Grab · Denk · Mal

Over time and across various cultures, the ways that people have cared for their dead and overcome feelings of fear and sadness related to »death« have changed and developed. One of the most important means of dealing with death, besides ritualized mourning, was the erection of long-lasting, impressive visual markers such as grave monuments. As storage devices of cultural memory, monuments for the dead could preserve the remembrance of the deceased as long as they remained visible to future generations. The aim of this interdisciplinary workshop, to be held November 17–19, 2017 in Tübingen, Germany, is to examine to what extent remembrance of the dead can be seen as a ›mirror of life‹ and/or as something specifically constructed by the bereaved (whether intentionally or not). By examining the material evidence from graves, their position within ancient necropolises, and written sources, we would like to discuss the meaning of funerary cult and its monuments in the construction of collective memory within and among ancient Mediterranean cultures. Furthermore, comparative analyses of non-Mediterranean as well as modern cultures could supplement the workshop by providing a sociological approach to studying and understanding funerary cult as a general medium of the culture of remembrance.