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48 | 2021
Croisées des chemins

Crossroads
Encrucijadas
Couverture 48 | Croisées des chemins
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Credits: PCR Blois : Véronique Aubour (SRA Pays-de-la-Loire) et Didier Josset (Inrap)
Inrap, 2021, 116 p.

The crossroads of streets and roads are where certain types of activities related to travel take place, moving over short or long distances, known or unknown: stopping, choosing a direction, preparing to leave, etc. Crossroads also act as places to meet, effect handovers, exchange goods and offer services, and all of these activities leave their mark (e.g. shops, warehouses, workshops, hotels...). Beyond these concrete aspects, there are countless cases where crossroads are linked to religious beliefs and practices (e.g. altars, temples) and/or funerary practices (burial, cenotaph, necropolis). But what elements should archaeology use in order to identify these crossroads (e.g. topography, landmarks, road connections, types of pavements or kerbs, signs)? And can we distinguish, for example, those that mark social or political limits, between people, between settlements, between neighbourhoods, etc?

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