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#votive plaque
romegreeceart · 8 months
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Baldock Hoard - gold votive plaques
* Roman Britain
* British Museum
London, July 2022
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lionofchaeronea · 2 years
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Ancient Greek votive plaque (polychromic limestone) dedicated by a man suffering from maladies of the eyes and feet. Artist unknown; Roman Imperial period. From Golgoi, Cyprus; now in the Louvre.
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petsincollections · 4 months
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X89.847 Votive plaque (ema)
Object Name: Votive plaque (ema) Place of Origin: Japan Date: 1917 Materials Used: Wood and paint Dimensions: H: 22.7 cm, W: 30.0 cm, D: 1.0 cm (H: 8.9 in, W: 11.8 in, D: .39 in) Credit Line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Dr. Daniel C. Holtom. X89.847
In Japan, people who seek divine assistance in overcoming difficulties may place a votive offering known as an ema in a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine. The illustrations on the ema reflect the petitioner’s problem. Petitioners may paint their own illustration, but as far back as the Edo period (1600-1868), ema were also painted in commercial studios and offered for sale to clients. The petitioner typically added an inscription to the purchased ema, often including a personal name and date. An ema is also sometimes presented simply as an expression of thanks to the deities.
Ema with snake motifs are usually presented at temples dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten, the Japanese version of the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Found in Buddhist and popular religious traditions in Japan, Benzaiten is associated with music, speech, intelligence, happiness, and prosperity. Through their connection with the goddess, snakes are believed to bring financial prosperity and also to cure sickness.
Exhibition Wall Text: Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives, 2006
Fowler Museum, UCLA
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Locri, Calabria, Italy
Locri Epizefiri (Greek Λοκροί Ἐπιζεφύριοι; from the plural of Λοκρός, Lokros, "a Locrian" and ἐπί epi, "on", Ζέφυρος (Zephyros), West Wind, thus "The Western Locrians") was founded about 680 BC on the Italian shore of the Ionian Sea, near modern Capo Zefirio, in Southern Italy's Calabria, by the Locrians, apparently by Opuntii (East Locrians) from the city of Opus, but including Ozolae (West Locrians) and Lacedaemonians.
Due to fierce winds at an original settlement, the settlers moved to the present site. After a century, a defensive wall was built. Outside the city there are several necropoleis, some of which are very large.
Locris was the site of two great sanctuaries, that of Persephone and of Aphrodite. Perhaps uniquely, Persephone was worshiped as protector of marriage and childbirth, a role usually assumed by Hera, and Diodorus Siculus knew the temple there as the most illustrious in Italy.
In the early centuries Locris was allied with Sparta, and later with Syracuse. It founded two colonies of its own, Hipponion and Medma.
During the 5th century BC, votive pinakes in terracotta were often dedicated as offerings to the goddess, made in series and painted with bright colors, animated by scenes connected to the myth of Persephone. Many of these pinakes are now on display in the National Museum of Magna Græcia in Reggio Calabria. Locrian pinakes represent one of the most significant categories of objects from Magna Graecia, both as documents of religious practice and as works of art. In the iconography of votive plaques at Locri, her abduction and marriage to Hades served as an emblem of the marital state, children at Locri were dedicated to Persephone, and maidens about to be wed brought their peplos to be blessed.
During the Pyrrhic Wars (280-275 BC) fought between Pyrrhus of Epirus and Rome, Locris accepted a Roman garrison and fought against the Epirote king. However, the city changed sides numerous times during the war. Bronze tablets from the treasury of its Olympeum, a temple to Zeus, record payments to a 'king', generally thought to be Pyrrhus. Despite this, Pyrrhus plundered the temple of Persephone at Locris before his return to Epirus, an event which would live on in the memory of the Greeks of Italy. At the end of the war, perhaps to allay fears about its loyalty, Locris minted coins depicting a seated Rome being crowned by 'Pistis', a goddess personifying good faith and loyalty, and returned to the Roman fold.
The city was abandoned in the 5th century AD. The town was finally destroyed by the Saracens in 915. The survivors fled inland about 10 kilometres (6 mi) to the town Gerace on the slopes of the Aspromonte.
Today, the modern town of Locri boasts a National Museum and an Archaeological Park, etirely dedicated to the ancient Greek city. The museum preserves the most important findings of the time, such as vases, pinakes, tools used in everyday life, architectural remains from the various excavation area.
Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea
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blueiskewl · 4 months
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These Bronze Statues Reveal Ancient Healing Rituals
Discovered in a dig at a thermal spring in Tuscany, Italy, the well-preserved items offer a glimpse into medical practices from the Etruscan and Roman eras.
An exhibition that opened Friday at Rome’s Quirinal Palace could be described as a classic rags-to-riches story.
Just ten months ago, many of the bronze statues now on show there — artfully spotlighted and captioned — were submerged in layers of thick mud in what had been a sacred pool of thermo-mineral water roughly halfway between Florence and Rome.
Their rediscovery last fall during an ongoing archaeological excavation in a field just below the Tuscan town of San Casciano dei Bagni made headlines around the world, propelling the bronzes — via a stint in Italy’s main restoration institute — to the rare honor of being exhibited at the presidential palace.
“It’s an extraordinary discovery,” Luigi La Rocca, the culture ministry official responsible for archaeology, fine arts and landscape, told reporters at the palace on Thursday, praising the variety of the bronzes, their quality and their high degree of conservation.
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The artifacts — mostly dating from the second century B.C. to the first century A.D. — were votive offerings collected in the sacred pool of the so-called Bagno Grande, or “large bath,” part of a sanctuary that was in use in various forms for more than 700 years.
Lightning struck the building around the first century A.D., and following the Etruscan tradition of burying objects struck by lightning in a sacred place, the statues and other artifacts were concealed under a layer of terra-cotta tiles along with a bronze thunderbolt, a ritual called “fulgur conditum.”
Successive votive offerings, mostly bronze coins and plants, were deposited until Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century A.D. Then, the sanctuary was dismantled, and its offerings were buried once again, which contributed to their remarkable conservation.
The dig that uncovered them began in 2019, but it was only in 2020 that the first artifacts — inscriptions, altars and small bronzes — began to emerge. Last year, the archaeologists dug further down into the sacred pool.
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“We thought there could be something here, but nothing like what we found,” said Emanuele Mariotti, the director of the excavation, on a recent hot afternoon as he surveyed the site. “It was like a time capsule waiting to be opened,” he added.
The finds offer insights on ancient medical practices. The waters were considered curative by “Etruscans, Romans, Christians and Pagans,” Mariotti said. “This was a place of healing, meeting of cultures and medical knowledge.”
Many of the bronzes had inscriptions from the territory of Perugia, about 70 kilometers northeast of San Casciano, a considerable distance to travel more than 2,000 years ago. This shows “how complex and nuanced” cultural interaction was at the time, added Jacopo Tabolli, the scientific director of the dig and co-curator of the Quirinal show.
“Gods changed, but the water remained the same,” he added.
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Some of the bronzes are still being restored, but many made it to the Quirinal for the exhibition. In one room, bronzes of arms, feet, ears and other body parts are on display, reflecting the various ailments that were treated at the thermal baths.
“These are unique,” Mariotti said, stopping in front of two bronze plaques showing what he said was a “very accurate” depiction of internal organs. Similar terra-cotta examples existed, he said, but bronze versions were hitherto unknown.
Other statues represented gods and goddesses, but also men, women and small children, wrapped in swaddling cloths. Some were sickly and in need of healing. Others appeared to have benefited from the cures.
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The thermal springs are still used today for their therapeutic properties, both in the public baths near the archaeological site and at a private resort.
For San Casciano dei Bagni, a picturesque hilltop town, the ancient finds will hopefully bring new economic prospects, especially after the opening of a new museum in the city center.
Earlier this week, at a property deed transfer in Rome attended by various authorities, the culture ministry formally bought a palazzo in San Casciano dei Bagni from local clerics to house the museum (list price 670,000 euros, around $730,000) and Italy’s culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, pledged to contribute “additional resources.”
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Massimo Osanna, the director of Italy’s state museums said Thursday that he hoped one section of the museum would be ready next year. “I’m an optimist,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tremendous opportunity,” said Agnese Carletti, the town’s mayor. Following on from previous administrations, Carletti’s council championed and funded the local archaeological excavations that led to the finds, offering room and board to archaeology students participating in the summer digs.
A new excavation begins next week, and Tabolli said that it would concentrate on expanding the archaeological site to better understand the context around the sacred pool. “We’ve reconstructed the structure of the sanctuary, but there is still much more to know about the overall site which must have been monumental,” he said.
Osanna said that more surprises could be in store. “We don’t know what else the sanctuary has to offer,” he said.
By Elisabetta Povoledo.
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egypt-museum · 3 months
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Sphinx of Thutmose III
New Kingdom, mid 18th Dynasty, ca. 1479-1425 BC. From Karnak Cachette. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 37981; CG 42069
Granodiorite statue of King Thutmose III depicted as a sphinx. The sphinx depicts the king reclining on the Nine bows, which represent the traditional enemies of Egypt brought to submission.
The sculpture once stood in the Karnak Temple Complex near Thebes. However, it was discovered in 1903 buried with thousands of statues, steles, amulets, inlay plaques, votive cubits, and other artifacts in the north court of the seventh pylon of the Great Temple of Amun at Karnak. This is now known as the ‘courtyard of the cachette.’
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rise-my-angel · 11 months
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By Fate of The Night
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Pairing: The Thief x Female Reader
Length: 8.6k
Warnings: angst/hurt comfort, implied memory loss, smut, slight exhibitionism, p in v
Notes: How a wine commercial got me so down bad, I have no idea.
When you wandered away from the extravagance of the party, you did not know. Opulence seemed to not suit how severely under dressed you were for such an event. Glitz and glamour unbecoming of the discount sale dress and cheap makeup you worked so hard to be able to afford, when the other attendee’s wore silks and satins that spanned for miles and makeup that painted them as previous dolls.
Your friend sending you a text not long ago, just a crying face when you asked them where they were. A quick understanding that no doubt they found someone to head home with forgetting that they had dragged you to this manor in the first place just to avoid being alone. The crowds, discussions of matters you had no interest with and glasses of champagne being turned down from each waiter kind enough to wander to the corner you hid yourself in. It had become too much, and so you walked.
As far from the noise until just silence overcame you, it led you down twisting hallways that increased in darkness yet filled with unique clutter. The ballroom large and lacking of much to look at, the rest of this place felt on the air of cozy with things. Statues, grand paintings that scattered the walls with no sense of style, just displayed as the owner so wished. Glass cases featuring old, weathered artifacts that many minutes were spent trying to determine. Not at all noticing that you had strayed so deep into the building that a dark figure came upon you from the shadow until their breath hit your neck.
“It’s called a Votive Plaque. Considered to be over four thousand years old,” Looking behind you with a silent gasp, a tall man leaned over your shoulder with a squint. From what you could see, his hands were clasped behind his back, glints of gold shimmering from the coat on his shoulders but little else was noticeable. Glancing back, you looked at the stone carving in question. “There was no inscription on the back, likely meaning it was engraved on the walls of a shrine or temple.”
Nodding, you had little to say as he did not move from so close beside you. You hummed, and yet he tilted his head as if you said any words to react too. What felt like one of his hands nudging you by your lower back his other arm outstretched you further into the hall. “There’s far more than stones and plaques to see, hermosa.”
Taking a step forward, you finally could glance to his face. Coarse facial hair around his jaw, and a moustache that sat neatly beneath a fine aquiline nose that framed the other soft, handsome features. As well as deep, dark eyes with colour indistinguishable in the dim light. Swallowing a lump in your throat, you shook off the sudden feeling of desire that such a stranger shouldn’t elicit. “I really shouldn’t, I-”
“Have a party full of people who are too busy preening at their own reflections to notice you?” He stood rather still, shoulders relaxed and a hand still on your lower back. Which you failed to realize was not making you uncomfortable. Your head moved back in surprise, and the stranger chuckled warm and deeply. “A lost little lamb such as yourself belongs amongst treasures such as this. Not with people only interested in impressing their wallets. Come,” He pushed you forward. “You haven’t even gotten to the hall of missing treasures.”
Trying to protest, your heart raced but yet, you didn’t struggle against such a gentle touch. “But the owner-”
Once again, the stranger seemed to put your mind at ease with barley any effort. Just a soft smile towards you. “Didn’t want any random people walking through his home, but you are no stranger are you?”
What he meant by that you didn’t know, nor did you know how you ended up pressed up against a bookcase of rare books. Both of his hands gently holding your wrists above your head, as his nose trailed down your neck. Not quite pressing his lips to the skin, but teasing with his breathe. Your heart raced, how many hours had you been walking this place?
Why did listening to this stranger tell you about items and artifacts that you thought impossible to own warm something in your chest and twist at your lungs? Each time his hand brushed your skin it shivered in need that you never had with people such as this. His voice rasped as his hands let your wrists stay, and his fingers trail down your arms where the long sleeves of your dress had fallen. “Are you finally ready?”
Voice high pitched and bordering on a moan, “For what?”
Another chuckle as his hands now ran down your sides. Thumbs tracing just under your breasts you stiffened in his hold, but the willingness you let his knee slip between your legs spoke differently. The long material bunching under it’s pressure and pushing against your core as he trailed up to your ear, his lips brushing against it. “To tell me what you desire. That’s all I ask, hermosa. Just tell me what it is you want, and it’s yours. Forever.
But that didn’t happen. The clock struck, and through the dark study he brought you in, chimed. Not startlingly loud, but enough that it had you jump. His hands how gently holding your hips. As he pressed a single, light kiss to the skin under your ear. One last rasp in it’s depths which you did not understand.
“Venus of Willdendorf.”
This party was not what you wanted to do with your night. Little plans were in the works, but it did not include wandering the small laid out area guests were permitted too looking for your friend. Your choice of flats in lieu of heels made you feel short and belonging amongst the classically dressed women who looked at you in judgment.
You looked for a long time to find shoes that would look nice, and it didn’t feel worth it at all. You may as well have shown up with normal running shoes and you’d stick out just as much. But, your friend had begged you to come. Their date fell through and going to a place like this alone likely intimidated them as much as being here alone did you. So you folded.
Now though, you lost track of them when you searched for the washroom only to come back to a ballroom of people you didn’t know. Pressed now up against a wall in the corner, a waiter occasionally walked over to you, tray in hand and a knowing smile flashing sympathy as you turned down their offer of champagne.
Waiting for any kind of response, your eyes stayed glued to your phone at the notification they did indeed read you asking where they went. Finally, a simple crying face popped up and that was all you needed. So they found someone to go home with, and left you in a manor that you didn’t even know the address too.
The sheer embarrassment you were going to face, asking one of the waiters where you were just to know what to say when you called a cab. You watched the flock of people impress themselves with their opulence before it annoyed you. Boasts of their accomplishments and money they earned that quarter did little to impress you, and you suspected it was only spoken hoping to one up their own conversational companions, or to impress the elusive owner throwing the party. Who had yet to make their presence known.
Your attention for a while was on the stain glass windows high on the walls. It was difficult to see in the night sky behind them, but you suspected there were many a details that would shine like the heavens in the morning light. Why did it burn your insides with curiosity what it would look like?
As if moving on their own, your feet took you into the hallways. Wandering the corridors that emptied of people the further you got, but filled with clutter of items that intrigued you. Painting’s littered the walls with no sense of style, just displayed with pride that they were indeed there. Glass displays littering about with unique items that looked too good to be real, and statues that graced above you, some decorated with jewellery that no doubt cost more then your own life.
Near a stairwell twisting both directions, was a display case on a dark marble pedestal. A small square glass case which protected the figure inside. In what looked like stone, was a woman with large proportions but no discernible facial features that made it look perfectly human. Without any indication of what you were looking at, you leaned in with a squint. Trying to remember if you’d seem pictures of something like this before.
Jumping back with a quiet gasp, a deep voice reverberated so close to your ear, and the presence of a tall, broad figure partially behind you leaned over your shoulder. “There’s actually almost two hundred of these exact statues that have been found throughout the world.” Turning to look at the stranger, from what you could see, his hands were clasped behind his back, glints of gold shimmering from the coat on his shoulders but little else was noticeable. Glancing back, you looked at the stone carving in question. “This one is around thirty thousand years old, not quite young enough to be considered a Venus but that’s what they called them anyways.”
Nodding, you had little to say as he did not move from so close beside you. You hummed, and yet he tilted his head as if you said any words to react too. What felt like one of his hands nudging you by your lower back his other arm outstretched you further into the hall. “There’s far more than small figurines to be seen, hermosa.”
Back pressed against a shelf of rare books, he enticed you with a knee pressed between your legs and his hand trailing down your raised arms. The clock against a distant wall chimed, and the stranger muttered something you didn’t understand into your ear. “Nebra Sky Disk.”
Your eyes stuck on the disk, surprised by it’s size, you figured it would be small, handheld. Yet no, it was larger then your head, and so were the images dotted onto it. Contemplating if taking a photo would be inappropriate, you wanted to compare the sights of where the stars laid in the sky then and how it compared to them now.
Before the idea took much more image, the soft sound of a shoe clicking against the tile perked your ears up. Turning around in place, you seem to have caught the man off guard despite him being the one sneaking up on you. He was tall, broad frame draped in a long coat glittering with a gold woven into the black material. Hard to see in the dim light, but you could see a moustache, scatterings of facial hair and a dark glint in their eyes.
One which in any other circumstance would have frightened you, and yet? You found your mouth moving before they could come any closer. “How did you get something like this?”
His eyebrow quirked up, the sides of his mouth moving in surprise. “Why assume I know?”
As if it was common knowledge, you shrugged turning back to look at the disk. “You’re the owner, right? I figured you’d know where your own artifacts come from.” Heart skipping a beat you whipped around once more, yet he had not moved. “I’m sorry that was incredibly rude, I have no idea where that came from.”
The chuckle was deep and warmed your blood. Stepping closer he looked at the disk over your shoulder. “Would you believe me if I said I just found it?” Turning with him, he stood taller then you moreso then before. Not overly, but enough that for whatever reason, made his size send a shiver down your spine. “How did you know I’m the owner?”
Pausing, you scoured your mind and came up relatively blank. “I- don’t know..” He hadn’t been with the rest of the party, you weren’t even in this crowd but you felt as if you already knew who he was to some extent “Just a feeling, I guess.”
“You come across feelings like that very often, hermosa?”
You decided you liked the sound of his voice. The deepness felt like it vibrated through your chest down into your heart, settling it down to a simmered panic rather then explode of anxiety of being caught wandering. Flushing a bit at the name, you kept your eyes off him. “Every now and again.” Your hands wrung in front of you for a moment, “I can leave if you want, I know this is supposed to be off limits.”
He chuckled again. “Not at all. Lost little lambs need to find their way home eventually.”
What that meant you didn’t know, nor did you understand why it felt like you’ve heard that phrase before. Regardless, you felt him press a hand into your lower back. Muscles ready to move down the hall for whatever reason, yet he didn’t. Just stood by your side looking at the disk before speaking. “What do you know about it?”
Biting your lip in thought, you knew your explanation wasn’t prestige. “Not as much as you, I’m guessing. I know it’s a map of the stars, with Pleiades there.” Pointing to the cluster of stars before trailing over to the crescent moon. “Some kind of lunar calendar for the time, most of the stars have moved at this point but if it was used back then, the sky was a lot clearer. Kind of like a map of early astronomy.”
Smiling down at you, the stranger sounded oddly proud. “Where’d you learn that?”
His smile turned into a grin as your shoulders sank in on themselves. “A children’s show. Half the episode was about the disk, the other was some lost city but I always loved the stars so, guess that’s why it stuck out.”
Was it your imagination that you felt his thumb moving gracefully back and forth? You dared not turn or question him to find out, his touch was soothing. “Nothing wrong with that. You don’t have to learn from high scholars to be well read. Hell, most of them aren’t even as smart as they assume. I learned more about the world collecting stuff like this, then I ever did in their books.”
It was quiet between you both, and once more, you were shocked at such bravery. “Would it be okay to look at more?” Sparing a glance up, your wide eyes contrasted his narrowed brows. Eyes still dark, but you think you could guess they were of a deep brown. “With the owners accompaniment of course.”
His soft features beamed with a full smile, a dimple pronounced in one cheek that had you trying hard to hold back a small smile of your own. Pushing you forward, an arm outstretched to the hall further. “Normally I’d lead the tour, but you seem to have an idea what you’d like to look at.”
For a good while, you both walked slowly through his halls. Rich history sat everywhere, but never did he guide you one way or the other. You walked to whatever caught your eye, and he followed suit. A content look as he listened to you gush about the artifacts you knew all about, an excitement that he owned them.
Others had mentioned the man owned many rare collections, and speculated the grand wealth to accumulate them. But such a thought never crossed your mind, not once did you even question how he got them or what it cost. You were gleeful to see the things you recognized, and came upon them with something akin to a familiarity. As if you knew they were there, when clearly, you didn’t.
The stranger never shared his name, nor did you save for the unknown word he seemed to prefer to call you by. Normally, you wouldn’t dare leave yourself so alone with a large, unknown man whose proximity was close and intimately warm. He was safe though, how you knew that? You didn’t, and logically you knew it was stupid to assume the unknown, and yet? You were deep into his manor by the time you came across a balcony.
Doors open with the night wind flowing the sheer curtains in the air, beckoning you. Goosebumps erupting on your skin at the coolness of the night, hands both resting down on the railing. The sky bright and clear, moonlight shining on the water in the distance. A deep blue casting from it’s depths to the scene around it. Shining with beauty as if the home itself build on such a luscious property.
Judging by the slight ache in your feet, the pair of you had been wandering for a few hours. He stood beside you, mimicking your own position. Back stood tall, and his eyes, definitely brown, stood out beautifully as well as the profile of such a strong aquiline nose had against the rest of him. You should be looking at the sight, but his sight was more alluring. “Can I ask you something.” He only nodded, but you felt fair to continue. “Why throw a party if you want nothing to do with it? I mean you haven’t been there all night, so why have one in the first place?”
A feeling brewed inside of you, as if you knew what his answer would be. “Some people host parties to meet people, but others are just hoping the single right one turns up.”
Voice but a whisper, you looked away with a growing bashfulness. “And who would that be?”
He didn’t answer, but you heard his voice speak to you anyways. The nickname of a lost little lamb, and the sensation of his chest pressing up against your back as he caged you in his arms hands either side of your own. But that’s not how you were standing.
No, you were side by side, nowhere near close enough to touch the other in such a manner. Glancing up to the moon nearing the middle of the night sky, he smiled to himself. “Tell me, hermosa. What exactly is your greatest-”
“Desire.” Your voice muttered in it’s own breathless shock. Why did you know what he was going to say exactly? Why did you have an answer that you hadn’t thought of in so long? The stranger turned to face you, one hand on the railing as the other hung by his side as he looked inquisitively at you. “I just wanted to be seen.”
Why did you phrase it like that? What was happening inside of you? There was something that wasn’t right, and yet it didn’t scare you the way it should have. It was as if around you, the night was completely different. Clouds covered the stars and rain fell from them, taking no care as to how soaked through it made your dress. One not at all like the dress you were wearing now.
The stranger didn’t feel as familiar, but the comforting warmth, promise of desire remained the same as you stood in two different worlds. One of memory, and one of confusion. Quickly looking up almost to make sure you were in this world not the other, indeed he was the same.
Same long coat, broad chest underneath the rich shirt on his torso that led down to a softer stomach which you saw yourself gently running your fingers over. Before his larger ones picked them up in place, bringing to his lips before moving them on his own to dig into his waistband. Watching with bated breath as you pulled them down.
The darkness in his eyes lurked yours, trying to find something you didn’t know. But these thoughts you had about him were anything but appropriate and it made your skin run hot at the phantom sensations of his skin. A rippling of familiarity that raced through your very veins as nothing else was said as somewhere deeper in the manor, a clock struck.
You didn’t know why you abandoned your friend. Watching them waltz around the ballroom trying to fit in with such people of high society as you floundered. They were in the middle of a chat with someone, leaning in enticingly close when you walked off.
Unlike you to simply abandon someone so abruptly, but it felt like the winds called you elsewhere. A feeling in your mind pinged inside each time you contemplated stopping to look at the vast artifacts the mysterious owner seemed to have collected.
Many of which you would have otherwise yearned to stop and look at for far too long, but your feet moved of their own accord until the turn of a hallway came about. The blue tint of the night seeped into the lightness corridor, two large glass doors open with curtains pulled back and flowing.
A tall figure stood leaning against the railing, the gold of their coat shining in the moonlight and draped down their broad back. The images of gently coming up behind them, palms pressed flat as you felt their shoulders sink. Your dress was all wrong, you had short sleeves in your minds eye not long ones. It pricked you like a thorn trying to piece this dual memory in your mind together as you walked towards the figure.
Your shoes gentle, but tapping against the decorative tiles no doubt giving your position away. Heart racing as you looked at the tousled brown curls sat beautifully across his head. Somehow, you knew his brown eyes were just as gorgeous before he even came into view.
Skin shivering at the coolness of the outside air, you gently rested your palms on the railing beside where he stood. His spread wide as his brow narrowed in thought, yours almost wrung together in front of you with eyes wide and in need of answers to questions you didn’t remember asking.
Your mouth asked before your brain could catch up. “How many times have I been here?”
A gentle smile falling across his lips, he just tilted his head in jest. “Would knowing make you feel better or just more confused?” Pushing off he turned to face you, one of his hands now resting over top yours keeping them warm and in place. His eyes looked right through yours. “Because I assure you, hermosa it’s more then just your imagination. But to answer your question, this is the second time you’ve sought me out no the other way around.”
His free hand reaching to your collarbone, taking the chain of your necklace into his fingers and trailing downward to where you wouldn’t think you’d just let someone touch. Rough fingertips tracing the tops of your breasts underneath the fabric of your dress before grasping the bright blue stone that sat there.
Your heart raced, taking much of your resolve not to let it show in your chest how hard you were really breathing. Leaning in close you couldn’t take your eyes off his face. Features soft, yet sharp in expression which begged you to gently run your hand over the coarse facial hair covering his cheek.
Resisting the urge, you wanted to understand what it was you were feeling more. “I’ll rephrase. How many times have we repeated this exact night? Because I feel like it’s been tomorrow’s been a long way off for a while now.”
His soft smirk morphing into a proper grin, the stranger ran his thumb down your breast barley missing your nipple. “Does it truly matter as long as we’re together?”
A burning floating in your veins, you snatched his hand holding it off of you without keeping him away from your body much further. Your lungs tightening at how undisturbed by the action he was. “What if I just leave?”
His other hand raised, now taking yours into his and pressing your joined hands against his chest. The movement pulling you in close, whatever cologne he had worn mixed with something that deep in your heart, knew was the comforting scent of home. His voice as warm and deep, “We’ll end up right back in this very position. I’d rather not wait until then though, it’s taken a long time to finally get you here.”
You could see it, the artifacts, the displays, each long winded explanation of each passing item until there was nothing left to explore but the pair of you before the clock struck. And now you’re here, the same night. Over and over with no end in sight, but somehow he seems to know what’s happened.
Sucking in a shaky breath, you were grateful his grip was lose enough to allow you to face the night scene once more. His hand never letting go of yours, but now standing behind you caging you in with the other braced against the railing. Many moment’s passed before you found your bravery to whisper once more. “How much longer we start over?”
His nose nudging against your hair, the feeling of hips lips brushing your temple as he did so. “Hours. You found me early this time. Usually I have to go looking for you.” Without consulting your conscious mind, you leaned back into his chest, both your grips on the others hands relaxing allowing him to trail down and wrap it more around your stomach. His head sinking into the crook of your neck, breathing deeply as your own eyes fluttered shut.
Doing this before wasn’t something you knew, but it felt as such. An intimacy not known between strangers. Moments passed, just letting the cool breeze float across your skin and his warm breathe on your neck as he kept you pressed against him. “How do we break it? I need to remember, right?”
Not answering for a moment, he seemed to be contemplating how to phrase it. Something you recall being a regular occurrence. Finding simple ways to explain the dark, intricate knowledge his head was full of to explain to you. You liked information, but he preferred you with gentle words. Nothing came to mind, but you felt the ache in your heart.
Leaning the side of his head against you, he rasped into your ear. “Only what we did last time. You give in willingly to your desires, and we can wake up tomorrow.”
Like a flash of a movie screen behind your eyes you could see him. A stranger truly on that day more then he was now, nothing but a yearning in your heart for more. Following you through his home, stopping each time to explain the pieces which caught your eye until called back to the party below by your partner.
Shattering the quiet bubble between you and a man you didn’t know the name of. Glancing back, you had waited for him to pull you back into his arms but he only shook his head. Running his fingers over your cheek and down across your bottom lip.
You had been called again, and the man pressed his lips to the corner of your mouth. “Your lover awaits, hermosa. But I’ll expect an answer sooner or later. What is it you truly desire?”
The electrifying tingle in your limbs stayed all the way until you got to the front steps outside the manner, and the outstretched hand of a man with nothing but an annoyed furrow in his brow and impatience to follow. Calling your name at your retreating form until it was heard no more.
Just like now, the stranger braced against the railing of this very balcony as you draped your hands tenderly across his back. Moving up on your toes to reach his ear, whispering your desire as the wind picked up and slammed the glass doors shut in the same instance he turned around to capture your lips with his.
Was this truly where you were now, with a man who made no sense yet welcomed you into his heart as he did yours? A dream or perhaps the world outside was the dream and it all forced you to relive this moment. He seemed to know, but wanted you to find the answer on your own.
Turning in his arms, your hands rested against his chest as his own found your hips. His lips looked soft as your phantom memory remembered they felt, leaning in to brush his nose down the length of yours he waited patiently. “You stole me away once, are you supposed to do it again now?”
Brushing against your ear he rasped, “No one steals from a thief like me, I’m just taking back what was rightfully mine.” Finally pressing his lips to your neck you gasped out. Hands rising around his neck and raking through his hair he kissed down your neck holding your front tightly to him.
You didn’t dance downstairs at the party, but this man was guiding a dance you already knew the steps too. Moving away from his hair with a scratch of your nails, he moaned shamelessly into you before sinking his teeth into the mixture.
Just as you recalled, your hands found his waist. Tapping over his belt and undoing it despite the racing of your heart. Chuckling deeply into your neck, he pushed you right up against the railing. The columns too high for risk of falling over, but exposed to the night air that any wandering eye could see how quickly he yanked your long dress up your legs.
Your hands unable to get inside once freeing his belt, the man let go all of the shame that you might still hold onto. Dragging your dress over your head it dropped from his grasp, flying into the wind not even within your sights. Your chest already bare but he kissed down your torso. Skipping your breasts he made his way down the middle. Hands tight at your hips when you squirmed at his lips gentle across your stomach.
Looking up, his eyes were blown wide as much as yours were. His lips starting to swell from the pressure, he yanked down your underwear without so much as asking. He already knew your yes. Even if you didn’t recall it.
Shucking his long coat off as he stood, he turned you around so your naked front faced the scene in front. Anyone leaving the party who glanced up would be unable to miss the sight and you suspected he planned as such. “Tell me, what exactly does such a lost little lamb desire truly?”
One of his hands using his nails to scrape down your skin until he cupped your mound with no kind decorum. His voice rough, scratching and his jaw clenched. “Tell me, I may not be as patient if we need to do this all over again.”
Leaning into his touch, head on his shoulders you reached back to wrap an arm around his neck trying to meet his eyes. “Just you.”
He muttered something under his breath, a language that sounded anything but earthly before he gripped the front of your neck with his free hand and pulled your lips to his. No ease as you remembered the first time.
Many of the same nights must have passed if he was at this level of desperation. Your heart brought you to him, bare in the night’s wind as two of his fingers press against your clit, teasing with light pressure until you shivered in his touch.
His tongue traced your lips and with an impatient bite, slid inside your mouth as you gasped. Overtaking whatever control you may have thought you had, he traced over your tongue trying to coax you into exploring him the same. Tentatively, you kissed back the same but with far less confidence and more trepidation.
Regardless, as his fingers slid down to run along your slit, he gathered the wetness he found and smirked into your mouth before pulling back. A trace of saliva attached to you both as your mouth stayed partially open as he gave one more kiss and then tucked his head into your shoulder to look down at his hands.
Soaked fingers trailed back up to rub much more tightly at your clit you jumped in his arms with a soft moan. Your hands both now reaching behind to rake through his hair, making your chest arch out and giving way to his free hands greed.
It felt as if whispers of his swam inside your head despite not hearing them leave his actual mouth, quiet soothing of praise and temptation as if his connection to you had burrowed deep. There was little you found you could even say, what would you ask for at this point he knew what you wanted and he stripped you on his own balcony to deliver.
Finding a rasping voice, he found his own words to spit aloud. “You let me do this to you last time too, you know?” Putting more pressure as he rubbed your clit you felt your limbs tightening in need. “Let everyone see you gave yourself to me, showed that pathetic lover what you deserved. And here you are, letting me steal you away all over again and you can’t even remember why.”
What of your life was between these moments? Who were you really outside the manor walls, who was he to you in your soul and why did the night have to repeat itself for this reunion to even take place? An entire life surrounded by impossible mystique and yet intimacy denied it’s importance. His fingers not at your clit sunk deep inside you, scraping against a sensitive wall inside of you that had you shake in his arms. Pulling at your nipple in the same instance, you failed to come up with a name, but he smiled into your bare shoulder. He didn’t mind.
Were the sounds of the outdoors not ever present, you would be able to hear how wet you had become and how slickly two of his thick fingers slid in and out of you. His breathing growing heavy and his jaw clenching trying to pull himself together at how snug you were around him. It had been too long.
His teeth found their way to your neck, no longer playing soft games. Now he bit down close to breaking the skin, and soothed it with a kiss only to move barley an inch downward to leave his mark as much as he could, leaving the sting of his teeth radiating on you. His fingers sinking deep inside to the knuckle and pulling out almost completely before repeating rougher each time.
Your heart was on fire, spreading the warmth out into your bloodstream and making your head fuzzy with a pleasure that you wanted to consume you. Was it just his touch, or should it always feel such an overwhelming way? One of your hands grasped at his forearm, his white sleeves pushed up enough to give you something to dig your nails into.
You moaned as he hissed from the scratch but it only made him work faster. Bring you closer to the edge and throw you over it just to hear those gasping breaths from you trying to keep quiet. The last time this occurred, you weren’t.
Feeling a coil inside of you twist and tighten it made your muscles seize the closer your orgasm became, and the more he grasped tightly at whatever parts of your body his free hand could touch. Finally choosing to force your throat into his hand, turning you to look back up at him as he felt you clench around his fingers. Pressing a simple kiss to your lips, you felt them move as he spoke. “Cum for me, hermosa. I want to take you into tomorrow with my cock.”
White noise took your ears as your orgasm snapped and flooded out like a river. Arching into his touch he kept you pressed against him tightly and the hand on your throat while not getting tighter, did not leave you one bit. Crying out into the night he swore heavily under his breath at the high pitched noises that left you breathless to come down from.
You felt warm and weak in his arms as the aftershocks of his fingers pulling out of you sparked final times. His thumb not quite willing to leave your clit, he wanted you on edge. That ever present need to be taken was what he desired until his touch grew too far away to keep.
Pulling his hand up, he took the slow time to force you to watch him sink both fingers into his mouth and suck them clean of what you gave him. His hand falling to pull your bottom lip open with his thumb before sinking them deep into your mouth.
His nostrils flared and you felt his cock twitch as he pressed his hips into your ass. Letting one hand free, he shoved his hand between your bodies as much as he could manage to undo his belt. The clank of metal echoing like a drum, the sound of the zipper the ringing in your ears. “Please,”
Humming into your hair you felt his cock now bare against you, pressed down the middle of your ass as his hands now soothed over your body lightly. Gentle caresses to take you down from how hard you were panting.
Looking up at the night sky, all you could see or feel was him. His voice. His everything it consumed you like it did that very first night. “What do you want?”
Feeling his mouth curl into a smile he pressed a kiss there and many more as he made a path to your cheek for one last one. Your heads slightly leaned against one another as you felt him slide his cock between your legs. Legs which seemed to have spread on their own, or did so himself while you were too wrapped up in hos his fingers felt inside of you.
The tip tapping at your clit made you jump, but his only free hand traced it’s thumb over your stomach with a gentle shush. His other ran his cock between your legs, pressing up into your entrance. Soaking his length and teasing you. But he never pushed inside, just back and forth as he smiled at you. “Aren’t I supposed to ask you that?”
Glancing to your side as much as you could, you nuzzled into his cheek. “You already did, but no one’s ever asked you.” Watching his eyes shade dark, the warm brown returned with a softness behind them which felt unbecoming of how risque you must have looked. But he leaned in, brushing his nose against yours and pressing a kiss in it’s absence. “Let me give you what you want.”
One hand of each intertwined with the other, letting it rest gently on your chest as he murmured something deep and unintelligible into your lips. Pushing his cock inside, he filled you with one slide as he pushed past how tight you felt without him, but you were so soaked you coated his cock enough to get in.
Moaning loud into the night, his own deeper one mixed with a groan. He throbbed inside of you, making his teeth grit in a hiss as you clenched around him. He was large, larger then you think your body remembered, but you craved the burn he was giving you. Kissing your neck, he slowly moved his hips into yours. A slow thrust that wouldn’t get either of you anywhere but his own moan exposed how delirious it made him.
You could see yourself here again, only then he had nothing on and now you were bare against most of his clothes. His thrusts much more desperate and frenzied then. Flashes of you against this very railing, the wall of books in his study, the grand bed of silky sheets that called to you on lonely nights.
Not once did he let you recover that night, gasping for air as he pounded into you. Hand tight in your hair and words spitting and hissing from his mouth as he lost himself inside of you just as much as you fell into the clouds. Not quite anger, but displeased that you thought anyone could satisfy you, do right by you, treat you like a good girl gets treated who wasn’t him.
You hadn’t known then how long he had watched you, but you know now that it’s something he did much of. Even without telling you, there was something far in the recesses of your subconscious which spoke of a truth you couldn’t comprehend.
Or maybe, as he fucked you, you just didn’t care. His touch was tender, and his moans softly matched your own like there was no fire anymore. Just a trailing water just like the one you could see off in the distance. You tried to move your hips to match him, but each time he paused.
Shushing you as he readjusted his hold on your body. “We’ll get there, just let it happen.”
Whining, he smiled at you with a hooded gaze. Watching you lose your breathe despite how slow he thrusted in and out of you. He needed you as much as you desired this, and maybe those two things were one in the same now.
Maybe toying with you instead of pulling you into his arms would have spared reliving the failure over and over again. Watching your confused and hazy mind struggle to connect dots you didn’t know were there. Moving back into your neck it was his favourite spot it seemed.
Leaving gentle kisses to the teeth imprints he so proudly left, and the stinging moved from between your legs to each time the wind hit such marks. It was a good sting though, a pain that had you cling to him more as his cock once again pulled out almost entirely only to slide in deep as possible.
Your insides felt like they scrambled, head in shattered pieces from how much pleasure swam through you with each slide of his cock. You were soaking him more, it was even audible. How wet it was when he pushed back in, each slide punching just a bit harder then the last.
No sounds could be heard but you both, your moans together and his cock thrusting in and out of you covering what should have been sounds of a party. But there was no sound to cover. The first time no doubt was full of keeping you away from shame.
Forcing your sounds out for the guests to hear and refusing to hide the beauty he claimed you willingly gave to him. The party continued as you fucked. This time, the noise faded away the longer it went on.
The quiet slow nature making room for the quiet of the night. A property empty of all people except the two entangled on the balcony. It didn’t make sense, you came from a party, he threw such a party and yet only you both were here. Maybe, it was meant to be that way. Only you.
Little words were spoken as he thrusted inside of you. Just the coiling inside of you once more, only with each faster thrust you felt it wind up and spark through your limbs. Your mind letting go as it let the pleasure flood inside, his own groans muffled by your neck but your hands grasped at each other refusing to let go.
He refused to speed up much more, the slow slide of his cock deep inside you, and the shameless greed at how he wanted more of how wet you sounded when he took his time pushing in. It wasn’t easy when the flashes of how much he treated you like an animal before.
Little could back up such a boasting claim of making their partner unable to walk the next day, but he had the strength, the ability, the power to do so and not tire out himself. Not before you would inevitably. So he felt you clench around him, and your stomach muscles tighten underneath as you cried out trying to keep yourself from falling apart too soon.
If only you could hear him as he does you. One wasn’t good enough. It was just the slow fuck you both needed after all this time. But far more orgasms were gifted for your future, you just didn’t know it yet.
Saying you wouldn’t get away this time was no lie, and how much you begged for him had his lungs tighten. You were seeing more and more. Each twist of pleasure gracing you with a memory and you leaned back into him knowing his strength to hold you regardless. Falling closer and closer to your orgasm, you felt his cock throb.
No longer thrusting proper, just shallow pushes in and out of you as he grinded his hips. Hair resting now against the back of yours he panted and his hands held tighter. He was close and you were closer.
“Please,” He asked what, almost out of breathe to match your airy tone pleading. “Please, let me stay. Let me stay with you this time. Please, please..” He was so thick inside of you it wasn’t fair, his cock dragging you down to his level and keeping you there selfishly. But maybe it was truly fate.
It was fate to be here, bare in his arms, his cock fucking into you and his lips barley able to leave whatever part of your body they reached. Why would this be wrong if it felt like it was meant to be this way? He seemed to agree, the closer you came to your memory, the more he craved as much as you did. “Always, angel. Always, never fucking leaving me again. Never- fuck- never leaving this tight cunt either,”
Crying into the night you felt the coil inside once more snap but this time it raged like wildfire. Your body seizing and tightening around his cock as you begged his true name for mercy that you never wanted granted. He fucked hard by then.
Pounding short thrusts inside of you as he snarled at how tight you were clenching around him. Wrapping his arms around you tight, he punched inside of you through your orgasm until he felt yours split off to join him.
His orgasm having his nails claw into your skin as he pulled you by your throat to kiss. Tongue in your mouth as he spilled his cum inside of you. The warmth of both his mouth and cum filling you from either side making you hold onto him as if you’d be torn away then and there.
But you weren’t. You held to one another as he came inside of you, thick and copious amounts deep in you like was meant to be until you both had the fade of your orgasm slip away into a serene calm. It took even longer for him to pull out, as if you’d forget this at the chime of the clock.
Your hand wrapped behind you to his neck. Curling into the lush hair scattered about, you nuzzled his cheek, his jaw and pulled from his kiss to press much more innocent ones to each place you had gently nudged before. “Right, you’re a kitten. Not a lost little lamb, not anymore.”
Innocent pecks shared, he finally pulled out. Leaving you empty and clenching around nothing to the degree you almost fell forward. Bracing your hands on the railing in heaves of your chest to catch your breathe. His own once more wrapped around you.
His own body now bare, pressed against your form he held you in the dead of the night before tempting you away with a promise of a bath. Which you couldn’t refuse. Such a needlessly large bath much more like a hot spring that you could sink into should you want.
You shouldn’t accept the glass he offered, knowing his drinks were not the kind you should be allowed to have, but then he smiled at you. Joining the hot water filled to the brim with steam and bubbles as he almost spilled his own over the rim of the glass getting settled.
You giggled at him, and finally took a sip of your own. It burned your insides in a way it wouldn’t do to him, but he also burned at you. He held your heart, body, and soul completely and you endured the pain. Sacrificing your opposites and virtues for his temptations.
Tossing water back and forth at each other, you both stopped to take turns washing the other. Running your hands over every inch of his skin, tender and massaging that had his breathe hitch. It had been a long time since such an angelic touch graced him and he could sob it taken away now.
He was more devious. Slipping his fingers down to your clit and forcing another orgasm from you, taunting you for barley being able to hold your drink up while he did so. Laying you out half in the water, half on the tiles his own body pressed down against yours kissing you.
Sliding gently inside, he picked the pace up much faster here then before. The slosh of water barley heard over the pounding slap of his skin, the snarling grit of his teeth as he swore with no more shame and you crying high pitched whines of need begging for salvation through desire.
Not just once, twice did he fuck you right there. Your thighs in pain as he pushed them so far apart you could break, and his cock pounding so roughly into you the sheer force of his hips could leave a bruise as he marked your skin more and more.
Should you be pulled away again, he’d leave marks for them to all see. Maybe they’d cast you out for it, but you belonged here anyways. Your lips on his, your soaking tight cunt made to be filled by him only, be it his fingers or cock, working your shyness up to letting him taste you directly.
Your heart already was here. It’s why you came back to him, fell for such a ruse and fell once more in love with a rotten thief such as himself. Your souls needed the other and he refused to let you disappear without leaving him with you. Painting your walls with his cum over and over, the only way he could express his love.
Your bodies at some point entangled once more in his sheets. Barley stopping to let you breathe, he kissed you throughout and your limbs locked together as his cock did inside you. There was so party, no friend, no normal life to return to like the others. It was a devilish ruse to get you back into his arms, but it worked. And you stayed here in his touch, knowing it was a lie to steal you away again.
Somewhere in the manor, the clock chimed out and your bodies remained where they were.
Souls made of different realms of light and dark, this time they stayed together.
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Gold votive plaque depicting Shiva, Java (Indonesia), 9th century AD
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orchidscript · 5 months
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SNEAK PREVIEW FOR THE FINAL CHAPTER BECAUSE I'M FLAILING AND NEED THE ATTENTION. SO PLEASE, LAUGH AT ME ALL YOU LIKE.
(aka. I'm proud of myself, feel bad about it, want to share, and then go immediately to bed. I'm a mess, I've had wine, enjoy reading!!)
TK’s heart ached. His head screamed at him to move after Carlos, grab his hand and tug him back, but he stayed rooted to the spot. The spell broke the moment Carlos was out of sight. TK turned back to the pen sketches, unadorned and filled with so much malleable hope. It pulsed in his palms. He felt it in his head stronger than anything he’d ever swallowed.  Then, he moved forward.  Piece after piece after piece. Around patrons and along the gallery walls of the Blake. Pausing to absorb each and every one of the pieces, until one stopped him cold.  Tucked into an alcove off the main gallery, Carlos had placed a few more larger pieces TK had seen him working on – intricate, medieval looking things with color placed like jewels into pockets between the interlocked lines. Among them, central to the whole room, was his mother, smiling gently back at him. A sob locked in his throat, nearly choking him. TK lowered himself onto a bench placed strategically in the center of the room. The Gwyneth Morgan staring back at him wasn’t a day over 35, preserved forever on that first day at dimsum on Spring Street. Her eyes shone, smile was so wide it likely hurt her cheeks. Her hair an expertly-styled riot in the breeze blowing between the skyscrapers. From the photo in his memory, she was isolated on the canvas in thin black lines of ink, surrounded by cloudy watercolors. The ink fanned out into its own intricate lace and honeycomb – a kaleidoscopic stained glass window radiating from behind her in silver, palest gold, and rich turquoise.  TK was half convinced the real jewels were embedded in the canvas, rising to step closer. Near to it, he saw the cut outs in the canvas, made with a pen knife blade and supported with invisible threads. He saw how each held a small, battery-powered votive, lighting the painting up from the inside out. His mother, almost a year gone, was shining, glowing in front of him. For all of Austin to see and know.  TK glanced down at the caption plaque. Gwyn, C. Reyes (2022). Canvas, black ink, alcohol ink, gold leaf.  Not for sale. TK took a step back and dropped onto the bench again. His heart pounded and swelled, his lungs tight with air and lack thereof. He laced his fingers together and stared. He didn’t move for a long time.
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thekimonogallery · 1 year
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Kumagaya City Suzume Shrine's Suzume Ema Book states that an ema artist from Kumagaya City drew Kamioka Kannon and Suzume Shrine (according to one theory, Tokoji Temple) votive plaques. Text by 快人妖奇七郎・一休ちゃんでありんす @ikkyujapan
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homerstroystory · 2 years
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Terracotta votive plaque dedicated to the goddesses of Eleusis by Ninion (c. mid-4th century BCE, Eleusis Sanctuary)
On display at the National Arcgaeological Museum (Athens, Greece)
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maruhi · 1 year
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絵馬、まさに絵馬ですわ Wooden Votive Plaques
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氏神社
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breeofbree · 7 months
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Miserere mei, deux
Cardinal copia x reader
Summary: what is papa Nihil didn’t die from the saxophone solo? What if Copia was in denial about love? What if he truly just got the recognition and support he deserved? What if Mr. Saltarian was here the whole time? What if you were a sister of sin hopelessly in love with the Cardinal but didn’t know how to make a move? Maybe this will answer it… maybe it won’t. (This is my first time writing anything within the confines of Ghost lore, so I apologize for anything ooc. this may become a short series, but I like the open interpretation this was left on.)
The hallways, the cold dark hallways always sent a chill down my spine. They were adorned with plaques. Names of those who had long passed, names that came off as tongue twisters to those not familiar with long forgotten words. The flowers sitting ornately between the plaques were crisp, perfectly preserved as if they never died. My hand can’t help but to stretch outwards, admiring the soft rustle the browning leaves gave off, quickly interrupted by a set of steps that sounded as if they were in a rush. My head snaps upwards as my hand darts inwards to meet the other in a fidgeting motion. 
I see Copia looking shocked, frozen in his place,” sister.”
“Copia, I hadn’t expected another to wander this hall so late. My apologies, I shall return to my duties.” I stutter out, awkwardly shuffling to walk past him, knowing I had no other duties to tend to. His hand grasps at my inner arm gently, stopping my movement abruptly.
“Sister, please. Do not let my antics disturb your own. Continue as you were. This hallway could probably appreciate an admirer, eh?” He whispers with a slight chuckle, bringing my body inwards and closer to him. As his hand snakes around my waist protectively, he begins slowly stepping forward,” this is the Emeritus wing. Once laid to rest, their names forgotten. I like to come and pay my respects to those that have made this abbey the way we’ve come to know it, no?”
He stops beside a particular plaque, less dulled than the rest and lights a votive that looks as if it were burned every night. The wax overflowing from the protective glass leads me to believe the bond Copia had was un breakable. 
“Papa Emeritus the third… Terzo, I called him. Many did. I’m sure you remember the passing when you first came in.” He softly speaks, breaking the ringing silence, pausing a moment before continuing,” the name you see, is not the name you knew him by. His given name. That is why none of these names are recognizable. Most of these tombs are passed by without knowing who lays beyond the walls.”
I place my hand against the marble square, tears welling in my eyes at the thought of how many times I had passed by without saying hello or paying respects to a brief friend,” Terzo…”
“We should never grieve a man who was so full of life. We celebrate him, me and you.” Copia mumbles in reply to my brief sob of Terzo’s name, wiping the tear from my cheek with a gloved hand. His other hand around my waist moves gently to drape over my shoulders as more tears pool over my lashes, encircling me in a comforting embrace,” it is unfortunately by my hand that he is no longer with us. I am the only one who should be filled with sorrow and regret. Why do you cry for him sister?”
“Without a papa, what purpose do I serve other than tending to the abbey? Why do I have a feeling of longing for someone I barely know?” I choke out quietly, as if our words would disturb the eternal slumber of those around us and drop my head against his shoulder, feeling even more remorse for the man beside me. Us sisters knew Copia’s hand was forced to murder Terzo, it wasn’t his fault. My tears were for Copia. The innocent, bright eyed man before me was drained of life from having to carry out someone else’s foul deeds. 
“It is normal to feel that way of someone who you seen a superior, no matter how brief your paths may have crossed.” He tuts out, lifting my chin to meet his eye and forcing a smile from behind his worn face. 
“No Copia, my tears are not for Terzo. I cry for you, you poor soul. You must be so tired from doing more than you naturally would… more than you can morally take-“ I begin, being cut off as his hand clasps over my mouth,” no! It was me. The only one who forced me was myself.” 
Anger flashes briefly against his stark white eye, quickly being over taken by a pained look that travels over to his vast forest green one. I shake my head against his hand sorrowfully, raising my own hand to stroke against his hair and speak muffled in to his,” you must be so tired. You must carry out all these tasks and no one is there to look after your well being.”
I kiss the inside of his palm that now only hovers in front of my lips and bring his fingers in to both of mine, cradling them as if it were his own soul I was holding,” you must be taken care of too.”
“But I am not papa. This is only temporary.” He whispers, bringing his other hand in to the entanglement. 
“Nothing is temporary, Copia. You will be the next papa. There is no one else left to hold the title. And we all will have to watch you become even more tired, and less of who you really are.” I reply back quietly, running my thumb over the back of his hand that shakes anxiously. I can feel his heart furiously thump against his veins each time my thumb caresses over. 
“I am not of Emeritus blood.” He states coldly looking away, as if mocking another beings words. My eyes drift as if I’d find Nihils barren resting place he would most likely soon see, knowing he was the one of the two possible answers to blame. My thumb ceases only to grasp his hands tighter and bring them to my chest,” even if not by blood, you are an Emeritus. This hall will bear your name when it is time for you to eternally rest. There is no proof you are not an Emeritus except word of mouth. And as far as I see it, I see you as the current Papa. My Papa.”
His eyes scan all around us, widening in realization… maybe even hope before they once again becoming pained.
“Nihil is your papa. He is a great man for his position. I am but a Cardinal carrying out duties he can no longer perform.” Copia sighs, dropping his hands down to his side. 
“And what happens when he is gone, Copia? Do you expect the Abbey to close its doors? Do you expect the rituals to cease when you are already carrying them out?” I question harshly, tempting to raise my voice. He shakes his head, reaching to grasp my hand once again,” I am not fit to carry on the reign as Papa. I appreciate the hope you have laid aside for someone as small as I am. But, I’ve already accepted the fact I will always be just a cardinal, sister Y/N.” He kisses the backside of my hand, and pats it consolingly, like we were both mourning over false hopes. 
“How do you know my name?” I mutter out, baffled. He clears his throat and quickly blushes,” I know all of the sisters names. Especially those of whom that devote this kind of care.” 
He lifts both hands excitedly, motioning to the marble halls and accidentally lifting my body with the hand he still gripped tight, causing us both to tumble over. Copia laughs nervously as his head smacks against the cool wall,” see? You have me stumbling over my own words.” 
“See, this is why you deserve to be papa. You care. You care about the sisters, you care about the people. It’s not just rituals and the fortunes for you, Copia. We need someone as caring as you, so the people as small as me… aren’t forgotten.” I stutter out excitedly, gripping his face between my hands and quickly pulling away at the realization of our close proximity. His eyes don’t blink,” you are not small. You have a big personality! And how could I ever forget such a beautiful name that matches the face that accompanies it through life as a companion?”
My hands burn against his quickly flushing skin, and I can’t help but notice the awkward position I find myself in, in between his open legs on my knees as someone else makes their presence known in the hallway. Copias face quickly flicks to the side as I drop my hands and head,” sister imperator.”
Our voices ring out in unison as she cocks an eyebrow, heels clacking monotonously towards us as another figure steps in, rolling a cart. 
“Copia. I’ve been looking for you… sister.” She drones on the word sister, staring me down quizzically. 
“I apologize sister Imperator, Copia had fallen, a-and I was making sure he was alright.” I stumble over my words as much as I stumble against my own feet trying to stand. 
She purses her lips, turning down to Copia but continues talking to me,” sister Y/N, since you wish to stick your nose in the Emeritus family affairs, I assume it’s not too much to ask of you to see if Mr. Saltarian needs any assistance.”
“Yes, sister.” I choke out, taking the elongated cart from the man as he points to a section on the wall. He looks to sister Imperator, the two nodding at each other as she ushers Copia down the hall. He waits for their footsteps to die, quickly turning to me,” you unfortunate being.”
“I’ll deal with the repercussions later sir, my duty now is to help you.” I mumble out as I wipe my hands against my dress.
“After tonight, your repercussions will be permanent.  There’s no going back now.” He replies bleakly. I can’t help but raise my eyebrows in confusion,” sorry?”
“Come. Sit with me.” He sighs gently, moving to the rug lined steps at the beginning of the hall. I sit awkwardly beside him and fidget with my hands as he continues in a whisper,” you were at an unfortunate place at an unfortunate time, sister. This is the beginning of a new era, you see.”
He motions towards the cart and I crinkle my nose when looking back at him.
“That cart is for corpses.” He speaks almost silently. My heart races, immediately thinking the worst for Copia. My legs quickly take action, standing and prepared to break in to a sprint, only to be caught by the Saltarians hand,” you needn’t worry about that buffoon. Our conversation does not leave this room, do you understand Y/N?”
My hands tremble at the blunt use of my name. No one dared to call a sister by only her name as it was a sign of degradation… a sign of normality that was left only to intimacy and title stripping. 
“Are you saying if I don’t comply I lose my status and position at the abbey?” I bite back.
“I’m saying you will die.” He barks back, quickly looking around at the notice of his voice echoing against the stone surrounding us. I drop my head as his hand releases, realizing the exclusion of my title was a gimmick to build my trust.
“I apologize for being so chaste, but as of now you are sworn to secrecy. You will be a personal assistant of sorts to the three that were in this room. Consider it… a promotion.” He ponders on his last words, trying to accommodate them in the best way possible.
“Only instead of being exiled, my punishment is now death. Not many sisters would agree to this. May I ask, why me, Mr. Saltarian?” I huff out, walking towards the cart. 
“As I’ve stated before… wrong place, wrong time.  Our plan originally consisted of only us and the ghouls, but I wouldn’t mind an apprentice of sorts during this time of negotiation, as the ghouls tend to be quite unruly and do as they wish. You however, have seem to already become familiar with this hall… comfortable even.” He lays down the law. 
If other sisters were to ask, I was receiving a promotion and moving chambers to be a personal assistant and caregiver of the Emeritus wing. He spoke briefly of the true plan,” when the time comes, Copia will become the next Papa. Some blood will be shed, but consider it only cutting a full life by a mere day.”
“Nihil. That’s the plan.” I gasp out. He nods faintly,” his reign will come to an end in three days time. It is time to usher in the new era.”
“Do not put any more blood on Copia’s hands. he doesn’t deserve this.” I mutter out, slipping the cloth from the steel cart to reveal a single syringe. 
“Copia will have nothing to do with his death. It will appear to be of natural causes during the next ritual. All you have to do, is inject a small amount as he passes by to grab his saxophone.” He explains, replacing the cloth. I feel myself become faint as he implies I will be the cause of his death. Many thoughts race to my mind as one hand clutches against the handle of the cart, the other grasping tightly against my racing heart. 
“Copia will be alright.” I state, not even asking as I look to him, gathering my breath as my hand slips from the cart in a fit of anxiety. 
“Oh he’ll be fine. For now. Consider me a sort of prophet. I know when his time is up, I know when your time is up. I know when every being who walks these halls will perish, Y/N. It’s a curse, truly. But you will soon come to see, we have plenty more sunrises left in our lives. Copia included.” He reassures me, guiding me gently to the floor as daybreak floods against the red stained glass windows. Before he leaves he takes one last glance in my direction,” it will be a few busy days, you should truly get some rest.”
I find myself guiding the way by a hand on the wall. Trudging down the vast halls to make it to my room as the world spins. Tiredness and anxiety outweigh my feet, giving way to collapse to the ground as a door opens. Before I collide against the stone floor, I’m grasped tightly in an embrace,” we should really stop meeting like this. You falling… me falling for you.”
Even fatigued, I manage to roll my eyes and clasp a hand against the figures face,” you truly have a way of paying your respects to Terzo with your attempts to flatter me, Copia. I just need some rest is all.”
“Then, allow me sister.” He mumbles below his breath, heaving slightly as he pulls us both upwards with exhaustion. Carrying me bridal style, he roams the halls aimlessly. 
“Every door seems the same, how do you ever find your room cara mia?” He states confusedly, turning with me in his arms and causing my vision to dizzy. I manage to huff a laugh before yawning,” you must not roam these halls as much as I. You’ve passed it four times now, and I’m starting to think you just want an excuse to drive me to insanity.”
He chuckles mischievously,” well Terzo had told me before that if I was ever driven to insanity that I should never drive alone. He may have been talking about driving after a glass or two too many of spirits, but he was too poetic with his words.” 
“Well I guess if I can’t let you do it alone, then I suppose you can drive me to insanity right to my bed.”  I joke, quickly realizing how implicative it may have sounded as my cheeks redden and trying to recover,” to sleep. I apologize if that came off as rash.”
Copia clears his throat with a quick laugh and turns down yet another hallway,” if you are fatigued enough to hit on me, I suppose it may be time to return you to your bed. Although I did enjoy this walk with you.”
“Well the walk isn’t over yet. You seem restless, Copia. Tell me what is on that mind of yours.” I force out as my eyes lull shut, still listening. Copia is silent for several moments before finally finding the words,” sometimes I wish you could have lived another life. Dancing away the night with a simple man, and do as you wish. this clergy work has made you so frail, Cara Mia. You probably no longer remember the outside world, yet you’re still so young.”
“Why do you worry for me, when you should be worried about your own health? becoming a part of the abbey was a decision I made on my own. You can always find a simple girl to dance with when you leave for rituals. Live on the outside for me.” I mumble back. He adjusts my body so my feet hover barely above the ground, giving me the weightless sensation of floating as his hands support me by my arms and back,” but what if my desire was to just dance with you?”
“Then all you need to do is ask.” I breathe back, mere inches from his neck that my face was buried comfortably in. I can feel the shiver wrack his body and he inhales sharply,” then may I have this dance, topolina?”
“Sempre, mio Caro.” I forced the words from my frozen mouth, surprised he had the energy to even ask. He never lets my feet hit the floor, only on top of his shoes as he swayed us effortlessly around the hall. His slow movements threaten to drag me closer to slumber, but his beating heart stays as a gentle reminder that for even a moment, I was somewhere more comfortable than my own bed. 
“If only there were music. Then I could say you’ve swept me off my feet.” I giggle, tightening my grip as he slowly loosens his own.
“If music is all it takes, then I cannot disappoint.” He smirks through his words, quietly clearing his throat and singing away,” you will never walk alone, you can always reach me. You will never walk alone, even when you’re dead and gone… you can always reach me…” 
I find myself humming along, losing sense of time and things around us. In this moment it was only him and I, and I wasn’t willing going anywhere else. Copia drops to a low hum, bringing his hand up to stroke my hair and increase the grip of his other arm in a hug. A hug that felt if he let go, we’d both shatter. His lips ghost over the crown of my head, refusing to make an unwarranted move, no matter how much either of us wanted it.
“Cara Mia, as much as I am enjoying this moment… it is time for you to rest.” He speaks up, casually breaking his hum as he opens a door. He lays me gently atop the plush comforters, unfamiliar to me. My arms refuse to break our bond and my throat moans in protest,” but for just a moment longer… we could be just a simple man and woman dancing the night away.”
“You tempt me, but if you do not rest, I fear you may never be able to ever dance again.” He whispers, covering me gently and patting the top of my head. As he turns to leave, my arm instinctively reaches through the darkness and finds his hand,” it’s never polite to leave a dance partner without a final bow.”
Copia freezes and chuckles nervously,” you’re so tired you’re speaking nonsense. But I will give my final bow for the night if thats what it takes for you to sleep peacefully.”
I can feel the heat of his body as he stoops over, face just above mine as my free hand grasps at the side of his face,” Copia, I apologize for my rashness, but that’s not what I meant by a final bow. Please, just kiss me.”
“Are you sure that is what you want?” He breathes out, barely even speaking. I don’t even reply, drawing him in by the hand that rests on his face and taking in the floral scents mixed with spices that encase him and chastely place my lips against his. He stills, refusing to move or engage until just as I’m about to pull away. When his lips finally meld with mine, I almost forget about the upcoming plan… the inevitable secrecy we are bound to. That I am bound to, and it hurts to not tell him. My mind is brought back to the here and now as he finally pulls away slightly and sighing,” I would stay by your side for eternity if you’ll allow me.”
“Only if you’ll allow me at yours.” I mumble out, relaxing in to the hand that caresses against me slowly. 
“Sempre. Sempre e per sempre, Topolina.” He murmurs, wrapping his arms around me in a hug and dropping to his knees at the side of the bed. I would coax him to the bed, but alas, sleep had finally won the battle over being a simple woman that had the undying wish to just dance with a simple man. 
Sleep was restless, visions of Nihil looking in to my eyes with betrayal. Copia, saddened and confused as a door closes between us. Sister Imperator and Mr. Saltarian being the ones at each side of the closed doors, looking on with devious smiles and arms crossed, syringes in hand. My feet begged to run, but I was fixated to the spot as the scenery came crashing down before me. The door grew farther, and the hall became darker until it was just the three of us.
“Copia!” I try to scream, but only a bubble escapes from my throat. Mr. Saltarians words echo grimly from his mouth,”Oh, He’ll be fine… for now.”
His laughter pierces at my eardrums, but my hands cannot find their way to cover them. Everything fades, leaving only an empty spotlight, repositioning to a bent over figure whose silent sobs wracked their body,” I had feared for you, when I should have feared you all along.”
“N-no, No! Copia, please.” I rasp out, gripping at my throat to manage even just a few words. The sensation of my hands around my throat disappear and I look down to see a syringe in my hand, full of poison. My arm jerks against me, doing the opposite of what I had wanted as my whole body trembles. Syringe growing nearer, Copia turns around, revealing him in smeared full regalia face and head piece askew. I noticed he donned the papa robe, only it was shredded as a single tear slips down his face,” we were supposed to be at each others side for eternity…”
“Copia, Move, Run! COPIA.” The last scream of his name launches me back to reality with eyes wide open, sweat riddled and shaking furiously in bed. Strong hands fight against me, drawing my own flailing hands to the bed and a calmed hush escapes his lips,” Cara Mia, please. What is with all the fuss? Why do you shout for me to run?”
I gasp against my heavy breaths, calming slowly at the sight of Copia in the crack of morning light, right where he was when I fell asleep. I dig my nails in to the bed below our hands, fixating them on something else other than the thought of clawing my escaping mind back to reality. My skin crawled, seeing him on his knees in the same position he had been in my dream, even near the same look of worry. A catch in my throat as I try to swallow brings me to a cough as more tears well,” I’m so sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for! it was only a dream.” He smiles back, patting a hand against my arm as it violently shakes,” you had me terrified.” 
“Copia, terrible things are about to happen.” I heave out, trying my best to keep the huge plan a secret as it had been agreed. 
“Maybe we should get you a warm glass of milk. This must’ve been a pretty horrifying dream to have you this shaken. I knew I should’ve made you rest earlier.” He tuts, beginning to leave. Before I can even stop myself, the words are already escaping my lips,” I must kill Nihil.”
He pauses, slowly turning around as my hands clamp over my mouth and tears break like a damn over my lids, streaming to the bedding below. He says nothing as he stalks back to the bed, coming close to my face and looking around us before whispering in anger,” by whose hand?”
I shake my head, refusing to move my hands, as the next dam to break would be my mouth and I’ve already said too much. He wipes a tear away, just for another to take its place and replaces his look of anger with one of sorrow,”  you will not carry the same blood stains I am forced to bear. Now Topolina, tell me who is making you do this?”
His hands grasp gently against my wrists, pulling them softly down from my face. My only instinct is to turn away and try to lie,” it was my decision to agree. I am the only one responsible.”
“I believe someone had told me before, you must carry out all these tasks… and no one is there to look after your well being. It is a barrier we cling on to, to hide our own guilt. We are only a small fraction of their bigger picture, and I should apologize for having dragged you in to this.” Copia murmers, looking apologetic as he encases my hands with his own.
“It’s this or death.” I breathe out, realizing how powerful the silly word is. How one little word could carry so much weight, yet be as simple as a period at the end of a sentence. I can see just how tightly Copia squeezes his sleep riddled eyes, trying to form even a sentence… maybe even a plan. His hands only squeeze tighter as he forces a smile,” well I can’t have you enjoying death without me, now can I?”
We both sit in silence, knowing the heavy air was a constant reminder we were stuck, unmoving. I can feel his body tremor, even the slight flinch when I finally cast my gaze upon him,” I’ll die before they get away with doing anything similar to you. I truly wish I could tell you more.”
“I have a feeling this is why I’ve been told of an upcoming promotion. It is all too familiar. They had done the same to Terzo. It is because of them, that Terzo haunts my every movement and not their own. I could’ve said no. the Emeritus bloodline is tainted because of those two. You need not say who, I think I am putting these pesky puzzle pieces together…” Copia trails off, lost in deep thought as his eyes wander. My own mind wanders,” So what do we do?”
He breathes out harshly, turning to me unblinking,” we carry out their plan. Then we wait for retaliation.”
He refuses to blink, showing his dedication and moving a hand to just above my heart,” if it’s one thing the ghouls have taught me. Is when you are wronged, you must be of right mind before tearing a mother fucker limb from limb to right what has been wronged.”
I keep my mind from envisioning the ominous toothy grins that meld in to the shadows around the abbey at night, as if the ghouls waited for an opportunity to sink their teeth in to someone who went against Copia.
“And if things go wrong, then it will be a pleasure to lay side by side with you for eternity in this life.” He says in finality, kissing the back of my hand before standing. I blink in disbelief,” and where are you going?”
“To have a little chat with the ghouls.” He smirks over his shoulder, quickly blowing a kiss and leaving.
This had marked the beginning of the end of the Emeritus bloodline.
2 days until the death of Papa Nihil.
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oineroi · 1 year
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The Lokrian goddess: an interpretation of the abduction of Persephone in Magna Graecia
The myth of Persephone is well known to a lot of polytheists through the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, but in 1889 archaeologists unearthed some pinakes (votive tablets) from the shrine to Persephone (the famous Persephoneion) in the greek colony of Epizephyrian Locri (modern day Calabria, Italy), that contain a different version of the myth.
In these plaques, her mother Demeter is absent and Persephone is depicted as "willing bride and powerful underworld queen". Persephone does not return.
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This is because local women turned to Persephone for assistance in biological and social transitions. The pinakes draw the goddess into a set of experiences that map a mortal woman's life: for example, one of the most popular motifs is the abduction of a maiden by a man on his chariot. The maiden's emotional reactions to her own abduction range from terror to active affection: these depictions represent the complex reactions that the worshippers brought to the cult.
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blueiskewl · 1 year
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Ancient Roman Shrine To Mountain Gods Discovered In The Alps
Slogging away on years-long excavations in the scorching desert or freezing English rain, just hoping to find a tiny clue about ancient burial rites or something – only for some rando to wander up a mountain one day and accidentally stumble upon a long-lost shrine to the Ancient Roman mountain gods.
“We do find single Roman coins occasionally in the Alps, but this site is unusual because of the amount of coins and the location,” Regula Gubler, scientific project manager on the archeological team that’s been investigating the site since 2022.
“We are only at the beginning of the investigations, but we think it is a holy place,” she explained. “[P]eople went [there] to deposit votive offerings – mainly coins, but also other objects – asking the deities for things or thanking them […] I guess a kind of pilgrimage.”
The first sign that something interesting might have been going on in the area came back in 2020, when a stray hiker happened across a single ancient coin buried amongst the rubble.
After reporting the find to local authorities, however, it became apparent that this high-altitude site was hiding a lot more than just a few bits of dropped change. So far, the team has discovered 100 ancient Roman coins, 59 Roman shoe nails, 27 small rock crystals, a brooch, and a fragment of a leaf-shaped votive plaque.
But at 2,590 meters (nearly 8,500 feet) above sea level, and well clear of established passing places, the site proved difficult to reach even for the modern excavation team. “[It] is far from human habitation, today and in Roman times [...] and definitely not a pass,” Gubler told Newsweek. “We had to fly our supplies up there and camped for several days.”
Combined, this all suggests a place of great importance for the ancient folk who left those artifacts behind. The team suspects its importance may have something to do with the naturally occurring rock crystal formations that can be found in the area.
“We often consider this type of object as offerings,” explained Adriano Boschetti, an archaeologist with the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern, in a statement. “It cannot be ruled out that the high plateau between the [peaks of] Ammertenhorn and the Wildstrubel massif, visible from afar, was a sacred place.”
It’s not totally surprising: the site is just 19.3 kilometers (12 miles) away from the town of Thun, where several Roman temples can be found – including an effigy specifically devoted to the goddesses of the Alps.
“The mountains had clearly a religious significance,” Gubler said. “[This] is an interesting site because it shows that the Roman population of the region didn't only worship the mountains from afar, but also went up and close to them to deposit votive offerings.”
By DR. KATIE SPALDING.
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metmuseum · 3 months
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Votive Plaque with Seated Figure. 1368–1643. Credit line: Rogers Fund, 1930 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38832
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