Urban Religion in Palmyra

The world of the Palmyrene gods and the complexes which accompanied their worship have received great attention in the past. The city's religious life remains intriguing to explore, not least due to the rich iconographic evidence and the monumental religious complexes in the city, and there are still numerous aspects to be investigated of the city's religious life. In the case of Palmyra, we are in possession of a group of small clay tokens called banqueting tesserae, which allow for a different insight into some aspects of urban religious life. These small objects allow us to make substantial contributions to the discussions about the nature of religious life in an urban context. They may be expressions of a very urban phenomenon – a way of controlling access.