Archaeology by period / region Books

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Book SynopsisAn extremely comprehensive, fully illustrated guide to the history and evolution of the castle under Wales' native rulers (c.1066-1283). Spectacular aerial photography, plans and reconstruction drawings examine the various architectural designs and layouts that created the distinctive form of the Welsh castle.Trade ReviewThis handsome, elaborate volume is a comprehensive, fully illustrated guide to the history and evolution of the castle mainly under Wales’ native rulers (c. 1066–1283). The author, a professional surveyor and a former member of staff of the Dyfed Archaeological Trust, has been researching intensively the history of Welsh castles ever since the 1980s, and among his twelve published works on the historic monuments of Wales and the border areas is his previous volume, Castles of the Welsh Princes (Y Lolfa, 2007). The present authoritative volume is a much-expanded version of the 2007 study and takes full account of the intensive research undertaken on the ground and a full re-consideration of earlier work completed over the last fifteen years or so. The author estimates that at least 500 castles existed in mediaeval Wales, and the total may well have been as high as 700. Indeed, one of the greatest strengths of the work is its amalgam of rigorous academic research and exhausting fieldwork. The study is neatly and sensibly divided into three complimentary parts. The first provides a concise, scholarly overview of the political history of Wales from the dark ages, through to the Anglo-Welsh wars of the thirteenth century during the frenzied reigns of Henry III and Edward I, the Edwardian conquest of 1282 and the political settlement imposed thereafter. Some attention is given to the revolts of the post-Conquest period, notably the Owain Glyndŵr rebellion which broke out in 1400. There is firm evidence of the inclusion of the latest historical research throughout this section of the book, with its helpful endnote references. There follows a briefer introduction to the architectural features of the Welsh castles. The various categories of wooden castles are considered first, primarily the well-known, distinctive motte-and-bailey castles introduced by the Norman invaders from the late eleventh century. A particular problem arises when trying to identify the builders of these early structures which were inevitably vulnerable to fire, and their lifespan was of necessity relatively short. From about 1200 onwards the use of stone was thus becoming more commonplace, but the castles still pose real problems of dating, especially those constructed prior to the 1282 conquest. Much detailed information is included here on the methods of castle construction, the typical characteristics of these towering edifices, and the potential considerable costs involved – under severely restrictive mediaeval conditions and the relative penury of the native Welsh princes (compared with the resources then available to the English crown). Attention is given to the wide array of uses and functions of the typical mediaeval castle. It was, of course, a tangible symbol of the authority and prestige of each individual prince or marcher lord. Military campaigns were often organised and executed from them. In more peaceful times the castle was a place of residence and the centre of administration for the management of the surrounding estate, where taxes and tolls might conveniently be levied and collected. They could also serve as a judicial centre and often a convenient prison house. The history of each individual castle was certainly different, but in almost all cases their military and defensive functions assumed the highest priority rather than the aesthetic features which became much more significant to later generations from the Tudor period onwards. Part 3 of the book comprises a helpful and detailed gazetteer of the castles built by the three most prominent royal dynasties of the pre-1282 period, notably Gwynedd, Powys and Deheubarth. These are followed by a list of those castles for which the minor royal lines in Wales were responsible. Each entry in this section comprises a helpful history of the edifice in question and its background, outlines the features of each castle which are still standing today, and provides details for the present-day traveller of how to reach each individual castle. In many cases, the castles of yesteryear survive, if at all, only as overgrown earthworks. Many of these edifices remained a vital part of mediaeval life until at least the fifteenth century when they were superseded by more modern structures more suitable for modern methods of waging war. The rich array of sources used by the author are noted at the foot of each entry. And some superb photographs, many of these aerial, plans and sketches are also included throughout this part of the study and help us to examine in depth the various architectural designs and layouts that created the distinctive form of the pre-1282 Welsh castle. There are also a number of maps prepared for this study. Helpful features of the work include simplified family trees of each of the three main royal dynasties in pre-1282 Wales, a note on the complex field of Welsh heraldry, and a large number of helpful suggestions for further reading in this fascinating field. -- J. Graham Jones @ www.gwales.com

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Book SynopsisMagic, dreams, and prophecy played important roles in ancient Egypt, as recent scholarship has increasingly made clear. In this volume, eminent international Egyptologists come together to explore such divination across a wide period.Trade Review[A]n excellent collection of essays on Ancient Egyptian magic, dreams and prophesy. -- Robert D. Bates * Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin *Table of ContentsThe Social Context of Magic in the 3rd Millennium & Middle Kingdom - John Baines The End is Near - Leonard Lesko Corn Mummies: "Amulets of Life" - Maria Costanza Centrone The Spitting Goddess and the Stoney Eye: Divinity and Flint in Pharaonic Egypt - Carolyn Graves-Brown Magic, Dreams and Prophecy in Egyptian Narrative Literature - Alan B Lloyd Nocturnal Ciphers in the Ancient Near East: Egyptian Dream Exegesis From a Comparative Perspective - Scott Noegel In Search of the Sorcerer's Apprentice - Daniel Ogden Sinuhe's Dream - Richard B Parkinson A Black Cat From Right, and a Scarab on Your Head: New Sources for Ancient Egyptian Divination - Joachim Quack The Dreams of the Twins of St. Petersburg - John Ray 'And Each Staff Transformed Into a Snake': The Serpent Wand in Egyptian Magic - Robert K Ritner A Lost Dream Episode - Anthony J Spalinger Introduction: Tomorrow is Yesterday - Kasia Szpakowska Entangled or Connected: The Power of Knots and Knotting in Ancient Egypt - Willemina Wendrich

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Book SynopsisThis catalogue accompanies an international exhibition, "First Kings of Europe," and another volume also published by the Cotsen Institute, First Kings of Europe: From Farmers to Rulers in Prehistoric Southeastern Europe, that examine the artifacts and cultures of this area from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. Over several millennia, early agricultural villages gave rise to tribal kingdoms and monarchies, replacing smaller, more egalitarian social structures with complex state organizations led by royal individuals invested with power. Several hundred objects and artifacts in the exhibition are portrayed in the catalog, accompanied by introductory text and detailed entries for each item. The spectacular and highly detailed color photographs introduce us to the gold and silver ornaments, bronze and iron weaponry, rich metal hoards and magnificent ceremonial vessels that are masterpieces from this period of history. Many of them have never left their countries of origin, making the two volumes documenting them an opportunity not to miss.

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Book SynopsisThis book brings together historians, anthropologists and archaeologists to rethink colonialism in a cross-sectional way, from ancient times to contemporary times. El libro “Repensar el colonialismo. Iberia, de colonia a potencia colonial” reúne historiadores, antropólogos y arqueólogos para repensar el colonialismo de una manera transversal, desde la época antigua hasta la época contemporánea. Desde el estudio de la cultura material y de fuentes escritas hasta el trabajo en archivos, los y las autoras analizan las imbricadas relaciones socioeconómicas, culturales y de poder existentes entre las comunidades colonizadoras y las colonizadas.

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Book SynopsisFrom a mummy on board the Titanic to the pyramids' alignment with the stars, from psychoactive mushrooms to the lost realm of Atlantis: alternative Egyptology has always focused on subjects that others shunned. Ever since the birth of mainstream Egyptology with the decipherment of the hieroglyphic script two hundred years ago, alternative interpretations and imaginative theories have flourished alongside it. They intertwined with egalitarian and spiritual tendencies in society during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when ancient Egypt inspired countless mediums, artists, and movements from freemasonry to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. More recently alternative Egyptology has inspired comic-book authors and nationalist Chinese bloggers.It would be a mistake, however, for academics to simply view these alternative theories as fantasies that are best ignored. Their lasting popular impact needs to be assessed and (publicly) addressed by mainstream Egyptology, but they may in fact also open up fresh perspectives for research. The contributors to this volume explore various aspects of alternative Egyptology, assessing its impact on society and scholarship, and finding ways for mainstream Egyptology to relate to its alternative cousin.

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Book SynopsisWie gestaltete sich das soziale Zusammenleben zwischen Menschen und nichtmenschlichen Arten als eine eng verwobene Gemeinschaft in prähistorischer Zeit? In verschiedensten Disziplinen der Geistes-, Sozial- und Lebenswissenschaften werden verstärkt gesellschaftliche Grundannahmen über nichtmenschliche Arten hinterfragt. Die aus dieser Wende entstandenen neuen Fragestellungen verbreiten sich auch in der Archäologie. Archäolog*innen haben begonnen, traditionelle Ansätze zu überdenken, um Beziehungen zwischen Menschen und (anderen) Tieren in all ihrer Diversität zu erforschen. Im Zuge dieses Perspektivwechsels in der Erforschung von Mensch-Tier-Verhältnissen intensiviert sich auch die Auseinandersetzung mit sozialen, politischen und ideologischen Dimensionen verschiedener Lebensweisen in frühen Gesellschaften. Wir erkennen zunehmend, welche zentrale Rolle Mensch-Tier-Beziehungen bei der Gestaltung und Konstruktion auch prähistorischer Gesellschaften eingenommen haben.In diesem Band wird das gängige archäologische Narrativ von Tieren als passiver, ausbeutbarer Nahrungsressource in Frage gestellt. Damit zeichnet das Buch ein komplexes Bild prähistorischer Mensch-Tier-Verhältnisse. Es legt eine multiperspektivische Studie zu soziokulturellen Praktiken und Vorstellungen damaliger Menschen anhand der spätneolithischen (ca. 6200-5600 v.u.Z) und frühäneolithischen (ca. 4800-4350 v.u.Z.) Siedlung Monjukli Depe im heutigen Turkmenistan vor, die sich von gegenwärtigen westlichen Kategorisierungsformen der Beziehungen zwischen Menschen und Tieren deutlich unterscheiden. Auf Basis einer umfangreichen Sammlung von rund 53.000 Tierknochen aus den Ausgrabungen in Monjukli Depe verfolge ich als analytischen Untersuchungsrahmen einen integrativen Ansatz, der 1.) die archäozoologische Untersuchung der faunalen Überreste, 2.) die Analyse der zoomorphen Repräsentationen als miniaturisierte Tonobjekte sowie 3.) Multi-Isotopenanalysen am ausgewählten Skelettmaterial kombiniert.Das Werk zeigt Wege auf, natur- und kulturwissenschaftliche Sichtweisen in einem analytischen Spektrum an Methoden so zu integrieren, dass Interspezies-Relationen in vergangenen Gemeinschaften holistischer und damit realistischer als bislang rekonstruiert werden können. Die Neubetrachtung der Gemeinschaft als Interspezies-Gebilde stellt den innovativen Ansatz schließlich in einen gesellschaftspolitischen Rahmen. Der Band bietet damit auch einen Referenzrahmen für multiperspektivisch ausgerichtete Untersuchungen von Interspezies-Relationen.English AbstractHow did the social coexistence of humans and non-human species contribute to the formation of interwoven communities in prehistoric times? In various disciplines in the humanities, social and life sciences, assumptions regarding non-human species in societal contexts are coming increasingly under scrutiny. The new questions arising therefrom are spreading into archaeology, where scholars have started to rethink traditional approaches and explore practices, interactions, and relationships between humans and (other) animals. As part of this shift in perspective, more attention is being paid to social, political, and ideological dimensions of lifeways in early societies. With it comes a growing recognition that human-animal relationships occupied a central place in shaping and constructing societies throughout human history.This book presents a multi-perspectival study of socio-cultural practices and conceptions of the people who lived in the prehistoric settlement of Monjukli Depe (Turkmenistan). These differ significantly from contemporary Western categorizations of human-animal relations. Based on a collection of over 50,000 animal remains from the excavations at Monjukli Depe, I pursue an integrative approach that includes 1) zooarchaeological studies of faunal remains, 2) analyses of zoomorphic representations in the form of miniaturized clay objects, and 3) multi-isotopic analyses of selected skeletal material.I suggest ways to integrate scientific and socio-cultural perspectives into an analytical spectrum of methods, enabling interspecies relations in past communities to be reconstructed more holistically and thereby more realistically than has previously been the case. The volume provides a work for future investigations of interspecies relations in other geographic and temporal contexts.Table of ContentsDanksagung Abbildungsverzeichnis Tabellenverzeichnis 1. Einleitung 2. Theoretischer Rahmen 3. Forschungsüberblick 4. Monjukli Depe und die Tiere 5. Monjukli Depe und die figürliche Darstellung von Tieren 6. Monjukli Depe und die Lebensweise von Schafen/Ziegen 7. Diskussion: Mensch-Tier-Dynamiken in Monjukli Depe 8. Literaturverzeichnis 9. Anhang

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Book SynopsisJewelry was worn by ancient Egyptians at every level of society and, like their modern descendants, they prized it for its aesthetic value, as a way to adorn and beautify the body. It was also a conspicuous signifier of wealth, status, and power. But jewelry in ancient Egypt served another fundamental purpose: its wearers saw it as a means to absorb positive magical and divine powers—to protect the living, and the dead, from the malignant forces of the unseen. The types of metals or stones used by craftsmen were magically important, as were the colors of the materials, and the exact positioning of all the elements in a design. Ancient Egyptian Jewelry: 50 Masterpieces of Art and Design draws on the exquisite collections in the archaeological museums of Cairo to tell the story of three thousand years of jewelry-making, from simple amulets to complex ritual jewelry to the spells that protected the king in life and assisted his journey to the Otherworld in death. Gold, silver, carnelian, turquoise, and lapis lazuli were just some of the precious materials used in many of the pieces, and this stunningly illustrated book beautifully showcases the colors and exceptional artistry and accomplishment that make ancient Egyptian jewelry so dazzling to this day.Trade Review"The photography is crisp, clear, modern and very attractive: it makes you observe the jewelry in another way. . . [and] the book provides, seemingly in passing, an enormous amount of information about religion, economy, trade, history and craftsmanship."—Bedouin Silver"Beautifully illustrated...inherently fascinating and impressively informative."—Midwest Book Review"Highlights fifty of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry ever created—anywhere."—Ancient Egypt Magazine"Stunning" —AramcoWorldTable of ContentsIntroduction: Ancient Egyptian Jewelry Ancient Egyptian Jewelry: 50 Masterpieces The Bracelets of Horus Djer Carnelian Necklace with a Lion Head Amulet The Butterfly Bracelets of Queen Hetepheres Jewels of Princess Khnemet Khnemet’s Motto Bracelets Falcon Collar with Amulets Bracelet Clasps of Khnemet Princess Ita’s Dagger Necklace with a Pectoral of Senwosret II Bracelets of Queen Weret Cowrie Shell Belt Queen Weret’s Motto Necklace A Queen’s Bracelets and Anklets Pectoral of Senwosret III Diadem of a Princess Sithathoriunet’s Mirror Cowrie Shells and Acacia Seeds Mereret’s Feline Girdle Anklets with Claw Pendants Pendant of a Princess Neferuptah’s Collar Pectoral of Amenemhat III A Necklace with Fly Pendants Queen Ahhotep’s Bracelet Ahmose’s Armlet A Queen’s Bracelets The Ankh Sign A Glass Kohl Holder A General’s Earring Pectoral of an Official Gold Statuette of Tutankhamun Tutankhamun’s Daggers A Falcon Pendant Necklace Necklace with a Lunar Boat Tutankhamun’s Vulture Pectoral Pectoral of Nut Bracelets of Rameses the Great Seti II’s Earrings Pasebkhanut’s Necklace Pectoral of Pasebkhanut A General’s Pendant The Goddess Isis Pectoral of Sheshonq I Sheshonq’s Wedjat Bracelets Pectoral of Sheshonq II Pendant Head of Hathor Pendant of Maat A Necklace of Many Pendants A Young Woman’s Jewelry Diadem of Serapis Afterword and Further Reading

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Book SynopsisWorlds Apart Trading Together sets out to replace the outdated notion of ‘Indo-Roman trade’ with a more informed perspective integrating the new findings of the last 30 years. In order to accomplish this, a perspective focusing on concrete demand from the ground up is adopted, also shedding light on the role of the market in long-distance exchange. Accordingly, the analysis conducted demonstrates that an economically highly substantial trade took place between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean in the 1st–6th cen. CE, altering patterns of consumption and modes of production in both India, South Arabia and the Roman Empire. Significantly, it can be documented that this trade was organised at the centres of demand and supply, in Rome and India, respectively, by comparable urban associations, the transport in-between being handled by equally well-organised private networks and diasporas of seagoing merchants. Consequently, this study concludes that the institution of the market in Antiquity was able to facilitate trade over very long distances, acting on a scale which had a characteristic impact on the economies of the societies involved, their economic structures converging by adapting to trade and the market.Table of ContentsPreface; Introduction; Chapter 1: What’s in a name? A brief historiography of Indo-Roman trade; Chapter 2: Ancient history ‘from below’. Theoretical perspectives; Chapter 3: Turning the tables on Indo-Roman trade; Chapter 4: The invisible hand of Roman organisations; Chapter 5: Demand and supply in Rome and the provinces; Chapter 6: The modus operandi of Roman long-distance trade; Chapter 7: Towards a wider world of trade in the ancient Indian Ocean; Chapter 8: The invisible hand of Indian organisations; Conclusion: Worlds apart trading together; Maps; Bibliography

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Book SynopsisPersonal religion in Domestic Contexts during the New Kingdom compiles artefacts and fixed emplacements in domestic settings during the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt that, from a comparative approach, are interpreted as examples of religious practices, contributing to the study of the so-called ‘Archaeology of Religion’. By including the two main and best preserved sites for this research, namely Tell el-Amarna and Deir el-Medina, parallel cases for other sites with similar features are provided. At the same time, particular topics are explored throughout the book, including early evidence of personal religion as well as questions referring to the socioeconomic roles of the inhabitants of such main sites. Overall, there are three main themes: the definition of personal religion and religious domestic practices from a theoretical perspective; the description and analysis of the main archaeological and anthropological evidence; and, on that basis, the study of the impact of the Amarna period in the development of personal religion during the New Kingdom.Table of ContentsPreface ; Introduction ; Chapter One: The Domestic Practice of Personal Religion ; Introduction ; Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt ; The Domestic Setting around the Time of the New Kingdom ; Origins and Early Evidence of Personal Religion in Ancient Egypt ; The Domestic Expressions of Personal Religion ; Religion in the Amarna Period ; Chapter Two: Domestic Space in the New Kingdom: A Case Study ; Introduction ; The Lahun Case: A Middle Kingdom Template ; Tell el-Amarna ; Deir el-Medina ; Inside the Houses ; The Domestic Distribution of Religious Actions ; Amarna and Post-Amarna Rooms ; Chapter Three: The Archaeological Pieces of Evidence: Artefacts et alii ; Introduction ; Artefacts of General Cultic Application ; Tell el-Amarna ; Deir el-Medina ; Other Sites ; Artefacts to Interact with the Deceased ; The Letters to the Dead ; Anthropoid Busts ; 3h-ikr-n-R’ Stelae ; The Royal Ancestors Worship ; Artefacts to Communicate with the Divinities ; Amulets ; Female (Fertility) Figurines ; Jeux de la Nature ; Intermediary Statues, Statuettes, and Busts ; Figured Ostraca ; Votive Stelae ; Comparative Study ; Chapter Four: The Archaeological Pieces of Evidence: Structures ; Introduction ; Domestic Cultic Structures ; Altars ; Niches ; Decorations ; Singular Structures ; Comparative Study ; Chapter Five: Personal Religion in the Amarna Period: New Forms for Old Ways ; Introduction ; Religious Radicalization ; The Archaeological ; The Anthropological ; The Signification of the Continuity of the Practice of Personal Religion throughout the Amarna Period ; Bibliography

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Book SynopsisNewgrange is simply the best example of a passage tomb in Western Europe and its solstice phenomenon, in particular, has made it famous throughout the world. It is also conveniently located only an hour from Dublin. While it is the best-known ancient site in Ireland, many aspects of Newgrange are not clearly understood, other aspects are just taken for granted. As two archaeologists with a lifetime of experience in the Boyne Valley we shared with most visitors the same uncertainties about the tomb; why is there a three metre high quartz wall around its entrance, how does the roof box work, what was the inspiration for its art and architecture? We chose to write this book in order to present our own personal interpretation of an intricate and often hotly debated story.The book is arranged in such a way as to replicate a visit to the site. It pauses over points of art and construction that the visitor will not have had time to examine in detail on a conventional guided tour. "Newgrange" is the synthesis of years of excavation and research at home and abroad; from the detailed reports stemming from the excavations of M. J. O'Kelly to current international debate about its construction and reconstruction. This is the first book on Newgrange to draw on O'Kelly's private papers and to incorporate the results of more recent and as yet unpublished excavations. This book will clarify many complex issues that have been addressed in widely scatted fora, using original illustrations to assist the reader. It places the monument in its broader cultural context. Our search for the origins of Newgrange took us to Brittany, Iberia (Spain and Portugal), Malta, the Orkney Islands and Wales and has enriched our understanding of its place in European prehistory.

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Book SynopsisIn the past three decades, archaeologists have made great strides in recovering the lost world of the Old Testament. Dozens of digs in Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon have changed experts'' understanding of ancient Israel and its neighbours- as well as their vision of the Bible''s greatest tales. Yet until now, the public has remained almost entirely unaware of these discoveries which help separate legend from historical truth. Here, at last, two of archaeology''s leading scholars shed new light on how the Bible came into existence. They assert, for example, that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob never existed, that David and Solomon were not great kings but obscure chieftains and that the Exodus never happened. They offer instead a new historical truth: the Bible was created by the people of the small, southern nation of Judah in a heroic last-ditch attempt to keep their faith alive after the demise of the larger, wealthier nation of Israel to the north. It is in this truth, not in the myths of the past, that the real value of the Bible is evident.Trade ReviewBaruch Halpern author of The First Historians: The Hebrew Bible and History The boldest and most exhilarating synthesis of the Bible and archaeology in fifty years.John Shelby Spong author of Here I Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love, and Equality A bold and provocative book, well researched, well written, and powerfully argued. It challenges many of the assumptions developed by the literal religious minds of the ages, opening traditional possibilities to new conclusions.Jonathan Kirsch Los Angeles Times A brutally honest assessment of what archaeology can and cannot tell us about the historical accuracy of the Bible...presented with both authority and panache.Table of ContentsContentsPrologue: In the Days of King JosiahIntroduction: Archaeology and the BiblePART ONEThe Bible as History? Searching for the Patriarchs Did the Exodus Happen? The Conquest of Canaan Who Were the Israelites? Memories of a Golden Age? PART TWOThe Rise and Fall of Ancient Israel One State, One Nation, One People? (C. 930-720 BCE) Israel's Forgotten First Kingdom (884-842 BCE) In the Shadow of Empire (842-720 BCE) PART THREEJudah and the Making of Biblical History The Transformation of Judah (C. 930-705 BCE) Between War and Survival (705-639 BCE) A Great Reformation (639-586 BCE) Exile and Return (586-C. 440 BCE) Epilogue: The Future of Biblical IsraelAppendix A: Theories of the Historicity of the Patriarchal AgeAppendix B: Searching for SinaiAppendix C: Alternative Theories of the Israelite ConquestAppendix D: Why the Traditional Archaeology of the Davidic and Solomonic Period Is WrongAppendix E: Identifying the Era of Manasseh in the Archaeological RecordAppendix F: How Vast Was the Kingdom of Josiah?Appendix G: The Boundaries of the Province of YehudBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThis fully revised and updated third edition of the bestselling Ancient Egypt seeks to identify what gave ancient Egypt its distinctive and enduring characteristics, ranging across material culture, the mindset of its people, and social and economic factors. In this volume, Barry J. Kemp identifies the ideas by which the Egyptians organized their experience of the world and explains how they maintained a uniform style in their art and architecture across three thousand years, whilst accommodating substantial changes in outlook. The underlying aim is to relate ancient Egypt to the broader mainstream of our understanding of how all human societies function.Source material is taken from ancient written documents, while the book also highlights the contribution that archaeology makes to our understanding of Egyptian culture and society. It uses numerous case studies, illustrating them with artwork expressly prepared from specialist sources. Broad ranging yet impressTrade Review‘It is hard to express how important this book is for me. When Barry J. Kemp sorts out the anatomy of Egyptian civilization, from elite and royal Early Dynastic Tombs to tower houses of late antiquity, he provides critical new understanding, beautifully illustrating each lesson with enviable elegance and clarity. In this third edition, Kemp continues to offer fresh, in-depth, eminently use-able, lasting perspectives on many facets of ancient Egyptian society and economy, while eschewing ephemeral, trendy theory. More than any other book, this one, and now it its third edition, continues to teach about and inspire a passion for the people of ancient Egypt and the civilization they created.’ Mark Lehner, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, USATable of ContentsAcknowledgements; List of abbreviations of works; Introduction; Part I Establishing identity; 1 Who were the ancient Egyptians?; 2 The intellectual foundations of the early state; 3 The dynamics of culture; Part II The provider state; 4 The bureaucratic mind; 5 Model communities; Part III Intimations of our future; 6 New Kingdom Egypt: the mature state; 7 The birth of economic man; 8 Egypt in microcosm: the city of Amarna; Index

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Book SynopsisLonglisted for the RUNCIMAN AWARD, 2021Medicine is one of the great fields of achievement of the Ancient Greeks. Hippocrates is celebrated worldwide as the father of medicine and the Hippocratic Oath is admired throughout the medical profession as a founding statement of ethics and ideals. In the fifth century BC, Greeks even wrote of medicine as a newly discovered craft they had invented.Robin Lane Fox''s remarkable book puts their invention of medicine in a wider context, from the epic poems of Homer to the first doctors known to have been active in the Greek world. He examines what we do and do not know about Hippocrates and his Oath and the many writings that survive under his name. He then focuses on seven core texts which give the case histories of named individuals, showing that books 1 and 3 belong far earlier than previously recognised. Their re-dating has important consequences for the medical awareness of the great Greek dramatists and the historians Herodotus and Thucydides. Robin Lane Fox pieces together the doctor''s thinking from his terse observations and relates it in a new way to the history of Greek prose and ideas.This original and compelling book opens windows onto many other aspects of the classical world, from women''s medicine to street-life, empire, art, sport, sex and even botany. It fills a dark decade in a new way and carries readers along an extraordinary journey form Homer''s epics to the grateful heirs of the Greek case histories, first in the Islamic world and then in early modern Europe.Trade ReviewIn this engaging history by the biographer of Alexander the Great, lightened with wry donnish wit... readers can enjoy a vivid ride through a part of Greece little visited in either body or mind. -- Peter Stothard * Financial Times *an exciting addition to a flurry of books on ancient medicine in recent years ... Lane Fox, who is known for his originality and his exceptionally broad interests as a historian, which range from Alexander the Great to Augustine, built The Invention of Medicine: From Homer to Hippocrates on a decades' worth of impressive scholarship ... His account of early Greek medicine is an engaging, well informed introduction to the complex reality of the world of healing in ancient Greece. Drawing on as many sources as possible, yet making complex data accessible to a wide audience, Lane Fox describes the skills of doctors and the experiences of their patients with gusto ... groundbreaking -- Caroline Petit * The Lancet *My favourite book from our lock-down times is The Invention of Medicine by Robin Lane Fox, a great Oxford classicist's contribution to the most needed discipline of the day. By original and skilful argument, it shows how some of the direct observations attributed to Hippocrates, the 'father of medicine', dated by him earlier than most of us had thought before, influenced Thucydides and other writers at the very birth of reasoned history. -- Peter Stothard * Aspects of History Books of the Year *a most welcome contribution to this ever-growing field by one of today's most eminent voices in ancient history. In his latest book, Robin Lane Fox, probably best known for his work on Alexander the Great and Augustine, offers a refreshing and at points ground-breaking revision of the beginnings of ancient Greek medicine ... In his attempt to disentangle and revise the 'invention of medicine' as a highly complex and multifaceted phenomenon in early medical history Robin Lane Fox succeeds brilliantly in constructing a narrative that is, at the same time, innovative and introductive, informative and entertaining, thoroughly historical yet with the occasional contemporary twist. Writing in an accessible style, aimed at both a general and informed readership and abounding in donnish wit, Lane Fox takes his reader on a scholarly joyride -- Michiel Meeusen * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Radically, Lane Fox is keen to date Books One and Three of the Epidemics very early in the story of the development of Greek medicine, much earlier than anyone else has done ... The case is ingenious ... He knows how to pace a narrative and he has a raconteur's eye for detail. -- Alastair Blanshard * Times Literary Supplement *Lane Fox leads us down intriguing paths of epigraphy, political history, philology and archaeology -- James Romm * London Review of Books *Robin Lane Fox's remarkable The Invention of Medicine brings to vivid life the island city of Thasos in the fifth century bc, when it was home to the author of books of case studies now called Epidemics I and 3, whose details are so forensic that we can diagnose his patients' ailments and pinpoint their addresses in the modern city. Around these works Lane Fox weaves a compelling history of Greek medicine, before arguing that they betray such scientific rigour that their author can be none other than Hippocrates himself. -- David Stuttard * Aspects of History Books of the Year *

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Book SynopsisMichael Hoffen is the youngest-ever recipient of the annual Emerson Prize, awarded by the Concord Review for outstanding promise in history. While still in middle school he was introduced to the joys of translating ancient texts and never looked back. During the pandemic, Michael decided to embark on an ambitious project to bring ancient Egyptian literature to life outside the classroom. Be A Scribe! is Michael's first book in a series intended for young readers. When not chasing down new stories to translate or write, Michael enjoys biking, swimming, and rock climbing. He lives with his family in New York. Dr. Christian Casey is an Egyptologist who specializes in the study of ancient Egyptian languages. He obtained his PhD in Egyptology from Brown University in 2020 and now works as a researcher at Freie Universität Berlin. He is especially interested in sharing the exciting world of ancient Egypt with young people and other interested members of the public. <

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Book SynopsisFeaturing over 130 colour maps of ancient physical and human landscapes spanning Britain to India and deep into the Sahara, this atlas is a compact kaleidoscope of peoples, migrations, empires, strife, cultures, cities and travels from Greece's Bronze Age to Rome's fall in the West.This revised edition of the Atlas of Classical History equips readers with a clear visual grasp of the spatial dimension, a vital aspect for understanding history. Users gain insight into the formative roles of physical landscape seas, rivers, mountains, deserts in Mediterranean peoples' development. The maps in all their variety of scope, scale and colour offer an absorbing means to track the growth of states on the ground, especially their relationships, conflicts, urbanization, communications and cultures. Each map is enriched by readily identifiable symbols and concise accompanying texts, as well as recommendations for further reading. With its vast geographical sweep in a compact formTable of ContentsMaps; Battles, Cities, Regions, Shrines to around 300 BCE: Locator; Egypt and the Near East, 1200-500 BCE; Troy: Citadel; Troy: Lower Town; Neolithic and Bronze Age Greece and Aegean; Neolithic and Bronze Age Crete; Neolithic and Bronze Age Cyprus; Knossos; Mycenae: Citadel; Mycenae Outside the Citadel; Homer’s World; Mainland Greece in Homer’s Epics; Iron Age Greece; Greek Colonization, 800-500 BCE; Archaic Greece; Persian Empire, 550-330 BCE; Persepolis; Marathon, 490 BCE; Persian Wars; Thermopylae, 480 BCE: Ephialtes’ Route; Artemision, 480 BCE; Salamis, 480 BCE; Plataea, 479 BCE; Greece and the Aegean (Hellespont inset); Classical Greece; Cimmerian Bosphorus; Olympia; Attica; Athens; Classical Athens (5th and 4th Centuries BCE); Roman Athens; Delphi; Sparta; Miletus; Priene; Halicarnassus; Akragas; Greek and Punic Sicily; Athenian Empire; Greek Dialects around 450 BCE; Peloponnesian War, 431-404 BCE (Sicily inset); Pylos/Sphacteria, 425 BCE; Syracuse (and Athenian Siege, 415-413 BCE); Explorers; Anabasis (Spring 400 to Winter 400/399 BCE); Leuctra, 371 BCE; Second Athenian League; Chaeronea, 338 BCE; Growth of Macedonian Power, 359-336 BCE; Alexander’s Campaigns, 334-323 BCE; Granicus River, 334 BCE; Issus, 333 BCE; Tyre, 332 BCE; Gaugamela, 331 BCE; Hydaspes River, 326 BCE; Alexandria Oxiana (Ai Khanoum); Alexandria; Hellenistic World: Kingdoms; Hellenistic World: Aegean; Hellenistic World: Asia Minor; Hellenistic World: Syria-Egypt; Pergamum; Delos City; Delos Centre; Delos Island; Etruria and Etruscan Expansion; Early Italy and its Neighbours; Peoples of Italy, and their Languages to the First Century CE; Latium, 600-300 BCE; Campania; Roman Expansion in Italy to 241 BCE; Cosa; Rome by 300 BCE; Roman Colonization in Italy to the Time of Augustus (Campania inset); Second Punic War (First Punic War inset); Cannae, 216 BCE; Zama, 202 BCE; Roman Campaigns in the Iberian Peninsula, 218-133 BCE; Numantia: Roman Siege, 133 BCE; Numantia: Region; Rome in the Late Republic; Rome’s Empire around 60 BCE; Roman Campaigns, 58-30 BCE; Actium, 31 BCE; Augusta Praetoria (Aosta); Italy from Alps to Campania (including Corsica); Italy from Apulia to Bruttium; Sicily and Sardinia; Rome’s Empire and Beyond: Locator; Rome at the Death of Augustus, 14 CE; Environs of Imperial Rome; Ostia; Portus; Second Battle of Cremona, 69 CE; Pompeii; Herculaneum; Italian Towns with Alimentary Schemes; Rome at the Death of Trajan, 117 CE; Rome’s Empire around 60 CE; Britain; Hadrian’s Wall; Antonine Wall; Iberian Peninsula; Vipasca; Thamugadi (Timgad); Africa; Lepcis Magna; Africa Proconsularis and Numidia; Cyrene; Lutetia Parisiorum (Paris); Gaul; Germany; Rhine-Danube Limes, 40-260 CE; Danube-Black Sea; Crete; Greece; Cyprus; Aphrodisias; Asia Minor; Paul’s Journeys; Syria-Persian Gulf; Antioch (Syria); Dura; Jerusalem/Aelia Capitolina, 2nd-3rd Centuries CE; Jerusalem on Madaba Map; Judaea; Masada (and Roman Siege, 73 CE); Egypt; Arabia; India; Rome’s Empire around 211 CE; Circuit of the Roman Empire by Aurelius Gaius, 285-299 CE; Etesian Winds and Sea Currents; Sea Routes in Diocletian’s Edict on Prices; Rome at the Death of Constantine, 337 CE; Split; Constantinople; Rome’s Empire around 314 CE; Christianity by the Early Fourth Century; Roman World on Two Portable Sundials; Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire, 370-500 CE; Roman Empire and Successor Kingdoms around 530 CE; Further Reading; Gazetteer.

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Book SynopsisYou might think of pyramids as old, but this book is about news! After his successful Netflix documentary Unknown: The Lost Pyramid, Zahi Hawass (the most famous Egyptologist in the world), updates us on the newest discoveries relating to the pyramids! Each chapter includes maps, floor plans, reconstructions, and specially commissioned photographs, accompanied by insights from a major archaeologist and researcher capable of an account so rich it makes history come alive!This book throws new light on the world that existed around the pyramids, on the lives of the workers who built them, and on the court dignitaries who were granted the privilege of burial place near that of their king. Dive in!

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Book SynopsisThe second half of the seventh millennium BC saw the demise of the previously affluent and dynamic Neolithic way of life. The period is marked by significant social and economic transformations of local communities, as manifested in a new spatial organization, patterns of architecture, burial practices, and in chipped stone and pottery manufacture. This volume has three foci. The first concerns the character of these changes in different parts of the Near East with a view to placing them in a broader comparative perspective. The second concerns the social and ideological changes that took place at the end of Neolithic and the beginning of the Chalcolithic that help to explain the disintegration of constitutive principles binding the large centers, the emergence of a new social system, as well as the consequences of this process for the development of full-fledged farming communities in the region and beyond. The third concerns changes in lifeways: subsistence strategies, exploitation of the environment, and, in particular, modes of procurement, consumption, and distribution of different resources.

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Book SynopsisAnimal bones are one of the most abundant types of evidence found in archaeological sites dating from pre-historic times to the Middle Ages, and they can reveal a startling amount about the economy and way of life of people in the past.

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Book SynopsisThe ancient Egyptians presented themselves as superior to all other people in the world; on temple walls, the pharaoh is shown smiting foreign enemies - people from Nubia, Libya and the Levant - or crushing them beneath his chariot. Officially, foreigners represented disorder and chaos - the opposite of Egypt's perfect land of justice and order. But despite such imagery, from the beginning of their history, the Egyptians also enjoyed friendly relations with neighbouring cultures; both Egyptians and foreigners crossed the deserts and seas exchanging goods gathered from across the known world. They shared knowledge and technology, and sometimes settled abroad, marrying and acculturating. Through such interactions, the Egyptians influenced other cultures, and at the same time were themselves shaped by foreign contacts and external events.War & Trade with the Pharaohs explores Egypt's connections with the wider world over the course of 3,000 years, introducing readers to ancient diplomacy, travel, trade, warfare, domination, and immigration - both Egyptians living abroad and foreigners living in Egypt. It covers military campaigns and trade in periods of strength - including such important events as the Battle of Qadesh under Ramesses II and Hatshepsut's trading mission to the mysterious land of Punt - and Egypt's foreign relations during times of political weakness, when foreign dynasties ruled parts of the country. From early interactions with traders on desolate desert tracks, to sunken Mediterranean trading vessels, the Nubian Kingdom of Kerma, Nile fortresses, the Sea Peoples, and Persian satraps, there is always a rich story to tell behind Egypt's foreign relations.

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Book SynopsisFor centuries, we have been fascinated with the iconic architecture, mystical religious beliefs, and once-thriving societies of the ancient Egyptians. Starting with a detailed chronology and ending with a comprehensive glossary of terms and bibliography, this meticulously researched resource explores the development of the ancient civilizations of the Egyptians. Organised chronologically, it traces Egyptian history in chapters starting with prehistoric times and including The Age of the Pyramids, The Classical Period, The Empire of the Pharaohs, The Late Period and The Age of Foreign Dominion. Hundreds of photographs of the major sites, three-dimensional reconstructions, and close-up shots of ancient artifacts, statues, and funerary goods take readers on a tour of the pyramids, temples, and other major monuments of ancient Egypt. The images reveal fascinating insights into the religious beliefs and rituals of the ancient Egyptians as well as demonstrate their unsurpassed artisanship and remarkable artistic output. The compelling text provides fascinating information on the everyday lives of the ancient Egyptians, interweaving these details with the thrilling tales of the major archaeological discoveries including those relating to Khufu, Tutankhamun, and Ramesses II.

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Book SynopsisThe Prehistoric Rock Art of Portugal presents significant interpretive perspectives in Portuguese rock art research and offers an excellent representation of core rock art areas, along with current thinking and interpretations. The various chapters deliver a personal approach to the many issues, themes and approaches that are embedded within the rock art of the outpost of western Atlantic Europe. Ethnographical perspectives have often dominated the study of rock art but unlike other well-studied regions, the western Iberian Peninsula is absent of an ethnographical or ethno-historical past and therefore the production of rock art can only be archaeologically assessed. Thus, the work promotes interpretive perspectives on Portuguese rock art, illustrating the richness, chronology and context of these unique artistic expressions and explores the variability of rock art imagery and the diversity of landscapes and social contexts in which it was produced. Although focusing on Portuguese rock art the book includes a number of universal themes that will appeal to a broad range of scholars researching in archaeology and anthropology, history of art, as well as professionals engaged in rock art heritage and conservation.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Changes and dynamics in western Iberian prehistoric rock art; 1. The Discovery of Paleolithic Art in Portugal: The Escoural Cave; 2. Looking Through Rock Eyes: Being Upper Palaeolithic in The Côa Valley and its Territory of Lithic Raw Material Sourcing; 3. The Palaeolithic Rock Art of Northern Portugal and Galicia (Spain); 4. Philosophical Mechanics of An Engraved Horse: The Upper Palaeolithic Open-Air Rock Art Within The Tagus River Basin, Central Portugal; 5. From Hunter Gatherer to Farmer or Something in Between: The Rock Art of Early Holocene; 6. Understanding the Painted Form: The Archaeometric Studies; 7. Schematic Art Paintings in Northern Portugal; 8. Painted Schematic Rock Art Within Central and Southern Portugal; 9. The Tagus River Rock Art (Central Portugal); 10. The Guadiana Valley Rock Art Complex; 11. Picturing In Western Iberian Neolithic Dolmens; 12. Atlantic Rock Art of the Northwest Portugal; 13. Thinking about the Bronze Age Rock Art of Portugal. What's New?; 14. Iron Age Rock Art: Old and New Figures; 15. The Use of Geographic Information Systems [Gis] in the Field of Rock Art

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the Skelligs, Ireland's most dramatic and beautiful Atlantic islands, and focuses particularly on Skellig Michael, a famous UNESCO World Heritage Site. It considers why the construction of a remarkable monastic site near the peak of this island over a thousand years ago stands as one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of Christianity. The Book of the Skelligs combines different approaches to deepening our understanding of the islands, combining the perspectives of history, archaeology, cultural geography, oral tradition, literature and natural science. It interprets distinctive features, both physical and human, that shape the unique character of these islands while also exploring their geology, marine and terrestrial life as well as the historical background and cultural setting of Skellig Michael's monastic remains. It also considers the impact of the Vikings, and the construction of lighthouses a millennium later. Drawing on appropriate disciplines, the book reveals how a unique cultural landscape was generated by human activities over long periods of time. The editors and contributors have incorporated a wide range of illustrative material including maps, paintings, and photographs throughout the book, many of which have not been published before. It comprises over forty individual chapters and case studies in which the work of academics and independent scholars is combined with that of poets and artists to provide a wide range of perspectives on Skelligs' distinctive character - both natural and human - during different periods. The aim of the editors is to produce a well-informed, accessible, highly readable, and generously illustrated volume that succeeds in conveying a true sense of the cultural richness and complexity of these remarkable islands. The blend of text and images is an important part of the book, making it both suitable for the general reader and a wide range of teaching programmes.

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Book SynopsisA gorgeous volume celebrating the eternal splendour of the boy pharaoh. On November 4th, 1922, after months of unsuccessful expeditions and excavations, a young Howard Carter was close to giving up his Egyptian experience in the Valley of the Kings when, unexpectedly, he and his team discovered one of the most important masterpieces in the history of archaeology. The intact royal burial palace and the golden mask of the boy king Tutankhamun are probably the most iconic symbols of Ancient Egypt. This luxurious volume will retrace, with never-seen-before pictures, the history of those exciting moments.

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Book SynopsisNefertiti’s current world dominion as a cultural and artistic icon presents an interesting contrast with the way in which she was actively written out of history soon after her own death. This book explores what we can reconstruct of the life of the queen, tracing the way in which she and her image emerged in the wake of the first tentative decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs during the 1820s–1840s, and then took on the world over the next century and beyond. During the last half of the fourteenth century BC, Egypt was perhaps at the height of its prosperity. It was against this background that the 'Amarna Revolution' occurred. Throughout, its instigator, King Akhenaten, had at his side his Great Wife, Nefertiti. When a painted bust of the queen found at Amarna in 1912 was first revealed to the public in the 1920s, it soon became one of the great artistic icons of the world. Nefertiti's name and face are perhaps the best known of any royal woman of ancient Egypt and one of the best recognized figures of antiquity, but her image has come in many ways to overshadow the woman herself.Trade Review"[T]he most objective and well-balanced summation of her career to date . . . . This volume is well-produced and sumptuously illustrated and a fine addition to this welcome biographical series."—Morris Bierbrier, Egyptian Archaeology"Writing an overview of Nefertiti’s life and times is essentially an impossible task. . . Only a few people are up to this task, and thank Heavens that one of them is Aidan Dodson. Bravo!! Buy this book." —Stephen Harvey, Stony Brook University"This thoroughly researched, documented, and illustrated book includes maps, a chronology of dynasties, extensive endnotes, and image sources. . . Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals."—CHOICE"Dodson goes beyond prior scholarship by meticulously chronicling her life and offering up new theories about her origins and significance."—AramcoWorldPraise for Aidan Dodson"Professional Egyptology at its best." —Brian Fagan"Highly Recommended."—CHOICE"A masterpiece of meticulous scholarship . . . . ideal for non-specialist general readers with an interest in ancient Egyptian history." —Reviewer's Bookwatch“Intriguing and involving historical study and extrapolation.” —Midwest Book Review“With copious illustrations, this book supplies intriguing insights into pharaonic politics, arrived at through meticulous, knowledgeable research.” —Book News

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Book SynopsisBy employing the same basic methodologies used to establish the currently accepted chronology, it has been possible for a group of young archaeologists, including David Rohl, to create a New Chronology which resolves many of the problems permeating ancient world studies. In particular, one model has been developed which has major implications for Old Testament research. Through the revision of the master chronology of ancient Egypt they have unlocked the key to biblical history - the epic events of the Bible really did happen as recorded in the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Judges, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles - the problem was that we had previously been looking for them in completely the wrong place in time.Many of the conundrums of the past are explained, and legendary figures such as Joseph, Moses, David and Solomon find their true political setting. Exodus and Conquest will be restored to history and the magic of legend will begin to make its great comebackTrade ReviewThe New Book of Revelations... A scholarly theory that has set the academic world on its ear * Sunday Times *The Bible, it seems, is back in business * Daily Mail *When it comes to exploring, David Rohl makes Indiana Jones look like an under-achiever... Rohl is Britain's highest profile Egyptologist * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisEveryone has heard of Ramesses the Great - but what is the truth behind the legend? Joyce Tyldesley''s lively book explores the life and times of Egypt''s greatest king. Ramesses II was the archetypal Egyptian pharoah: a mighty warrior, an extravagant builder and the father of scores of children. His momuments and image were to be found in every corner of the Egyptian empire. This is his amazing story.Trade ReviewIn her new book, 'Tyldesley has added a new, more human dimension' to the picture we have of Ramesses and 'her book should be required reading for Egypt's imaginative tour guides' The Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisA major new history of one of the world''s holiest of cities, based on the most recent archaeological discoveries First settled five thousand years ago by a mountain spring between the Mediterranean and Dead Sea, Jerusalem was named for the god (Shalem) that was worshipped there. When David reportedly conquered the city, ca. 1000 BCE, he transferred the Ark of the Covenant--and with it, the presence of the God of Israel--to this rocky outcrop. Here, David''s son Solomon built a permanent house for the God of Israel called the first temple, and since then this spot has been known as the Temple Mount. After Babylonians destroyed Solomon''s temple in 586 BCE, it was replaced by the second temple, which is the setting for many of the events described in the Gospel accounts. In 70 CE, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, leaving the Temple Mount in ruins. Two hundred and fifty years later, the emperor Constantine constructed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher around the spots where Jesus is believ

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Book Synopsis''You will be made an outlaw, forced always to live in the wilds and to live alone.''A sweeping epic of the Viking Age, Grettir''s Saga follows the life of the outlaw Grettir the Strong as he battles against sorcery, bad luck, and the vengefulness of his enemies. Feared by many, Grettir is a warrior and also a poet and a lover, who is afraid of the dark. Unable to resolve the dispute that has outlawed him, he lives outside the bounds of family life and he roams the countryside, ridding Iceland and Norway of berserker warriors, trolls, and the walking dead. The saga presents a poignant story of medieval Icelandic society, combining details of everyday legal disputes with folklore and legend. Written in the fourteenth century, but based on earlier oral and written sources, Grettir''s Saga, with its scathing humour, explicit verses, and fantastic monsters, is among the most famous and widely read of Iceland''s sagas.This new translation features extensive illustrative material to elucidate the story. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Book SynopsisHieroglyphs were far more than a language. They were an omnipresent and all-powerful force in communicating the messages of ancient Egyptian culture for over three thousand years; used as monumental art, as a means of identifying Egyptianness, and for rarefied communication with the gods.In this exciting new study, Penelope Wilson explores the cultural significance of the script with an emphasis on previously neglected areas such as cryptography, the continuing decipherment into modern times, and examines the powerful fascination hieroglyphs still hold for us today. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of Contents1. The origins of writing in Egypt ; 2. Hieroglyphic script and the Egyptian language ; 3. Hieroglyphs and art ; 4. 'I Know You, I Know Your Names' ; 5. Scribes and everyday writing ; 6. The decipherment of Egyptian ; 7. Hieroglyphs in the modern world ; Notes ; Chronology ; Further Reading ; Index

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Book SynopsisHistories you can trust.The Oxford History of the Holy Land covers the 3,000 years which saw the rise of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - and relates the familiar stories of the sacred texts with the fruits of modern scholarship. Beginning with the origins of the people who became the Israel of the Bible, it follows the course of the ensuing millennia down to the time when the Ottoman Empire succumbed to British and French rule at the end of the First World War.Parts of the story, especially as known from the Bible, will be widely familiar. Less familiar are the ways in which modern research, both from archaeology and from other ancient sources, sometimes modify this story historically. Better understanding, however, enables us to appreciate crucial chapters in the story of the Holy Land, such as how and why Judaism developed in the way that it did from the earlier sovereign states of Israel and Judah and the historical circumstances in which Christianity emerged from its JewiTrade ReviewFor those interested in the Bible, history or spiritual pilgrimage, this is a captivating guide and will be a great asset to anyone who has travelled, or will travel, to the Holy Land. * Mark W. Scarlata, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament *The Oxford History of the Holy Land is full of ... remarkable details. Thirteen fact-packed chapters, each by an expert in his or her field, take us on a tour from the earliest recorded history onwards. It is a remarkable, readable, and useful achievement, one that will illuminate a thousand sermons and provide much to think about for anyone interested in the subject. * William Whyte, Church Times *Three great world faiths have invested so many hopes and passions in one relatively small part of the eastern Mediterranean seaboard and its hinterland, that there are risks even in calling it by a single name. This collective study of the "God-trodden land" is a richly informative, reliable, and sane guide to its troubled history: one valuable contribution to crafting it a more peaceful present and future. * Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church, University of Oxford *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Avraham Faust: The Birth of Israel 2: Lester L. Grabbe: Iron Age: Tribes to Monarchy 3: André Lemaire: Israel and Judah: c. 931-587 BCE 4: H. G. M. Williamson: Babylonian Exile and Restoration: 587-325 BCE 5: John J. Collins: The Hellenistic and Roman Era 6: Konstantin Klein: A Christian Holy Land: 284-638 CE 7: Milka Levy-Rubin: The Coming of Islam 8: Carole Hillenbrand: The Holy Land in the Crusader and Ayyubid periods: 1099 - 1250 9: Nimrod Luz: The Holy Land from the Mamluk Sultanate to the Ottoman Empire: 1260-1799 10: Robert Fisk: From Napoleon to Allenby: the Holy Land and the wider Middle East 11: Robert G. Hoyland and Peter Walker: Pilgrimage 12: Richard S. Hess and Denys Pringle: Sacred Spaces and Holy Places 13: Adam Silverstein: Scripture and the Holy Land Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisAn authoritative new history of the Roman conquest of BritainWhy did Julius Caesar come to Britain? His own account suggests that he invaded to quell a resistance of Gallic sympathizers in the region of modern-day Kent -- but there must have been personal and divine aspirations behind the expeditions in 55 and 54 BCE. To the ancients, the Ocean was a body of water that circumscribed the known world, separating places like Britain from terra cognita, and no one, not even Alexander the Great, had crossed it. While Caesar came and saw, he did not conquer. In the words of the historian Tacitus, he revealed, rather than bequeathed, Britain to Rome. For the next five hundred years, Caesar''s revelation was Rome''s remotest imperial bequest.Conquering the Ocean provides a new narrative of the Roman conquest of Britain, from the two campaigns of Caesar up until the construction of Hadrian''s Wall across the Tyne-Solway isthmus during the 120s CE. Much of the ancient literary record portrays thTrade ReviewThe target audience is presumably undergraduates with little knowledge of Roman Britain. The book may offer them a marker of the current anti colonial approach with an up-to-date bibliography, but it is to be hoped that challenging it will encourage readers to seek a more balanced engagement with the original texts. * David Bird, Classical Review *Richly illustrated and offering an extensive bibliography, Conquering the Ocean is a pleasing and well-crafted examination of the Roman occupation of Britain that students of the period, as well as professional historians, will find to be of considerable value. * Brett F. Woods, Brett F. Woods, Ph.D., is a professor of history for the American Public University System, Worldhistory.org *This is a fascinating and well-illustrated look at this neglected aspect of Roman and ancient war history, describing the long-term successes and failures of a succession of emperors to conquer this land at the northern limits of the Roman empire. * New York Journal of Books *... an incisive, up-to-date commentary on Roman campaigning... The text is an engaging and enjoyable read, with Hingley taking care to discuss both Romans and Britons, while scrupulously setting the warfare within its wider context to produce a rounded picture of events... Hingley's account of the Boudican revolt is a particular triumph... a highly successful volume that makes for essential reading. * Matthew Symonds, Current Archaeology *The text is an engaging and enjoyable read, with Hingley taking care to discuss both Romans and Britons, while scrupulously setting the warfare within its wider context to produce a rounded picture of events. A wealth of illustrations, especially those prepared by Christina Unwin, are a major asset.... For the Romans, Ocean was a divine force that encircled the inhabited world and was the father of all water deities. As Britain lay within this realm, conquering the island amounted to subjugating Ocean himself. In this spirit, the power of the sea was evoked at key moments, including Tacitus' account of Agricola's campaigning in Scotland. The emphasis on Hadrian's Wall running between 'the two shores of Ocean' can be seen in a similar light. Teasing out this dimension adds real freshness to the subject, delivering a highly successful volume that makes for essential reading. * Current Archaeology *Overall... an excellent investment for readers looking for an accessible and engaging overview of the Roman conquest of Britain. * Captain Richard Dick, Naval Historical Foundation *a fascinating and well-illustrated look at this neglected aspect of Roman and ancient war history, describing the long-term successes and failures of a succession of emperors to conquer this land at the northern limits of the Roman empire. * Jerry Lenaburg *This highly readable account of the Roman conquest and occupation of Britain seeks to synthesise recent work on classical literary references to the island with the much larger body of archaeological and epigraphic research on Roman Britain. * Britannia *In this captivating and compact book, Hingley reconstructs the various ideological and historical moments of the Roman conquest and securing of Britain between Caesar's invasion and 410 CE. * Donato Sitaro, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

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Book SynopsisThe three centuries which followed the conquests of Alexander are perhaps the most thrilling of all periods of ancient history. This was an age of cultural globalization: in the third century BC, a single language carried you from the Rhône to the Indus. A Celt from the lower Danube could serve in the mercenary army of a Macedonian king ruling in Egypt, and a Greek philosopher from Cyprus could compare the religions of the Brahmins and the Jews on the basis of first-hand knowledge of both. Kings from Sicily to Tajikistan struggled to meet the challenges of ruling multi-ethnic states, and Greek city-states came together under the earliest federal governments known to history. The scientists of Ptolemaic Alexandria measured the circumference of the earth, while pioneering Greek argonauts explored the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic coast of Africa. Drawing on inscriptions, papyri, coinage, poetry, art, and archaeology Peter Thonemann opens up the history and culture of the vast HellenisticTrade ReviewA beautiful little jewel [of a book]... which impressively manages to pack in an immense amount of evidence and issues, presented in a lucid and stimulating way. * Kostas Vlassopoulos, Greece & Rome *A fine entry-level study of the Hellenistic Age ... Highly recommended. * Choice *A thoroughly enjoyable short book and serves as an excellent introduction to the Hellenistic age. * Conor P. Trainor, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Those looking to find a concise and stimulating introduction to the Hellenistic world need look no further than this excellent pocket-sized volume. * Mark Thorne, The Classical Journal *Peter Thonemann's short, straightforward, but sharply written introductory volume, The Hellenistic Age, exemplifies a different trend, a miniature encapsulation of a complex world. * Carol Atack, Times Literary Supplement *In displaying his enthusiasm for the diversity of the Hellenistic world and the achievements funded by its monarchies, Thonemann rightly underlines the brutality of conflicts that spread far beyond the Mediterranean. * Carol Atack, Times Literary Supplement *Pocket-sized, highly engaging and packed full of varied and fascinating information the perfect introduction to an enthralling era. * Lucia Marchini, Minerva *Peter Thonemann's introduction to arguably one of the most fascinating of all epochs of human history may be very short but it is also very brilliant: wide-ranging, sharply focused, and deeply illuminating. * Paul Cartledge *most usefully, in a work that aims to inspire further investigation among sixth formers, undergraduates and interested general readers, there is an eclectic range of books and articles cited as further reading for each chapter. In a small compass Thonemann successfully evokes the great variety and complexity of Hellenistic civilisation * Claire Gruzelier, Classics for All *Table of ContentsPREFACE; FURTHER READING; INDEX

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Book SynopsisThe human race is on a 10,000 year urban adventure. Our ancestors wandered the planet or lived scattered in villages, yet by the end of this century almost all of us will live in cities. But that journey has not been a smooth one and urban civilizations have risen and fallen many times in history. The ruins of many of them still enchant us.This book tells the story of the rise and fall of ancient cities from the end of the Bronze Age to the beginning of the Middle Ages. It is a tale of war and politics, pestilence and famine, triumph and tragedy, by turns both fabulous and squalid. Its focus is on the ancient Mediterranean: Greeks and Romans at the centre, but Phoenicians and Etruscans, Persians, Gauls, and Egyptians all play a part. The story begins with the Greek discovery of much more ancient urban civilizations in Egypt and the Near East, and charts the gradual spread of urbanism to the Atlantic and then the North Sea in the centuries that followed.The ancient Mediterranean, where Trade ReviewSelected as a 2020 Book of the Year in The Times Literary SupplementA magisterial survey of ancient cities... "The Life and Death of Ancient Cities" is a big history that leaves aside some of those big comparative questions, preferring to draw out the contingent and the particular in its vivid portraits. Mr. Woolf makes for an authoritative, readable and thought-provoking guide through a few thousand years of our life as urban animals. * Kyle Harper, The Wall Street Journal *Fascinating and challenging... an impressive sweep of a book. * Charlotte Higgins, The Guardian *Greg Woolf reminds us of how vulnerable urban life has often been to plague, invasion and economic collapse. * Harry Mount, The Spectator *As I hope will be obvious, this is ever such a good book. Woolf has an enviable knack for getting across complex ideas in a deft and stylish way, without any sacrifice of precision... Whatever one thinks of the evolutionary underpinning of life and death, no one has ever made a more compelling case for seeing cities as part of the natural history of our species. * Peter Thonemann, Times Literary Supplement *A general history that manages to escape both the superficiality and the cretinous populism to which the genre is prone... From hydraulic despotism as the driver of urbanism to civilisation-ending vulcanism at Santorini, Woolf dismembers a lot of sacred cows. And, in a surely conscious paradox, he ventures a master hypothesis of his own: an evolutionary approach to urbanism. We are, Woolf contends, urban apes. * London Review of Books *An impressive overview of trends in urban histories and will have an impact outside the field of archaeology and ancient history, underlining the centrality of these disciplines to the humanities and social sciences in general, as well as to a wider audience. It is certainly worth the long read to let oneself be carried through urban moments from the Levantine and Mediterranean prehistory into Late Antiquity and beyond. It is a hugely enjoyable read that reminds us that cities and settlements are creations of, and tools for, humans, creating possibilities and unforeseen hindrances in our lives. * Journal of Roman Studies *This is a fine single-volume study of the ebb and flow of the European civilisations that built cities both large and small. * Sun News Tucson *If you have any interest in its subject, you won't regret the investment of time and money. * John Wilson, The American Conservative *Greg Woolf is a lively and learned guide to ancient cities... Woolf's book contains many brilliant insights and is a major contribution to the history of the Mediterranean. * David Abulafia, Literary Review *A deeply researched and ambitious "natural history" of the origins and growth of urbanism. * Andrew Robinson, Nature *An engaging and comprehensive read... Woolf provides an interesting discussion on how humans are suited to city life, and also offers some thought-provoking considerations on the current rate of globalisation that we're experiencing today This book should appeal to those who want to discover another perspective on the history of the Mediterranean or, indeed, the ancient world. * All About History *Woolf's The Life and Death of Ancient Cities: A Natural History is an engaging and richly detailed account that effectively tears down misconceptions about the ancient city and replaces them with a more diverse, more believable, and, ultimately, more interesting tale of kaleidoscopic urban experimentation across the ancient Mediterranean world. * Kathryn Grossman, The Metropole *This worthy book contains multitudes, and as interesting and certainly as instructive as Professor Woolf's studies of urbanization are the not-few cases of deurbanization that he is able to explore, most conspicuously the (possible causes of the) decline or rather transformation of the late Roman antique world. * Paul Cartledge, The New Criterion *This is a first-class publication that threads its way seamlessly through a complex topic across vast regions and time-spans. It is also accessibly written and highly recommended. * Mark Merrony, Antiqvvs *This is an important study which should stand alongside the tours de force of Fernand Braudel and David Abulafia. * Sir Michael Fallon, Classics for All *The Life and Death of Ancient Cities joins a shelf full of enlightening new fun reads on understanding our beginnings in the ancient world. * Robert S. Davis, New York Journal of Books *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgements PART 1: AN URBAN ANIMAL 1: To the City 2: Urban Apes 3: Settling Down 4: Uruk 5: First Cities 6: Cities of Bronze PART 11: AN URBAN MEDITERRANEAN 7: The First Mediterranean Cities 8: Mariners and Chieftains 9: Western Pioneers 10: A Greek Lake 11: Networking the Mediterranean 12: Cities, States, and Kings PART 111: IMPERIAL URBANISMS 13: City and Empire 14: Europe Awakes 15: Cities of Marble 16: Founding New Cities 17: Ruling Through Cities 18: The Ecology of Roman Urbanism PART IV: DE-URBANIZATION 19: The Megalopoleis 20: Postclassical Afterword Further Reading Timeline Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"The Ruins Lesson makes one point above all: there was no single dominant way of observing ancient ruins and portraying what remained. Jessica Maier’s The Eternal City: A History of Rome in Maps provides a rich complementary account. . . . For centuries, as she shows, mapmakers and miniaturists, antiquarians and cartographers set out to do exactly what he thought impossible: to represent at least in part not only the city of Rome, but some of the ways in which it had changed over time." * London Review of Books *“No other city has maintained the story of its past in its present quite like Rome, creating an intentional palimpsest through incessant acts of preservation, reconstruction, and cartographic visualization. Maier’s lively, imaginatively organized, and accessible book displays how centuries of maps not only tell stories about the city’s physical development but also show how Rome’s narratives of itself—conflating eras, resituating buildings, compressing waterways—unfurled in self-mapping from antiquity to the Metro.” * Evelyn Lincoln, Brown University *"Jessica Maier’s The Eternal City: A History of Rome in Maps is a luxurious volume, elegantly and enthusiastically written, and richly illustrated with 140 well-curated color images of artwork, including maps of Rome across the ages. Maier’s primary aim is to explore the history of Rome through its cartography, and she contextualizes the maps within their historical, socio-cultural, religious, and political backdrops. . . . her volume invites the reader on an imaginary journey through the complex topographical, monumental, and historical layers of the Eternal City." * The Portolan *"Beautifully produced." * The Classical Review *“The history of Rome comes to life in this erudite, beautifully written book. Organized chronologically from Rome’s early beginnings to the present, this richly detailed history of Rome is focused through the lens of maps and cartographic images. Maier has written a fascinating account for both armchair and actual travelers. The Eternal City also has much to offer to seasoned scholars who will appreciate its coherent and fluid synthesis.” * Pamela O. Long, author of Engineering the Eternal City *“The Eternal City offers the reader a vivid panorama of Rome’s changing form and image over the course of more than two millennia. A rich selection of city plans and views reveals crucial shifts in representational strategies, function, and symbolic intent. The dynamic tension between Rome’s complex, three-dimensional urban reality and the city’s image as projected by successive generations of artists and cartographers is certain to engage a wide audience.” * John Pinto, emeritus, Princeton University *"The Eternal City is a brilliant history of Rome, focusing on how we have responded to and represented this ever-changing city. Digging down into both Rome's history and our own desires for this city, Maier has written a fascinating book that has changed the way I consider maps and history." * A Universe in Words blog *"Each chapter combines history, urban development, and the history of mapping to assess in each period how the city changed and how contemporaries represented it—demonstrating how Rome has been constantly reimagined, reconstructed, and represented over the course of the past three millennia, both on the ground and on paper (or other media)... Highly Recommended." * Choice *"Done very well, both in the selection and discussion of visual images and in [Maier's] considerate and humane prose style. A delight of a book." * New York Military Affairs Symposium Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Rome as Idea and Reality Further Reading Chapter One: Rome Takes Shape Rome before Rome A Walled City Urban Districting Further Reading Chapter Two: Rome of the Caesars Destination Rome An Incomplete Puzzle Making Sense of the Shattered Past Filling in the Gaps A Model City Further Reading Chapter Three: Rome of the Popes Sacred Buildings and Secular Symbols The Medieval Cityscape Pathos and Wonder Further Reading Chapter Four: Rome Reborn A City Ready for Its Close-Up The City Seen through a Wide-Angle Lens The City Measured A Panoramic View of Urban Revitalization Further Reading Chapter Five: Rome of the Scholars Archaeology in Its Infancy An Ancient Roman Theme Park A Ghostly Fantasy Further Reading Chapter Six: Rome of the Saints and Pilgrims The Way of the Faithful Scenes from a Pilgrimage A Pilgrimage Map for the Modern Era Further Reading Chapter Seven: Rome of the Grand Tourists Rome as Theater The Origins of the Tourist Plan Rome Surveyed A Panoramic Vision Further Reading Chapter Eight: Rome of the Mass Tourists The Guidebook Impresario’s Rome Rome for a Rather Important Woman Traveler Rome in Your Pocket Rome for Italian Tourists Further Reading Chapter Nine: Rome Enters the Modern Age 2,500 Years in, a Master Plan for Rome When Trams Ruled Rome An Olympic City, and a New Beginning Further Reading Chapter Ten: Rome Past, Present, and Future Rapid Transit for a Rapidly Changing City A Master Plan for the Third Millennium: (Un)sustainable Rome Further Reading Acknowledgments Index

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Book SynopsisThis book brings together sources translated from a wide variety of ancient languages to showcase the rich history of pre-Roman Italy, including its cultures, politics, trade, languages, writing systems, religious rituals, magical practices, and conflicts.This book allows readers to access diverse sources relating to the history and cultures of pre-Roman Italy. It gathers and translates sources from both Greek and Latin literature and ancient inscriptions in multiple languages and gives commentary to highlight areas of particular interest. The thematic organisation of this sourcebook helps readers to make connections across languages and communities, and showcases the interconnectedness of ancient Italy. This book includes maps, a timeline, and guides to further reading, making it accessible to students and other readers who are new to this subject.Italy Before Rome is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, including those who have not studied the ancient world Table of ContentsList of maps and figures; List of tables; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations and conventions; Maps; Timeline of major events; Introduction; Chapter 1: Origins; Chapter 2: Etruscan Life and Death; Chapter 3: Great Greece; Chapter 4: From Samnites to Italians; Chapter 5: Alphabets, Literacy and Names; Chapter 6: Gods and Humans; Chapter 7: Rituals and Sacrifice; Chapter 8: Magic and Divination; Chapter 9: Italy at War; Index locorum; Subject Index

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