Archaeology by period / region Books

Book SynopsisFacsimile edition of the 1974 reissue of Flinders Petrie’s 1921 corpus of prehistoric pottery and slate palettes from pre-dynastic, prehistoric Egypt. The pottery corpus was produced separately to accompany the catalogue of Egyptian artifacts in the volume Prehistoric Egypt and comprises hundreds of line drawings illustrating the shapes, forms and types of decoration. It was intended to be a ‘graveside’ aid for use during excavation, with the intent that it be used with record cards to classify and date pottery that could then be returned to the grave. The corpus of palettes updated Petrie’s original classification published Ballas and Naqada, to include many new finds and refine the typology and sequence.This series comprises facsimile re-issues of typological catalogues produced between 1898 and 1937 by W.M. Flinders Petrie, based on his vast collection of Egyptian artefacts which now reside in The Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology, University College, London. Long out of print, the catalogues were re-issued in facsimile by publishers Aris & Phillips in the 1970s alongside newly-commissioned titles by contemporary experts. Petrie’s catalogues remain invaluable source material today. The Oxbow Classics in Egyptology series now makes a selection of these important resources available again in print for a new generation of students and scholars.Table of ContentsThe corpus of Prehistoric pottery The corpus of slate palettes The registers Plates

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Book SynopsisFlinders Petrie undertook excavation and survey of ancient Egyptian towns in the Faiyum oasis, south-west of Cairo, in 1888–90. The work included opening of a pyramid at Illahun and excavation of a nearby cemetery, excavation and planning of over 2000 chambers of the city of Kahun, excavation of a Ptolemaic cemetery at Gurob, and work at the temple site at Medinet Gurob. This facsimile volume presents brief descriptions of the work with a focus on the artifacts and inscriptions recovered and recorded with an attempt to establish a chronology of occupation in the oasis.The entrance to the pyramid at Illahun, its peculiar structure and exploration of its various internal passages and chambers are described, including the sepulchre containing the red granite sarcophagus of Usertesen II, accompanied by a table of offerings. A series of nearby tombs produced a wealth of artifacts associated with burials, wooden coffins and cartonnages, including glazed objects, amulets, scarabs, beads, silver cowries, carved and inscribed wooden objects and statuettes. At Kahun the complete surviving plan of the ancient town revealed a regular layout thought by Petrie to be the work of a single architect. He identified the acropolis, at least eight great houses, dwelling houses, rubbish heaps, and storerooms arranged along numerous narrow ‘workmen’s’ streets with drainage channels. Much evidence for construction materials and techniques and house fittings, wall plaster and paint was recovered. Portable objects included decorated pottery, some of it imported; pottery trays of offerings; stonework; wooden carvings; flint sickles and knives; inscribed stelae; a variety of copper tools; scarabs and clay seals; stone weights and many tools, including several workshop groups. A family tomb in the cellar beneath one house contained 12 coffins, each containing several bodies with grave offerings buried in succession, two baby boxes and a heap of offerings. At Gurob, the plan of the main temple and surrounding enclosures, within which were contained most of the houses, was established and an outline of its history determined. An unusual practice of burning personal belongings in pits beneath the houses was identified and the groups of objects and inscriptions discussed. The nearby cemetery was also investigated with pit-like tombs producing undecorated coffins but finely painted cartonnages, badly decomposed papyri and a few funerary objects. A discussion of the wider urban landscape concludes the narrative. There are specialist reports on the papyri and stone implements.This series comprises facsimile re-issues of typological catalogues produced between 1898 and 1937 by W.M. Flinders Petrie, and re-issued in facsimile by publishers Aris & Phillips in the 1970s alongside newly-commissioned titles by contemporary experts. Petrie’s catalogues remain invaluable source material today. The Oxbow Classics in Egyptology series now makes a selection of these important resources available again in print for a new generation of students and scholars.Table of ContentsIntroductory 1. Pyramids of Illahun 2. The town of Kahun 3. The antiquities of Kahun 4. Medinet Gurob 5. The tomb of Maket 6. Illahun in the XXII Dyn. 7. Ptolemic cemetery, Gurob 8. Ptolemais and late sites 9. The Greek papyri (by Prof. Sayce) 10. The hieratic papyri (by F.Ll. Griffith) 11. The stone implements (by F.C.J. Spurrell, F.G.S.) Plates

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Book SynopsisHailed as a sumptuously produced and finely illustrated outstanding contribution to ancient Egyptian studies, this facsimile reprint of Patrick Houlihan’s 1986 comprehensive study makes a welcome return in the Oxbow Classics in Egyptology series.Animals of all kinds are amply illustrated in Egyptian art, none more so than birds, in both secular and religious contexts and in hieroglyphic scripts. A great variety of bird species has for millennia made twice yearly migrations passing over Egypt, which is also an important overwintering area for many. These migrant birds, together with indigenous species were an abundant and easily exploited source of food for ancient Egyptians, for domestication and status display. Tomb scenes displaying birds provided as food for the deceased are abundant, as are procession scenes of offering with bearers bringing gifts of fowl. Many birds also had religious associations. Houlihan provides a systematic and unparalleled survey of all the bird life depicted by the ancient Egyptians in art and hieroglyphic writing face=Calibri>– some 72 species (plus bats) – with a list of known mummified species, discussions on their religious and secular associations, and many illustrations. Their present-day distributions are compared with that known from the time of the Pharoahs. A checklist of the birds of modern Egypt is provided by Steven Goodman.Table of ContentsSources of the figures Map of Ancient Egypt Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations and references cited The catalogue Appendix I The mummified birds Appendix II A preliminary checklist to the Birds of Egypt, by Steven M. Goodman Notes to the catalogue and checklist Chronological table Index

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1979, this facsimile edition of Jeffrey Spencer’s comprehensive study provides a detailed account of the brick architecture of ancient Egypt. Part I provides introductory information on brick manufacture, early use of brick in Egypt and explains the corpus of brick bonding systems. Part II provides an account of the surviving brick buildings, discussed by type, with special reference to technical and structural matter. Part III presents an examination of the constructional techniques employed at different periods for various purposes. A discussion of the kinds of bricks used, their sizes, and bonding is included.This series comprises facsimile re-issues of typological catalogues produced between 1898 and 1937 by W.M. Flinders Petrie, based on his vast collection of Egyptian artefacts which now reside in The Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology, University College, London. Long out of print, the catalogues were re-issued in facsimile by publishers Aris & Phillips in the 1970s alongside newly-commissioned titles by contemporary experts – of which Brick Architecture in Ancient Egypt is one. The Oxbow Classics in Egyptology series makes a selection of these important resources – which remain invaluable source material – available again in print for a new generation of students and scholars.Table of ContentsAbbreviations Preface Introduction Part I 1. Brick manufacture 2. The earliest use of brick in Egypt 3. The bonding corpus Part II 4. Funerary architecture 5. Religious architecture 6. Administrative and official buildings 7. Domestic architecture 8. Fortresses and defensive town walls Part III 9. Brick walls 10. Floors and foundations 11. Arches, vaults, domes and corbels 12. Solid brick construction in mastabas and pyramids 13. Supplementary materials in brick construction 14. Bonding 15. Special bricks 16. Brick sizes Appendix I: Metrology of Egyptian brickwork Indexes Plates

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Book SynopsisThe study of Roman urbanism – especially its early (Republican) phases – is extensively rooted in the evidence provided by a series of key sites, several of them located in Italy. Some of these Italian towns (e.g. Fregellae, Alba Fucens, Cosa) have received a great deal of scholarly attention in the past and they are routinely referenced as textbook examples, framing much of our understanding of the broad phenomenon of Roman urbanism. However, discussions of these sites tend to fall back on well-established interpretations, with relatively little or no awareness of more recent developments. This is remarkable, since our understanding of these sites has since evolved thanks to new archaeological fieldwork, often characterised by the pursuit of new questions and the application of new approaches. Similarly, new evidence from other sites has since prompted a reconsideration of time-honoured views about the nature, role and long-term trajectory of Roman towns in Italy.Tracing its origins in the Laurence Seminar on Roman Urbanism in Italy: recent discoveries and new directions, which took place at the Faculty of Classics of the University of Cambridge (27–28 May 2022), this volume brings together scholars whose recent work at key sites is contributing to expand, change or challenge our current knowledge and understanding of Roman urbanism in Italy. The individual chapters showcase some of the most recent methods and approaches applied to the study of Roman towns, discussing the broader implications of fresh archaeological discoveries from both well known and less widely known sites, from the Po Plain to Southern Italy, from the Republican to the Late Antique period (and beyond).Table of ContentsList of Contributors 1. Introduction Alessandro Launaro Part I. Methods and approaches 2. Approaches of Roman urbanism in Italy: the example of Falerii Novi Martin Millett 3. The changing face of the eastern Caelian in the 1st–2nd centuries AD: work by the Rome Transformed Project Ian Haynes, Paolo Liverani, Thea Ravasi & Stephen Kay 4. Luck is in the Research Method: Aquinum, the Rediscovery of an ‘Invisible’ Town Giuseppe Ceraudo Part II. Beyond the textbook 5. Cosa, Orbetello, and the Genesis of a Colony. Andrea U. De Giorgi 6. The archaeology of Fregellae: an update Francesca Diosono 7. One should always dress like a marble column (Jackie Kennedy-Onassis). New insights on the urbanism of Alba Fucens Cécile Evers Part III. Not your standard Roman town 8. From sanctuary to settlement. Mapping the development of Lucus Feroniae through geophysical prospection Stephen Kay, Sophie Hay & Christopher Smith 9. Septempeda: integrated approaches for revealing a ‘small town’ in Picenum Frank Vermeulen Part IV. Roman towns in the longue durée 10. Lunae: New Perspectives from Recent Archaeological Fieldwork Simonetta Menchelli, Paolo Sangriso, Silvia Marini & Rocco Marcheschi 11. Interamna Lirenas: how special? Alessandro Launaro 12. A Town and its Road: Aeclanum on the via Appia Ben Russell & Girolamo F. De Simone Part V. Late Antiquity and beyond 13. New archaeological perspective on Late Antique Aquileia Patrizia Basso 14. Bridging the gap. Bridging the gap: new data on the settlement continuity in Parma from the stone bridge Alessia Morigi 15. Conclusion: recent discoveries and new directions John Patterson

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Book SynopsisThis third volume in the Material Religion in Antiquity series stems from the First International Congress on the Archaeology of Symbols (ICAS I) that took place in Florence in May 2022. The archaeological process of reconstructing and understanding our past has undergone several reassessments in the last century, producing an equal number of new perspectives and approaches. The recent materiality turn emphasizes the necessity to ground those achievements in order to build fresh avenues of interpretation and reach new boundaries in the study of the human kind and its ecology. Symbols must not be conceived only as allegory but also, and perhaps mainly, as reason (raison d'etre) and meaning (culture). They may be considered key elements leading to interpretation, not only in their physical manifestation but by being infused with the gestures, beliefs and intentions of their creators, created in a specific context and with a specific chaine operatoire. In this volume a variety of case studies is offered, representing disparate ancient cultures in the Mediterranean and central Europe and the Near East. The thread that connects them revolves around the prominence of symbols and allegorical aspects in archaeology, whether they are considered as expressions of iconographic evidence, material culture or ritual ceremonies, seen from a multicultural perspective. This (and subsequent ICAS) volumes, therefore, aims to embrace all the different aspects pertaining to symbols in archaeology in a specific 'place', allowing the reader to deepen their knowledge of such a fascinating and multifaceted topic, by looking at it from a multicultural perspective.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Guido Guarducci, Nicola Laneri, and Stefano Valentini Symbols in Currents or Strings of Energy: Ian Hodder Some Remarks about the Representation of the Cupping-Vessel ( /cucurbita) in the Ancient World: Maria Angeles Alonso Alonso Abstract Depictions of Animals on Late Bronze Swords from East Georgia: Simone Arnhold, Shorena Davitashvili A Comparison between Philistine/Canaanite and Judean Iconography during the Iron Age II: David Ben-Shlomo Reflection of a Soul? Mirror-Linked Symbolism in Early Nomadic Burials (Southern Urals, Russia): Natalia Berseneva, Margaryan Kseniya The Physical Materiality of the Divine and Its Symbols: The Case of Sarapis' Attributes in Hellenistic Egypt: Efstathia Dionysopoulou Ritual and Symbolism in the Matiate Underground City: Durmus Ersun The Architectural System of the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara: Its Symbolic Expression Between Social and Semiotic Sphere: Massimiliano Franci Icon - Index - Symbol. Experiencing Material Signs through Ancient Figurines: Regine Hunziker-Rodewald, Andrei Aioanei The Human Hand as a Symbol in Ancient Egyptian Thought: Christos Kekes Feminine Symbolism in the Iconography of 'Luristan Bronzes': Zahra Kouzehgari Images and Symbols of 12th c. BC Pictorial Pottery from Cyprus: Anna Lekka Insights from the Philistine 'Symbol-Scape' on Philistine Origins and Social Structure: Aren Maeir Deer Symbolism in the Kura-Araxes Culture: A View from the Village of Kvatskhelebi, Georgia: Sarit Paz Network of Symbolisms in a Private Tomb in Ancient Thebes: Maria Violeta Pereyra, Mariano Bonanno Is it the Hairstyle? Female Figurines with Hairdo in the Context of the 6th Millennium BC Imagery of the Southern Levant: Dina Shalem, Ianir Milevski, Nimrod Getzov, Ehud Galili, Anat Cohen-Weinberber

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Book SynopsisIn 2016, construction workers in Philadelphia unexpectedly uncovered a long forgotten burial ground. Archaeologists quickly discovered this was the location of the burial ground of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, used as early as 1722. It was thought to have been exhumed and moved in 1859. Months of excavations revealed almost 500 individual burials still remained.This book shares the complex story of the discovery and excavations. It provides backgrounds of the church, Philadelphia, and the religious climate of the time to give context to the thousands of artifacts that were discovered and are presented in their entirety. The numerous coffin handles and plaques link directly back to English production and are embedded with powerful mortuary symbols. Highlighting cultural exchange between colonial America and England, Artifacts of Mourning provides an important record of 18th- and 19th-century funerary culture.Table of ContentsList of figures Acknowledgements Foreword Preface 1. Introduction 2. The First Baptist Church of Philadelphia and Burial Ground 3. Excavating an Historic Burial Ground 4. Religious Revival and Mourning in the 18th and 19th Century 5. Evidence of Funerary Dress and Textiles 6. Coffins from the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia Burial Ground 7. Miscellaneous Artifacts from the Burial Ground 8. Funerary Symbolism: Handle Grip Plates and Lid Plaques 9. On the Archaeology of Mourning References

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