Archaeology by period / region Books

Book SynopsisThe work presents 230 stone carvings of the Hospitaller period in Rhodes (1309-1522), which for various reasons are no longer in their original setting. Most of them are cut in local stone or reused antique marble and belong to three broad groups: decorative architectural elements, funerary slabs and markers, and heraldry from secular and religious buildings and fortifications. Their architectural, artistic, inscriptional and social significance are discussed, providing insights into the way cultural influences from different parts of Western Europe were introduced, maintained and adapted in an Eastern Mediterranean context by the Knights of Saint John, other Westerners the presence of the Order encouraged to travel to Rhodes and even live there and, occasionally, by wealthy Greeks. The study includes a full catalogue and touches upon recent archaeological activity in the historic centre of the town of Rhodes.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part One: I. Historical background; II. Topography; III. Stone carving and the art of Hospitaller Rhodes; Part Two: IV. Displaced carved pieces and fragments; V. Architectural members; VI. Heraldry from buildings; VII. Inscriptions; VIII. Funerary monuments; IX. Problems and conclusions; Bibliography; Appendix 1: The masters of Rhodes; Appendix 2: Location of listed pieces and fragments (December 2009); Appendix 3: Statistical tables of magistral arms; The Catalogue; Index; Plates and Figures

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Book SynopsisNearly 13,000 years ago millions of people and animals were wiped out, and the world plunged abruptly into a new ice-age. It was more than a thousand years before the climate, and mankind, recovered. The people of Gobekli Tepe in present-day southern Turkey, whose ancestors witnessed this catastrophe, built a megalithic monument formed of many hammer-shaped pillars decorated with symbols as a memorial to this terrible event. Before long, they also invented agriculture, and their new farming culture spread rapidly across the continent, signalling the arrival of civilisation. Before abandoning Gobekli Tepe thousands of years later, they covered it completely with rubble to preserve the greatest and most important story ever told for future generations. Archaeological excavations began at the site in 1994, and we are now able to read their story, more amazing than any Hollywood plot, again for the first time in over 10,000 years. It is a story of survival and resurgence that allows one of the world’s greatest scientific puzzles – the meaning of ancient artworks, from the 40,000 year-old Lion-man figurine of Hohlenstein-Stadel cave in Germany to the Great Sphinx of Giza – to be solved. We now know what happened to these people. It probably had happened many times before and since, and it could happen again, to us. The conventional view of prehistory is a sham; we have been duped by centuries of misguided scholarship. The world is actually a much more dangerous place than we have been led to believe. The old myths and legends, of cataclysm and conflagration, are surprisingly accurate. We know this because, at last, we can read an extremely ancient code assumed by scholars to be nothing more than depictions of wild animals. A code hiding in plain sight that reveals we have hardly changed in 40,000 years. A code that changes everything.

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Book SynopsisFor those that survive, the traumas of military conflict can be long lasting. It might seem astonishing that archaeology, with its uncovering of the traces of the long-dead, of battlefields, of skeletal remains, could provide solace, and yet there is something magical about the subject. In archaeology there is a job for everyone; from surveying and drawing, to examining the finds, to digging itself. Often this is in some of the most beautiful and restful of landscapes and with talks around a campfire at the end of the day.Operation Nightingale is a programme which was set up in 2011 within the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom to help facilitate the recovery of armed forces personnel recently engaged in armed conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, using the archaeology of the British Training Areas. Over the following decade, the project has expanded to include veterans of older conflicts and of other nations – from the United States, from Poland, from Australia and elsewhere.This book is the story of those veterans, of their incredible discoveries, of their own journeys of recovery – sometimes one which can lead to a lifetime of studying archaeology. It has taken them to the crash sites of Spitfires and trenches of the Western Front in the First World War, through to burial grounds of Convicts, camp sites of Hessian mercenaries, and Anglo-Saxon cemeteries. Lavishly illustrated, this work shows the reader how the discovery of our shared past – of long-forgotten houses, of glinting gold jewellery, of broken pots, can be restorative and help people mend otherwise damaged lives.The book features a foreword and illustrations by Professor Alice Roberts, presenter on BBC's The Big Dig, Digging for Britain and Coast, alongside superb photography by Harvey Mills.Trade ReviewUplifting and inspirational, it is a book we need to keep returning to, to remind us all of those who serve and the damage they endure. Heroes – one and all. * Professor Dame Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome *Richard Osgood’s superb book is the story of the healing power of archaeology – of compassion, team-building and self-discovery gained in pursuit of a common goal. Broken Pots, Mending Lives is a thought-provoking celebration of our humanity and a reminder of what a remarkable profession archaeology will always be. * Barry Cunliffe *I’m in awe of Richard Osgood. His passion is infectious. He believes in exploring the past as much as he believes in living healthy, happy lives; and he shows how the two are linked. * Dan Snow *It’s been a privilege to work with Operation Nightingale over the years and witness the positive impact that getting your hands dirty on a dig can have on mental health. Talking with veterans has really brought the power of archaeology to heal home to me. * Sir Tony Robinson *Table of ContentsForeword by Professor Alice Roberts Introduction Chapter 1: Origins at the Midden: The beginnings of Operation Nightingale at an Iron Age feasting site Chapter 2: The Phoenix and the Eagle: Searching for Hessians and the Band of Brothers Chapter 3: Legends: The convict burials of Rat Island Chapter 4: Mud, Blood and Green Fields Beyond: Digging for Tank 796 and the traces of the First World War Chapter 5: Tally Ho!: archaeology and the Battle of Britain Chapter 6: Facing Beowulf – excavating remains of Anglo Saxon England Chapter 7: Locking the House: finding and reconstructing a Bronze Age roundhouse Chapter 8: Homes of the Dead: discoveries at a burial mound on Salisbury Plain Chapter 9: Conclusions Index Acknowledgements Further Reading

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Book SynopsisBrass from the Past is not only a history of the use and production of brass, but more broadly an insight into the journey of this important metal in the context of a changing and modernising world. The book follows the evolution of brass from its earliest forms around 2500 BC through to industrialised production in the eighteenth century. The story is told in the context of the people, economies, cultures, trade and technologies that have themselves defined the alloy and its spread around the world. It explores innovations, such as the distillation of zinc, that have improved the quality and ease of production. From national or religious priorities to exhaustion of raw material supplies, the themes from the past are echoed in our own world today. In the later centuries, the book shines a light on some of the more personal aspects of people, businesses and relationships that have influenced industry and its progress. Above all the book reflects the enthusiasm, not just of the author, but of all brass enthusiasts across the world. The search for information has involved scrambling down Bohemian ravines, stumbling over brass-works debris under trees, and studying pre-civil-war artefacts in Virginia. Academics and experts from across the world have provided information, from China to Qatar and the USA to the Czech Republic. Brass is a strong and attractive metal, which has been used to create items of great beauty and utility. It is hoped that the reader will come to value the qualities of this material which has become a passion for so many people around the world.Table of ContentsChapter 1 Experiment and emergence Chapter 2 Medieval Europe and far beyond Chapter 3 The Sacred and the Salesmen Chapter 4 Age of Discovery Chapter 5 Merchants and migrants Chapter 6 Continuity and conflict in Europe Chapter 7 Trade and technology Chapter 8 The turning tide Glossary Bibliography Appendix Metallurgical tables (online) Index

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Book SynopsisThe Cultures of Ancient Xinjiang, Western China: Crossroads of the Silk Roads unveils the ancient secrets of Xinjiang, western China, one of the least known but culturally rich and complex regions located at the heart of Asia. Historically, Xinjiang has been the geographic hub of the Silk Roads, serving international links between cultures to the west, east, north and south. Trade, artefacts, foods, technologies, ideas, beliefs, animals and people have traversed the glacier covered mountain and desert boundaries. Perhaps best known for the Taklamakan desert, whose name translates in the Uyghur language as ‘You can go in, you will never come out’, here the region is portrayed as the centre of an ancient Bronze Age culture, revealed in the form of the famous Tarim Mummies and their grave goods. Three authoritative chapters by Chinese archaeologists appear here for the first time in English, giving international audiences direct access to the latest research ranging from the central-eastern Xiaohe region to the western valleys of the Bortala and Yili Rivers. Other contributions by European, Australian and Chinese archaeologists address the many complexities of the cultural exchanges that ranged from Mongolia, through to Kashgar, South Asia, Central Asia and finally Europe in pre-modern times.Trade Review'This is a major achievement in Xinjiang archeology. The editors and authors are to be warmly congratulated for making available to researchers worldwide a rich assemblage of raw data that has been carefully described and informatively analyzed. The forthright presentation of so much primary evidence for civilization during the Bronze and Iron Age constitutes a tremendous breakthrough in Xinjiang archeology.' -- Victor Mair * Asian Ethnicity, Volume 22, Issue 1 *'... the volume as a whole is outstanding. It gives readers a new view on the recent development of archaeology in Xinjiang and helps bridge the gap between Chinese and Western scholarship on this heartland of the Silk Roads. Researchers interested in the ancient cultures of Xinjiang will find it useful for informing them about recent research progress and stimulating inspiration for future directions.' -- Yuqi LI * Asian Perspectives, Volume 60 *'This is an invaluable set of essays dedicated to dating, identifying and analyzing material culture, funerary features and crops in the modern province of Xinjiang. Often claimed as the entry point of exchange between the eastern world leading to China and the west, these essays document evidence for this interaction through object-based study by using formal analysis and discuss­ing use patterns non-local items. The application of scien­tific methods to date and identify plant residues, and to investigate metallurgical details of manufacture including sources of ores adds immeasurably to our ability to under­stand the processes by which such exchanges took place.' -- Katherin M. Linduff * Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, Vol 116.2 *

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Book SynopsisWater in the Roman World: Engineering, Trade, Religion and Daily Life offers a wide and expansive new treatment of the role water played in the lives of people across the Roman world. Individual papers deal with ports and their lighthouses; with water engineering, whether for canals in the north-west provinces, or for the digging of wells for drinking water, and for multiple other purposes; with baths for swimming; and with spas. Further papers explore religion in water-sanctuaries and the deposition of objects in rivers as well as deities connected with water, including river gods and nymphs. A final chapter provides an overview of subjects not fully covered elsewhere, including warships and naval battles, trade and navigation, aqueducts, fishing and fish-farming, and literary response to watery landscapes, rivers and lakes. The latter include works by great landowners such as the younger Pliny with his Laurentine villa beside the sea west of Rome or by poets, among them Catullus enjoying Lake Garda and Ausonius with his loving description of the River Moselle. The contributors address the subject in a variety of different ways, as Classicists drawing largely on literature, archaeologists with experience of excavating the watery environment, and art-historians. The papers range from the theoretical, with particular interest in materiality, to more lyrical approaches which address the Romans with their problems as well as their pleasures.Trade Review'Water in the Roman World is a strong addition to our understanding of both water and waterways under the Romans, and how they are analysed and interpreted by archaeologists and academics. It is an invaluable, accessible contribution to the topic, and would make an excellent addition to the collections both of scholars and of those with more general interests.' – Andrew Tibbs (2023): Current Archaeology Issue 395'This volume is extremely successful in that it brings together a number of different authors, who all provide new perspectives, often through new evidence, on how water was used and perceived. It should be noted that readers looking for the most up-to-date bibliography will not always find that in some chapters, such as in Henig’s. But that certainly does not detract from the work, which is a valuable resource for those wishing to plunge deeper into Roman water.' – Dylan K Rogers (2023): Current World Archaeology, March 2023'The articles in the volume are brilliantly written and understandable, the arguments are convincing... Overall, the contributions convey fundamental insights and provide important suggestions for future research.' [translated] – Helmuth Schneider (2023): Bryn Mawr Classical Review Table of ContentsPreface ; Water and Why Materiality Matters in Roman Studies – Jason Lundock ; Iconography of the Lighthouse in Roman Antiquity: Symbolism, Identity and Power Across the Mediterranean – Federico Ugolini ; Roman Offensive Planning: Shaping the Lower Rhine Waterscape – Stijn Heeren and Mark Driessen ; ‘Springs Sumptuously Equipped’: Meanings of Water at Bath – Eleri Cousins ; If Swimming Was Not a Serious Activity for the Greeks and Romans, They Would Not Have Had Swimming Pools – Jenny Amphaeris and Martin Henig ; The Social Lives of Wells in Roman Britain and Beyond – James Gerrard ; Aspects of the Iconography of River Gods in Roman Britain – Penny Coombe ; What Lies Beneath? Interpreting the Romano-British Assemblage from the River Tees at Piercebridge, County Durham – Philippa Walton and Hella Eckardt ; Water and Liminality in Pre-Roman Gaul – Aaron Irvin ; Worship of the Nymphs at Aquae Iasae (Roman Pannonia Superior): Cognition, Ritual, and Sacred Space – Blanka Misic ; An Empire Written on Water: A Personal View – Martin Henig ; Author Biographies

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Book SynopsisThe Roman villa of Punta Eolo is a large pavilion villa' on the northern promontory of the island of Ventotene. It extends into the sea for about 300 m in length and 100 m in width, and covers an area of three hectares which surrounded a small harbour. Originally conceived as an otium villa, from 2 BC to 3 AD it became the place of exile of Iulia Maior, the daughter of the emperor Augustus, who had been sentenced for adultery. In the following decades the villa continued to be used as an imperial prison' for four female members of the imperial family. A large number of fragmentary frescoes, stuccoes, pavement revetments and Campana reliefs were brought to light in the residential area of the Villa during the archaeological excavations by G.M. De Rossi in the years 1990-2005. The present study is the outcome of a long and patient work of documentation and analysis of this material.

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Book SynopsisResearch into furniture has not been a priority for archaeologists. Fixed installations are often studied without the necessary rigor or clear definition. More often than not, the identification of installations remains subjective, unexplained and dependent on the interpretation of the spaces that the furniture should have helped to identify. The series of workshops that gave rise to this book addressed key issues such as the perception of spaces, their functionality in relation to layout, multifunctionality and the question of multiple storeys. In the same way, archaeological analysis benefits from being confronted with texts, which, when it comes to architecture, are at once episodic, rich and complex. This book is dedicated to Jean-Claude Margueron, who never ceased to encourage archaeologists to work rigorously on architecture. It begins with a biography of Jean Margueron by Béatrice Muller and an almost definitive list of his writings. The fi

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Book Synopsis'Oliver is an evocative storyteller, vividly bringing his tales to life' BBC HistoryFrom Genghis Khan's domination on earth to Armstrong's first steps on the moon, discover the 100 moments that defined humanity and shaped our world forever.Neil Oliver takes us on a whistle-stop tour around the world and through a million years to give us this unique and invaluable grasp of how human history pieces together.From the east to the west, north to south, these 100 moments act like stepping stones allowing us to make sense of how these pivotal events have shaped the world we know today.Including many moments readers will expect - from the advent of the printing press to the birth of the internet - there are also surprises, and with them, some remarkable, unforgettable stories that give a whole new insight on our past.From the bestselling author of The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places, this is outstanding new history of how our world was made from 5000 BC to the present.*********************Praise for Neil Oliver'Neil Oliver writes beautifully - bringing the past to life and letting us see ourselves in a new light.' - Professor Alice Roberts'Brilliantly demonstrates Neil's mastery of the broad sweep of British history and landscape.' - Dan Snow'Highly-crafted...a vivid, pungent history.' - TLS'Compelling' - Daily MailTrade ReviewFascinating...This reminds us of the great, enduring importance of looking back at the past in order to better understand the present and help us in the future. A must-read this year. * This England *Oliver continues to write his beautiful, lyrical stories, and refuses to be anything other than himself. Maybe the people who persist in throwing ideological toilet paper at him could learn something from that. Meanwhile, for the rest of us, the best way to see Neil Oliver as he really is, is to read his books. -- Helen Dale * Law & Liberty *

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Book SynopsisBinsey is a village to the west of Oxford, on the south bank of the main channel of the River Thames, opposite Port Meadow, which has been an open space belonging to the burgesses of Oxford since late Saxon times. Although now within the ring-road, the village is essentially rural and unspoilt. The hub of Binsey is a row of cottages and the Perch Inn on one side of the village green. At one time when the river was wider there was a ferry here taking travelers across to Oxford. The church, its present building no earlier than the 12th century though on an older site, lies a third of a mile distant. Its association with Oxford’s patron saint St Frideswide alone makes this an evocative place for anyone with an interest in the origins of this great University city. Its holy well, dedicated to St Margaret like the church itself, was a place of resort for those with eye problems or desirous of a child: Katharine of Aragon’s lack of success in conceiving a male heir after resort to the well in a sense precipitated the English Reformation! Later associations, which include Charles Dodgson and Alice Liddell as well as Gerard Manley Hopkins and C. S. Lewis, render Binsey a place for the literary as well as the religious pilgrim. This book is a collection of essays on aspects of Binsey and its environs. It is not a guidebook so much as an evocation of the place, dwelling on specific aspects from the busy river to the tranquil and silent churchyard; from the poplars, great-grandparents of the present trees along the river and Hopkins’ great poem on them, to the personalities who served the village community; from the Binsey of St Frideswide’s time to the community of the present day.Table of ContentsForewords (Christopher Lewis and Clare Sykes) ; Introduction and Acknowledgements ; A Poet’s View: St Margaret’s Church at Binsey (Nigel Speight) ; The Legends of Saint Frideswide (John Blair) ; St. Frideswide’s Binsey as Sacred Space (Martin Henig) ; Pilgrimage to Binsey: Medieval and Modern (Lydia Carr) ; The Clergy of Binsey (Russell Dewhurst) ; Life in Binsey as Recorded in the Church Registers (Carl Boardman) ; Binsey: A Church in its Landscape (Julian Munby) ; Binsey and Lewis Carroll (Edward Wakeling) ; Gerard Manley Hopkins and ‘Binsey Poplars’ (Beatrice and Peter Groves) ; The Perch and its Predecessors (Mark Davies) ; Meeting God at Binsey: Holy Ground, then and now (Martin Henig)

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Book SynopsisThe riveting story of a true-life female Indiana Jones: an archaeologist who survived the Nazis and then saved Egypt’s ancient temples. In the 1960s, the world’s attention was focused on a nail-biting race against time: fifty countries had contributed nearly a billion dollars to save a dozen ancient Egyptian temples from drowning in the floodwaters of the gigantic new Aswan High Dam. It was a project of unimaginable size and complexity that required the fragile sandstone temples to be dismantled, stone by stone, and rebuilt on higher ground. But the massive press coverage of this unprecedented rescue effort completely overlooked the gutsy French archaeologist who made it all happen. Without the intervention of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, the temples would now be at the bottom of a gigantic reservoir. Desroches-Noblecourt refused to be cowed by anyone or anything. As a brave member of the French Resistance in World War II, she had survived imprisonment by the Nazis. Now, in her fight to save the temples, she had to face down two of the most daunting leaders of the postwar world: Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and French president Charles de Gaulle. After a century and a half of Western plunder of Egypt’s ancient monuments, Desroches-Noblecourt helped preserve a crucial part of its cultural heritage, and, just as importantly, made sure it remained in its homeland.Trade Review‘The subject of Lynne Olson’s excellent biography, Empress of the Nile, isn’t, as you might think, Cleopatra, but rather the “daredevil archaeologist” Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, best known for helping save massive ancient temples from destruction. Olson, whose many previous books spotlight unsung heroes and heroines of that war, is here at her best … Empress of the Nile tells her story well, embedding it in the history of modern Egyptian archaeology. Empress of the Nile is a welcome and needed work of both rescue and reclamation.’ * The Washington Post *‘A vivid reminder of a remarkable individual and an intriguing recreation of the strange times in which she lived.’ -- Robin McKie * The Observer *‘Olson tells this forgotten story with pitch and pace, so that it becomes a real nail-biter.’ -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *‘Lynne Olson’s many fans know her gift for storytelling and bringing to life heroes who may not be well known but demand — indeed, rivet — our attention. Who else but Olson could have found Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, a beautiful and brave French resistance fighter who is brazen enough to tell her Gestapo interrogators to stand up when a woman enters the room? Who also happens to be a kind of female Indiana Jones working behind the scenes — alongside Jackie Kennedy! — to save the ancient temples of Egypt? Readers will devour this wonderful book.’ -- Evan Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of First: Sandra Day O’Connor‘An exhilarating, in-depth look at a woman whose courage never faltered, whether facing Nazi interrogators, back-stabbing archaeologist colleagues, or the imminent destruction of the Egyptian monuments and artefacts she held most dear. Olson’s richly detailed biography takes the reader for a magnificent ride in this heart-stopping read.’ -- Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace‘Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt was one of the leading Egyptologists of the 20th century, yet her remarkable achievements have received little attention. Lynne Olson has done her justice with this comprehensive biography.’ -- Toby Wilkinson, New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt and Tutankhamun’s Trumpet‘Once again, Lynne Olson introduces us to a modern heroine who defied the odds and achieved historic results. Through sheer grit and an indomitable spirit that neither Nazis nor bureaucrats from Paris to Cairo could tame, Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt rescued the Egyptian Temples of Nubia and other treasures from drowning. With her signature deep research and compassion for quirky characters, Olsen spins an inspiring tale with a sometimes surprising cast, including First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Empress of the Nile is a tonic for our times and a reminder that one unstoppable woman can bend history to her will.’ -- Kati Marton, New York Times bestselling author of The Chancellor‘From facing down Nazis, to fighting to save Egyptian artefacts, to rehabilitating the reputation of Hapshetsut, Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt’s remarkable career reads like something out of fiction — but Lynne Olson’s compelling biography makes clear that every word is pure fact. Empress of the Nile is the best sort of micro history: both an intimate portrait of a groundbreaking woman and a whirlwind tour through the major events and personalities of the twentieth century. To anyone who ever tossed a coin into the waters around the Temple of Dendur — you must read this book.’ -- Lauren Willig, New York Times bestselling author of Band of Sisters‘Lynne Olson has found yet another fascinating, unsung heroine: a French archaeologist with the moxie to take on the Egyptians, the Americans and the French to save historic Egyptian temples.’ -- Meryl Gordon, author of three biographies including Bunny Mellon: the life of an American style legend‘A well-documented and sensitive portrait of a remarkable woman who shared her passion for Egypt and inspired so many others to find their calling, myself included, while at the same time helping to reinvigorate the Louvre.’ -- Henri Loyrette, honorary president and director of the Louvre Museum‘Bestseller Olson follows up Madame Fourcade’s Secret War with another scintillating biography of a woman who spearheaded “the greatest single example of international cultural cooperation the world has ever known, a campaign in the 1950s and ’60s to save Nubian temples and other antiquities from flooding caused by the construction of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt” … Enriched by fascinating digressions into Egyptian history, museum rivalries, the plundering of archaeological sites, the 1956 Suez Crisis, and more, this is a captivating portrait of a pathbreaking woman. Readers will be enthralled.’ -- Publishers Weekly, starred review‘Olson provides a gripping account of an extraordinary life.’ -- Booklist, starred review‘The life of an archaeologist who deserves to be better known … The author provides a fine account of Desroches-Noblecourt’s long, distinguished career. An expert biography of the most prestigious Egyptologist of her time.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘Fast-paced, highly entertaining ... Olson’s narrative gathers steam in the tense days before the Nazis invaded Poland ... The highlight of Olson’s book is her thrilling account of the rescue of the giant statues of Rameses II and the Abu Simbel temples from inundation by the Aswan High Dam ... Meticulous detail.’ -- Joshua Hammer * The New York Times *‘Follows Desroches-Noblecourt every step along the way. And I mean every step. Deeply researched, it contains in its many detours and side trips a certain amount of historical TMI.’ * Air Mail *‘Egyptologists are certainly familiar with her legacy, but since not all of her many books are translated into English, author Lynne Olson has written an engrossing biography that makes Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt's life and work accessible to a broader audience … [Empress of the Nile] at times reads like a suspenseful political thriller.’ -- Laura McCallum * The Canberra Times *Not enough people will have heard of the subject of this fascinating book - the French archaeologist Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt who became one of the world's foremost experts on ancient Egypt. In Empress of the Nile, Lynne Olson details how Desroches - small in stature and a woman to boot - was willing to take on any number of powerful men in her field.’ -- Sally Pryor * The Canberra Times *‘Empress of the Nile is an absorbing portrait of an amazing woman.’ -- Steven Carroll * The Sydney Morning Herald *‘Assured … The book follows a welcome trend to recover pioneering women in the social sciences.’ -- Sara Wheeler * The Daily Telegraph *‘Empress Of The Nile is the very readable story of Christiane’s overlooked role and her incredible life, which also saw her imprisoned by the Nazis and bravely standing up to world leaders, including de Gaulle. Fascinating!’ -- Jeff Popple * Canberra Weekly *‘Olson has carried out painstaking research into this woman, who overcame strong misogyny from male archaeologists at the start of her stellar career, but who was never afraif to stand up for what she believed. The result is a riveting account of her years spent in Egypt and her role in the world’s greatest international cultural cooperation.’ -- Jennifer Somerville * Good Reading Magazine *

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Book SynopsisThe discovery of ancient Egypt and the development of Egyptology are momentous events in intellectual and cultural history. The history of Egyptology is the story of the people, famous and obscure, who constructed the picture of ancient Egypt that we have today, recovered the Egyptian past while inventing it anew, and made a lost civilization comprehensible to generations of enchanted readers and viewers thousands of years later. This, the second of a three-volume survey of the history of Egyptology, explores the years 1881–1914, a period marked by the institutionalization of Egyptology amid an ever increasing pace of discovery and the opening of vast new vistas into the Egyptian past. Wonderful Things affirms that the history of ancient Egypt has proved continually fascinating, but it also demonstrates that the history of Egyptology is no less so. Only by understanding how Egyptology has developed can we truly understand ancient Egypt.Trade Review"Thompson offers a well written, informed, and at times exciting account of the exceptional accomplishments of the individuals and institutions that pioneered the field of Egyptology. Jaromir Malek's informed foreword offers a critical context for unfolding the Egyptological undertaking."—Choice"Wonderful Things is a remarkable achievement: a scholarly work packed with facts but one which is also genuinely readable. It is ambitious in its scope and detail. To follow the growth of an arcane but also a highly romantic branch of learning becomes in Thompson's book something close to an adventure. The author successfully conveys his infectious enthusiasm for the subject but writes with a degree of detachment that allows him to be refreshingly and occasionally almost ruthlessly trenchant and critical."— Jaromir Malek, from the foreword "An incisive anatomy of a discipline that challenges our all too familiar assumptions about how Egyptology came to be."— Stephanie Moser "[A] monumental achievement"—Donald M. Reid, Journal of the American Oriental Society"The definitive reference tool for anyone interested in the development of this academic discipline. "— Morris Bierbrier "Jason Thompson has written what is by far the best history of Egyptology yet. Filled with fascinating facts and characters, Thompson's book is comprehensive and eminently readable and certain to become the standard history of the field for many years to come."— Kent Weeks "At last a definitive history, which does justice not only to the major players but to lesser lights as well…immensely valuable."— Brian Fagan, author of The Rape of the Nile "Remarkably thorough and yet refreshingly readable, this action-packed history of Egyptology is driven by some extraordinary characters—mostly men but some notable women—who needed to learn everything they could about the culture, land, and language of ancient Egypt. As much a study of European colonialism in Egypt as a historiography of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century scholarship, this volume is an absolute necessity for anybody with an interest in pharaonic Egypt."— Kara Cooney "Wonderful Things is not only a definitive study of the early history of Egyptology, but an entrancing read. . . He wears his scholarship lightly, which makes this beautifully crafted book a joy for the general reader."— Current World Archaeology "By any standards, this book is a remarkable achievement."— Antiquity "It's not often that I find a book in which I can confidently state that I found something interesting on nearly every page. And as one who likes to consider himself an historian of archaeology, I learned much. Anyone with a serious interest in Egyptology surely will benefit from reading Wonderful Things.” — Donald P. Ryan, KMT "A book that the Egyptological world and, surely, the world at large was waiting for for a long time. It fills a gap that was getting bigger as time passed by."— André J. Veldmeijer, PalArch "A comprehensive and thoroughly-researched work, in which a huge quantity of data has been synthesized and expounded. . . . The book is a mine of information and succeeds in being both authoritative and highly readable."— John H. Taylor, ASTENE Bulletin "Wonderful Things deserves to become the essential resource for decades to come."— Rosalind Janssen, Egyptian Archaeology "While Wonderful Things would be an entertaining and informative read for any interested person, it should be considered essential reading for every Egyptologist and aspiring Egyptologist."— Melinda Nelson-Hurst, JARCE "An essential and very worthy addition to the shelves of every Egyptologist, professional or dedicated amateur."— Peter A. Clayton, Ancient EgyptTable of ContentsChronological Outline of Ancient Egyptian History ix Maps xPreface xiii1. The Golden Age 12. Akhenaten Lives! 253. The Seven Hathors 494. New Horizons 655. Greco-Roman Egypt 836. Loret’s Interlude 1017. The Return of Maspero 1118. New Players in the Game 1319. The Berlin School and Its Rivals 15110. Egyptology Comes to America 19311. The United States Enters the Field 22712. Attention Turns South 25713. The Twilight of the Golden Age 281Notes 293Bibliography 325Index 355

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Book SynopsisThis book traces the fascinating history of how and why ancient Mesoamerican objects have been collected. It begins with the pre-Hispanic antiquities that first entered European collections in the sixteenth century as gifts or seizures, continues through the rise of systematic collecting in Europe and the Americas during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and ends in 1940—the start of Europe’s art market collapse at the outbreak of World War II and the coinciding genesis of the large-scale art market for pre-Hispanic antiquities in the United States. Drawing upon archival resources and international museum collections, the contributors analyze the ways shifting patterns of collecting and taste—including how pre-Hispanic objects changed from being viewed as anthropological and scientific curiosities to collectible artworks—have shaped modern academic disciplines as well as public, private, institutional, and nationalistic attitudes toward Mesoamerican art. As many nations across the world demand the return of their cultural patrimony and ancestral heritage, it is essential to examine the historical processes, events, and actors that initially removed so many objects from their countries of origin.Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Art of Ancient Mesoamerica, Collections Forged before 1940 - Mary E. Miller From the Market to the Museum: Nineteenth-Century Circulation, Display, and Scholarly Study of Mesoamerican Artifacts in Italy and Beyond - Davide Domenici “An Idol, a Human Crane, an Incrusted Frilly Blue Mosaic Work Once Made for Magic Oracles”: Curious Things from Mexico in Early German Collections, 1525–1835 - Viola König Ciriaco González Carvajal and Archaeological Collectionism in Late Bourbon New Spain - Leonardo López Luján The Objects of History and the History of Objects - Matthew H. Robb The Chapultepec Castle Chimalli: A Habsburg-Repatriated Aztec Ocelot- Hide Shield - Laura Filloy Nadal and María Olvido Moreno Guzmán Collections and Recollections of “the Greatest of Nineteenth-Century Don Quixotes”: Maximilian I’s Imperial Legacy in the Yale Peabody Museum - Brooke Loukkala Beyond the Bazaar: The Making of the Archaeological Collection at the National Museum of Mexico - Miruna Achim National Guardians and Imperial Contenders: The Development of Mexico’s Archaeological Inspectorate - Adam T. Sellen Lost at the Exposition: The Missing Collection of the First National Museum of Guatemala - Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos Casting for Quirigua: Edgar L. Hewett, the School of American Archaeology and Ancient American Research, 1907–1916 - Khristaan D. Villela Maya on the Mersey: Thomas Gann and Collecting in Early Twentieth- Century Britain - Andrew D. Turner “American Antiquities for an American Museum”: Frederick Church, Luigi Petich, and the Founding Decades of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1870–1914) - Joanne Pillsbury World Collecting Mesoamerican Art before 1940: A New World of Latin American Antiquities Imperialist Ambitions, Black Gold, and Stone Figures: Collecting Huastec Sculptures before 1940 - Kim N. Richter Branding West Mexico: How Collectors and Dealers Reshaped the Archaeological Discourse - Christopher S. Beekman Changing Geographies of the Mesoamerican Antiquities Market circa 1940: Pierre Matisse and Earl Stendahl - Megan E. O’Neil Afterword: Object Amnesia and the Archive - Megan E. O’Neil

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Book SynopsisThe First Signs is the first-ever exploration of the little-known geometric images that accompany most cave art around the world—the first indications of symbolic meaning, intelligence, and language.     Join renowned archaeologist Genevieve von Petzinger on an Indiana Jones-worthy adventure from the open-air rock art sites of northern Portugal to the dark depths of a remote cave in Spain that can only be reached by sliding face-first through the mud. Von Petzinger looks past the beautiful horses, powerful bison, graceful ibex, and faceless humans in the ancient paintings. Instead, she’s obsessed with the abstract geometric images that accompany them, the terse symbols that appear more often than any other kinds of figures—signs that have never really been studied or explained until now.     Part travel journal, part popular science, part personal narrative, von Petzinger’s groundbreaking book starts to crack the code on the first form of graphic communication. It’s in her blood, as this talented scientist’s grandmother served as a code-breaker at Bletchley. Discernible patterns emerge that point to abstract thought and expression, and for the first time, we can begin to understand the changes that might have been happening inside the minds of our Ice Age ancestors—offering a glimpse of when they became us.Trade Review"Genevieve von Petzinger reveals that, beyond the iconic images of horses and bison so transcendent in their beauty, are 32 signs that may represent a vocabulary written literally in stone, symbols that offer an opening into the Paleolithic mind. This may represent one of the most extraordinary scientific insights of our time." -- Wade Davis, author of The Serpent and the Rainbow * Professor of Anthropology Faculty Associate, University of British Columbia *"If you love mysteries, you'll love this book. Archaeologist von Petzinger acts as guide and sleuth in this fascinating, accessible, and fast-paced exploration of Ice Age artists and the evocative cave paintings they left behind.Von Petzinger offers a new way to think about why our distant relatives created this art, and what it means. You'll come away with a deeper appreciation for these great artists, their love of animals and the natural world, and their connection to us." -- Virginia Morell, author of Animal Wise and Ancestral Passions.“In this wonder-filled book Genevieve von Petzinger takes us tens of thousands of years back in time, and to some stunningly beautiful sites, in a fascinating attempt to penetrate the psyches of those ancient people.” -- Ian Tattersall, author of The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack and Other Cautionary Tales from Human EvolutionVon Petzinger has created a fascinating look at signs found in the caves that have not been thought of before. I have been in many of the caves myself and recognized many of the symbols. I thought her analysis of the symbols reflected the intelligence of our ancient ancestors. She has done a remarkable job of analyzing part of the cave art that has never been done in that way before." -- Jean Auel, author of the bestselling Earth's Children series"Fascinating, a journey through later prehistory, interspersed with personal anecdotes of her exploration. She delves expertly into many of the questions around the earliest expressions of art, symbols and language." -- Louise Leakey, paleontologist, Director at the Turkana Basin Institute"Brings fresh eyes and fascinating theses to the study of ancient rock art... Lively... Linking these systems to other graphic conventions may eventually yield some sort of Rosetta stone... Anyone who's longed to visit Lascaux or the caves of Cantabria will be eager to read von Petzinger's admirable efforts at cracking the code." * Kirkus *"An exceptional read that should capture the imagination of anyone fascinated by time, humanity, and prehistory." * Library Journal (Starred Review) *

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Book SynopsisThis book argues that the Jewish kingdom of the Bible was real, as were its first three kings, Saul, David, and Solomon even if the biblical stories distort their actions to glorify them. Combining fresh archaeological evidence with astute readings of key texts, the authors offer a compelling reconstruction of this fascinating ancient polity.

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Book SynopsisThe latter part of the fifteenth century bc saw Egypt's political power reach its zenith, with an empire that stretched from beyond the Euphrates in the north to much of what is now Sudan in the south. The wealth that flowed into Egypt allowed its kings to commission some of the most stupendous temples of all time, some of the greatest dedicated to Amun-Re, King of the Gods. Yet a century later these temples lay derelict, the god's images, names, and titles all erased in an orgy of iconoclasm by Akhenaten, the devotee of a single sun-god. This book traces the history of Egypt from the death of the great warrior-king Thutmose III to the high point of Akhenaten's reign, when the known world brought gifts to his newly-built capital city of Amarna, in particular looking at the way in which the cult of the sun became increasingly important to even 'orthodox' kings, culminating in the transformation of Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep III, into a solar deity in his own right.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Maps Abbreviations and Conventions Preface Introduction: Sunrise 1. The Noonday Sun 2. The Waning Sun 3. The Northern Problem 4. The Living Image of Amun 5. The Zananzash Affair 6. God’s Father to God 7. The Hawk in Festival 8. Sunset Notes Appendices 1. Chronology of Ancient Egypt 2. Relative Chronology of Egyptian and Foreign Kings of the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Dynasties 3. Royal Names of the Late Eighteenth Dynasty 4. Tentative Genealogy of the Late Eighteenth Dynasty Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTells the Greek story through the interconnecting lives of the men and women who shaped its politics and literature, its science and philosophy, its art and sport.Trade Review'A few great men operating in isolation – too often this is the way ancient Greece is described to us. Stuttard puts the very greatest into their historical, political and cultural contexts and coaxes some of the lesser known centre stage' - Bettany Hughes, author and historian'David Stuttard's career represents an admirable commitment to popularizing classical culture and making it accessible to new non-specialist audiences' - Current World ArchaeologyTable of ContentsIntroduction • 1. Of Gods and Heroes • 2. The Age of Tyrants • 3. Greece in Peril • 4. The Age of Pericles • 5. World War • 6. Fall Out • 7. The Age of the Dynasts • 8. In the Shadow of Rome • 9. Lives in a Mirror

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Book SynopsisAdrian Gilbert is the author and independent publishing consultant. In 1991 he set up Solos Press, a small publishers specialising in Christian Mysticism, Gnosticism and the Hermetic tradition of Egypt. He has been researching Ancient Egypt for over twenty years and regards th discoveries contained in The Orion Mystery as crucial to our understanding of the pyramid age.Robert Bauval was born in Egypt in 1948. A construction engineer, his interest in Egyptology is long standing, having lived in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East for much of his life. In the 1980s he developed a line of study linking the pyramids and the so-called Pyramid Texts with astronomy. He has published several papers on this subject and his findings have been presented at the British Museum. His is the co-author of three international bestsellers: The Orion Mystery and Keeper of Genesis and more recently The Secret Chamber.Trade ReviewAbsorbing and fascinating... how they reach their conclusions is clearly and rivetingly told... highly an compulsively readable * Sunday Times *A discovery about the pyramids that could change our whole view of human history * Evening Standard *Persuasive and scholarly * Observer *

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Book SynopsisThe last Ice Age, which came to an end about 12,000 years ago, swept the bands of hunter gatherers from the face of the land that was to become Britain and Ireland, but as the ice sheets retreated and the climate improved so human groups spread slowly northwards, re-colonizing the land that had been laid waste. From that time onwards Britain and Ireland have been continuously inhabited and the resident population has increased from a few hundreds to more than 60 million. Britain Begins is nothing less than the story of the origins of the British and the Irish peoples, from around 10,000BC to the eve of the Norman Conquest. Using the most up to date archaeological evidence together with new work on DNA and other scientific techniques which help us to trace the origins and movements of these early settlers, Barry Cunliffe offers a rich narrative account of the first islanders - who they were, where they came from, and how they interacted one with another. Underlying this narrative throughout is the story of the sea, which allowed the islanders and their continental neighbours to be in constant contact. The story told by the archaeological evidence, in later periods augmented by historical texts, satisfies our need to know who we are and where we come from. But before the development of the discipline of archaeology, people used what scraps there were, gleaned from Biblical and classical texts, to create a largely mythological origin for the British. Britain Begins also explores the development of these early myths, which show our ancestors attempting to understand their origins. And, as Cunliffe shows, today''s archaeologists are driven by the same desire to understand the past - the only real difference is that we have vastly more evidence to work with.Trade ReviewThere are clear and helpful illustrations, and there is enough information here to fill any semester-long course on the history of England, or rather Albion. * NJCSS Journal *Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. In the Beginning: Myths and Ancestors ; 2. Britain Emerges: the Stage is Set ; 3. Interlude: Enter the Actors ; 4. Settlement Begins 10,000 - 4200 BC ; 5. New People, New Ideas 4200 - 3000 BC ; 6. Mobilizing materials: a New Connectivity 3000 - 1500 BC ; 7. Interlude: Talking to Each Other ; 8. The Productive Land in The Age of Warriors 1500 - 800 BC ; 9. Episodes of Conflict 800 - 60 BC ; 10. Interlude: Approaching the Gods ; 11. Integration: the Roman Episode 60 BC - AD 350 ; 12. 'Its Red and Savage Tongue', AD 350 - 650 ; 13. The Age of the Northmen AD 600 - 1100 ; 14. Of Myths and Realities: an epilogue ; A Guide to Further Reading ; Index

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Book SynopsisGraham Hancock is the author of the major international bestsellers The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods and Heaven's Mirror. His books have sold more than five million copies worldwide and have been translated into 27 languages. He is an extremely successful investigative journalist, having been Editor of Condé Nast's Traveller magazine and East Africa Correspondent for the Economist. His public lectures and TV appearances, including the three-hour series Quest for the Lost Civilization, have put his religious and historical theories before audiences of tens of millions. He has become recognized as an unconventional thinker who raises legitimate questions about humanity's history, religion and prehistory and offers an increasingly popular challenge to the entrenched views of orthodox scholars.Trade ReviewHighly readable * Times *Hancock's book will probably be as popular as the Raider's film. Added to the Holy Grail excitement of his quest, he has invented a new genre: an intellectual whodunnit by a do-it-yourself sleuth * Guardian *It should cause widespread discussion and it deserves to * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe first critical examination of magical techniques and the practice of the magician in Ancient Egypt , revealing their widespread appearance and pivotal significance for all Egyptian 'religious' practices from the earliest periods through the Coptic era, influencing as well the Greco-Egyptian magical papyri.

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Book SynopsisHadrian’s Wall is the largest, most spectacular and one of the most enigmatic historical monument in Britain. Nothing else approaches its vast scale: a land wall running 73 miles from east to west and a sea wall stretching at least 26 miles down the Cumbrian coast. Many of its forts are as large as Britain’s most formidable medieval castles, and the wide ditch dug to the south of the Wall, the vallum, is larger than any surviving prehistoric earthwork. Built in a ten-year period by more than 30,000 soldiers and labourers at the behest of an extraordinary emperor, the Wall consisted of more than 24 million stones, giving it a mass greater than all the Egyptian pyramids put together. At least a million people visit Hadrian’s Wall each year and it has been designated a World Heritage Site. In this book, based on literary and historical sources as well as the latest archaeological research, Alistair Moffat considers who built the Wall, how it was built, why it was built and how it affected the native peoples who lived in its mighty shadow. The result is a unique and fascinating insight into one of the Wonders of the Ancient World.Trade Review'A most compelling, thought-provoking and entertaining history' -- Rosemary Goring * Herald *'This is a definitive piece of research, colourfully and humorously written, beautifully illustrated with fine photography and enhanced by a necessary map, dates of the Common Ridings, names of Border families and a selection of evocative Border Ballads' * Scots Magazine *

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Book SynopsisJust in time for the centennial of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, this volume of studies dedicated to the leading expert on the "boy king" brings together scholars from all over the world to celebrate the career of C. Nicholas Reeves. It includes a biography and bibliography of Reeves along with cutting-edge discussions of a wide variety of topics concentrating on New Kingdom Egypt and Tutankhamun.

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Book SynopsisPublished on the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the 200th anniversary of the deciphering of the Rosetta stone, this book responds to the ever-growing enthusiasm and curiosity for Egyptomania. This concept refers to a collective imagination which was nurtured throughout the 19th and 20th centuries by archaeological digs and exploratory trips. These key discoveries were crucial for creation and particularly for the Art Deco artists who found their inspiration in Egyptian lines and patterns. Art Déco & Egyptomanie explores the origins and functioning of this cultural and artistic movement shaped by many fields: architecture, cinema, sculpture, popular art, theatre and fashion. Art Déco & Egyptomanie comes with an explicit and previously unseen iconography. Text in French.

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Book SynopsisBe part of history, walk a frontier lost for over fifteen hundred years.'The Western Hadrianic Frontier of the Roman Empire is little known by the general public. Until recently the frontier was viewed as merely a series of forts with a fluid means of defence and administration between them, and the public was understandably drawn to the physical remains of Hadrian's Wall crossing from Bowness-on-Solway to Wallsend.Archaeologists have always known different, and it is only now that they are beginning to shout from the rooftops that the Western Frontier is as important as the stones that cross the Pennines. Fortunately, through the efforts of a small band of archaeologists and Historic England, the public perception is changing. There is a wealth of magnificent and diverse scenery and amazing archaeology which rivals the better-known sites along the Hadrian's Wall.Walking the frontier offers opportunities for personal adventure a

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Book SynopsisBrilliant horsemen and great fighters, the Scythians were nomadic horsemen who ranged wide across the grasslands of the Asian steppe from the Altai mountains in the east to the Great Hungarian Plain in the first millennium BC. Their steppe homeland bordered on a number of sedentary states to the south - the Chinese, the Persians and the Greeks - and there were, inevitably, numerous interactions between the nomads and their neighbours. The Scythians fought the Persians on a number of occasions, in one battle killing their king and on another occasion driving the invading army of Darius the Great from the steppe. Relations with the Greeks around the shores of the Black Sea were rather different - both communities benefiting from trading with each other. This led to the development of a brilliant art style, often depicting scenes from Scythian mythology and everyday life. It is from the writings of Greeks like the historian Herodotus that we learn of Scythian life: their beliefs, their burial practices, their love of fighting, and their ambivalent attitudes to gender. It is a world that is also brilliantly illuminated by the rich material culture recovered from Scythian burials, from the graves of kings on the Pontic steppe, with their elaborate gold work and vividly coloured fabrics, to the frozen tombs of the Altai mountains, where all the organic material - wooden carvings, carpets, saddles and even tattooed human bodies - is amazingly well preserved. Barry Cunliffe here marshals this vast array of evidence - both archaeological and textual - in a masterful reconstruction of the lost world of the Scythians, allowing them to emerge in all their considerable vigour and splendour for the first time in over two millennia.Trade ReviewThe volume is an excellent appetizer for people unfamiliar with the Scythians and the significance of the immense steppe world for ancient history * KOSTAS VLASSOPOULOS, Greece and Rome *A scintillating tour de force from probably the greatest scholar of European archaeology. * Simon Sebag Montefiore, BBC History Magazine, Books of the Year 2019 *Cunliffe writes in an uncluttered style and with a seemingly effortless authority about a complex people ... The book is beautifully produced with plenty of colour illustrations, including excellent maps of unfamiliar places. It will surely become the standard introduction to a remarkable lost world. * Tony Spawforth, Literary Review *Not to be missed. * Timeless Travels *The Scythians, superbly written and lavishly illustrated, is the best account of these hard-riding nomads we are likely to have for a long time to come. Especially worthy of note are the excellent maps and diagrams, expertly placed to help the reader chart the wanderings of the Scythians in some of the world's most remote locations. * Ed Voves, Art Eyewitness *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Discovering the Scythians 2: Observing the other 3: Landscape and people 4: Enter the predatory nomad 5: The rise of the European Scythians 6: Scythians in Central Asia 7: Bodies clothed in skins: economy and society 8: Bending the bow 9: Death and the gods 10: The flood continues 11: Reflections on the longue durée Further reading Index Introduction 1: Discovering the Scythians 2: Observing the other 3: Landscape and people 4: Enter the predatory nomad 5: The rise of the European Scythians 6: Scythians in Central Asia 7: Bodies clothed in skins: economy and society 8: Bending the bow 9: Death and the gods 10: The flood continues 11: Reflections on the longue durée Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisWarrior, mighty builder and statesman, over the course of his 67-year-long reign (1279-1212 BCE), Ramesses II achieved more than any other pharaoh in the three millennia of ancient Egyptian civilization. Drawing on the latest research, Peter Brand reveals Ramesses the Great as a gifted politician, canny elder statesman, and tenacious warrior. With restless energy, he fully restored the office of Pharaoh to unquestioned levels of prestige and authority, thereby bringing stability to Egypt. He ended almost seven decades of warfare between Egypt and the Hittite Empire by signing the earliest international peace treaty in recorded history. In his later years, even as he outlived many of his own children and grandchildren, Ramesses II became a living god and finally, an immortal legend. Brand paints with authoritative knowledge and colourful details a compelling portrait of this legendary Pharaoh who ruled over Imperial Egypt during its Golden Age.Trade Review“Dr Brand’s book is well and authoritatively written, with an excellent choice of illustrations, mainly in colour. It is to be wholeheartedly recommended, and will certainly become the standard English language work on Rameses II for the foreseeable future.” Aidan Dodson, Egyptian Archaeology Issue 63 Autumn 2023Table of ContentsPreface List of Figures Abbreviations Chronology Map of Egypt and Nubia Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Rise of the Ramessides: The Reigns of Ramesses I and Sety I Chapter 3: Crown Prince Ramesses and His Career under Sety I Chapter 4: The Early Reign of Ramesses II Chapter 5: The Battle of Kadesh Chapter 6: Great of Victories: Ramesses II's Later Wars Chapter 7: All the King's Wives: Ramesses II's Royal Women Chapter 8: The Royal Children and their Ideological Role Chapter 9: The Path to Peace: International Diplomacy and the End of the Egyptian-Hittite Conflict Chapter 10: The Silver Treaty: The Egyptian-Hittite Peace Accords Chapter 11: Peace and Brotherhood: Diplomatic Relations Between the Egyptian and Hittite Courts Chapter 12: A Time of Wonders: The Earliest Royal Jubilees of Ramesses II and the First Hittite Marriage Alliance Chapter 13: Ramesses the Great God Chapter 14: Rich in Years: Monumental Construction and Hittite Relations during the Jubilee Period Chapter 15: Twilight of the Great God: Ramesses II's Last Years and His Descendants Chapter 16: Afterlife: The Legacy of Ramesses II Glossary Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAn aesthetically pleasing ornament and an educational encyclopaedia of global architecture styles, construction materials, religion and history. * Geographical *

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Book SynopsisThe amazing discovery of the ''first European civilization'' in Crete, Greece and the Aegean islands during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was beyond what anyone had imagined. Beginning with the Neolithic period, before 3000 BCE, and ending at the close of the Bronze Age and the transition to the Iron Age of Hellenic Greece (c.1000 BCE), this is the first comprehensive introduction to the visual arts and architecture of this extraordinary era. This book introduces the reader to the historical and social contexts within which the arts - pottery, gold, silver, and ivory objects, gravestone reliefs, frescoes, and architecture - of the Aegean area developed. It examines the functions they served, and the ways in which they can be read as evidence for the interactions of many different peoples and societies in the eastern Mediterranean. It also provides an up-to-date critical historiography of the field in its relationship to the growth of ancient art history, archaeology, and museology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, giving a contemporary audience a clear appreciation of what has been at stake in the uncovering and reconstruction of this ancient society.Trade Reviewa compact and attractive introduction to the subject * John Bennet, THES, 9/6/00 *This powerful account of 2,000 years of Aegean culture is a must for pilgrims and sun-worshippers * The Observer, 24.10.99 *Table of Contents1. Introduction: Aegean Art and Architecture ; The environment; Discovering the Aegean World; Art and art history; Objectives; Organization. ; 2. The Neolithic Period and the Prepalatial Early Bronze Age ; Settlements; Burial practices. ; 3. The First Palace Period ; Middle Bronze Age palaces and villas; The vernacular tradition in Greece and Crete; Ritual practices; Summary. ; 4. The Second Palace Period ; Public art, private art, and the palatial architectural style; The Second Palaces: Knossos, Phaistos, Gournia, and Kato Zakro; Minoan villas: function and design; The terminology and typology of Minoan palatial buildings; The Minoan and Mycenaean spheres of influence; Religious practices; Burial practices. ; 5. Mycenaean Domination and the Minoan Tradition ; The Mycenaean palace at Pylos; The Mycenaean palace at Knossos; Haghia Triadha and Kommos; The continuation of Minoan building techniques in the Third Palace Period; Burial practices; The Mycenaean shrine at Phylakopi; The circuit walls at Mycenae and Tiryns. ; 6. Conclusion: Disruptions, (Dis)Continuities, and the Bronze Age ; The eastward migration of Aegean traditions; The international style; Cyprus, Palestine, and the Peoples of the Sea; Tradition and transformation; What goes around comes around: Daedalus returns to Crete. ; Notes; List of Illustrations; Bibliographic Essay; Timeline; Index

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Book SynopsisA comparative investigation of Afro-Cuban ritual and Western science that aims to challenge the rationality of Western expert practices. Inspired by the exercises of Father Lafitau, an eighteenth-century Jesuit priest and protoethnographer who compared the lives of the Iroquois to those of the ancient Greeks, Stephan Palmié embarks on a series of unusual comparative investigations of Afro-Cuban ritual and Western science. What do organ transplants have to do with ngangas, a complex assemblage of mineral, animal, and vegetal materials, including human remains, that serve as the embodiment of the spirits of the dead? How do genomics and ancestry projects converge with divination and oracular systems? What does it mean that Black Cubans in the United States took advantage of Edisonian technology to project the disembodied voice of a mystical entity named ecué onto the streets of Philadelphia? Can we consider Afro-Cuban spirit possession as a form of historical knowledge production? BTrade Review“Thinking with Ngangas is a major intellectual contribution delivered with flair, humor, and unfailing erudition. Via his ‘method of reciprocal illumination,’ Palmié offers a series of lively and richly perturbing essays offering insights into problems as diverse as the rationality debate, transplant surgery, anthropology’s ontological turn, genomic identity realization, acoustic technology, and the future of anthropology itself.” * Janice Boddy, University of Toronto *“In this highly original and thought-provoking encounter between anthropology and philosophy, Palmié thinks with some of his most dramatic ‘finds’ from decades contemplating the ethnographic interface with Afro-Cuban religion. Playful and utterly earnest, this book will have you savoring historical ironies and rethinking anthropology’s foundational questions about cultural difference.” * Kristina Wirtz, Western Michigan University *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Chapter 1 EP and the Problem of Other Worlds Chapter 2 Thinking with Ngangas about Transplant Surgery, Personhood, and the Limits of “Objectively Necessary Appearances” Chapter 3 Thinking with Ifá about Genomic Ancestry Profiles and “Racecraft” Chapter 4 Thinking with Abakuá about Early Analog Acoustic Technology and the “Dialectics of Ensoniment” Chapter 5 Thinking with the Cajón pa’ los Muertos about Historicist Knowledge and Its Conditions of Impossibility Chapter 6 Thinking with Otanes about Mid-Twentieth-Century American Anthropology Epilogue Thinking with Tomás about My Own Work Acknowledgments Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisThe Zondervan Handbook of Biblical Archaeology provides readers with a book-by-book (Genesis through Revelation) presentation of the most significant archaeological discoveries that enhance our understanding of the biblical text. This handbook is full of color photos, charts, and maps that help illuminate the text of Scripture.

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Winner of ASOR''s 2022 G. Ernest Wright Award for the most substantial volume dealing with archaeological material, excavation reports and material culture from the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean.  This is a complete history of Antioch, one of the most significant major cities of the eastern Mediterranean and a crossroads for the Silk Road, from its foundation by the Seleucids, through Roman rule, the rise of Christianity, Islamic and Byzantine conquests, to the Crusades and beyond.Antioch has typically been treated as a city whose classical glory faded permanently amid a series of natural disasters and foreign invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries CE. Such studies have obstructed the view of Antioch's fascinating urban transformations from classical to medieval to modern city and the processes behind these transformations. Through its comprehensive blend of textual sources and new archaeolog

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Book SynopsisA fully updated and revised edition of a classic bestseller: the definitive guide to Tutankhamun and his tomb â what it contained, why, and what it means today. On 4 November 1922, Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carterâs long search in Egyptâs Valley of the Kings drew to a triumphant close: Tutankhamunâs tomb had been found. As news of the discovery spread, and as images of the breathtaking treasures began to circulate, this once-obscure pharaoh would capture the imagination of the entire world. A hundred years on, and both the fascination and the drama continue. Scientific research has pushed forward, and the results have been impressive: the tombâs ground-plan and setting are now fully remapped; CT-scanning and aDNA have begun to shed their unique light on Tutankhamun in life and in death; super-accurate recordings have been secured of the Burial Chamberâs decorated walls; and we possess at last high-quality photography of Pharaohâs possessions. Our access to Carnarvon and CartTrade Review'This new, revamped edition is magnificent … Represents the closest thing available to a comprehensive archaeological report, including details of the search for and discovery of the tomb, the tomb structure itself, and the artefacts found … and illustrated in full colour throughout' - Minerva'A beautifully illustrated look at Tutankhamun’s rule and a comprehensive study of all the treasures found' - Mail on Sunday'Visually stunning … this is the perfect book for the general reader. [Reeves] has an engaging style, the presentation is accessible, the vintage photographs intriguing and the artefacts from the Pharaoh’s treasure trove just make the head spin' - Saga'Highly detailed and magnificently reproduced illustrations … aimed at specialists but also seductive for the dedicated general reader' - Science'This revised volume is likely to remain a "go-to" reference for Tutankhamun’s tomb and treasures' - Ancient Egypt'This landmark comprehensive archaeological report is beautifully illustrated in full colour throughout' - Mature Times

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Book SynopsisA brand-new translation of a philosophical classic of the ancient world, The Teaching of Ptahhatp, written in Egypt 4,000 years ago. The Teaching of Ptahhatp, composed two millennia before the birth of Plato, is the oldest surviving statement of philosophy in the ancient world and the earliest witness to the power of the written word. It ought to begin the list of the worldâs philosophy classics, yet it has been largely forgotten since it was rediscovered in the nineteenth century. Egyptologist Bill Manleyâs new translation corrects this oversight, rendering into approachable modern English for the first time Ptahhatpâs profound yet practical account of âthe meaning of lifeâ, written many centuries before the supposed dawn of western philosophy. Manley introduces Ptahhatp, who served as Vizier to the Old Kingdom pharaoh Izezi (c. 2410â2375 BC), and the world of dynamic ideas and new technologies â writing among them â within which he worked, illuminating the nuances of his langTrade Review'A superb book, in its own way as exciting as any excavation of a tomb. More exciting, perhaps, because it breathes life rather than death' - Stephen Fry'Bill Manley brings to vivid life the oldest Egyptian books of wisdom, committed to writing some four thousand years before our own time ... Both scholarly and witty, The Oldest Book in the World addresses major issues that philosophers are still tackling, and major concerns for us all today' - John Tait, Emeritus Professor of Egyptology at University College London'Bill Manley brings his skills to bear on Ptahhatp’s remarkable work for a modern readership, revealing this sensitive and compassionate exploration of truth, values, and the meaning of existence to be as valid and relevant today as it was 4,500 years ago' - Guy de la Bédoyère, author of 'Pharaohs of the Sun''In these matters there is, it seems, even after four millennia, a lot to learn, and perhaps to unlearn … Warmly recommended to adventurous readers who delight in new insights' - The Irish Catholic'Manley’s clear translation and historical and philosophical context successfully illustrate that Egyptian philosophy is “not the banal, proscriptive mouthpiece of a despotic regime, but rather the reasoned voice of experience ... engaged in an open discussion about the meaning of life.” An important addition to the bookshelves of armchair Egyptologists' - Publisher's Weekly'A captivating exploration of Ancient Egyptian ideas, language, and history. In a clear and engaging writing style, Manley has taken a text that has long been overlooked and brought it to fresh attention' - All About History'In Mr. Manley’s adroit and pioneering translation, the 'Teaching' is philosophy ages before the Greeks had it' - The Wall Street JournalTable of ContentsForeword Introduction 1. ‘Le plus ancien livre du Monde’ 2. The Overseer of the City and Vizir, Ptahhatp 3. The Oldest Book in the World I. The Teaching of Ptahhatp II. The Teaching of Kagemni III. The Teaching of Hordedef 4. The Teacher, Ptahhatp 5. Why Things Happen

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Book SynopsisThe Terracotta Army is one of the greatest, and most famous, archaeological discoveries of all time. 6,000 life-size figures of warriors and horses were interred in the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of China - each is individually carved, and they are thought to represent real members of the emperor''s army. This is the remarkable story of their creation, the man who ordered them made, their rediscovery and their continuing legacy as a pre-eminent symbol of Chinese greatness.The First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, was king of the Chinese state of Qin and the first man to unite China into a single empire. He built the first Great Wall and brought a single written script to the whole country. He was an inspired and ruthless ruler, but one also beset by paranoia and a desire for immortality. He is still considered the founding father of the modern state of China. On his death in 210 BC he was buried in a giant mausoleum near modern-day Xi''an. Legends of the treasures contained therTrade ReviewMan does for the reader that most difficult of tasks: he conjures up an ancient people in an alien landscape in such a way as to make them live. * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisThis is the first survey of religious beliefs in the British Isles from the Old Stone Age to the coming of Christianity, one of the least familiar periods in Britaina s history. Ronald Hutton draws upon a wealth of new data, much of it archaeological, that has transformed interpretation over the past decade.Trade Review"An excellent, up-to-date compendium of British pagan religions based primarily upon recent archaeological findings. Hutton has contributed a well documented resource which has popular interest." Library Journal "Brilliant ... Hutton's book gives us by far the best, most level-headed overview of this fascinating but contentious subject." Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsPreface. Preface to the Paperback Edition. 1. The Mysteries Begin (c.30,000 - c.5000 BC). 2. The Age of The Tombs (c.5000 - c.3200 BC). 3. The Coming of the Circles (c.3200 - c.2200 BC). 4. Into the Darkness (c.2200 - c.1000 BC). 5. The People of the Mist (c.1000 BC - c. AD 500). 6. The Imperial Synthesis (AD 43 - 410). 7. The Clash of Faiths (AD c.300 - c. 1000). 8. Legacy of Shadows. Notes. Additional Source Material. Index.

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Book SynopsisCats can be seen in ancient Egyptian homes, temples and adorning the heads of their gods. Cats in Egypt were probably domesticated by around 4,000 BC from wild ancestors. Over the following centuries, they became popular household pets. In this book, Dr Malek draws on a vast range of artistic and written sources to show how cats became one of the most widely esteemed and revered animals in Egypt.Table of ContentsRunning free: the wild cats; Together at last: the domestic cats; A poor man's lion: the divine cats; Pride goes before a fall: the story cats; Buried with full honours: the mummified cats; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisViking raids, and the subsequent Scandinavian settlements in the ninth and tenth centuries, had a major effect on many parts of Britain and Ireland. This book examines the distinctive archaeology of each phase, aspect or area of Norse impact in turn, with sufficient historical background to put the archaeological discoveries into context.

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Book SynopsisHadrian''s Wall was a small part of the thousands of miles of Roman frontiers, but presents the most magnificent spectacle. Its 90-mile length was conceived on a grand scale, with a stone wall 10 Roman feet thick and 15 high, and has been the subject of research for four centuries. There is, however, one aspect which has never been studied in detail: the practicalities of how it was actually built.This book examines every aspect of the work needed to construct the Wall, and analyses all the building operations including quarrying, stone dressing, transport and scaffolding. It is presented in a form accessible to the interested layman as well as to the student, and among other new conclusions throws light on the attitude of the Roman army to the work.

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Book SynopsisA Spectator 2023 Book of the YearEsther is the most visual book of the Hebrew Bible and was largely crafted in the Fourth Century BCE by an author who was clearly au fait with the rarefied world of the Achaemenid court. It therefore provides an unusual melange of information which can enlighten scholars of Ancient Iranian Studies whilst offering Biblical scholars access into the Persian world from which the text emerged.In this book, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones unlocks the text of Esther by reading it against the rich iconographic world of ancient Persia and of the Near East. Ancient Persia and the Book of Esther is a cultural and iconographic exploration of an important, but often undervalued, biblical book, and Llewellyn-Jones presents the book of Esther as a rich source for the study of life and thought in the Persian Empire. The author reveals answers to important questions, such as the role of the King's courtiers in influencing policy, the way concubines at Trade ReviewAt a time when relations between Iran and Israel have never been worse, it is good to remember that Persians and Jews were once peacefully and productively intertwined in a single cultural world and that a book of the Old Testament provides one of our best sources for ancient Persian court culture. * William Dalrymple, The Spectator *Biblical scholars know that the Persian context is relevant and significant for understanding the rich narrative of Esther, but most are not trained in the art and archaeology of the Achaemenid world. Llewellyn-Jones, who is so well at home in the Persian cultural context, makes a major contribution to scholarship on Esther, and to the Persian period in biblical studies more generally, with this book. This is indispensable for anyone working on Esther. * Aaron Koller, Yeshiva University, USA *In this accessible and well-illustrated volume, Llewellyn-Jones explores and unpacks the distinctively Persian setting of the Esther narrative. With a particular focus on the early chapters, he provides a detailed cultural and iconographic companion to the biblical book of Esther, one which helpfully illuminates for historians and biblical scholars alike the broader Achaemenid context of the narrative. * Matthew A. Collins, Senior Lecturer in Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism, University of Chester, UK *Table of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction Commentary Concluding Thoughts Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAmelia Blanford Edwards was so much more than a pioneer of British Egyptology. She was a writer, musician, artist, activist, and explorer. She is remembered for different reasons, by different people, in different ways. This volume offers new revelations about Amelia''s private life and her relationships with women that led her, ultimately, to the founding of the Egypt Exploration Fund (now Society). What circumstances in her life led Amelia Edwards to Egypt and what happened after her famous journey ''A Thousand Miles Up the Nile''? To answer these questions, Carl Graves navigates Amelia''s complicated personal life, unpacking the events that surrounded the foundation of the Egypt Exploration Fund (now Society). Her legacy in Egyptology ends with the equally intriguing journey of an oil painting by Florence Blakiston Attwood-Mathews, now in the collection of the Society. But who really is the woman in the painting?

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Book SynopsisThis definitive guide to the archaeological remains in the civic and commercial centre of ancient Athens is an essential companion to the interested visitor, as well as to students of the topography of the classical city. It is intended for visitors touring the site, and is arranged topographically, monument by monument.Trade ReviewThis is a very useful guidebook to what was once the civic and commercial centre of ancient Athens. The book is well organized and practical. It is small and light, yet it contains all the essential information needed to understand the Agora. The inclusion of maps, photographs (including aerial views), drawings and floor plans renders the identification of monuments easier for the visitor and is truly one of the strengths of this publication. This guidebook is an essential companion to the visitor of this fascinating site. Derek T. Irwin, BMCR 2010.12.13.Table of Contents

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Book SynopsisPreface; The Sagas of Heimskringla -- Abbreviations and Conventions; Introduction, Snorri and Heimskringla Through the Centuries; Authorship; Snorri and the Age of the Sturlungs; The Text; Sources and Influences; Style and Structure; From History to Literature? Further Reading; Bibliography; Index.

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