Just discovered that @drblankam.bsky.social and Abigail Graham's *Senses, Cognition, and Ritual Experience in the Roman World* with @universitypress.cambridge.org is OPEN ACCESS! Be sure to download. It's outstanding. www.cambridge.org/core/books/s...

🔊 You can now listen to the @univie.ac.at #VDTR audioguide on the religious history of #Vienna, including my contribution on the cult of Mithras as part of my @horizoneu.bsky.social #MSCA project #CAMRIP! 👇 izi.travel/de/browse/ec... #religion #history #religioushistory #Roman #archaeology

Celebrated Summer Solstice at the Duino mithraeum today ☀️ #Mithras #mithraeum #Duino #Italy #SummerSolstice #Roman #religion #archaeology

I am excited to be a contributor to an upcoming audioguide on the religious history of #Vienna, a fantastic project by the @univie.ac.at Doctoral School of Theology and Research on Religion! I contributed an entry on #Roman religion & the cult of #Mithras in Vienna vdtr.univie.ac.at/en/for-docto...

Our book has just been reviewed in AJA by @drjacklennon.bsky.social 👉 “The volume is innovative and ambitious from start to finish, and each of its various chapters brings something worthwhile to the table” Read the full review here 👇 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10....

Can’t wait to dive into this! @drblankam.bsky.social

When you stumble upon your book “Senses, Cognition and Ritual Experience in the Roman World” on the library shelves of your alma mater @ubishops.bsky.social … and it’s in excellent company! @cambridgeup.bsky.social @bettanyhughes.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/us/universit... #cognition #religion

@cambridgeup.bsky.social has generously provided a limited-time 20% discount on our book "Senses, Cognition, and Ritual Experience in the Roman World"! Visit cambridge.org/9781009355544 and enter code SCRR2025

Another excellent day at the #UncommonSensesV #conference with a panel this morning on health where Paule Joseph discussed how alcohol consumption affects the senses of taste and smell! Following was a session on vision where speakers discussed different experiences of visual impairment. #senses

Our book "Senses, Cognition and Ritual Experience in the Roman World" is featured in the Uncommon Senses V virtual book exhibition alongside other new sensory publications! #sensorystudies #senses #sensoryarchaeology 👇 www.sensorystudies.org/uncommon-sen...

Elated that our book “Senses, Cognition, and Ritual Experience in the Roman World” is featured among new publications at the Uncommon Senses V conference at @concordiau.bsky.social If you are here stop by Molson building 9th floor lobby to check it out! www.cambridge.org/core/books/s...

Just presented my paper on how sensory stimuli contribute to shaping #ritual experiences in the cult of #Mithras at the Uncommon Senses V conference at @concordiau.bsky.social Excellent questions and comments afterwards, looking forward to the next 3 days of talks! #sensoryarchaeology #senses

Any #sensorystudies #sensoryarchaeology colleagues attending the Uncommon Senses V conference at @concordiau.bsky.social this week? Reach out if you’d like to meet up! #senses #sensorium #uncommonsesnsesvconference #uncommonsenses

This collection of studies explores the experience of rituals in the ancient Roman world through the lens of cognitive and sensory sciences. The authors examine how cognitive and sensory processes shaped the perception, memory, and meaning of religious ceremonies.

These works combine historical, archaeological, and iconographic evidence with theories from psychology, anthropology, and neurobiology, offering new interpretations of both pagan and Christian ritual practices.

The book highlights the variability of individual experiences within rituals and their importance for understanding ancient religion.

The 5th chapter analyses the 4th c. pilgrimage of Egeria to Jerusalem, focusing on her account of the Good Friday ceremony and the interaction of pilgrims with relics such as the wood of the True Cross, the inscription, Solomon’s ring, and the horn used for anointing the kings of Israel.

The 4th chapter by A. Graham analyse the Salutarius procession in Ephesus, described in foundation inscriptions, as both a ritual event and a cognitive experience. They explore various aspects of the ritual, from organisational details and the route of the procession to the roles of participants.

The 3rd chapter by Vicky Jewell analyses the significance of colours in Greco-Roman sacred spaces, focusing on their perception by ancient viewers within the framework of cognitive theories and philosophy.

The 2nd chapter by Emma-Jayne Graham examines the haptic production of religious knowledge among the Vestal Virgins in Roman religion, using the Ara Pacis frieze to argue that the material objects carried by the Vestals actively shaped their ritual experiences and understanding.

The 1st chapter by @drblankam.bsky.social analyses the processes of learning and transmitting religious and ritual knowledge in ancient religions, proposing a new theoretical model based on the cognitive science of religion, called the Religious Learning Network (RLN) Model.

It took me a while, but finally I had the time to go through the volume "Senses, Cognition, and Ritual Experience in the Roman World" edited by @drblankam.bsky.social and Abigail Graham. It's a must-read for anyone interested in archaeology/history of senses, especially in antiquity.

Everyone, buy this book written by @drblankam.bsky.social and @abigailgraham.bsky.social See my positive review: Mark_Beumer_Review_Blanka_Misic_and_Abigail_Graham_eds_Senses_Cognition_and_Ritual_Experience_in_the_Roman_World_Cambridge_University_Press_2024_in_Kleio_Historia_nr_19_2024_

I am creating a list of scholars currently on BlueSky who are working in Roman history and Roman archaeology. Please let me know if you’d like to be added! bsky.app/profile/did:...

Start the week with a #TRAJ #BookReview! Senses, Cognition & Ritual Experience in the Roman World, ed. by @drblankam.bsky.social & Abigail Graham, ✍️ by Charlotte Spence (@ox.ac.uk) "a highly compelling case for increasing engagement with Cognitive Science of Religion" doi.org/10.16995/tra...

I am creating a list of scholars currently on BlueSky who are working in Roman history and Roman archaeology. Please let me know if you’d like to be added! bsky.app/profile/did:...

Excited to be part of the week-long workshop "Religion and Rituals" at Universität Erfurt! Looking forward to a week of stimulating discussions and lectures that will undoubtedly provide fruitful insights for my MSCA #CAMRIP project.

📢 My own chapter from our recent book ‘Senses, Cognition, and Ritual Experience in the Roman World’ is now available to read and download for FREE on CUP website until April 24th, 2024 at the link below 👇 www.cambridge.org/core/books/s...

In chapter 2 of our new book 📖 🖊️ Emma-Jayne Graham (Open University) examines the procession of Vestals on the #AraPacis, drawing attention to how humans and objects combined to produce a variety of haptic and embodied ritual experiences!

In chapter 3 of our new book 📖 🖊️ Vicky Jewell examines #polychromy in temples of #Mithras, drawing attention to how colours are perceived by ancient writers and how this has contributed to a haptic visual experience of Mithraic ritual spaces!

It was a pleasure to discuss research results from my HORIZON EU MSCA project #CAMRIP with an interdisciplinary audience and fellow members of @viennacogscihub.bsky.social (as evidenced by my huge smile!) Thank you to CogSciHub for inviting me to present! 📸 Dani Biegler @univie.ac.at

In chapter 4 of our new book 📖 🖊️ my co-editor Abigail Graham (@ics.bsky.social) examines ritual dynamics of Salutaris’ procession in Ephesus, drawing attention to how ritual failure can make for a more memorable ritual experience!

I am honoured to be invited by the Vienna Cognitive Science Hub to give a talk on recent research results from my MSCA project CAMRIP on March 12, 2024! Register here👇 if you’d like to join us: cogsci.univie.ac.at/activities/b...

📢 Call for Papers 📢 Join our session on cognitive and sensory approaches to ritual and ritual dynamics! 🗓️ Deadline for paper abstracts: February 8th 2024! Details below ⬇️

Thank you to Vienna’s Cognitive Science Hub for featuring our new book "Senses, Cognition, and Ritual Experience in the Roman World" on their webpage! cognitivescience.univie.ac.at/news/detail/... @univie.ac.at @viennacogscihub.bsky.social @dshcs.bsky.social

Thank you #PolychromyRoundTable for featuring our new book “Senses, Cognition, and Ritual Experience in the Roman World” (CUP 2024) on your webpage! www.polychromyroundtable.com

Researching religious rituals in the ancient world? Submit your paper for our EAA session #1089 Ritual Variance in Graeco-Roman Religions: Cognitive and Sensory Theoretical Perspectives submissions.e-a-a.org/eaa2024/ Submission deadline: Feb. 8th 2024

Are you doing research on ritual, cognition, sensory studies and/or sensory archaeology in antiquity? Submit an abstract for our EAA session #1089 Ritual Variance in Graeco-Roman Religions: Cognitive and Sensory Theoretical Perspectives at: submissions.e-a-a.org/eaa2024/ by Feb. 8th!

CALL FOR PAPERS for EAA session #1089 Ritual Variance in Graeco-Roman Religions: Cognitive and Sensory Theoretical Perspectives Submit at: submissions.e-a-a.org/eaa2024/ Submission deadline: Feb. 8th 2024 Please share this call with your colleagues! @archaeologyeaa.bsky.social #archaeology #ritual

CALL FOR PAPERS (particularly for #EarlyCareerResearchers): Private material religion across cultures, June 6–7, 2024. ics.sas.ac.uk/events/priva... Please share this call with your colleagues and students and encourage them to propose something. (Deadline Dec 8, 2023)

You can now preview an excerpt from Abigail Graham and mine’s Cambridge University Press book “Senses, Cognition, and Ritual Experience in the Roman World”! It’s also available to pre-order! #cognition #religion #ritual #roman #archaeology #sensorystudies www.cambridge.org/at/universit...