Oxbow Books started life in 1983 in a shed in the garden of St Cross College, Oxford. It was founded by academic and museum archaeologist, David Brown, whose vision was to publish archaeology, ancient history andEuropean history: medieval period, Middle Ages as high quality, reasonably priced books and to distribute and retail the widest range of titles possible.
They publish in many areas and series such as Cretan Studies Greek & Roman Pottery From Sphakia and Oxbow Classics in Egyptology
Book SynopsisMagic, sorcery and witchcraft are among the most common themes of the great medieval Icelandic sagas and poems, the problematic yet vital sources that provide our primary textual evidence for the Viking Age that they claim to describe. Yet despite the consistency of this picture, surprisingly little archaeological or historical research has been done to explore what this may really have meant to the men and women of the time. This book examines the evidence for Old Norse sorcery, looking at its meaning and function, practice and practitioners, and the complicated constructions of gender and sexual identity with which these were underpinned. Combining strong elements of eroticism and aggression, sorcery appears as a fundamental domain of women's power, linking them with the gods, the dead and the future. Their battle spells and combat rituals complement the men's physical acts of fighting, in a supernatural empowerment of the Viking way of life. What emerges is a fundamentally new image of the world in which the Vikings understood themselves to move, in which magic and its implications permeated every aspect of a society permanently geared for war. In this fully-revised and expanded second edition, Neil Price takes us with him on a tour through the sights and sounds of this undiscovered country, meeting its human and otherworldly inhabitants, including the Sámi with whom the Norse partly shared this mental landscape. On the way we explore Viking notions of the mind and soul, the fluidity of the boundaries that they drew between humans and animals, and the immense variety of their spiritual beliefs. We find magic in the Vikings' bedrooms and on their battlefields, and we meet the sorcerers themselves through their remarkable burials and the tools of their trade. Combining archaeology, history and literary scholarship with extensive studies of Germanic and circumpolar religion, this multi-award-winning book shows us the Vikings as we have never seen them before.Trade ReviewThis is a brilliant and beautifully written book, as evidenced, for instance, by Price’s evocative retelling of Ragnarǫkr in Chapter 2. The first edition of Viking Way was a watershed publication for Viking archaeology, and as it has now been updated and extended, this book will only cement its position as a truly fundamental piece of scholarship painting a much richer, more complex, and more disconcerting picture of what are frequently caricatured and romanticized people. The Viking Way will undoubtedly be read, cited, and remembered for a very long time. * Early Medieval Europe *The Viking Way is a saga-like page-turner. […] It was the most important work to have been published on Norse magic when I first read it in 2002. In this second, revised and expanded edition, Price sets the benchmark for research on the Viking Way for at least another twenty years. * Time & Mind: the Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture. *The Viking Way is a precious and detailed handbook in every respect […] the book is a first-rank culture history of the Vikings. * Shaman *Price’s easy-to-read writing style allows the study to clearly present and explain an assortment of complicated subject matters, which in turn makes these intricate topics more accessible for a varied audience […] Ultimately, this book remains one of the most influential studies on the Viking Age… * Kyngervi *In summary, readers will be pleased by this new edition in that it largely preserves the much sought-after first edition while simultaneously updating some pieces of information and adding over 500 new references to relevant works published since the first edition, some new photographs and illustrations, and an index. * Journal of English and Germanic Philology *Table of ContentsList of figures and tables Abbreviations Preface and acknowledgements to the first edition Preface and acknowledgements to the second edition A note on language A note on seid 1. Different Vikings? Towards a cognitive archaeology of the later Iron Age A beginning at Birka Textual archaeology and the Iron Age The Other and the Odd? An archaeology of the Viking mind? 2. Problems and paradigms in the study of Old Norse sorcery Entering the mythology Research perspectives on Scandinavian pre-Christian religion Gods and monsters, worship and superstition The shape of Old Norse religion The double world: seiðr and the problem of Old Norse ‘magic’ Seiðr in the sources Seiðr in research 3. Seiðr Óðinn Freyja and the magic of the Vanir Seiðr and Old Norse cosmology The performers The performance Engendering seiðr Seiðr and the concept of the soul The domestic sphere of seiðr Seiðr contextualised 4. Noaidevuohta Seiðr and the Sámi Sámi-Norse relations in the Viking Age Sámi religion and the Drum-Time Rydving’s terminology of noaidevuohta Women and noaidevuohta The rituals of noaidevuohta The ethnicity of religious context in Viking-Age Scandinavia 5. Circumpolar religion and the question of Old Norse shamanism The circumpolar cultures and the invention of shamanism The shamanic world-view Shamanism in Scandinavia Seiðr and circumpolar shamanism 6. The supernatural empowerment of aggression Seiðr and the world of war Valkyrjur, skaldmeyjar and hjálmvitr Supernatural agency in battle The projection of destruction Battle magic Seiðr and the shifting of shape Berserkir and ulfheðnar Ecstasy, psychic dislocation and the dynamics of mass violence Weaving war, grinding battle: Darraðarljóð and Grottas˛ongr in context 7. The Viking way A reality in stories Viking women, Viking men 8. Magic and mind Receptions and reactions Cracks in the ice of Norse ‘religion’ Walking into the seiðr: contested interpretations of Viking-Age magic Queering magic? The social world of war The Viking mind: a conclusion References Primary sources, including translations Pre-nineteenth-century sources for the early Sámi and Siberian cultures Secondary sources Sources in archive Index
£43.97
Book SynopsisThis book is concerned with the origins, uses and subsequent histories of monuments. It emphasises the time scales illustrated by these structures, and their implications for archaeological research. It is concerned with the archaeology of Western and Northern Europe, with an emphasis on structures in Britain and Ireland, and the period between the Mesolithic and the Viking Age.It begins with two famous groups of monuments and introduces the problem of multiple time scales. It also considers how they influence the display of those sites today – they belong to both the present and the past. Monuments played a role from the moment they were created, but approaches to their archaeology led in opposite directions. They might have been directed to a future that their builders could not control. These structures could be adapted, destroyed, or left to decay once their significance was lost. Another perspective was to claim them as relics of a forgotten past. In that case they had to be reinterpreted.The first part of this book considers the rarity of monumental structures among hunter-gatherers, and the choice of building materials for Neolithic houses and tombs. It emphasises the difference between structures whose erection ended the use of significant places, and those whose histories could extend into the future. It also discusses ‘megalithic astronomy’ and ancient notions of time. Part Two is concerned with the reuse of ancient monuments and asks whether they really were expressions of social memory. Did links with an ‘ancestral past’ have much factual basis? It contrasts developments during the Beaker phase with those of the early medieval period. The development of monumental architecture is compared with the composition of oral literature.Table of Contents1. Pasts, presents and futures: Bredarör and the Boyne Valley Part 1: Key considerations 2. The tyranny of typing 3. Material differences 4. Closing and opening 5. Time and the sky Part 2: Pasts in retrospect 6. Allusions and illusions 7. Associations and origins 8. Oral literature and the histories of monuments 9. Monumental times: Avebury and the Upper Kennet Valley
£37.95
Book SynopsisOld Norse literature abounds with descriptions of magic acts that allow ritual specialists of various kinds to manipulate the world around them, see into the future or the distant past, change weather conditions, influence the outcomes of battles, and more. While magic practitioners are known under myriad terms, the most iconic of them is the völva. As the central figure of the famous mythological poem Völuspá (The Prophecy of the Völva), the völva commands both respect and fear. In non-mythological texts similar women are portrayed as crucial albeit somewhat peculiar members of society. Always veiled in mystery, the völur and their kind have captured the academic and popular imagination for centuries.Bringing together scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds, this volume provides new insights into the reality of magic and its agents in the Viking world, beyond the pages of medieval texts. It explores new trajectories for the study of past mentalities, beliefs, and rituals as well as the tools employed in these practices and the individuals who wielded them. In doing so, the volume engages with several topical issues of Viking Age research, including the complex entanglements of mind and materiality, the cultural attitudes to animals and the natural world, and the cultural constructions of gender and sexuality. By addressing these complex themes, it offers a nuanced image of the völva and related magic workers in their cultural context. It will appeal to a broad, diverse, and international audience, including experts in the field of Viking and Old Norse studies but also various non-professional history enthusiasts.The Norse Sorceress: Mind and Materiality in the Viking World is a key output of the project Tanken bag Tingene (Thoughts behind Things) conducted at the National Museum of Denmark from 2020 to 2023 and funded by the Krogager Foundation.Table of ContentsPart 1: Norse myths, rituals, and material culture An introduction to Old Norse religion(s) and magic The theoretical and methodological framework: Researching the Viking mind Gods and other supra-human entities: Communication and manipulation with the Otherworld(s) The völva’s ritual repertoire between magic and divination Between the material and immaterial: People, texts, and object-agencies in the Viking mind Religious objects in the Viking world Gender in the Viking world Folklore as a resource on Old Nordic religion and belief: Folkloric perspectives on the völva Part 2: Places and spaces: Rituals and their setting Inside, outside and in-between: An overview of the spaces and places of Norse rituals Rituals in temples and other ‘holy buildings’ Rituals in the hall Rituals in domestic work and outbuildings Rituals in the open landscape Hoard depositions at elite sites Processions Funerary practices Off with their heads: Ritualised executions and human sacrifices in the Viking world Women and sacrifice: Victims, catalysts, agents or orchestrators? Surely every live man fades among the dead:Fear and desire in the afterlife of Viking Age graves Part 3: Animals in ritual practices Animals in Old Norse religion: An introduction Birds in Late Iron Age and Viking Period pre-Christian religions and iconography Horses in Viking Age ritual action Dogs and wolves Snakes The workshops and themes of the Oseberg carvings Part 4: Ritual specialists Ritual specialists in the Viking world: An introduction Gender, prophecies, and magic: Ritual performances in Denmark before the Viking Age Female sacral leadership: An onomastic-archaeological perspective The sexual ambiguity of seiðr performers The archaeology of Viking Age ritual specialists: An introduction Case study 1: Fyrkat IV Case study 2: The Birka sorcerers Case study 3: Klinta Case study 4: Gutdalen Case study 5: Gerdrup and Trekroner-Grydehøj Part 5: The sorcerer’s toolkit Introducing the sorcerer’s toolkit Magic staffs Amulets and talismans Case study 1: Miniature chairs Case study 2: Miniature animals Case study 3: Miniature weapons: Swords, spears, axes, shields, helmets Case study 4: Wearing a banner: Cloak pins with miniature weather vanes Case study 5: Miniature wheels Case study 6: Beads from völva graves and analogous hoards Nordic masking traditions and the völva Narcotics and make-up
£54.00
Book SynopsisOld orchards have an irresistible appeal. Their ancient trees and obscure fruit varieties seem to provide a direct link with the lost rural world of our ancestors, a time when the pace of life was slower and people had a strong and intimate connection with their local environment. They are also of critical importance for sustaining biodiversity, providing habitats, in particular, for a range of rare invertebrates. Not surprisingly, orchards and the fruit they contain have attracted an increasing amount of attention over the last few decades, from both enthusiastic bands of amateurs and official conservation bodies. But much of what has been written about them is historically vague, romanticised and nostalgic. Orchards have become a symbol of unspoilt, picturesque rural England.This book attempts, for the first time, to provide a comprehensive review of the development of orchards in England from the Middle Ages to the present day. It describes the various different kinds of orchard and explains how, and when, they appeared in the landscape – and why they have disappeared, at a catastrophic rate, over the last six decades. Chapters discuss the contrasting histories of fruit growing in different regions of England, the complex story of ‘traditional’ fruit varieties and the role of orchards in wildlife conservation. In addition, a chapter on researching orchards provides a practical guide for those wishing to investigate the history and archaeology of particular examples.Trade ReviewThe book is an enjoyable read, it combines a vast amount of information in an accessible narrative * Antiquity *This is a well-produced book with ample colour illustrations and presents a useful summary on the subject of English orchards, in particular the consideration of the four different types of orchards and a comparison of orchard development between the three key regions of orchard landscapes in England. * Landscape History *Blending erudite landscape history and ecology with a perceptive eye for heritage and environmental issues, this book provides a superb overview of a neglected feature of our historic environment. It fully deserves the wide readership that it will doubtless receive. * Worcestershire Recorder *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Illustrations 1. Introducing Orchards 2. Types of Orchard: Farmhouse and Commercial 3. Types of Orchard: Gardens and Institutions 4. The Orchard Countries: Western England 5. The Orchard Countries: South-East England 6. The Orchard Countries: East Anglia and the Fens 7. The Recent History of Orchards 8. Studying Old Orchards 9. The Importance of Orchards: Biodiversity 10. The Importance of Orchards: Culture and History 11. Conclusion Bibliography
£33.24
Book SynopsisExcavations at Cures College Burial Ground Park Street. 68 illustrations, 48 tables
£13.00
Book SynopsisJenny March’s acclaimed Dictionary of Classical Mythology, first published in 1998 but long out of print, has been extensively revised and expanded including a completely new set of beautiful line-drawing illustrations for this Oxbow edition. It is a comprehensive A – Z guide to Greek and Roman mythology. All major myths, legends and fables are here, including gods and goddesses, heroes and villains, dangerous women, legendary creatures and monsters. Characters such as Achilles and Odysseus have extensive entries, as do epic journeys and heroic quests, like that of Jason and the Argonauts to win the Golden Fleece, all alongside a plethora of information on the creation of the cosmos, the many metamorphoses of gods and humans, and the Trojan War, plus more minor figures – nymphs, seers, kings, rivers, to name but a few.In this superbly authoritative work the myths are brilliantly retold, along with any major variants, and with extensive translations from ancient authors that give life to the narratives and a sense of the vibrant cultures that shaped the development of classical myth. The 172 illustrations give visual immediacy to the words, by showing how ancient artists perceived their gods and heroes. The impact of myths on ancient art is also explored, as is and their influence in the post-classical arts, emphasising the ongoing inspiration afforded by the ancient myths.Also included are two maps of the ancient world, a list of the ancient sources and their chronology, the more important genealogies, and an index of recurrent mythical motifs.Praise for the first edition:“… the Dictionary of Classical Mythology is exemplary, indeed the best I have consulted … clearly and engagingly written …it not only gives reliable answers but also encourages reading on.” Simon Goldhill, Times Literary Supplement“a prodigious, authoritative gazetteer, each entry both typographically and stylistically readable, and if you know more than is contained in these pages then you have no need of it.” Nicholas Lezard, Guardian Book of the Week“Greek myths pervade our own art and literature almost as much as they influenced that of classical times, and this will be an invaluable guide.” The Good Book Guide“… a modern encyclopaedia of myth and legend which is user-friendly in layout, presentation and style … vivid and readable.” Paula James, The Classical Review“These stories are frequently the spark that ignites a wider interest in the classical world, and March provides a wealth of inflammatory material.” Charles Paterson, JACT Review“This dictionary will still be valuable all through the next century.” Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones“… vivid, detailed where it matters, yet concise, accurate, no padding, always to the point – it’s a joy to read.” Herwig MaehlerTable of ContentsContents:PrefaceIntroductionThe DictionaryAppendices:MapsGenealogical TablesGreek and Latin AuthorsSelect BibliographyIllustrations
£28.45
Book SynopsisHigh Pasture Cave, located on the island of Skye, Scotland, occupies a liminal location on the very edge of a settlement, and appears to have been a focus for specific and special activities. Its extended period of use is indicated by ephemeral signs of Neolithic Activity, limited Bronze Age usage, and vast artefactual and environmental assemblages recovered dating to the Early to Middle Scottish Iron Age, c. 800 BC to AD 150. High Pasture Cave details the research-led excavations at the cave and its context in the landscape, including geology and stratigraphy, the use and transformation of the cave from the Neolithic, post-Medieval activity after the site's closure, chronology and radiocarbon dating, the human remains, and stable isotope analysis. The examination of the site indicates that the High Pasture Cave Complex was a special place, a focus for significant communal events, for undertaking ritual and special activities, and a place for deposition of significant objects - a place whose significance remained embedded in social memory long after active use ceased. These findings challenge our current understanding with regards to cave use and function, and with relation to the wider understanding of Iron Age cultural and religious beliefs.
£45.60
Book SynopsisWinner of the 2023 European Association of Archaeology Book of the Year AwardIn prehistoric societies children comprised 40-65% of the population, yet by default, our ancestral landscapes are peopled by adults who hunt, gather, fish, knap tools and make art. But these adults were also parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who had to make space physically, emotionally, intellectually and cognitively for the infants, children and adolescents around them. Growing Up in the Ice Age is a timely and evidence-based look at the lived lives of Paleolithic children and the communities of which they were a part. By rendering these 'invisible' children visible, readers will gain a new understanding of the Paleolithic period as a whole, and in doing so will learn how children have contributed to the biological and cultural entities we are today.Trade ReviewApril Nowell’s illuminating and engaging book … is important for students and professionals in physical and behavioral anthropology because it fills a gap in helping us understand the fundamental role children played, literally and figuratively, in our hominin past. * Journal of Paleoanthropology *A timely summary of the state-of-the art regarding Pleistocene youngsters, their lives, deaths and material worlds … This perspective on children as agents of change and innovation is valid and important beyond the Pleistocene. * Childhood in the Past *This is a must-read for those interested in childhood in the past, and for those seeking a rare humanistic volume on human evolution and Palaeolithic archaeology. * Current World Archaeology *This is data-driven, intellectually weighty, wide-ranging and erudite, lively, and packed full of ideas …. it goes much further than most books on human origins to humanise the Palaeolithic world, and the result is one of the best evocations of the Palaeolithic world I have read ... It should certainly be required reading for Palaeolithic and prehistoric specialists; and academics in the life sciences and social sciences and interested lay readers will find it of great value. * Professor of Palaeolithic Archaeology, Durham University *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Foreword by Jane Baxter 1. Toward an archaeology of Paleolithic children 2. Birth and the Paleolithic ‘family’ 3. Toys, burials and secret spaces 4. Stone tools, skill acquisition and learning a craft 5. Children, oral storytelling and the Paleolithic ‘arts’ 6. Adolescence in the Ice Age 7. Paleolithic children as drivers of human evolution Appendix 1. Chronology of the Paleolithic and timeline of fossil hominins Appendix 2. Table of subadult fossils in the Plio-Pleistocene (perinatal–ca. 10 years) Appendix 3. Table of subadult fossils from the Plio-Pleistocene (ca. 10 years–20 years). Bibliography Index
£45.05
Book SynopsisThe latest volume of the British Historic Towns Atlas series covers the internationally-renowned city of Oxford. Famed for its university and its many outstanding historic buildings, the volume presents in mapped form the history of its topographical development. From its prehistoric setting, through its contentious Anglo-Saxon foundation, the medieval establishment of its university, and its sporadic growth after that, the Atlas charts how it became a nineteenth-century city dominated by colleges, churches, university buildings, and its associated publishing industry.The Atlas is presented as a large-format portfolio containing a series of maps showing the city at key points in its history, many illustrations of its buildings and streets, maps to show its setting, and reproduction early maps of the city. A readable text introduces and explains the maps, giving the reader a thorough grounding in how and why Oxford developed, and an explanation of its changing fortunes. A supplementary chapter brings the situation up to date.Whilst many histories of the university have been written, the Atlas concentrates on the topographic development of Oxford as a settlement, and explains it in mapped form. A comprehensive gazetteer lists every building and street shown on the maps, with a short history and references for further reading.Trade ReviewIt is a serious work of top-quality scholarship … I for one will find the Atlas to be of immense value for my own research, and congratulate all concerned on the production of this magnificent work. * Current Archaeology *Presented as a large-format portfolio, the atlas contains fold-out maps showing the city at key points in its history, many illustrations of its buildings and streeets, maps to show its setting, and reproduction early maps of the city. * Oxford Civic Society *Table of ContentsPreface A note on cartography abbreviations General introduction Prehistoric and Roman Oxford Anglo-Saxon Oxford Medieval Oxford Early Modern Oxford Modern Oxford: 1771-1900 Afterword Gazetteer Bibliography sources of maps, plates and figures
£63.00
Book SynopsisExplores the Irish Mesolithic - the period after the end of the last Ice Age when Ireland was home to hunter-gatherer communities, mostly from about 10,000-6,000 years ago. At this time, Ireland was an island world, with striking similarities and differences to its European neighbours - not least in terms of the terrestrial ecology created by its island status. To understand the communities of hunter-gatherers who lived there, it is essential that we consider the connections established between people and the other beings and materials with which they shared the world and through which they grew into it. Understanding the Mesolithic means paying attention to the animals, plants, spirits and things with which hunting and gathering groups formed kinship relationships and in collaboration with which they experienced life.The book closes with a reflection on hunting and gathering in Ireland today. The overriding aim of the book is to provide a point of entry into the lives of the Irish Mesolithic, to show the different ways in which people have lived on this island, and to show how we might narrate those lives.Trade ReviewThis book […] will be an important focus for those interested in the way economies adapted to climate change during this period of early prehistory. * Current Archaeology *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction: Gathering on the Cliffs 1. A Framework for Mesolithic Ireland 2. Introducing Mesolithic People 3. An Island World? 4. A Forested Land 5. Deep Time Hunter-Gatherers 6. Making Places with Mobile Architecture 7. Changing Technologies 8. Connecting populations and communities 9. Histories of the Mesolithic in Ireland 10. Hunting, Gathering and Fishing without Hunter-Gatherers Epilogue
£18.95
Book SynopsisIreland's First Settlers tells the story of the archaeology and history of the first continuous phase of Ireland’s human settlement. It combines centuries of search and speculation about human antiquity in Ireland with a review of what is known today about the Irish Mesolithic. This is, in part, provided in the context of the author's 50 years of personal experience searching to make sense of what initially appeared to be little more than a collection of beach rolled and battered flint tools.The story is embedded in how the island of Ireland, its position, distinct landscape and ecology impacted on when and how Ireland was colonised. It also explores how these first settlers evolved their technologies and lifeways to suit the narrow range of abundant resources that were available.The volume concludes with discussions on how the landscape should be searched for the often ephemeral traces of these early settlers and how sites should be excavated. It asks what we really know about the thoughts and life of the people themselves and what happened to them as farming began to be introduced.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Part I 1. why 2. Understanding Ireland’s environment and ecology 3. It’s about time Part II. Laying the foundations 4. Where did it all come from? 5. Chronology, flint facts and other artefacts Part III. Often an island too far? 6. Anything earlier? 7. The first arrivals 8. Settling in Part IV. Lifeways 9. Patterns in the landscape 10. Food, sustenance and procurement Part V. Where to now? 11. A critical analysis of fieldwork and methodolgies 12. Life, death, the universe and everything Bibliography
£33.25
Book SynopsisWriting in the ancient Mediterranean existed against a backdrop of very high levels of interaction and contact. In the societies around its shores, writing was a dynamic practice that could serve many purposes – from a tool used by elites to control resources and establish their power bases to a symbol of local identity and a means of conveying complex information and ideas.This volume brings together contributions by members of the Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) research team and visiting fellows, offering a range of different perspectives and approaches to problems of writing in the ancient Mediterranean. Their focus is on practices, viewing writing as something that people do within a wider social and cultural context, and on adaptations, considering the ways in which writing changed and was changed by the people using it.Trade Review[T]his volume, as a contribution to the research output of the CREWS project, encapsulates how the research of the CREWS core team and wider family has revolved around questions of the contexts and relatedness of writing systems and traditions * New Testament Abstracts *Table of ContentsApproaches to writing in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East Philippa M. Steele Relations between script, writing material and layout: the case of the Anatolian Hieroglyphs Willemijn Waal Word division in Sicilian inscriptions Robert Crellin What is an Alphabet good for? Csaba La’da Measuring particularity and similarity in archaic Greek alphabets with NLP Natalia Elvira Astoreca Borrowing, invention, remodelling: Observations on the rare letters of the Phrygian alphabet and the problem of formation of Anatolian alphabets Rostislav Oreshko Cypro-Minoan and its potmarks and vessel inscriptions as challenges to Aegean Scripts corpora Cassandra Donnelly Ductus in Cypro-Minoan writing. Definition, purpose and distribution of stroke types Martina Polig The introduction of the Greek alphabet in Cyprus, a case study in material culture Beatrice Pestarino The death of alphabets at the end of the Bronze Age. How does the Deir ‘Alla alphabet fit the picture? Michel de Vreeze Early Egyptian writing from the perspective of the embodied practitioner Kathryn Piquette The magic of writing Philip J. Boyes
£45.00
Book SynopsisSacred Nature: Animism and Materiality in Ancient Religions is the second volume of the series Material Religion in Antiquity (MaReA). The book collects the proceedings of the international online workshop carrying the same title organized by CAMNES, SoRS on 20–21 May 2021. Sacred Nature brings together the perspectives of scholars from different disciplines (archaeology, anthropology, iconography, philology, history of religions) about the notions of nature, sacredness, animism and materiality in ancient religions of the Old and the New World. The contributions highlight various ways of understandings the relationships that occurred between human beings, animals, plants, rivers, deities and the land in the religious life of ancient societies. In particular, each chapter explores entangled aspects of the perception of nature and its other-than-human inhabitants, and contributes to readdress some notions about nature, personhood/agency, divinity/sacrality, and materiality/spirituality in ancient religions and cosmologies. In this line, the book seeks to promote a starkly inter-disciplinary and religious-anthropological approach to the definition of ‘sacred nature’, especially engaging with the analytical category of animism as a fruitful conceptual tool for the investigation of human-environmental relations in the ancient religious conceptions, representations and practices. Dialoguing with animism and drawing upon the question on how an ancient religion happened materially, the volume presents key case studies that explore how nature and its non-human inhabitants were understood, represented, engaged with and interwoven in the sacred and sensuous landscapes of ancients.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Sacred Nature: Animism and Materiality in ancient Religions Anna Perdibon and Nicola Laneri 1. Before Nature: perspectives from new animist world-making Graham Harvey 2. Watercraft as Assemblage in the Western Arctic Erica Hill 3. Between Realms of Being: Signs of Liminality in Ancient Altai Stone Monuments Esther Jacobson-Tepfer 4. In Mantic and Hostile Lands: Surveillance and Mimesis by Divination in the Late Old Babylonian Period Seth Richardson 5. Nymphs or trees? Some remarks on the “animistic” interpretation of Homeric hymn to Aphrodite, vv. 256-272. Doralice Fabiano 6. The dawn of the Potnia. Reception and reinterpretation of an archetypal model in protohistoric peninsular Italy Valentino Nizzo 7. Responsibilities, Obedience, and Righteousness: Other-Than-Human Creatures in the Hebrew Bible Mari Joerstad
£45.00
Book SynopsisLand was the ideal store of wealth in the ancient Mediterranean world. It brought social respectability, and its possession allowed participation in the politics of the cities governed by landowning elites. Crucial defense of the interests of a given polity through armed services often involved the distribution of lands to laborers still not integrated in these societies. Mediterranean urban dynamics also involved paid labor and were always in need of short-contract manpower, including skilled soldiers and warriors. For short-time military services, lands were not always available so soldiers and warriors were paid with coins and riches.Because of their superior development, urban economies in the Mediterranean were able to attract migrant paid labor. When returning home, the migrant warriors carried coins and riches that would enable them to maximize the return that a homecoming entailed. Although difficult to prove whether these men were paid in advance or when discharged, it is an important issue as it shows the strength of one contractor over another and helps to better understand the construction of statehood in ancient and early medieval times.This collection of papers sheds light on how coins, riches, and lands were gained and distributed among soldiers, warriors, and mercenaries. Contributions cover a wide chronological span from Late Pharaonic to early medieval times, linking a well-defined core area, the Mediterranean basin, with its peripheries: Central Europe and Scandinavia to the north and the margins of the Sahara Desert and the Fertile Crescent to the south and the east.
£45.00
Book SynopsisDefinitive report on the Silchester Environs Project that combined extensive fieldwork and prospection to examine the Iron Age hinterland of Calleva, its settlement pattern, economy and development.
£70.88
£29.61
Book SynopsisMore than quarter of a century ago Richard Bradley published The Passage of Arms. It was conceived as An Archaeological Analysis of Prehistoric Hoards and Votive Deposits, but, as the author concedes, these terms were too narrowly focused for the complex subject of deliberate deposition and the period covered too short. A Geography of Offerings has been written to provoke a reaction from archaeologists and has two main aims. The first is to move this kind of archaeology away from the minute study of ancient objects to a more ambitious analysis of ancient places and landscapes. The second is to recognise that problems of interpretation are not restricted to the pre-Roman period. Mesolithic finds have a place in this discussion, and so do those of the 1st millennium AD. Archaeologists studying individual periods confront with similar problems and the same debates are repeated within separate groups of scholars – but they arrive at different conclusions. Here, the author presents a review that brings these discussions together and extends across the entire sequence. Rather than offer a comprehensive survey, this is an extended essay about the strengths and weaknesses of current thinking regarding specialised deposits, which encompass both sacrificial deposits characterised by large quantities of animal and human bones and other collections which are dominated by finds of stone or metal artefacts. It considers current approaches and theory, the histories of individual artefacts and the landscape and physical context of the of places where they were deposited, the character of materials, the importance of animism and the character of ancient cosmologies.Trade ReviewBuilding upon, but greatly expanding, his earlier influential work, this small book will be widely read and much appreciated for the way in which it demonstrates that ‘big data’ also require big ideas. * Antiquity *This elegant, stimulating, dialogous book will hopefully appeal to all archaeologists, whatever their period persuasion… This book readily bears several reading either of its entirety or its discreet but connected parts and its compact, travel-anywhere size helps to facilitate that. * Medieval Archaeology *A pocket-sized archaeology book that is packed full of useful information…accessible both to those new to the subject and to those with a detailed knowledge of individual periods or types of evidence. * Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society *The relatively small size of this book belies its ambition. A Geography of Offerings is as accessible as it is erudite, and will appeal to anyone with an interest in ancient landscapes and specialised deposits, regardless of specialism… a fresh perspective on a subject that I believed could not be usefully reconsidered. Bradley has proven me wrong. * Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture *Table of ContentsChapter One Beginning again Chapter Two A chapter of accidents The Broadward hoard The Mästermyr hoard Reassessments Bridges and troubled waters Iron Age deposits at La Tène Roman artefacts from the Rhine near Mainz Reassessments Literary sources Ritual and non-ritual, religious and secular deposits The ubiquity of water Hidden in plain sight Chapter Three Faultlines in contemporary research Chronological faultlines Controversy and uncertainty The sources of confusion Unfinished business The next stage Chapter Four Proportional representation The variety of deposits Excavations at two spring deposits Excavations at other wetland deposits Excavations at dryland deposits A question of scale A question of time Summary Chapter five The hoard as a still life Pronkstillevens Accumulations Display Summary and conclusions Chapter Six The nature of things Technologies and myths Stone and metal Metals Chapter Seven A kind of regeneration The final act Whole and undamaged artefacts Incomplete or damaged artefacts Friendly fire Fragmentation Weights Numbers the last act Chapter 8 Vanishing point Sinking treasures Giving and taking Artefacts with attitude Profiting from loss Exquisite corpses Chapter Nine A guide to strange places Naming places Going under Going forward Northern lights Southern comforts A note of caution Chapter 10 Thresholds and transitions Introduction Bridges, fords and causeways Other kinds of boundaries River names and their associations The character of water The character of mountains The earth compels A final reflection
£15.19
Book SynopsisThe Earliest Europeans explores a fundamental question: how did Europe’s first hominin occupants cope with the year-round practical challenges of life. To do so, the book adopts a ‘year in the life’ perspective that draws on the increasingly rich and robust archaeological and Quaternary Science records for the European Lower Palaeolithic, combined with insights from modern ethnography and zoological studies. By exploring potential survival strategies and behaviours, Hosfield offers new insights into the character of Europe’s earliest occupations across more than 1 million years, and ultimately asks: what sorts of ‘humans’ were these hominins?The innovative season-by-season structure of the book explores cyclical fluctuations in resources and weather conditions. From the depths of cold winters to the bountiful foods of late summer, it considers the implications of these variations for hominin behaviours. Hosfield draws on a range of supporting examples and evidence from Lower Palaeolithic sites across Europe, spanning technology, palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, hominin life history, and plant and animal food resources. In doing so, The Earliest Europeans highlights both the current and future potential of Europe’s earliest archaeological record.Trade ReviewThis book will be of interest to students of Palaeolithic archaeology and human origins, and Quaternary scientists with an interest in the hominin part of the faunal community. It would make a comprehensive, up-to-date textbook for final year undergraduate or postgraduate teaching. * The Holocene *...this is an excellent book that represents a long-overdue approach to understanding the Lower Palaeolithic archaeological record. * Antiquity *
£23.74
Book SynopsisIn a companion book to the best-selling Stories from Ancient Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley re-tells some of the most interesting and entertaining myths and legends from the Classical world. These stories tell us how the spider spun the first web, how a simple ball of string defeated the fearsome minotaur, and how Romulus founded the mighty city of Rome. The “this book belongs to” introduction teaches the reader how to write their name using ancient Greek letters, and their age using Roman numerals. Each of the stories includes a question and answer section for enthusiastic young archaeologists.The book is illustrated with imaginative and amusing line-drawings by acclaimed artist and archaeologist Julian Heath.Stories from Ancient Greece and Rome is primarily aimed at children between the ages of 7-11, but it offers an entertaining and informative introduction to the myths of ancient Greece and Rome to readers of all ages.
£10.40
Book SynopsisCrafts and Social Networks in Viking Towns explores the interface between craft, communication networks, and urbanisation in Viking-Age northern Europe. Viking-period towns were the hubs of cross-cultural communication of their age, and innovations in specialised crafts provide archaeologists with some of the best evidence for studying this communication. The integrated results presented in these papers have been made possible through the sustained collaboration of a group of experts with complementary insights into individual crafts. Results emerge from recent scholarly advances in the study of artefacts and production: first, the application of new analytical techniques (e.g. metallographic, isotopic, and biomolecular techniques) and second, the shift in interpretative focus from a concern with object function to considerations of processes of production, and of the social agency of technology. Furthermore, the introduction of social network theory and actor-network theory has redirected attention toward the process of communication, and highlighted the significance of material culture in the learning and transmission of cultural knowledge, including technology.The volume brings together leading UK and Scandinavian archaeological specialists to explore crafted products and workshop-assemblages from Viking towns, in order to clarify how such long-range communication worked in pre-modern northern Europe. Contributors assess the implications for our understanding of early towns and the long-term societal change catalysed by them, including the initial steps towards commercial economies. Results are analysed in relation to social network theory, social and economic history, and models of communication, setting an agenda for further research. The volume provides a landmark statement on our knowledge of Viking-Age craft and communication.Trade ReviewHighly relevant to anyone interested in the Viking Age, not just artefact and craft specialists. It sets out the basic research and chronologies, contains a wealth of new data, and importantly places these new results into the wider context of networks, thus adding individuals to the discussion. It's a book I will certainly return to. * Medieval Archaeology *The volume uses thoroughly researched studies of material evidence, underpinned by social network theory, to construct a compelling argument for the interdependence of craft, communication networks and urbanisation in Viking Age Northern Europe. * Antiquity *Table of Contents1. Crafting the urban network Steven P. Ashby and Søren M. Sindbæk 2. Craft: some pragmatic notes on the study of craft production and craftspeople in early medieval northern Europe Johan Callmer 3. Between domestic circles and urban networks Steven P. Ashby and Søren M. Sindbæk 4. The emergence of professional pottery production: York, a case study Ailsa Mainman 5. Textile networks in Viking-Age towns of Britain and Ireland Penelope Walton Rogers 6. Constructing specialism Steven P. Ashby and Søren M. Sindbæk 7. Combmaking in southern and eastern Scandinavia and the Baltic region (c. AD 700–900) Johan Callmer 8. A history of combmaking: biographies of innovation in Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia Steven P. Ashby 9. The archaeology of blacksmithing and the rise of urbanism in England and northern Europe c. 700–1100 Patrick Ottaway 10. Collaboration and expert knowledge Steven P. Ashby and Søren M. Sindbæk 11. From bronze-casting to non-ferrous metalworking: complexity, choices and cooperation in urban Scandinavian Viking-Age workshops Unn Pedersen 12. Non-ferrous metalworking networks in Scandinavian-influenced towns of Britain and Ireland Penelope Walton Rogers List of contributors
£36.10
Book SynopsisCompared to modern standard, the Roman army of the imperial era was surprisingly small. However, when assessed in terms of their various tasks, they by far outstrip modern armies – acting not only as an armed power of the state in external and internal conflicts, but also carrying out functions which nowadays are performed by police, local government, customs and tax authorities, as well as constructing roads, ships, and buildings.With this opulent volume, Thomas Fischer presents a comprehensive and unique exploration of the Roman military of the imperial era. With over 600 illustrations, the costumes, weapons and equipment of the Roman army are explored in detail using archaeological finds dating from the late Republic to Late Antiquity, and from all over the Roman Empire. The buildings and fortifications associated with the Roman army are also discussed. By comparing conflicts, border security, weaponry and artefacts, the development of the army through time is traced.This work is intended for experts as well as to readers with a general interest in Roman history. It is also a treasure-trove for re-enactment groups, as it puts many common perceptions of the weaponry, equipment and dress of the Roman army to the test.Trade ReviewThe range of material covered in this work is remarkable, making this book a useful resource for students looking deeper into the material culture of the Roman army, including dress, equipment, and infrastructure. Fischer’s book provides a strong notion of the development over time of military equipment and infrastructure. All readers will find the tools of this book—illustrations and end matter—especially useful. This book is a great starting point for learning about the hierarchy and structure, the equipment used, buildings and infrastructure, and other material culture of the Roman military. It can serve as a reference work that sums up the archaeological and historical evidence. * H-Net Reviews *In this work, Thomas Fischer gives an excellent overview of the buildings and equipment of the Roman military from the Republic to Late Antiquity, completed by the excellent contributions of the co-authors. All authors involved are proven experts, which is all too clear in the contributions. Numerous illustrations and the presentation of numerous finds, some of which have not yet been published, complete the book. This is certainly a standard work on the Roman military and can only be warmly recommended to anyone who is interested. * Bonner Jahrbücher *Table of ContentsTranslator’s Preface Acknowledgements Introduction The state of research The iconographic sources On armament, equipment, and the buildings Basic information on the history and structure of the Roman army Notes to introduction Part I Iconographic sources for the Roman military by Dietrich Boschung 1. Introduction 2. Republican representations 3. The Early Empire: Augustus to Domitian 4. Representations from the middle imperial period 5. Representations from the Tetrarchic period 6. Representations from Late Antiquity Notes to Part I Part II General remarks on the Roman army 1. Introduction 2. A history of research 3. Armament and equipment 4. Find contexts of Roman weapons and equipment parts 5. Legionary or auxiliary equipment? 6. Rank insignia 7. On the reconstruction of Roman fighting methods 8. Comments on the re-enactment scene 9. Forgeries Notes to Part II Part III Costumes, weapons, and equipment of the army from original archaeological finds 1. Infantry 2. Cavalry 3. Artillery 4. Standards and instruments for signalling 5. Awards and decorations 6. Pioneer tools, tents, field pack Notes to Part III Part IV The buildings of the Roman army 1. Introduction 2. Roman camps and forts 3. The most important types of camps and forts 4. Late Roman fortifications 5. Military infrastructure 6. Limites and ripae Notes to Part IV Part V The development periods of Roman military history 1. Introduction 2. Republic 3. The early Imperial period from Augustus to Nero 4. The middle Imperial period from Vespasian to Trajan 5. The middle Imperial period from Hadrian to Septimius Severus 6. The middle Imperial period from Caracalla to the reforms of Diocletian 7. Late Antiquity Notes to Part V Part VI The Roman navy 1. Arming and equipping the marines 2. Bases of the Roman fleets in the Imperial period by Thomas Schmidts 3. Roman warships by Ronald Bockius Notes to Part VI End matter 375 Bibliography Abbreviations Illustration credits Index Persons and peoples Places Subjects
£40.50
Book SynopsisArchaeologists and textile historians bring together 16 papers to investigate the production, trade and consumption of textiles in Scandinavia and across parts of northern and Mediterranean Europe throughout the medieval period. Archaeological evidence is used to demonstrate the existence or otherwise of international trade and to examine the physical characteristics of textiles and their distribution in order to understand who was producing, using and trading them and what they were being used for. Historical evidence, mainly textual, is employed to link textile names to places, numbers and prices and thus provide an appreciation of changing economics, patterns of distribution and the organisation of trade. Different types and qualities of cloths are discussed and the social implications of their production and import/export considered against a developing background of urbanism and increasing commercial wealth.Table of Contents1. Introduction. Conference: ‘Textiles and Economy in the Middle Ages’, Copenhagen, 19–21 April, 2012 Carsten Jahnke 2. Textile Production, Organisation and Theoretical Perspectives on Trade in the Scandinavian Viking Age Eva Andersson Strand 3. Weaving Wealth: Cloth and Trade in Viking Age and Medieval Iceland Michèle Hayeur Smith 4. Technology and Textile Production from the Viking Age and the Middle Ages: Norwegian Cases Ingvild Øye 5. Brides, Donors, Traders: Imports into Anglo-Saxon England Gale R. Owen-Crocker 6. Silk Trade to Scandinavia in the Viking Age Marianne Vedeler 7. Luxury for Everyone? Embroideries on Leather Shoes and the Consumption of Silk Yarn in 11th–13th Century Northern Europe Gitte Hansen 8. The Flax and Linen of Medieval Novgorod Heidi M. Sherman 9. The Dual Crises of the Late-Medieval Florentine Cloth Industry, c. 1320–c. 1420 John Munro† 10. The Trade with Fustian from Germany to Denmark in the Late Middle Ages Kilian Baur 11. Cloth Production and Cloth Trade in Hanseatic Towns with Regional and Non-Regional Products Reflected in Normative and other Sources Rudolf Holbach 12. Cloth in the Large Cities of Medieval Poland: Production and Trade Jerzy Maik 13. Hanseatic Textile Production in 15th Century Long Distance Trade Angela Ling Huang iv Contents 14. Noble Customers of Cloth at the Frankfurt Fairs Around the Year 1500 Thomas Ertl and Michael Rothmann 15. The Missing Link: The Distribution Revolution of the 15th Century Stuart Jenks
£36.10
Book SynopsisEgyptian coffins stand out in museums’ collections for their lively and radiant appearance. As an involucre of the mummy, coffins played a key-role by protecting the body and at the same time, integrating the deceased in the afterlife. The paramount importance of these objects and their purpose is detected in the ways they changed through time. For more than three thousand years, coffins and tombs had been designed to assure in the most efficient way possible a successful outcome for the difficult transition to the afterlife.This book examines twelve non-royal tombs found relatively intact, from the plains of Saqqara to the sacred hills of Thebes. These almost undisturbed burial sites managed to escape ancient looters and became adventurous events of the Egyptian archaeology. These discoveries are described from the Mariette’s exploration of the Mastaba of Ti in Saqqara to Schiaparelli’s discovery of the Tomb of Kha and Merit in Deir el-Medina.Each one of these sites unveil before our eyes a time capsule, where coffins and tombs were designed together as part of a social, political, and religious order. From the Pre-dynastic times to the decline of the New Kingdom, this book explores each site revealing the interconnection between mummification practices, coffin decoration, burial equipment, tomb decoration and ritual landscapes. Through this analysis, the author aims to point out how the design of coffins changed through time in order to empower the deceased with different visions of immortality. By doing so, the study of coffins reveal a silent revolution which managed to open to the common men and women horizons of divinity previously reserved to the royal sphere. Coffins thus show us how identity was forged to create an immortal and divine self.Trade ReviewThe author has a gift for vivid writing and he writes apssionately about a subject close to his heart. […] I would not hesitate to call it a good book and I wish it a wide readership. * Chronique d'Egypte *This well-illustrateed publication is a stimulating read and contains a wealth of information relating to funerary practices and their development through the Pharaonic age […] a very useful addition to any Egyptology bookshelf. * Ancient Egypt Magazine *Table of ContentsList of figures Preface 1. A dwelling by the Nile: The Predynastic grave of “Gebelein Man A” 2. On the path to Sokar: Solar splendours in the Mastaba of Ti 3. Facing the sun: The shaft tomb of Senebtisi 4. Flying back home: The grave of the “Gurnah Queen” 5. A house on the edge of the world: The Tomb of Kha and Merit (TT 8) 6. The Garden of Heaven: The family tomb of Sennedjem (TT 1) 7. The healing light: The burial assemblage of the priestess Tabasety 8. The divine brotherhood: The Tomb of the Priests of Amun 9. Conclusion Bibliography
£54.00
Book SynopsisRecent developments in aDNA has reshaped our understanding of later European prehistory, and at the same time also opened up for more fruitful collaborations between archaeologists and historical linguists. Two revolutionary genetic studies, published independently in Nature, 2015, showed that prehistoric Europe underwent two successive waves of migration, one from Anatolia consistent with the introduction of agriculture, and a later influx from the Pontic-Caspian steppes which without any reasonable doubt pinpoints the archaeological Yamnaya complex as the cradle of (Core-)Indo-European languages. Now, for the first time, when the preliminaries are clear, it is possible for the fields of genetics, archaeology and historical linguistics to cooperate in a constructive fashion to refine our knowledge of the Indo-European homeland, migrations, society and language. For the historical-comparative linguists, this opens up a wealth of exciting perspectives and new working fields in the intersections between linguistics and neighbouring disciplines, for the archaeologists and geneticists, on the other hand, the linguistic contributions help to endow the material findings with a voice from the past. The present selection of papers illustrate the importance of an open interdisciplinary discussion which will gradually help us in our quest of Tracing the Indo-Europeans.Trade ReviewTracing the Indo-Europeans delivers a good insight into the potential, and challenges, of 'archaeolinguistics' […] It is all in all an exciting and rewarding read. * Antiquity *Table of ContentsList of figures List of tables Contributors 1. Tracing the Indo-Europeans: Introduction Birgit A. Olsen, Thomas Olander and Kristian Kristiansen 2. The Indo-European homeland: Introducing the problem Thomas Olander 3. Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Uralic and Nostratic: A brief excursus into the comparative study of proto-languages James P. Mallory 4. A linking cord: Pottery ornamentation and language in the North c. 3600–2400 BC Einar Østmo 5. On the emergence of the Corded Ware societies in Northern Europe: Reconsidering the migration hypothesis Rune Iversen 6. Late Bronze Age midwinter dog sacrifices and warrior initiations at Krasnosamarskoe, Russia Dorcas R. Brown and David W. Anthony 7. ‘Children of the light’: On yoga, body schemes and altered states of consciousness in the Nordic Late Bronze Age – a link to India? Kristin Armstrong Oma and Lene Melheim 8. Aspects of family structure among the Indo-Europeans Birgit A. Olsen 9. To bury a ruler: The meaning of the horse in aristocratic burials Anne-Marie Carstens
£28.49
Book SynopsisThe book draws on the evidence of landscape archaeology, palaeoenvironmental studies, ethnohistory and animal tracking to address the neglected topic of how we identify and interpret past patterns of movement in the landscape. It challenges the pessimism of previous generations which regarded prehistoric routes such as hollow ways as generally undatable.The premise is that archaeologists tend to focus on ‘sites’ while neglecting the patterns of habitual movement that made them part of living landscapes. Evidence of past movement is considered in a multi-scalar way from the individual footprint to the long distance path including the traces created in vegetation by animal and human movement. It is argued that routes may be perpetuated over long timescales creating landscape structures which influence the activities of subsequent generations. In other instances radical changes of axes of communication and landscape structures provide evidence of upheaval and social change. Palaeoenvironmental and ethnohistorical evidence from the American North West coast sets the scene with evidence for the effects of burning, animal movement, faeces deposition and transplantation which can create readable routes along which are favoured resources.Evidence from European hunter-gatherer sites hints at similar practices of niche construction on a range of spatial scales. On a local scale, footprints help to establish axes of movement, the locations of lost settlements and activity areas. Wood trackways likewise provide evidence of favoured patterns of movement and past settlement location. Among early farming communities alignments of burial mounds, enclosure entrances and other monuments indicate axes of communication. From the middle Bronze Age in Europe there is more clearly defined evidence of trackways flanked by ditches and fields. Landscape scale survey and excavation enables the dating of trackways using spatial relationships with dated features and many examples indicate long-term continuity of routeways. Where fields flank routeways a range of methods, including scientific approaches, provide dates.Prehistorians have often assumed that Ridgeways provided the main axes of early movement but there is little evidence for their early origins and rather better evidence for early routes crossing topography and providing connections between different environmental zones. The book concludes with a case study of the Weald of South East England which demonstrates that some axes of cross topographic movement used as droveways, and generally considered as early medieval, can be shown to be of prehistoric origin. One reason that dryland routes have proved difficult to recognise is that insufficient attention has been paid to the parts played by riverine and maritime longer distance communication. It is argued that understanding the origins of the paths we use today contributes to appreciation of the distinctive qualities of landscapes. Appreciation will help to bring about effective strategies for conservation of mutual benefit to people and wildlife by maintaining and enhancing corridors of connectivity between different landscape zones including fragmented nature reserves and valued places. In these ways an understanding of past routeways can contribute to sustainable landscapes, communities and quality of life.Trade Review[…] this important book […] could not be more topical. * British Archaeology *There is a good deal of novel thought and synthesis in this essentially stall-setting book; a research agenda that will intrigue many. * Northern Earth *It’s incredibly wide ranging, detailed and thorough. All the things I’d hoped to read about were there in spades along with an entire tranche of evidence and opinions that were new to me and kept me happily turning pages, right to the end. I’d definitely advise this book for anyone with an interest in prehistory. * The Prehistoric Society *This is an interesting and incredibly readable book examining the physical environmental evidence for the most basic of human needs, subsistence mobility and community interaction. The text is supported by well-chosen illustrations, it is extremely well-referenced and though descriptive in parts, it is critical throughout and delivers much food for thought. * Archaeologia Cambrensis - Cambrian Archaeological Association *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Figures List of Tables List of Supplementary Tables (on WWW) Chapter 1: Steps towards understanding: routeways in practice, theory and life Chapter 2 Walks in the temperate rainforest: developing concepts of niche construction and linear environmental manipulation Chapter 3 Niche construction and place making: hunter-gatherer routeways in north west Europe Chapter 4 Footprints of people and animals as evidence of mobility Chapter 5 Early farmers: mobility, site location and antecedent activities Chapter 6 Wetland trackways and communication Chapter 7 Barrow alignments as clues to Bronze Age routes Chapter 8 Trackways in later prehistoric agricultural landscapes Chapter 9 Maritime and riverine connectivity: the allure of the exotic Chapter 10 A case study of the Wealden District in South East England Chapter 11 Conclusions: why routes matter Bibliography Index
£45.00
Book SynopsisThe central issues discussed in this new collected work in the highly successful ancient textiles series are the relationships between fiber resources and availability on the one hand and the ways those resources were exploited to produce textiles on the other. Technological and economic practices - for example, the strategies by which raw materials were acquired and prepared - in the production of textiles play a major role in the papers collected here.Contributions investigate the beginnings of wool use in western Asia and southeastern Europe. The importance of wool in considerations of early textiles is due to at least two factors. First, both wild as well as some domesticated sheep are characterized by a hairy rather than a woolly coat. This raises the question of when and where woolly sheep emerged, a question that has not up to now been resolvable by genetic or other biological analyses. Second, wool as a fiber has played a major role both economically and socially in both western Asian and European societies from as early as the 3rd millennium BCE in Mesopotamia, and it continues to do so, in different ways, up to the modern day. Despite the importance of wool as a fiber resource contributors demonstrate clearly that its development and use can only be properly addressed in the context of a consideration of other fibers, both plant and animal. Only within a framework that takes into account historically and regionally variable strategies of procurement, processing, and the products of different types of fibers is it possible to gain real insights into the changing roles played by fibers and textiles in the lives of people in different places and times in the past.With relatively rare, albeit sometimes spectacular exceptions, archaeological contexts offer only poor conditions of preservation for textiles. As a result, archaeologists are dependent on indirect or proxy indicators such as textile tools (e.g., loom weights, spindle whorls) and the analysis of faunal remains to explore a range of such proxies and methods by which they may be analyzed and evaluated in order to contribute to an understanding of fiber and textile production and use in the past.Trade ReviewThe research will be a valuable resource for those who study the history of clothing and weaving, as well as ethnographers and archaeologists. * Journal of Dress History *Table of ContentsPreface 1 Introduction 2 The Neolithic Revolution in the Fertile Crescent and the origins of fiber technology 3 Early Wool of Mesopotamia, ca. 7000-3000 BC. Between prestige and economy 4 Continuity and Discontinuity in Neolithic and Chalcolithic Linen Textile Production in the Southern Levant 5 Fibers, Fabrics and Looms: A link between animals fibers and warp weighted looms in the Iron Age Levant 6 An archaic, male exclusive, loom from Oman 7 The TOPOI Research Group "Textile Revolution" - Archaeological background and a multi-proxy approach 8 Fibres to Fibres. Thread to Thread. Comparing Diachronic Changers in Large Spindle Whorl Samples 9 Finding the woolly sheep: meta-analyses of archaeozoological data from Southwest- Asia and Southeast-Europe 10 Taming the Fibres: Traditions and Innovations in the Textile Cultures of Neolithic Greece 11 Ex Oriente Ars? "Anatolianizing" spindle whorls in the Early Bronze Age Aegean islands and their implications for fiber crafts 12 Different skills for different fibres? The use of flax and wool in textile technology of Bronze Age Greece in light of archaeological experiments 13 Neolithic flax production in the pre-Alpine region - Knowledge increase since the 19th century 14 Underrated. Textile-making in Neolithic lakeside settlements in the Northern Alpine Foreland 15 Textile materials in the Mesolithic and Neolithic and their processing 16 Raw materials, Textile Technologies, Innovations and Cultural Response in Central Europe in the 3rd to 1st mill. BC 17 First genetic evidence for the origin of Central European sheep (Ovis ammon f. aries) populations from two different routes of Neolithisation with contributions to the history woolly sheep 18 Sheep Husbandry in the Ancient Near East
£36.10
Book SynopsisWriting is not just a set of systems for transcribing language and communicating meaning, but an important element of human practice, deeply embedded in the cultures where it is present and fundamentally interconnected with all other aspects of human life. The Social and Cultural Contexts of Historic Writing Practices explores these relationships in a number of different cultural contexts and from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including archaeological, anthropological and linguistic. It offers new ways of approaching the study of writing and integrating it into wider debates and discussions about culture, history and archaeology.Table of ContentsList of contributors Acknowledgements Abbreviations 1. Introduction: writing practices in socio-cultural context Philip J. Boyes, Philippa M. Steele and Natalia Elvira Astoreca 2. Towards a social archaeology of writing practices Philip J. Boyes 3. The lives of inscribed commemorative objects: the transformation of private personal memory in Mesopotamian temple contexts Nancy Highcock 4. A cognitive archaeology of writing: concepts, models, goals Karenleigh A. Overmann 5. The materiality of the Cretan Hieroglyphic script: textile production-related referents to hieroglyphic signs on seals and sealings from Middle Bronze Age Crete Marie-Louise Nosch and Agata Ulanowska 6. Visual dimensions of Maya hieroglyphic writing: meanings beyond the surface Christian M. Prager 7. Visibility of runic writing and its relation to Viking Age Society Sophie Heier 8. Words beyond writings: how to decrypt the secret writings of the masters of psalmody (Yunnan, China)? Aurélie NévotContents 9. A script ‘good to drink’. The invention of writing systems among the Sora and other tribes of India Cécile Guillaume-Pey 10. Why did people in medieval Java use so many different script variants? A.J. West 11. Cultures of writing: rethinking the ‘spread’ and ‘development’ of writing systems in the Bronze Age Mediterranean Theodore Nash 12. Script, image and culture in the Maya world: a southeastern perspective Kathryn M. Hudson and John S. Henderson 13. Writing and elite status in the Bronze Age Aegean Sarah Finlayson 14. Why με? Personhood and agency in the earliest Greek inscriptions (800–550 BCE) James Whitley 15. Names and authorship in the beginnings of Greek alphabetic writing Natalia Elvira Astoreca 16. Marking identity through graphemes? A new look at the Sikel arrow-shaped alpha Olga Tribulato and Valentina Mignosa Bibliography
£49.50
Book SynopsisBritannia Romana: Roman Inscriptions and Roman Britain is based on the author’s 40 years’ experience of the epigraphy of Roman Britain. It collects 487 inscriptions (mostly on stone, but also on metal, wood, tile and ceramic), the majority from Britain but many from other Roman provinces and Italy, so as to illustrate the history and character of Roman Britain (AD 43–410). Each inscription is presented in the original (in Latin, except for eight in Greek), followed by a translation and informal commentary; they are linked by the narrative which they illustrate, and more than half (236) are accompanied by photographs. All Latin terms in the narrative and commentary are translated and explained. The author demonstrates his unrivalled ability to read and understand Roman inscriptions and their importance as a source of historical knowledge. They are treated by chronology or theme in 14 chapters. The first eight take the narrative from Claudius’ invasion (AD 43) to the death of the last emperor to attempt the conquest of Britain, Septimius Severus (AD 211). The next four cover the general themes of soldier and civilian, economy and society, government, religion. The last two continue the narrative to the death of the last emperor to rule Roman Britain, Constantine III (AD 411).Trade ReviewThis book is a joy, learned, insightful and witty. His [Roger Tomlin’s] contributions have ever been amongst the most erudite, informative and readable contributions to that journal. Now Tomlin has drawn on his deep knowledge of the Roman inscriptions from Britain, and also Roman inscriptions relating to Britain from elsewhere in the empire, to offer us a personal panorama of life and death in the province. * Northern History *
£28.45
Book SynopsisThis second volume presenting the research carried out through the Exeter: A Place in Time project presents a series of specialist contributions that underpin the general overview published in the first volume. Chapter 2 provides summaries of the excavations carried out within the city of Exeter between 1812 and 2019, while Chapter 3 draws together the evidence for the plan of the legionary fortress and the streets and buildings of the Roman town. Chapter 4 presents the medieval documentary evidence relating to the excavations at three sites in central Exeter (High Street, Trichay Street and Goldsmith Street), with the excavation reports being in Chapter 5-7. Chapter 8 reports on the excavations and documentary research at Rack Street in the south-east quarter of the city. There follows a series of papers covering recent research into the archaeometallurgical debris, dendrochronology, Roman pottery, Roman ceramic building material, Roman querns and millstones, Claudian coins, an overview of the Roman coins from Exeter and Devon, medieval pottery, and the human remains found in a series of medieval cemeteries.Trade ReviewAnyone interested in the history and archaeology of Exeter and the south-west of England will want to have these two substantial volumes on their shelves. ...Volume 2 opens with a summary of all archaeological excavations in Exeter, from 1931 to 2019. Of all the contributions to these volumes, this will probably prove to have the greatest enduring value: anyone who has attempted to research the archaeology of England’s historic towns will know that finding out what has been done and how any reports or archives may be accessed can often be very difficult. * Medieval Archaeology *Table of ContentsList of Figures List of Tables List of Appendices List of Abbreviations List of Contributors Preface and Acknowledgements Summary Foreign Language Summaries 1. Introduction: Studies in the Roman and Medieval Archaeology of Exeter Stephen Rippon and Neil Holbrook 2. Summaries of the Excavations within the City of Exeter 1812–2019 David Gould, Andrew Pye and Stephen Rippon 3. Roman Exeter: The Fortress Plan and Gazetteers of Evidence for the Street Plans and Stone Buildings Paul Bidwell and David GouldSection 4. Medieval Documentary Evidence Relating to the High Street, Trichay Street and Goldsmith Street Excavations John Allan 5. Excavations at Trichay Street and Pancras Lane, 1972–3 Nicky Garland, John Allan and Neil Holbrook 6. Excavations at Goldsmith Street Area III, 1971–2 Neil Holbrook, John Allan and Jonathan Hart 7. Excavations at 196–7 High Street, 1972–4 John Allan, Nicky Garland and Neil Holbrook 8. Excavations at Rack Street, 1974–5 and 1977–8 Nicky Garland, Neil Holbrook and John Allan 9. The Faunal Remains from Exeter, 1976–1990 Malene Lauritsen 10.Archaeometallurgy: An Assessment of Roman and Medieval Crucibles and Other Possible Metalworking Debris Carlotta Gardner and David Dungworth 11.Dendrochronology: The Roman and Medieval Timbers from Exeter Cathy Tyers 12.Pottery Supply in Roman Exeter and the South-West Paul Bidwell, with contributions by Kamal Badreshany and Roger T. Taylor 13.1 Roman Ceramic Building Material: Introduction Stephen Rippon and Neil Holbrook 13.2 Roman Brick and Tile Production in Devon Sara Machin 13.3 An Analysis of the Roman Ceramic Building Material Industry in Devon Using pXRF Peter Warry 14.The Querns and Millstones of Roman Exeter: Supplying and Feeding the Fortress and Town Ruth Shaffrey 15.Can Analysis of Claudian Bronze Coins Found at Exeter Usefully Contribute to the Debate for an ‘Earlier’ or ‘Later’ Claudio-Neronian Origin for the Legionary Fortress? Robert Kenyon 16.The Roman Coins from Exeter and its Hinterland Andrew Brown and Sam Moorhead 17.The Local, Regional and Other North European Pottery, 900–1550 John Allan, with contributions from Michael Hughes and Roger T. Taylor 18.The South European Pottery, 1250–1550 Alejandra Gutiérrez and Hugo Blake, with contributions from Kamal Badreshany and Michael Hughes 19.Exeter’s Medieval Cemeteries: A Bioarchaeological Analysis Mandy Kingdom Bibliography Index
£33.25
Book SynopsisOne marker of the majesty of ancient Rome is its surviving architectural legacy, the stunning remains of which are scattered throughout the circum-Mediterranean landscape. Surprisingly, one truly remarkable aspect of this heritage remains relatively unknown. There exists beneath the waters of the Mediterranean the physical remnants of a vast maritime infrastructure that sustained and connected the western world’s first global empire and economy. The key to this incredible accomplishment and to the survival of structures in the hostile environment of the sea for two thousand years was maritime concrete, a building material invented and then employed by Roman builders on a grand scale to construct harbor installations anywhere they were needed, rather than only in locations with advantageous geography or topography.This book explains how the Romans built so successfully in the sea with their new invention. The story is a stimulating mix of archaeological, geological, historical and chemical research, with relevance to both ancient and modern technology. It also breaks new ground in bridging the gap between science and the humanities by integrating analytical materials science, history, and archaeology, along with underwater exploration. The book will be of interest to anyone interested in Roman architecture and engineering, and it will hold special interest for geologists and mineralogists studying the material characteristics of pyroclastic volcanic rocks and their alteration in seawater brines. The demonstrable durability and longevity of Roman maritime concrete structures may be of special interest to engineers working on cementing materials appropriate for the long-term storage of hazardous substances such as radioactive waste.A pioneering methodology was used to bore into maritime structures both on land and in the sea to collect concrete cores for testing in the research laboratories of the CTG Italcementi Group, a leading cement producer in Italy, the University of Berkeley, and elsewhere. The resulting mechanical, chemical and physical analysis of 36 concrete samples taken from 11 sites in Italy and the eastern Mediterranean have helped fill many gaps in our knowledge of how the Romans built in the sea. To gain even more knowledge of the ancient maritime technology, the directors of the Roman Maritime Concrete Study (ROMACONS) engaged in an ambitious and unique experimental archaeological project – the construction underwater of a reproduction of a Roman concrete pier or pila. The same raw materials and tools available to the ancient builders were employed to produce a reproduction concrete structure that appears to be remarkably similar to the ancient one studied during ROMACON’s fieldwork between 2002-2009.This volume reveals a remarkable and unique archaeological project that highlights the synergy that now exists between the humanities and science in our continuing efforts to understand the past. It will quickly become a standard research tool for all interested in Roman building both in the sea and on land, and in the history and chemistry of marine concrete. The authors also hope that the data and observations it presents will stimulate further research by scholars and students into related topics, since we have so much more to learn in the years ahead.
£33.25
Book SynopsisThis book provides a general self-reflexive review and critical analysis of Scandinavian rock art from the standpoint of Chris Tilley’s research in this area over the last thirty years. It offers a novel alternative theoretical perspective stressing the significance of visual narrative structure and rhythm, using musical analogies, putting particular emphasis on the embodied perception of images in a landscape context.Part I reviews the major theories and interpretative perspectives put forward to understand the images, in historical perspective, and provides a critique discussing each of the main types of motifs occurring on the rocks. Part II outlines an innovative theoretical and methodological perspective for their study stressing sequence and relationality in bodily movement from rock to rock. Part III is a detailed case study and analysis of a series of rocks from northern Bohuslän in western Sweden. The conclusions reflect on the theoretical and methodological approach being taken in relation to the disciplinary practices involved in rock art research, and its future.Trade ReviewThis book is a masterclass in deconstructing rock art and the landscape in which it stands. * Current World Archaeology *Table of ContentsList of Figures List of Tables Preface by Joakim Goldhahn Acknowledgements Prelude PART I: ARIAS: MOTIFS AND INTERPRETATIONS PART II: CABALETTA: LANDSCAPE SETTING AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: THE RHYTHMIC VISUAL ARTS OF NARRATIVE PART III: FINALE: PERAMBULATING THE ROCKS Postlude References Index
£36.10
Book SynopsisOver the past 30 years, research on archaeological textiles has developed into an important field of scientific study. It has greatly benefitted from interdisciplinary approaches, which combine the application of advanced technological knowledge to ethnographic, textual and experimental investigations. In exploring textiles and textile processing (such as production and exchange) in ancient societies, archaeologists with different types and quality of data have shared their knowledge, thus contributing to well-established methodology. In this book, the papers highlight how researchers have been challenged to adapt or modify these traditional and more recently developed analytical methods to enable extraction of comparable data from often recalcitrant assemblages. Furthermore, they have applied new perspectives and approaches to extend the focus on less investigated aspects and artefacts.The chapters embrace a broad geographical and chronological area, ranging from South America and Europe to Africa, and from the 11th millennium BC to the 1st millennium AD. Methodological considerations are explored through the medium of three different themes focusing on tools, textiles and fibres, and culture and identity. This volume constitutes a reflection on the status of current methodology and its applicability within the wider textile field. Moreover, it drives forward the methodological debates around textile research to generate new and stimulating conversations about the future of textile archaeology.Table of ContentsList of Contributors and Editors Preface Ian Shaw Ancient tools and textiles: Thinking outside the box Gabriella Longhitano, Sarah Hitchens, Alistair Dickey and Margarita Gleba Part I: Application of Analytical Techniques on Tools 1. Preliminary remarks on some wear traces on Egyptian and Levantine textile tools Chiara Spinazzi-Lucchesi 2. Visible tools, invisible craft: an analysis of textile tools in Iron Age Cornwall Lewis Ferrero 3. Tools and their products: spindle whorls decorated by yarn impressions from Iron Age Donja Dolina in Northern Bosnia and Herzegovina Julia Kramberger 4. Shears in the ancient world: A comparison between the Iberian culture of southern Spain and Roman culture in northern Italy Patricia Rosell Garrido and Fabio Spagiari Part II: Application of Analytical Techniques on Textiles and Fibres 5. Early fibre production in the west coast of South America: The case of plant-fibre technology of the south coast of Peru Camila Alday 6. Humans, wool textiles, chronology and provenance: a case study from the Orenburg region in the southern Urals, Russia Natalia Shishlina, Olga Orfinskaya, Daria Kiseleva, Anna Mamonova, Lidia Kuptsova, and Tomasz Goslar 7. Using textiles to reconstruct looms: burial shrouds from Deir el-Banat (Fayum, Egypt) Olga Orfinsaya and Darya Klyuchnikova 8. EDS analysis of Neolithic to Early Dynastic Egyptian woven cloth in the Bolton Museum collection Alistair Dickey 9. A post-excavation study using the archaeothanatological approach to determine the possibility of wrapping in Early Bronze Age burials Eleanor James Part III: Cultural and Personal Identity 10. Beyond textile production: What textile tools can tell us about networks of craftspeople and cultural identity Gabriella Longhitano 11. Textiles and human needs. A discussion of textile production in the Hallstatt Culture Karina Grömer 12. Textile tools and textiles from the ninth–eighth century BC necropolis of Incoronata (Basilicata, Italy): Evidence for culture, status and specialisation in south Italian indigenous community Francesco Meo 13. Translating sailcloth into raw materials, land, and labour Lise Bender Jørgensen Afterword Lin Foxhall
£34.20
Book SynopsisThis highly-illustrated book reveals a brand-new story of the royal castle of Lincoln – how it was imposed on the late Anglo-Saxon town and how it developed over the next 900 years in the hands of the king or his aristocratic associates. Today, we have been left a surviving monument of three great towers, each with its own biography.Led by FAS Heritage, archaeologists, architectural historians and a large cohort of the general public have come together to produce a revealing and accessible account of the story of Lincoln Castle; in doing so, we gain further insight into the history, culture and society of medieval England.Trade Review[T]he volume provides a much needed and significant addition to the panoply of published British urban castles (including Oxford and Norwich) and is a fine example of its type. * Speculum *The book caters for the specialist and non-specialist alike … It is lavishly illustrated with photographs, diagrams, maps, tables and reconstructions, making it a book to which the reader will want to keep going back … A good benchmark for how a well-funded excavation should be presented to the public. * The Local Historian *A book you’ll want to return to again and again, as it takes you on a journey deep into the heart and soul of this most remarkable place. * Lincoln Archaeology *The book is superbly balanced … while the archaeology is explored in a good level of detail, the text retains an accessible and engaging style throughout that will appeal to a broad audience. Wonderfully illustrated with colour photos, maps and plans, this high quality volume represents a fitting tribute to one of Europe’s most exceptional castles. * Lincolnshire Past & Present *It's very good, accessible yet scholarly […] The material on the prison is fascinating. * British Archaeology *The text is written specifically to avoid specialist terminology (there is a glossary at the back) and to be intelligible to a wider readership. Full colour is used to stunning effect throughout, with as much emphasis on representations of the archaeological process as results. It is a real achievement to present such a comprehensive account so concisely as well as attractively. … Visually stunning and combining communication of new primary research with a concise, accessible text, the volume is a model of its type and highly recommended. * Medieval Archaeology *Table of ContentsList of illustrations List of tables Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Picture credits 1. The campaign to reveal Lincoln Castle 2. The Roman fortress and colonia 3. The city beneath the castle 4. The early castle and the Lucy Tower 5. The castle gates and walls 6. The Observatory Tower 7. Cobb Hall and the last flowering of the medieval castle 8. Lincoln Castle recreated 9. Legacy Digest of evidence Bibliography Index
£23.75
Book SynopsisThis book shows how a military colony became a large, impressive and prosperous city. Legendary for its walls and port, it was able to play a basic role in the great strategy of ancient Rome between the Po and the Danube, spanning the centuries from its foundation (181 BC) to the fateful days of blood and violence of its fall (AD 452).Based on a study of ancient sources, contemporary literature and the latest archaeological research, and written in a fast-paced and accessible style, the book provides a portrait of Aquileia in a diachronic key, under various aspects; it sets the city in the complex societal and political system of the time, gives a thorough account of the great events of which it was a protagonist or victim and offers detailed portraits of key figures, whether famous or less well-known, and analyses of epic battles.Combining academic scholarship with storytelling, biographies of important personalities and stories of political intrigue, assassinations and full-scale warfare which narrate the evocative epic of the rise, decline and disappearance of ancient cities, the volume highlights a significant topic in Roman political, social, economic, religious and military history, but one which has been inexplicably neglected in the Anglo-Saxon world until now.Trade ReviewThis book traces the history of the Roman city-fortress of Aquileia, the fulcrum of the defensive system of the eastern Alps, from its foundation in 181 BCE. to its fall in 452 CE. to Attila the Hun, based on a study of ancient sources, contemporary literature, and the latest archaeological research. It shows how what started as a military colony became a large, impressive, and prosperous city, legendary for its wall and its port on the Adriatic Sea, and able to play a fundamental role in the strategy of ancient Rome between the Po and the Danube. * New Testament Abstracts *Table of ContentsAbbreviations Preface Introduction: The background 1. The northernmost stronghold 2. Caesar's seat for Illyrian affairs 3. The capital of the Regio X-Venetia et Histria 4. A portrait of a Roman city in the Early Empire 5. In the whirlwind of the Marcomannic Wars 6. Aquileia’s War 7. The Great Constantinian Aquileia 8. A residence of emperors and an evangelizing Church 9. Aquileia in the sunset of the Empire 10. Aquileia's fall Appendix: The Roman expansion in northern Italy Chronology Contemporary references Further reading
£36.10
Book SynopsisThis book concerns textile production at the fringes of north-western Europe – areas in western Norway and the North Atlantic in the expanding, dynamic and transformative period from the early Viking Age into the Middle Ages. Textiles constitute one of the basic needs in human life – to protect and keep the body warm but also to show social status and affiliations. Textiles had a wide spectrum of use areas and qualities, fine and coarse in various contexts, and in the Viking Age not least related to the production of sails – all essential for the development and character of the period. So, what were the tools and textiles like, who made them, who used them and who exposed them? By tracing textile production from the remains of tools and textiles in varied landscapes and settings – Viking Age graves and in-situ workplaces from the whole period – and combining this with textual information, many layers of information are exposed about technology and qualities as well as gender, gender roles, social relations, power and networks. By combining tools, textiles and texts in various settings, this book aims to contextualise dispersed archaeological finds of tools and textiles to uncover patterns across larger areas and in a long-term perspective of half a millennium. Related to the overall societal changes from the early Viking Age raids, colonisation to centralisation to urbanisation in the Middle Ages, the tools and textiles reveal diversity, as well as stability and change.Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Introduction 1. State of research 2. Perspectives and methods 3. Farming systems and textile production 4. Tracing the work processes 5. The tools in the grave – gender, social status, and agency 6. Tools and textiles 7. Nodes and networks in textile production? 8. Viking Age production sites 9 From rural to urban production – changing conditions for textile production in the Middle Ages? Epilogue Bibliography Appendices
£43.20
Book SynopsisArchaeoastronomy and archaeology are two distinct fields of study which examine the cultural aspect of societies, but from different perspectives. Archaeoastronomy seeks to discover how the impact of the skyscape is materialised in culture, by alignments to celestial events or sky-based symbolism; yet by contrast, archaeology's approach examines all aspects of culture, but rarely considers the sky. Despite this omission, archaeology is the dominant discipline while archaeoastronomy is relegated to the sidelines. The reasons for archaeoastronomy’s marginalised status may be found by assessing its history. For such an exploration to be useful, archaeoastronomy cannot just be investigated in a vacuum but must be contextualised by exploring other contemporaneous developments, particularly in archaeology. On the periphery of both, there are various strands of esoteric thought and pseudoscientific theories which paint an alternative view of monumental remains and these also play a part in the background.The discipline of archaeology has had an unbroken lineage from the late 19th-century to the present. On the other hand, archaeoastronomy has not been consistently titled, having adopted various different names such as alignment studies, orientation theory, astro-archaeology, megalithic science, archaeotopography, archaeoastronomy and cultural astronomy: names which depict variants of its methods and theory, sometimes in tandem with those of archaeology and sometimes in opposition. Similarly, its academic status has always been unclear, so to bring it closer to archaeology there was a proposal in 2015 to integrate archaeoastronomy research with that of archaeology and call it skyscape archaeology. This volume examines how all these different variants came about and consider archaeoastronomy's often troubled relationship with archaeology and its appropriation by esotericism, to shed light on its position today.Table of Contents1. Introduction: contesting the past 2. Antiquarianism: the longue durée 3. The emergence of archaeoastronomical thought 4. ‘The great subject of orientation’ 5. Lines in the landscape 6. ‘God in the machine’ 7. Megalithic science 8. New World archaeoastronomy 9. A turning point for British archaeoastronomy 10. Archaeoastronomy and cultural astronomy in Europe 11. Archaeoastronomy in the 21st century 12. Final Thoughts Glossary Bibliography
£36.10
Book SynopsisDress is at the core of dance. It adorns dancers, defines various roles and forms symbolic expressions that, for example, either bind people together or opposes them. It is a communicative tool that gives crucial information for understanding the dance as well as the culture and the sociological effects of a group of people. As such, dress transcends how it is seen visually to address what is being communicated. Nonetheless, studies in ancient dance have rarely taken clothing into consideration.This volume provides new perspectives and insights on ancient dances and their ancient textiles. Comprehension of ancient dance benefits from investigations undertaken through the lens of dress, and research on ancient dress is understood through its relation to body movement and performative rituals, thus reinforcing the progressive integration of an anthropological and sociological dimension into historical analysis of ancient textiles. For the first time, the two-way transfer of knowledge between dance studies and costume studies is connected via an innovative approach. Among the issues that are specifically addressed are the movement design of dress for dance, its sensory experience, gender and identity, re-enactment and reception.The chronological range of the book is focused on the ancient world (3rd-millennium BC to 5th-century AD), with a broad geographical definition in order to promote a comparative, interdisciplinary approach and cross-cultural dialogue.Table of ContentsIntroduction Audrey Gouy Practicalities 1. Practical Perspectives on Dance and Clothing Elizabeth J. W. Barber Movement and Design 2. Dancing in flames - fabulous designs from the desert sands. Reconstructing the east Central Asien skirts’ construction secret Ulrike Beck 3. The whirling dance of Baukis: reinterpreting our sources Elena Miramontes Seijas 4. Dance and Metatheatre in Menander’s Theophoroumene Evangelia Keramari Embodiment and Communication 5. The unhellenic attire of choruses as image of the ‘other’ in ancient Greek tragedy Leonidas Papadopoulos. 6. The Dress of the dancing Lares Alexandra Sofroniew 7. Dance and Clothing in Ancient Egypt ‒ the Earliest Evidence Heidi Köpp-Junk Cognition and Sensory Experience 8. Soft cloth and sounding jewellery – sound fields of rich women in Eastern Hallstatt Culture Karina Grömer and Beate Maria Pomberger 9. Flowing White Dresses for Dancing Initiates in the Mysteries of Eleusis Aikaterini-Iliana Rassia 10. Fashioning Sensescapes through Ancient Egyptian Dance Jordan Galczynski and Robyn Price Images and Metaphors 11. Dancing around the Goddess’ dress Angela Bellia 12. ‘Wearing’ tattoos in Ancient Egypt. Evidence from Middle Kingdom mummies and feminine figurines Vittoria Rapisarda Modern Reception 13. Egyptologist Dancers – Re-enacting ‘Ancient Egyptian’ Dances at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Gerrit Berenike Heiter
£38.00
Book SynopsisMacedonia is a region that provides its own intriguing questions due to its position on the fringe of the classical Greek world. It is also an area that is of special interest to students of history and archaeology of Roman period Greece, since it was the first to be incorporated in the Roman state. Macedonia shared a similar path of development with Achaea during the imperial period. As provinces far from productive zones and frontiers, both played a minor role in the imperial administrative structure. Beneath this similarity, however, lie many differences: in Macedonia’s proximity to the Balkans, its early contact with Rome, its relatively low level of urbanization, its multicultural context and its sizeable economy, which played their own role in the formation of the urban and rural environments.With a focus on elements of the built environment and human habitat, this book examines old and new archaeological evidence to present a concise overview of the archaeology of the area and develop a better perception of the region in terms of archaeology of the built environment, architecture and architectural influences, urbanization and use of land and resources from the 2nd century BC to the early 4th century AD. Driven by a set of key questions that are addressed through the archaeological evidence, the book explores key issues in understanding the archaeology of the area, like the role of architectural tradition and innovation, the interdependency between practical bases of architecture and socio cultural aspects, the exploitation of local resources, and the role of external influences. Special importance is given to the interaction of Greek, Roman and local cultures and the ways that the formation of the built environment eventually led to the assimilation of ideas from East and West in terms of workmanship, use of materials, design and function.Trade Review[T]here is no other book, to my knowledge, that discusses Roman Macedonia in an overall manner… The author undoubtedly dedicated many working hours to gathering all the evidence for the built environment of the area, scattered mostly in Greek publications and thus difficult for the international public to access. Moreover, he offered useful and detailed remarks on the architecture of the region, and most importantly, having created the “big picture,” facilitated the comparison with other provinces. * American Journal of Archaeology *[T]here is much to like about this book. Evangelidis strings together the full spectrum of architectural features within a large “built environment,” and creates useful syntheses of new and ongoing archaeological work in northern Greece and elsewhere. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Table of ContentsList of illustrations Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction by D. Grigoropoulos Part I. Roman Macedonia: history, people, cities and resources 1. The historical framework: Roman Macedonia. From the revolt of Andriscus to the reign of Galerius 2. Land and Resources: Ownership and exploitation 3. Decline and continuity of settlements: urban and rural sites 4. Via Egnatia and the provincial road network Part II. Built Environment: the archaeological evidence 5. The archaeology of Built Environment. A short history of the archaeological research of Roman Macedonia 6. The transformation of old and the construction of new public spaces: Agoras and fora 7. Public and administrative Buildings 8. Buildings for commerce and industry 9. The architecture of ritual space: temples and sanctuaries 10. An architecture of entertainment: Theatres and spectacle buildings 11. An architecture of water: aqueducts, baths, latrines, fountains 12. An architecture of movement and passage: colonnaded streets and gates 13. Housing in urban and peri-urban contexts 14. An architecture of defence: the refortification of the cities 15. Deathscapes: Urban and rural burial grounds 16. Outside the cities: villas, farms and other types of rural sites Part III. Urban and rural environments in Roman Macedonia 17. Building methods – construction techniques 18. Urban Environments: The course of development 19. Rural Environments. Villas and beyond 20. Macedonia in a wider perspective: contrasts and comparisons Epilogue Bibliography
£37.52
Book SynopsisThe majority of literature about the Viking period, based on artefacts or written sources, covers battles, kings, chiefs and mercenaries, long distance travel and colonisation, trade, and settlement. Less is said about the life of those that stayed at home, or those that immigrated into Scandinavia, whether voluntarily or by force.This book uses results from the examination of a substantial corpus of Swedish osteological material to discuss aspects of demography and health in the Viking period face=Calibri>– those which would have been visible and recognisable in the faces or physical appearances of the individuals concerned. It explores the effects of migration, from the spread of new diseases such as leprosy to patterns of movement and integration of immigrants into society. The skeletal material also allows the study of levels of violence, attitudes towards disablement, and the care provided by Viking communities. An overview of the worldwide phenomenon of modified teeth also gives insight into the practice of deliberate physical embellishment and body modification.The interdisciplinary approach to questions regarding ordinary life presented here will broaden the knowledge about society during the Viking Age. The synthesis of the Swedish unburnt human skeletal remains dated to the Viking age will be a valuable resource for future research, and provides an in-depth view on Viking age society.
£23.75
Book SynopsisIstanbul, Europe's largest city, became an urban centre of exceptional size when it was chosen by Constantine the Great as a new Roman capital city. Named after him, the city has been studied through its rich textual sources and surviving buildings, but its archaeology remains relatively little known compared to other great urban centres of the ancient and medieval worlds. Constantinople: Archaeology of a Byzantine Megapolis is a major archaeological assessment of a key period in the development of this historic city. It uses material evidence, contemporary developments in urban archaeology and archaeological theory to explore over a thousand years of the city's development. Moving away from the scholarly emphasis on the monumental core or city defences, the volume investigates the inter-mural area between the 5th-century land walls and the Constantinian city wall – a zone which encompasses half of the walled area but which has received little archaeological attention. Utilising data from a variety of sources, including the 'Istanbul Rescue Archaeology Project', created to record material threatened with destruction, the analysis proposes a new model of Byzantine Constantinople. A range of themes are explored including social, economic and cognitive development, Byzantine perceptions of the city, the consequences of imperial ideology, and the impact of 'self-organization' brought about by many minor decisions. Constantinople casts new light on the transformation of an ancient Roman capital to an Orthodox Christian holy city and will be of great importance to archaeologists and historians.Trade ReviewSubstantially packaged with sensible and informative generalisation, above all in the history of archaeology in Istanbul, and in the explanation of the project’s methodology. These introductory sections are worth reading for their own sake. The book is, as a whole, well written and cites an impressive secondary bibliography. * The Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: The Istanbul Archaeological Project 1997-2004: history, organisation and methods Chapter 3: The Southern part of the Study Area Chapter 4: The Northern part of the Study Area Chapter 5: The Blachernae Palace Chapter 6: The Church of the Holy Apostles Chapter 7: Conclusion: the archaeology of a Byzantine megapolis
£33.25
Book SynopsisMegalithic monuments are among the most striking remains of the Neolithic period of northern and western Europe and are scattered across landscapes from Pomerania to Portugal. Antiquarians and archaeologists early recognised the family resemblance of the different groups of tombs, attributing them to maritime peoples moving along the western seaways. More recent research sees them rather as the product of established early farming communities in their individual regions. Yet the diversity of the tombs, their chronologies and their varied cultural contexts complicates any straightforward understanding of their origins and distribution.Megalithic Architectures provides new insight by focusing on the construction and design of European megalithic tombs – on the tomb as an architectural project. It shows how much is to be learned from detailed attention to the stages and the techniques through which tombs were built, modified and enlarged, and often intentionally dismantled or decommissioned. The large slabs that were employed, often unshaped, may suggest an opportunistic approach by the Neolithic builders, but this was clearly far from the case. Each building project was unique, and detailed study of individual sites exposes the way in which tombs were built as architectural, social and symbolic undertakings. Alongside the manner in which the materials were used, it reveals a store of knowledge that sometimes differed considerably from one structure to another, even between contemporary monuments within a single region.The volume brings together regional specialists from Scandinavia, Germany, Britain, France, Belgium and Iberia to offer a series of uniquely authoritative studies. Results of recent fieldwork are fully incorporated and much of the material is published here for the first time in English. It provides an invaluable overview of the current state of research on European megalithic tombs.Table of Contents1. Preface: megalithic architecture in Europe Luc Laporte& Chris Scarre Section 1: The megalith-builders 2. Menga (Andalucia, Spain): the biography of an exceptional megalithic monument Leonardo Garcia Sanjuan& José Antonio Lozano Rodríguez 3. Structural functions and architectural projects within the long monuments of Western France Luc Laporte 4. Megalithic building techniques in the Languedoc region of southern France: recent excvations at two dolmens in Hérault Noisette Bec Drelon 5. Megalithic constructional techniques in north-west France: cairn III at Prissé-la-Charrière Florian Cousseau 6. A monumental task: building the dolmens of Britain and Ireland Vicki Cummings& Colin Richards 7. The megalithic construction process and the building of passage graves in Denmark Torben Dehn 8. Accident or design? Chambers, cairns and funerary practices in Neolithic western Europe Chris Scarre 9. Dolmens without mounds in Denmark Palle Eriksen and Niels H. Anderson 10. In the eye of the beholder Jørgen Westphal Section 2: Cemeteries and sequences 11. Building forever or just for the time being? A view from north-western Iberia Ramón Fábregas Valcarce& X.I. Vilaseco Vázquez 12. The megalithic architecture of Huelva (Spain): typology, construction and technical traditions eastern Andévalo Jose Antonio Linares Catela 13. The clustering of megalithic monuments around the causewayed enclosures at Sarup on Funen, Denmark Niels H. Andersen 14. Two types of megaliths and an unusual dolmen at Lønt (Denmark) Anne Birgitte Gebauer 15. Common motivation, different intentions? A multiscalar approach to the megalithic architecture of the Funnel Beaker North Group Franziska Hage, Georg Schafferer& Martin Hinz Section 3: Chronologies and context 16. Between East and West: megaliths in the centre of the Iberian peninsula Primitiva Bueno Ramirez, Rosa Barroso Bermejo& Rodrigo de Balbín Behrmann 17. Megalithic hollows: rock-cut tombs between the Tagus and the Guadiana Leonor Rocha 18. Houses of the dead and natural rocks: new evidence from western France Philippe Gouezin 19. The stone rows of Hoedic (Morbihan) and the construction of alignments in western France Jean-Marc Large& Emmanuel Mens 20. Paintings in the megalithic monuments of Brittany Primitiva Bueno Ramirez, Rodrigo de Balbín Behrmann, Luc Laporte, Philippe Gouezin, Rosa Barroso Bermejo, Antonio Hernanz Gismero, JoséM. Gavira-Vallejo & Mercedes Iriarte Cela 21. Stability in a changing world: insights from settlement intensity patterns and archaeobotany Martin Hinz& Wiebke Kirleis Part 4: Conclusion 22. Ostentation, power, and megaliths: the example of Easter Island Nicolas Cauwe 23. A southern point of view Primitiva Bueno Ramirez& Luc Laporte 24. A northern point of view Chris Scarre& Torben Dehn
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Book SynopsisThe Archaeology of Roman Portugal contributes to the wider debate on Roman imperialism and expansionism, by bringing to the fore a much-underrepresented area of the Roman empire, at least in English-language scholarship: its westernmost edge in modern day Portugal. Highlighting the perspective from Roman Portugal contributes to our understanding of the Roman empire, through presenting both an extraordinary landscape in the sense of economic opportunities (ocean resources, marble and metal mining), and also settlement history. The volume presents new data and insights from both archaeology and ancient history, discussing their significance for our understanding of Roman expansion and imperialism.A key goal of the volume is to discuss how the Portuguese panorama compares to other areas of the Iberian peninsula, and to better integrate Portuguese scholarship in the academic debate on the Mediterranean Roman world, and to contextualise it firmly within the wider Iberian and Western Mediterranean. The volume brings together an internationally diverse team of scholars in archaeology and ancient history from Portugal, Spain, Germany, the UK, the US, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. It explicitly discusses different national and disciplinary research traditions and historical frameworks in order to assess the potential of integrating best practices in archaeological approaches and methodology.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of contributors Introduction Tesse D. Stek and André Carneiro I. Contested landscapes: between pre-Roman polities and early Roman encroachment 1. Exploring Rome’s early military deployment strategies in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula Jordi Principal and Carles Padrós Gómez 2. Late Iron Age and early Roman conflict and interaction in southern Callaecia (north-west Iberia) João Fonte 3. Towers, territory, and the negotiation of a colonial landscape in the early Roman Central Alentejo Joey Williams, Rui Mataloto, and Karilyn Sheldon 4. The last frontier: Late Iron Age society, Roman conquest, and the Romanisation of the territory north of the River Duero Jesús García Sánchez II. Economic targets: integrating and energising resources 5. Upgrading town appearances: relating white marble exploitation and town development in Roman Lusitania Devi Taelman 6. Shifting landscapes: change and adaptation in the Lusitanian territory during the first globalisation André Carneiro 7. Adding complexity to a complex world: the role of tableware imports in Portugal during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC Vincenzo Soria III. Cities and hillforts: settlement organisation in the Roman west 8. Land-use and settlement patterns around Ercavica in Antiquity: initial findings Miguel Ángel Valero Tévar 9. Understanding the town-territory relationship: a case study from Lusitania Cristina Corsi 10. Why would we need a city? The dispersed civitates in Lusitania Pieter Houten 11. Roman rural life in the far west: the case study of the Serena Region (Badajoz, Spain) Victorino Mayoral Herrera, Martina Cecilia Parini, and Luis Sevillano Perea IV. Local religious and cultural identity 12. The role of cult places in shaping landscapes during the Roman expansion: an Iberian perspective on a Mediterranean process Ignasi Grau Mira 13. Men, women, children, animals: the votive statuary from the sanctuary of Endovellicus at São Miguel da Mota/Alandroal (Portugal) Thomas G. Schattner 14. Romanising the mountains? Exploring cultural change through archaeological spatial analysis in western Sierra Morena (Spain) Maria del Carmen Moreno Escobar 15. Oppida and public spaces: constructing identities in Late Iron Age and early Roman north-west Iberia Manuel Fernández-Götz and Marco V. García Quintela 16. Funerary practices and material culture: a ‘portrait from life’ in the fields of Lusitania Mónica Rolo
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Book SynopsisClachtoll broch is one of the most spectacular Iron Age settlements on the northern mainland of Scotland. When it became clear that the structure was threatened by coastal erosion, community heritage group Historic Assynt launched a major programme of conservation and excavation works designed to secure the vulnerable structure and recover the archaeological evidence of its occupation and use. The resulting excavation provided evidence of a long and complex history of construction and rebuilding, with the final, middle Iron Age occupation phase ending in a catastrophic fire and collapse of the tower by the early years of the first century AD. The internal deposits span perhaps 50 years of the broch’s final occupation and were remarkably well preserved, with no evidence for secondary re-use or disturbance after the fire. As a result, the excavation provides a remarkable snapshot of life in Iron Age Scotland, with an artefact assemblage attesting to daily agricultural life as well as long-range contacts that sets the broch within a wider Atlantic community. Specialist analysis of the artefactual and palaeoenvironmental evidence coupled with detailed analysis of the structure in its local geographical context combine to provide a major new contribution to the archaeology of north-west Scotland, with wider implications for our understanding of late prehistoric society in northern Britain.This report comprises the results of the archaeological investigations at Clachtoll, compiled by a team of archaeologists and specialists from AOC Archaeology Group, and brings together evidence from a range of specialist analyses as well as environmental and landscape investigations.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction and research context The structure and excavations Chronology Artefacts -Ceramics -Residues -Organics -Metals -Slag -Stone -Worked bone -Wood Environmental evidence -Animal bone -Fish bone -Bird bone -Marine shell -Plant macrofossils Soil micromorphology Intrasite analysis Environmental context Clashnessie dun Split Rock dun Loch na Claise crannog Discussion and conclusion
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Book SynopsisThis book collects recent works on the subjects of sacrificial offerings, ritualised violence and the relative values thereof in the contexts of Scandinavian prehistory from the Neolithic to the Viking era. It provides a detailed re-appraisal of key aspects of prehistoric bog bodies using the latest forensic and material culture analytical techniques to examine questions of sacrifice, execution and ritual behaviour.The volume re-opens investigations into notions of value relating to diverse evidence and suggested evidence for human sacrifice and related ritualised violence. It covers a broad spectrum of issues relating to novel interpretations of the existing archaeological materials, but with a focus on the study of value and value dynamics in these diverse ritual contexts, engaging in questions of identity, cosmology, economics and social relations. Cases span from the Scandinavian Late Neolithic and Nordic Bronze Age, through to the well-known wetland deposits and bog bodies of the Iron Age, to Viking era executions, ‘deviant’ burials and contemporaneous double/multiple graves, exploring the implications for the transformation of sacrificial practices across Scandinavian prehistory.Each contributor untangles the myriad forms of value at play in different incarnations of human offerings, and provide insights into how those values were expressed, for example in the selection and treatment of victims in relation to their status, personhood, identity and life-history.The volume builds on a workshop hosted at the National Museum of Denmark in 2018 which inaugurated the beginning of the research project ‘Human Sacrifice and Value: The limits of sacred violence’ and was supported by the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo. It brings together research and perspectives that go beyond the who, what and where of most archaeological and anthropological investigations of sacrificial violence to address both the underlying and explicit forms of value associated with such events.Table of ContentsList of figures List of plates List of tables List of contributors Acknowledgements Foreword Rane Willerslev Introduction: In the darkest of days: Tracing human sacrifice through Scandinavian prehistory Matthew J. Walsh, Marianne Moen, Sean O’Neill, Svein H. Gullbekk and Rane Willerslev 1. Noble hunter-gatherers and ‘cruel’ farmers – a discussion of the evidence of human sacrifices during the Mesolithic and Neolithic in South Scandinavia Lasse Sørensen and Poul Otto Nielsen 2. Societies that sacrifice? Examining the potential for attendant sacrifices in the Nordic Bronze Age Matthew J. Walsh, Samantha S. Reiter and Karin M. Frei 3. Human sacrifice and human remains – the ultimate sacrifice? Pernille Pantmann 4. Naked or clothed? Bog bodies and the value of clothing in the Early Iron Age Ulla Mannering 5. Sacrifice or execution? A brief forensic medical and archaeological perspective on the Danish bog bodies Niels Lynnerup and Pauline Asingh 6. Six human skulls in a bog: Svennum – a 1st century AD sacrificial bog Sidsel Wåhlin 7. Haraldskær Woman under a new light: Bog bodies, martial rituals and value Mads Ravn 8. Figuring out bodies in watery places: Posthumanism, figurations and ecological relations Christina Fredengren 9. Thrown stone for flesh and bone? ‘White’ stones in sacrificial context in Iron Age Scandinavia Matthew J. Walsh, Pernille Pantmann and Marianne Moen 10. ‘Better not to pray than to sacrifice too much’ Human sacrifice and its alternatives in Northern Europe AD 750 - 1050 Bo Jensen 11. Regulated deviancy – ritual executions at Viking Age Tissø as indications of a complex judicial culture Mads D. Jessen and Jesper Olsen 12. Human sacrifice in Old Norse skaldic poetry Klas Wikström Af Edholm
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Book SynopsisThe shift from a hunting and gathering economy to a productive economy, based on the domestication of plants and animals, is one of the most important changes in human history. This change, which manifested itself in different forms and at different times in different areas of the Old and New Worlds, is still a subject of debate and discussion today. How and why does such a profound change occur in the relationship with the environment and the land? Could the arrival of foreign settlers with a mature and structured Neolithic cultural heritage be the cause of this change in the Mediterranean?The archaeological excavations conducted at the settlement of La Marmotta (Anguillara Sabazia, Rome, Italy), today submerged under the waters of Lake Bracciano, represents one of the most relevant Neolithic villages of the entire Mediterranean. The exceptional nature of this site is given by the conservation of the organic remains. Not only are the piles and architectural remains of the houses well preserved at La Marmotta, but so are small finds and fragile artefacts such as spoons, textile crafts, baskets, ropes, sickles and bows. In addition, there are a huge variety of remains of both animal and vegetal nature, such as seeds, spikelets, bundles of wheat and other plants, possible cheese and milk derivatives and other mixtures of foodstuff. This set of materials has an enormous potential for changing and deepening our understanding of the first farming societies, of their technological complexity, their know-hows, their lifestyle and food habits. Thanks to La Marmotta it is truly possible to rewrite the evolution of techniques for processing plants and wood during prehistoric times. Until now, published information on the site is very limited and partial. The main aim of this book is to make visible the extreme richness of the La Marmotta archaeological record and provide insights into Neolithic woodworking, basketry, textile production and other crafting and subsistence activities.Table of ContentsPrologue Director General of Museums of Italy Prologue Director of the Museo delle Civiltà. Acknowledgements 1. Introduction to the volume: La Marmotta, an exceptional Neolithic site Mario Mineo, Juan F. Gibaja, Niccolò Mazzucco 2. La Marmotta site in the framework of the Early Mediterranean Neolithic Niccolò Mazzucco, Juan Gibaja, Mario Mineo 3. La Marmotta: location, history, stratigraphy and cultural sequence, chronology Mario Mineo, Juan F. Gibaja, Niccolò Mazzucco, Gerard Remolins 4. First palynological contribution towards a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Neolithic site La Marmotta Daniele Arobba1, Rosanna Caramiello, Lionello F. Morandi 5. Woodworking: Introduction to wood working and artefact crafting 5.1. Village Organization and Domestic Structures Mario Mineo, Gerard Remolins, Juan F. Gibaja, Niccolò Mazzucco 5.2. Navigation: dugout canoes, artefacts related to navigation Mario Mineo, Juan F. Gibaja, Niccolò Mazzucco, Laura Caruso 5.3. Wood Artefacts Juan F. Gibaja, Mario Mineo, Vittorio Brizzi, Niccolò Mazzucco, Laura Caruso, Miriam Cubas, Gerard Remolins, Daniele Arobba1, Rosanna Caramiello, Lionello F. Morandi 6. Working with plant fibres: textiles, basketry, cordage Juan F. Gibaja, Mario Mineo, Niccolò Mazzucco, Laura Caruso, Vanessa Forte, Millán Mozota, Christina Margariti, Eva Andersson 7. Food remains, phytotherapics and psychotropics remains Mauro Rottoli, Amaia Arranz 8. The Botanical Ornaments of La Marmotta Cristiana Petrinelli Pannocchia, Alice Vassanelli 9. Lithic Tools Analysis 9.1. Flaked Stone Tools Denis Guilbeau, Bernard Gassin, Juan F. Gibaja, Niccolò Mazzucco 9.2. Stone adzes and axes Alba Masclans 9.3. Grinding tools for plant processing and food production in La Marmotta Caroline Hamon, Marta Portillo 10. Restoration of wooden and textiles artefacts at La Marmotta Mario Mineo 11. Conclusions and future perspectives Niccolò Mazzucco, Mario Mineo, Juan F. Gibaja 12. References
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Book SynopsisBosworth stands alongside Naseby and Hastings as one of the three most iconic battles ever fought on English soil. The action on 22 August 1485 brought to an end the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the Roses and heralded the dawn of the Tudor dynasty. However, Bosworth was also the most famous lost battlefield in England. Between 2005 and 2010, the techniques of battlefield archaeology were used in a major research programme to locate the site.Bosworth 1485: A Battlefield Rediscovered is the result. Using data from historical documents, landscape archaeology, metal detecting survey, ballistics and scientific analysis, the volume explores each aspect of the investigation – from the size of the armies, their weaponry, and the battlefield terrain to exciting new evidence of the early use of artillery – in order to identify where and how the fighting took place. Bosworth 1485 provides a fascinating and intricately researched new perspective on the event which, perhaps more than any other, marked the transition between medieval and early modern England.Table of Contents1. A battlefield lost 2. The armies: an historical perspective 3. The battle: an historical perspective 4. The battlefield terrain 5. Surveying the battle archaeology 6. Interpreting the artefacts 7. Gunpowder weapons 8. A new perspective on the battle
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Book SynopsisExcavation of a Scheduled burial mound on Whitehorse Hill, Dartmoor revealed an unexpected, intact burial deposit of Early Bronze Age date associated with an unparalleled range of artefacts. The cremated remains of a young person had been placed within a bearskin pelt and provided with a basketry container, from which a braided band with tin studs had spilled out. Within the container were beads of shale, amber, clay and tin; wo pairs of turned wooden studs and a worked flint flake. A unique item, possibly a sash or band, made from textile and animal skin was found beneath the container. Beneath this, the basal stone of the cist had been covered by a layer of purple moor grass which had been collected in summer. Analysis of environmental material from the site has revealed important insights into the pyre material used to burn the body, as well as providing important information about the environment in which the cist was constructed. The unparalleled assemblage of organic objects has yielded insights into a range of materials which have not survived from the earlier Bronze Age elsewhere in southern Britain.Table of ContentsSection 1: Background Chapter 1: Introduction Andy M Jones Section 2: Deconstructing and reconstructing the cist Chapter 2: Results from the 2011 fieldwork Andy M Jones Chapter 3: The micro-excavation and conservation of the artefacts Helen Williams Chapter 4: The wooden stakes from the Whitehorse Hill cist Richard Brunning Chapter 5: The samples of peat and possible soil from the cist at Whitehorse Hill M.G. Canti Section 3: Assembling the burial Chapter 6: The human remains Simon Mays Chapter 7: The wood charcoal Zoë Hazell Chapter 8: The charred textiles from the cremation deposit Susanna Harris Chapter 9: The matted plant material from the base of the cist Julie Jones Chapter 10: The pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs from the cist samples Ralph Fyfe and Marta Perez Section 4: Items with the young adult Chapter 11: The animal pelt Esther Cameron and Quita Mould Chapter 12: The copper-alloy pin Alison Sheridan, Esther Cameron and Henrietta Quinnell Chapter 13: The basketry container Caroline Cartwright, Maggie Cooper, Sherry Doyal, Dinah Eastop, Linda Lemieux and Ruth Stungo Chapter 14: The composite braided hair armband or bracelet Alison Sheridan, Esther Cameron, Caroline Cartwright, Mary Davis, Joanna Dunster, Susanna Harris, Linda Hurcombe, Jamie Inglis, Quita Mould, Caroline Solazzo and Helen Williams Chapter 15: The composite necklace Alison Sheridan, with contributions by Mary Davis, Joanna Dunster, Jamie Inglis, Henrietta Quinnell, Hal Redvers-Jones, Roger Taylor, Kate Verkooijen, Helen Williams and Lore Troalen Chapter 16: The wooden studs Alison Sheridan, Richard Brunning, Vanessa Straker, Gill Campbell, Caroline Cartwright, Stuart King and Henrietta Quinnell Chapter 17: The flint Anna Lawson-Jones Chapter 18: The textile and animal-skin object Esther Cameron, Susanna Harris and Quita Mould Section 5: The cist and the moor: the environmental setting of the site and its wider landscape context Chapter 19: The environment of the Whitehorse Hill cist Ralph M. Fyfe, Jeffrey J. Blackford, Mark Hardiman, Zoë Hazell, Alison MacLeod, Marta Perez and Sarah Littlewood Section 6: The radiocarbon dating Chapter 20: Interpreting the chronology of the cist Peter Marshall, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Nicola Russell, Fiona Brock and Paula Reimer Section 7: Discussion, interpretation and conclusions Chapter 21: The results from the project Andy M Jones Appendices Appendix A: Chemical analysis of beads from the Whitehorse Hill cist Joanna Dunster Appendix B: Report on the scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination of the basketry container and other organic artefacts from Whitehorse Hill cist Caroline Cartwright Appendix C: Report on the proteomic analysis of hairs from the basketry container, the braided band and the pelt from the Whitehorse Hill cist Caroline Solazzo
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Book SynopsisThis lavishly illustrated volume presents a comprehensive architectural study of 87 individual temples and sanctuaries built in the Roman East between the end of the 1st century BCE and the end of the 3rd century CE, within a broad region encompassing the modern states of Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. Religious architecture gave faithful expression to the complexity of the Roman East and to its multiplicity of traditions pertaining to ethnic and religious aspects as well as to the powerful influence of Imperial Rome. The source of this power lay in the uniformity of the architectural language, the inventory of forms, the choice of styles and the spatial layout of the buildings. Thus, while temples have an eclectic character, there is an underlying unity of form comprising the podium, the stairway between the terminating walls (antae) and the columns along the entrance front - in other words, the axiality, frontality and symmetry of the temple as viewed from outside.The temples and sanctuaries studied in this volume demonstrate individual nuances of plan, spatial design, location in the sanctuary and interrelations with the immediate vicinity but can be divided into two main categories: Vitruvian temples (derived from Hellenistic-Roman architecture) and Non-Vitruvian temples (those with plans and spatial designs that cannot be analysed according to architectural criteria such as those defined by Vitruvius). The individual descriptions presented focus solely upon the analysis of the external and internal space of the temples of all types and do not involve any cultural or ethnic discussion.Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I Chapter 1: Temples in the Roman East: Typological Analysis Vitruvian Temples Non-Vitruvian Temples Nabataean Temples Chapter 2: Sanctuaries in the Roman East: Typological Analysis Urban Sanctuaries Extra-Urban Sanctuaries Part II Corpus of Temples and Sanctuaries Part III Selected Terms in Architecture Notes Bibliography
£37.95
