole of attraction for the local community. After the Roman conquest (290 Bce), an entire village gradually arose around the monument. 129 sacrificial foci, dated between the late 3rd and the second half of the 1st cent. Bce (probably linked with the festivals of the Feriae sementivae, Paganalia or Compitalia), and a few burials (suggrundaria) of perinatal fo-etuses of 30/40 weeks of gestation, dated to the 2nd cent. Bce and the first half of the 1st cent. Bce, are the most intriguing traces of ritual practices that have come to light through the excavations. The analysis of these practices suggests that the local rural communities: 1) adopted styles of religious grouping that were significantly different from those taking place in urban contexts; 2) could strongly modify hierarchies of and rituals performed in the cities; 3) cannot necessarily be considered as 'deviant” from the normative point of view; 4) could easily negotiate between local religious traditions and urban patterns

La rurificación de la religión. Foci y suggrundaria en el vicus romano de Falacrinae (Cittareale, Rieti, Italia) Articles