ABSTRACT
By now, it should be apparent to the archaeologist that the structuring of space incorporates cosmological and symbolic principles in many situations. The problem lies in their detection and recovery without textual or iconographic representations, or at least with only minimal sources other than material remains alone. For some, the attempt to move from post-holes to symbolic orders is simply too difficult. Undoubtedly, the quality of evidence, as embodied in the variety of available contexts and degree of preservation, is very important. But the exploration of early historical and even prehistoric cosmologies is by no means too daunting. There has already been a number of archaeological studies of architecture and classification, cosmological and social. Some have drawn on written sources and others have relied solely on artefactual evidence. 1 The study of ancient citystates, such as China, Rome, and Egypt, relies on textual evidence which is otherwise unavailable to the prehistorian. From integrated analysis of cosmology as inscribed in religious texts and fixed in architecture, we may be able to recover symbolic meaning to some degree. The following examples present some broad indicators of ancient cosmologies. We will turn later to the difficulties and possibilities of interpreting prehistoric cosmologies, by taking two case studies, one from the Neolithic of Orkney and the other from the Iron Age in southern Britain.
