The Rhyton from Danilo: Structure and Symbolism of a Middle Neolithic Cult-Vessel

By Omer Rak

The so called rhyton from Danilo, an archaeological site near the coastal town of Sibenik in Dalmatia, Croatia, is a four-legged Neolithic vessel made of fired clay that according to the consensus of archaeological opinion was most likely a cult vessel used in rituals of unknown origin and content. "Danilo Culture" is the eponymous name bestowed on a culture flourishing in the period from about 5500-4500 BC at Danilo and at some neighbouring sites. This culture had great influence along the eastern Adriatic coast and its hinterland and produced a significant number of these vessels. Rhyta, which other Neolithic cultures also made, were dispersed throughout a vast area of southeast Europe, from Greece to the Alps. This book is an in-depth study of that mysterious, prehistoric archaeological artifact which, due to its antiquity, structure and symbolism, has become a kind of universal proto-matrix for all relevant mythological and spiritual structures of the Mediterranean zone of later, historic times.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1842179772
• ISBN13: 9781842179772
• Release Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.8" x 9.6"