Forsaken relics: practices and rituals of appropriating abandoned artifacts from antiquity to modern times.

This volume examines the intricate mechanisms of ritualistic appropriation of ruined and/or abandoned assets and artifacts. It explores how this process occurs in situations where there is legislation to regulate the appropriation of ownerless property, as well as in cases where such rules are either absent or contested, leading to disputes and conflicts. Every society has developed its unique ways of managing the re-appropriation of "ownerless things", such as places and houses abandoned after conflicts, crises, or natural disasters, forsaken cemeteries, tombs, and forgotten goods. These practices often involve the use of ritualistic methods to mask the intent to appropriate abandoned artifacts. The book aims to stimulate comparative analysis of this topic in both ancient and modern societies, profiling the identity of the "actors" of appropriation, examining the definition of abandonment, and exploring the ritual aspects such as inventorying material, dedication to ancestors, and prayers to gods that legitimize the re-appropriation of places and goods classified as abandoned. After a Preface by the editors, the contributions in this volume are organised in four sections: "Appropriating places", "Redefining abandonment", "Claiming things", and "Afterword".