Ritual and Beliefs Transformed Under Empire

Effects of Rome’s Conquest on the Celts

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 -  7:30 p.m.

Cullen Hall, University of St. Thomas, 4001 Mt. Vernon St.

*Free admission*

Dr. John Soderberg, Professor, Anthropology, The University of Minnesota

Greek and Roman commentators give us our earliest descriptions of ritual and belief among the Iron Age peoples known as Celts. Modern scholars tend to see these descriptions as more about how Romans viewed the world than about actual practices among northern peoples. Their rituals and beliefs are preserved mainly in the places they worshiped and objects left behind. Archaeologists have long thought that Ireland offers key insights into Iron Age religions and how worship changed in the wake of the Roman Empire. But, until recently, evidence from Ireland was extremely sparse. The economic boom of the Celtic Tiger years created a surge of archaeological excavation, shedding new light on ritual in Iron Age Ireland. This talk highlights recent discoveries and how they are transforming our understanding of the Roman impact on religion in Iron Age Europe.

John Soderberg is the Managing Director of the Anthropology Laboratories at the University of Minnesota and President of the American Society of Irish Medieval Studies. He has excavated sites in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. His main research interest is the development of large religious centers in Ireland from the Iron Age into the Middle Ages. Dr. Soderberg also directs a project making three-dimensional scans of rock art at Jeffers Petroglyphs in Southwestern Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and M.A. from the Irish Studies Program at Boston College.