Liminality along the limes: a study on the Matilo mask, its depositional context and the associated finds

Rijk, T.E. de (2016)

Article / Letter to editor

In Western Europe many Roman finds have been retrieved from wet locations. A possible explanation for why these finds, often still useable, ended up there is the association of wet places with liminality. In this article, the concept of liminality will first be elaborated with a focus on places that are in-between (cosmological) worlds, and that are both natural and artificial. In this regard, an example of the former is the river Rhine, which formed a part of the Limes frontier (between the Roman world and everything else), while the Corbulo channel may be seen as an example of the latter. In contrast to the majority of Roman helmets found along the Lower Rhine Limes the Matilo mask was discovered during an excavation, which allows a thorough analysis of its depositional context. Such finds, and the Matilo mask itself, have frequently been interpreted as depositions by soldiers after their military service to thank the Gods for their protection. This paper however, attempts to show that the interpretation of these ritual practices in terms of liminality is also possible. As a consequence, interpretations of mask finds and contexts that are similar to that of the Matilo mask might need to take liminality into consideration as well.

• Ritual deposition
• Corbulo channel
• Roman helmets
• bronze mask
• river finds

• All authors: Rijk, T.E. de
• Date: 2016
• Journal: Inter-Section
• Volume: 2
• Pages: 14 - 21