Between Worlds: Understanding Ritual Cave Use in Later Prehistory

The recent resurgence of academic interest in caves has demonstrated the central roles they played as arenas for ritual, ceremony and performance, and their importance within later prehistoric cosmologies. Caves represent very particular types of archaeological site and require novel approaches to their recording, interpretation and presentation. This is especially true in understanding the ritual use of caves, when the less tangible aspects of these environments would have been fundamental to the practices taking place within them. 

Between Worlds explores new theoretical frameworks that examine the agency of these enduring 'natural' places and the complex interplay between environment, taphonomy and human activity. It also showcases the application of innovative technologies, such as 3D laser-scanning and acoustic modelling, which provide new and exciting ways of capturing the experiential qualities of these enigmatic sites. Together, these developments offer more nuanced understandings of the role of caves in prehistoric ritual, and allow for more effective communication, management and presentation of cave archaeology to a wide range of audiences.

Dr Lindsey Büster is a Teaching Fellow in European Iron Age Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. With a PhD in later prehistoric roundhouses (2013), her research interests include ritual and domestic life in later prehistoric Europe, and complex later prehistoric funerary practices, which she is exploring through excavations at the Covesea Caves in north-east Scotland.

Professor Eugène Warmenbol is Professor of North-Western European Archaeology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. He is a specialist of the Bronze and Iron Ages, with interests in cave occupation and the dynamics of long-distance exchanges. Formerly, he spent time excavating in Egypt and Syria, and has organised several exhibitions on Ancient Egypt. 

Dr Dimitrij Mlekuž is a Research Associate and Lecturer at the University of Ljubljana and is Heritage Officer at the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia. He completed a PhD on the Neolithic landscapes of East Adriatic, and his main interests are landscape archaeology, remote sensing and the Neolithic societies of south-eastern Europe.