2007/10/10 by Sarah Semple · 16 citations
Arts and Humanities · #Medieval Literature and History #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Historical and Archaeological Studies #Cult #Prehistory #Character (mathematics) #Archaeology #Toponymy #History #Geography #Ancient history
paper · open access · doi:10.1111/j.1468-0254.2007.00212.x
published in Early Medieval Europe 15(4), 364-385 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2007/10/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
The OE term hearg is interpreted variously as ‘pagan temple’, ‘hilltop sanctuary’ and even ‘idol’. It is a rare survival in the English place‐name record. When it can be identified, the place name is commonly considered to refer to a location of pre‐Christian religious activity, specifically a pagan Anglo‐Saxon temple. Taking inspiration from the extensive and methodologically well‐advanced studies in Scandinavia, which have successfully related place‐name evidence for cultic and religious sites with the archaeology and topography of these localities, this paper adopts and uses a similar methodology to investigate the archaeological and topographic character of a selection of hearg locations. The traditional interpretations of the place name are questioned and evidence is presented that these sites are characterized by long‐lived, localized cult practice spanning the late prehistoric to early historic periods, but with activity reaching a zenith in the late Iron Age to Romano‐British eras, rather than the fifth to seventh centuries AD.