Search results for ""archaeopress""

The investigation of the Roman villa and its economic structures in the western provinces of the Roman Empire has clearly shown that rural settlement developed at different paces and intensities that largely depended on the specific region in which a villa landscape was intended and created. The progress of Romanisation was strongly linked to the existence of pre- Roman infrastructure in a given region (e.g. Tres Galliae: Celtic; Narbonensis: Greek; Northern Africa: Punic). This existing infrastructure was at first acquired and successively intensified by the Romans. In its sum, the Roman villa economy was a complex and dynamic system that in its configuration vastly differed, according to the specific province. Still, the system essentially served clear functional purposes such as self-subsistence and, ideally, surplus production for the supply of the Roman military in newly conquered provinces. Besides that, the implementation of a villa landscape in a province, often carried by veterans and other groups of Italic origin, the Roman villa network took the role as a carrier of processes that evolve around the term Romanisation during the phase of Roman conquest and authority. German text with English summary.

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This publication provides the most updated information on the ceramic production (amphorae, cooking and coarse wares, ceramic building materials) of Salakta and the Ksour Essef district, in the Sahel region of Tunisia, from the 3rd century BC to the 7th century AD. This book deals with the history and the archaeology of Sullecthum/Salakta, the typology of the ceramic production (mainly amphorae), the chronology and the location of the workshops, the amphora stamps and contents, the distribution in the Mediterranean, and the organisation of production and trade. The author is Lecturer at the Institut Supérieur des Etudes Appliquées en Humanités de Mahdia (University of Monastir, Tunisia). French text with English abstract.

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Borġ in-Nadur, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with archaeological remains that span several thousand years. In the course of the Late Neolithic, the steep-sided ridge was occupied by a large megalithic temple complex that was re-occupied in the succeeding Bronze Age. In the course of the second millennium BC, the ridge was heavily fortified by a massive wall to protect a settlement of huts. Excavations were carried out here in 1881 and again in 1959. This volume brings together a number of contributions that report on those excavations, providing an exhaustive account of the stratigraphy, the pottery, the lithic assemblages, the bones, and the molluscs. Additional studies look at other sites in Malta and in neighbouring Sicily in an effort to throw light on the late prehistory of the south-central Mediterranean at a period when connections with regions near and far were increasing. The volume forms a companion to another monograph which concentrated on the temple remains at Borġ in-Nadur (D. Tanasi and N. C. Vella (eds), Site, artefacts and landscape: prehistoric Borġ in-Nadur, Malta. Praehistorica Mediterranea 3. Monza: Polimetrica, 2011). About the Editors: Davide Tanasi (Ph.D.) is Professor of Archaeology at Arcadia University, The College of Global Studies - Arcadia Sicily Center. His research interests include Mediterranean prehistory, island archaeology, archaeometry of ancient ceramics, computer graphics in archaeology, and digital communication of cultural heritage. He has authored a hundred scientific papers in these fields and produced 3D documentaries about Sicilian archaeology and cultural heritage. His publications include La Sicilia e l’arcipelago maltese nell’eta del Bronzo Medio (Palermo, 2008) and Site, Artefacts and Landscape: Prehistoric Borġ in-Nadur, Malta with Nicholas C. Vella (Monza, 2011). He is editor of the international scientific journal Open Archaeology (De Gruyter) and since 2012, he has been directing the Field School in Archaeology of Arcadia University in Sicily. Nicholas C. Vella is Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Malta, and works on Mediterranean history and archaeology. He has co-edited another volume of essays on Malta’s late prehistory called Site, Artefacts and Landscape: Prehistoric Borġ in- Nadur, Malta with Davide Tanasi (Monza, 2011) and contributed, with him, to the Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean edited by P. van Dommelen and B. Knapp (Cambridge, 2014). He edits the Malta Archaeological Review, and co-directs excavations at the Żejtun Roman Villa (Malta). He is also co-investigator of the FRAGSUS project, funded by the European Research Council, that is examining the environmental and cultural background of prehistoric Malta.

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This publication honours Birgitta Hårdh on her 70th birthday. Birgitta Hårdh is one of the leading experts on European Viking Age, engaged in diverse research projects, and also a vital collaborator in various networks specializing in the period. Through time, Birgitta has extended her research to comprise other periods of the Iron Age. A feature common to all Birgitta Hårdh’s research is that she has been able, through analysis of a body of finds, to broaden the perspective, not least geographically through her profound knowledge of phenomena in Northern Europe and indeed all of Europe. Therefore, this book has been given the title Small Things – Wide Horizons. A total of fourty titles have been submitted to the volume. The presentations include a number of perspectives mainly of Iron Age. Themes as silver economy, coins, trinkets, burials, crafts, farms and fields, centrality and transformations give a view of the variation of contributions nationally and internationally.

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The Artuqids were one of the successor dynasties that rose to power in the aftermath of the eleventh-twelfth century invasion of Western and Central Asia by the Seljuq Turks. While the political power of the Artuqids was limited to the Diyar Bakr, a small region in northern Jazira corresponding to Southeastern Turkey, their artistic legacy is noteworthy. The many surviving Artuqid monuments, built over three hundred years (early 12th – early 15th century), and their decoration exemplify the mastery of stone carving which is reflected in intricate designs and motifs. Mardin, alongside other Artuqid centers such as Amid, Mayyafariqin and Hisn Kayfa, was set within a larger zone of diverse Christian and Islamic artistic traditions. This book defines Mardin’s artistic context in relation to the other Artuqid centers, as well as the neighboring zones that encompass Anatolia, the Caucasus, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Egypt. During the Artuqid period an original style developed in Mardin and the Diyar Bakr, which itself was rooted in a well-established local school of stone carving. Connected with Christian traditions found in the Syriac Tur ‘Abdin and in Late Antique Syria, the decoration also compares with that of monuments in Armenia and Georgia, and resonates with artistic practices seen in areas controlled by the regional Muslim powers of the time: the Zangids, Ayyubids, Mameluks, Great and Anatolian Seljuqs and the Ilkhanids. The Artuqid buildings reflect the spirit of the time, when the Jazira served as an artistic platform, fostering the circulation of ideas that led to new inspiration, and open-minded rulers and patrons, curious and receptive to new creations, stimulated the creative efforts of architects, stone carvers and craftsmen. The decorated monuments also attest to the existence of significant economic wealth and the need to commission sophisticated buildings that magnified the political and social status of the ruling elite’s.

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The story of the duel of David and Goliath, the Philistine champion, is narrated in the Bible in several versions. While its symbolic importance in Judaism and later in Christianity gradually came to represent the battle between good and evil, true faith and paganism, attempts were made since ancient times to solve its ambiguities. In modern research, the story arouses many disputes. There is controversy about the degree of realism and fantasy in it and there is also no agreement as to the time it was composed. Some claim that this was close to the time when the event occurred at the beginning of the monarchy period. Others postpone the time of its writing to the end of the Judaean monarchy and even to Second Temple times by pointing out its similarities to Greek literature and the characteristics of Goliath as an Aegean hoplite. The purpose of the study is not only to shed light on the enigmas about the protagonists and the time of the story, but also to understand why the importance of its message did not lessen and in what circumstances the interest in it was prolonged. The study employs a textual analysis (literary and philological) of the story together with its comparison to Greek, Egyptian and Mesopotamian literary sources, historical analysis, and also a comparative analysis with archaeological findings. It examines sources which until now have not been included in research and suggests a new date, place and motive for the compilation of the duel story.

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Two hundred years ago, on September 8, 1814, in the northern French city of Bourbourg, a boy was born into a family of local entrepreneurs connected to the local political or judicial elite. The young Charles-Etienne Brasseur was lucky to spend days and days in the impressive library of Alexandre Nicolas Muchembled, the son of his godmother. The reading of exciting travel books there mapped out the course of his truly adventurous life to come. Although a rebellious schoolboy, he acquired a huge knowledge in many fields by his omnivorous reading of books and journals. He was also a very curious young man, delving into the private libraries of the local grand families, resulting in him contributing many historical articles to newspapers and learned societies. At the age of 24, while still in high school, he published his first novel. This biography is the first to reveal insights into the many facets of the life of Brasseur; the extent of his secret activities for the Vatican; his advanced ideas regarding the dual phonetic and ideographic nature of Mayan writing, as early as 1843-44, and explicitly confirmed by him in May 1852, which he later dramatically rejected in 1870, thus failing to become the Champollion of Mesoamerica; his continuous attempts to preserve documents while crossing territories ravaged by civil wars; the immense value of the manuscripts he saved, like the Tzeltal vocabulary of Copanabastla or the Motul dictionary; his unique dedication in copying old manuscripts, with the help of his nephews, to be sent to other pioneers of Mayan studies in Europe and America; his short-lived pioneering work on the Huave (Wabis); details of his six expeditions to Mesoamerica, often in terrible conditions, as shown by his later severe ill health; his defence of the Indians against the academic community; details of the internal conflicts in the Quebec Catholic Church; and his ideas on certain geophysical events, such as the elevation of ocean beds and islands, which he wrongly dated to the time of the ancient Mayans, or the shifting of the Earth’s rotation axis.

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This book seeks to address the journeying context of pilgrimage within the landscapes of Medieval Britain. Using four case studies, an interdisciplinary methodology developed by the author is applied to four different geographical and cultural areas of Britain (Norfolk, Wiltshire/Hampshire, Flintshire/Denbighshire and Cornwall), to investigate the practicalities of travel along the Medieval road network including the routes themselves, accommodation, the built environments and natural topographies encountered. An introduction, assessment of current theory and scholarship is provided, followed by an explanation of the methodology used. The four case studies are then presented (Ely to Walsingham, Salisbury to Winchester, St Asaph to Holywell, and Camelford to Bodmin). Within each case study, both the selected starting point for the pilgrimage (typically either a locale confirmed in the historical record as linked to the pilgrim destination, or a settlement of some significance within the local area and thus well connected to the route network), and the site of the saint cult itself are analysed for their growth, reaction and accommodation to the pilgrim phenomenon. Also addressed are the route networks of the county as a whole, relationships to economic centres and their impact on travel possibilities, the topography, the distribution patterns for saint dedications in parish churches within the area, material culture and the ecclesiastical built environment (for example pilgrim badges, monasteries), and the physical landscapes through which the pilgrim travels. Here, the interaction between the pilgrim and the environments through which they move is addressed. Considerations include fatigue, exertion, panoramas and way-finding, route visibility, sight lines to monuments, folklore within the landscape, and the potential echoing of Christian scriptural motifs within certain landscape types/features (e.g. wilderness and sanctuary).

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A biography of Bryan Faussett, F.S.A., (1720-1776), pioneering Kent genealogist, archaeologist and antiquary who, at his death, had amassed the world’s greatest collection of Anglo-Saxon jewellery and antiquities. The material was famously rejected by the British Museum, saved for the nation by a Liverpudlian philanthropist, and now resides in the Liverpool World Museum. This episode led directly to the British Museum’s setting up departments devoted to British Antiquities. This volume is the first to focus on Faussett, presenting comprehensive genealogical sections on the Faussetts and Godfreys; a history of the family seat near Canterbury; and an introduction to antiquarianism and how the history of the world was imperfectly viewed in the 18th century. A detailed biography of Bryan Faussett’s life covers his education, career and scholarly circle, with detailed descriptions of the sites he excavated. Surviving archaeological notebooks offer insights into his working practice, and family account-books reveal a great deal about his personal life and interests.

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The movement of people from the fen edge and river valleys into the clay lands of eastern England has become a growing area of research. The opportunity of studying such an environment and investigating the human activities that took place there became available 9 km to the north-west of Cambridge at the village of Longstanton. The archaeological excavations that took place over a sixteen year period have made a significant contribution to charting the emergence of a Cambridgeshire clayland settlement and its community over six millennia. Evolution of a Community chronologically documents the colonisation of this clay inland location and outlines how it was not an area on the periphery of activity, but part of a fully occupied landscape extending back into the Mesolithic period. Subsequent visits during the Late Neolithic became more focused when the locality appears to have been part of a religious landscape that included a possible barrow site and ritual pit deposits. The excavations indicate that the earliest permanent settlement at the site dates to the Late Bronze Age, with the subsequent Iron Age phases characterised as a small, modest and inward-looking community that endured into the Roman period with very little evidence for disjuncture during the transition. The significant discovery of a group of seventh-century Anglo-Saxon burials which produced rare evidence for infectious deceases is discussed within the context of ‘final phase’ cemeteries and the influence of visible prehistoric features within the local landscape. The excavation of the Late Anglo-Saxon and medieval rural settlement defined its origins and layout which, alongside the artefactual and archaeobotanical assemblages recovered creates a profile over time of the life and livelihood of this community that is firmly placed within its historical context.

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Egyptian Cultural Identity in the Architecture of Roman Egypt (30 BC–AD 325) considers the relationship between architectural form and different layers of identity assertion in Roman Egypt. The Roman province of Aegyptus was a peculiar province such that many scholars have generally assumed that it was given a special status in the Roman Empire. The text covers the period from the Roman conquest of Egypt under Octavian in 30 BC to the official recognition of Christianity in AD 325. It stresses the sophistication of the concept of identity, and the complex yet close association between architecture and identity. This monograph is the outcome of four years of research at the Department of Classics and Ancient History, the University of Durham. The book will be of interest and value for both Classicists and Egyptologists working on the archaeology of Egypt under Roman rule and the concept of identity.

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In a world without plastics, ceramics, alongside organic containers, were used for almost every substance which required protection or containment: from perfume to porridge. The experience of an Etruscan person, living day to day, would have been filled with interactions with ceramics, making them objects which can recall intimate transactions in the past to the archaeologist in the present. Characterising that experience of Etruscan pottery is the concern of this book. What was it like to use and live with Etruscan pottery? How was the interaction between an Etruscan pot structured and constituted? How can that experience be related back to bigger questions about the organisation of Etruscan society, its increasingly urban nature and relationship with other Mediterranean cultures? More specifically, this volume aims to unpick both the physical encounter between vessel and hand, and the emotional interaction between the user of a pot and the images inscribed upon its surface.

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The Roman Cemetery at Nemesbőd belonged to a settlement or a villa which was located on the territory of the Roman colony of Savaria (present day Szombathey, Hungary) in Pannonia. The book deals with thirty-seven graves, which consisted of mainly cremation but also of some inhumation burials. Detailed analysis of grave goods (bronze vessels, pottery, glass, personal accessories, lamps etc.) provides a study of burial customs and their evolution. In addition, specialist reports on human remains and animal bone as well as on epigraphic material are presented.

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In der Ägyptologie werden ökonomische Fragen stiefmütterlich behandelt. Diese Studie beschreibt die Ökonomie der ersten Hälfte des 2. Jahrtausends und die Umwelt, in die diese Ökonomie eingebettet ist, als Mosaik. Die Metapher ‚Mosaik‘ verwendet Mosaiksteine, welche Teile eines Bildes darstellen können. Einzelne Mosaiksteine sind offen für eine Integration in andere mögliche Bilder. Wo immer möglich beruhen Mosaiksteine auf Daten aus der betrachteten Periode, andere Mosaiksteine tragen als Modelle zum Mosaik bei. Verschiedene Mosaiksteine bestehen aus Schätzungen z.B. zu Produktion und Konsum. Das Mosaik soll ermöglichen, das Ägypten der betrachteten Periode als lebende Gesellschaft darzustellen. Es ist kaum überraschend, dass verschiedene Facetten des Bildes hypothetischen Charakter haben und das Mosaik zu einem beträchtlichen Teil unvollständig ist. Das Feld, fehlende oder auch konkurrierende Mosaiksteine in weiteren Studien zu entwickeln, ist weit offen. Heqanachts Papyri bilden die Basis für den Versuch, einen konkreten Haushalt im Bild der wirtschaftlichen Struktur des Landes darzustellen, als fragmentarische Emergenz einer Momentaufnahme, einer Mikrogeschichte.

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This book assesses the results of recent metallographic examination of 45 sword blades (mid-2nd century BC to early-16th century) from the territory of what is now Poland. Pre-Roman blades were usually made from one piece of metal of varying quality (better quality items were perhaps imported). Most high quality and complex technology Roman blades were in all probability of Roman provenance, while some low quality one-piece examples may have been made locally. The Migration Period and Early Middle Ages witnessed the greatest diversification of technological solutions. However it is much more difficult to define the provenance of blades based on their technology in these periods. The range of technologies in use strongly decreased in the High and Late Middle Ages.

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Over her career Susan Sherratt has questioned our basic assumptions in many areas of the later prehistory of the Mediterranean and Europe, deploying a canny eye for detail, but never losing sight of the big picture. Her collected works include contributions on the relationship between Homeric epic and archaeology; the economy of ceramics, metals and other materials; the status of the ‘Sea Peoples’ and other ethnic terminologies; routes and different forms of interaction; and the history of museums/collecting (especially relating to Sir Arthur Evans). The editors of ΑΘΥΡΜΑΤΑ (Athyrmata) have brought together a cast of thirty-two scholars from nine different countries who have contributed these twenty-six papers to mark Sue’s 65th birthday – a collection that seeks to reflect both her broad range of interests and her ever-questioning approach to uncovering the realities of life in Europe and the Mediterranean in later prehistory.

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Christopher Wordsworth (1807-85), the “Great Christopher” of Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge, was a nephew of William the poet, and brother to the student who launched the University Boat Race. In 1832 he took a gap-year, after his brilliant studies in ancient Greek and Latin classics, to travel back in time over two thousand years to Pericles’ Athens. The account of his tour, Athens and Attica (1836), is still the perfect scholarly companion to the history, topography, and myths of an area compact in dimension yet vast in terms of its contribution to Western civilization. “The Bazaar or Market at Athens is a long street. Looking up you command a view of the commodities. Barrels of black caviar, small pocket-looking-glasses in red pasteboard cases, onions, tobacco piled up in brown heaps, black olives, figs strung together upon a rush, pipes with amber mouthpieces and brown clay bowls, silver-chased pistols, dirks, belts, and embroidered waistcoats. Such is the present state of Athens…a few Turks still doze in the archways of the Acropolis, or recline while smoking their pipes, and leaning with their backs against the rusty cannon. A few days ago the cannon of the Acropolis fired the signal of the conclusion of the Turkish Ramazam – the last which will ever be celebrated in Athens.” – Christopher Wordsworth, 1832

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Cecil Torr’s 19th-century studies of Rhodes, in the Greek Dodecanese, off the coast of Asia Minor, were the first and most authoritative English guides to the island’s multi-layered history: nothing approaching them had been attempted before. Impeccably qualified – Harrow (Arthur Evans was a class-mate), Trinity Cambridge, and Inner Temple barrister of formidable reputation – Cecil Torr had the true antiquarian’s obsession for factual presentation and detailed analyses of primary sources. The result is a rock-solid account of the story of Byzantine Rhodes and the times of the Knights of St John, including the extraordinary events of the Great Siege which culminated in the Knights’ expulsion from the island in 1522. First published in 1887, Rhodes in Modern Times is an historical guide to the Byzantine and medieval landscapes of Rhodes. Strolling with Torr up the ‘Street of the Knights’, or on the great walls of the Old Town, or around its now peaceful moat, takes you as close as you’ll safely dare to the events of this front line in East/West relations of 500 years ago: a guided tour in and out of three ‘time zones’ – Rhodes in her medieval splendour, at the turn of the 19th century, and today. This edition of Torr’s classic (recommended by Lawrence Durrell, no less, referring to “… the scholarly Englishman who has given us the best historical monograph on the island… Read him and you will see why…” - “Reflections on a Marine Venus”) includes an extended prologue (in Greek with English translation) by Dr Elias Kollias, a leading authority on medieval and Byzantine Rhodes. Additional sections include a biography of Cecil Torr, detailed chronologies of Rhodes’ history, and a ‘tour’ with Torr in and around the famous Old Town.

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The Seminar for Arabian Studies is the longest-running academic forum for the presentation of research on the cultural and natural heritage of the Arabian Peninsula. Since its first meeting in 1968, the Seminar has covered a wide range of subjects including archaeology, epigraphy, history, ethnography, art, architecture, linguistics, and literature from prehistory to the present. Since 2019 the Seminar has changed from being a British-based forum to an international setting, starting with a meeting in the University of Leiden and continuing with other European institutions.The 56th Seminar in Aarhus in 2023 was a special one, as it marked the 70th anniversary of the first Danish archaeological expedition to Bahrain led by T. Geoffrey Bibby and P.V. Glob, from the Prehistoric Museum of Moesgaard. This is justly considered the starting point of archaeological research on Arabia, as it was the first time that formal excavations were undertaken in the region. This volu

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Two decades of strontium isotope research on Neolithic European burials – reinforced by high-profile ancient DNA studies – has led to widespread interpretations that these were patrilocal societies, implying significant residential mobility for women. The Not Very Patrilocal European Neolithic questions that narrative from a social anthropological perspective on kinship. It introduces models for inferring residence and descent with isotope and genetic data and provides in-depth descriptions of archaeological kinship analysis. From social anthropological insights to reassessments of data, an alternative perspective on the social dynamics of Neolithic European societies emerges from this new guide for prehistorians working with biological and archaeological materials.

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Argiles. De la physique du matériau à l’expérimentation brings together the proceedings of four study days of the ‘Clay’ Collective Program (2018-2020) of the CNRS Joint Research Unit, Archaeology and Sciences of Antiquity (UMR 7041 - ArScAn, Nanterre), on the theme of ‘studying materiality’. The study of this polymorphic material has focused on four complementary areas: physical properties, construction, artefacts and texts relating to clay. As a forum for cross-disciplinary exchange, the meetings and then the volume itself form and opportunity to share the continuities, specifics, technical and cultural convergences or divergences of working with clay. The three parts correspond to the themes covered during these days: I. Formation, structure, characterization, definitions of a material deals with the physics of clays, the geomorphology of clay landscapes, clay construction, the restoration of architectural remains, cuneiform tablets and clay objects, and finally mentions of clay in Mesopotamian texts, Linear B and Egyptian hieroglyphs. II. Uses of clays and clay soils: from ‘unfired’ to ‘fired’ is devoted to these two states of clay: ‘unfired’ clay is explored through the geomorphology of the ‘clay country’ that is Mesopotamia, and earthen architecture from Cyprus to Western Europe, from the Neolithic to Roman times is investigated; ‘fired’ clay focuses on bricks and ceramics, which illustrate the transition between the two states, then on ovens and cooking devices, and the possible connections between Mesopotamian texts, the archaeology of the ancient Near East and experimentation. III. Reproduction in clay: reconstruction, protocol, experimentation retraces several experimental approaches around ceramics and construction in the Near Eastern, Minoan, Egyptian and Western worlds. Overall the book brings together 28 contributors, including university teachers, researchers, engineers, doctoral and post-doctoral students, attached to several teams of the Argiles unit as well as other laboratories and institutes in France and abroad. Each has enriched, through their specialism, their knowledge or their individual experience, an aspect of or an approach to clay and clay soils.

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This book has come about as a result of the project 'Roman Funerary Monuments of South-Western Pannonia in their Material, Social, and Religious Context', unfolding between 2015 and 2018 in the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts under the auspices of the Croatian Science Foundation, with B. Migotti as the project leader and M. Šašel Kos and I. Radman-Livaja as collaborators. 'Roman Funerary Monuments of South-Western Pannonia in their Material, Social, and Religious Context' examines around two hundred funerary monuments and fragments (stelai, sarcophagi, ash-chests, tituli, altars, medallions and buildings) from three Roman cities in the south-west part of the Roman province of Pannonia in the territory of north-west Croatia: colonia Siscia (Sisak) and municipia Andautonia (Ščitarjevo) and Aquae Balissae (Daruvar). A juxtaposition of the evidence from three administrative units of different dimensions and municipal profiles, and of unequal importance in the wider area, offered a good opportunity for a meaningful comparison of the main components for a reconstruction of material, social and cultural components of the three Romano-provincial communities. The components studied were: 1 – territorial scope of the individual cities; 2 – quantification of the monuments in terms of kinds and chronology; 3 – structural typology and iconography; 4 – social aspects of the monument use; 5 – ritual and religious aspects (incineration vs. inhumation, classical religion vs. Christianity); 6 – geo-archaeological aspect. The most valuable contributions have been achieved in the geo-archaeological field, as such research had never been carried out in the studied area before.

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The themes of this volume are concerned with archaeological, historical, linguistic, anthropological, geographical and other investigations across the vast area (and different regions) through which the Argonauts travelled in seeking to return from Colchis: from the eastern shore of the Black Sea and the mouth of the Danube to the Adriatic. The contributions investigate an extended time period, from Greek colonisation to the end of Antiquity, and different cultural influences involving peoples and states, Greek cities, native peoples, Roman rule and events in Late Roman times. Each particular study contributes to the ground research, helping to create a complete picture of the theoretical level of cultural and political development and interaction of different cultures. The research and general conclusions concerning the social, ethnic, cultural and political development of the peoples who lived around the Black Sea shore and along the great Danube and Sava rivers can be reliable only if based on the detailed study of particular questions related to the extensive area stretching from the Black Sea to the Adriatic, and involving the many different peoples and epochs which lasted many hundreds of years.

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This book re-assesses archaeological research into holy well sites in Ireland and the evidence for votive deposition at watery sites throughout northwest European prehistory. Ray examines a much-ignored and diminishing archaeological resource; moving beyond debates about the possible Celticity of these sites in order to gain a deeper understanding of patterns among sacred watery sites. The work considers how and why sacred springs are archaeologically-resistant sites and what has actually been found at the few excavated in Ireland. Drawing on the early Irish literature (the myths, hagiographies, penitentials and annals), the author gives an account of pre-Christian supermundane wells in Ireland and what we know about their early Christian use for baptism, and concludes by considering the origins of “rounding” rituals at holy wells.

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Gabii through its Artefacts brings together 15 papers written by as many scholars on objects from the excavations of the town of Gabii undertaken by three different international teams since 2007: The Gabii Project, which is a primarily US-based group of scholars; a team from the Musée du Louvre; and a team from the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” collaborating with the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma. The contributions aim to consider artefacts outside the ceramic report and small finds catalogue format in terms of both the wide variety of materials and the possibilities for unique individual stories. Objects ranging from the pre-Roman to Imperial periods are examined using a mix of approaches, making an effort to be sensitive to excavation context and formation processes. Approaches include archaeometric, spatial, and statistical analyses, artefact life history approaches, and archival approaches. Thus, different scales of analysis are also undertaken: in some cases individual objects are focused on, in others whole classes or assemblages. The papers ultimately share the common goal of offering new stories about the inhabitants of Gabii told through their artefacts. Together they enliven the Gabines’ behaviours: their concerns about personal and economic security and status, their productive activities and trade connections to other towns, their aesthetic and ritual concerns, their political affiliations and aspirations.

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Historiographie des préhistoriens et paléontologues d’Afrique du Nord represents the proceedings of Session 19 G of the XIXth UISPP World Congress which took place in 2021 in Meknes, Morocco. This volume traces the scientific work of some thirty prehistorians, geologists and paleontologists from the end of the 19th and 20th centuries in territories (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sahara) where prehistoric and protohistoric discoveries were numerous and fruitful.

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Despite some high-profile exceptions, the archaeology of the South Caucasus (present-day Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) remains marginalised and often overlooked – not receiving the wider exposure it deserves. This situation is partly a consequence of decades of occupation and academic isolation, and partly because of an unfortunate (and incorrect) perception that the South Caucasus is simply peripheral to the archaeologies of Europe and Asia. The chapters collected in this volume demonstrate the diversity and vibrancy of international research collaboration in the archaeology of Georgia, while all underline the enormous potential of the country’s archaeological resource. The importance of seeing the South Caucasus in its unique context, rather than as peripheral to Europe or Asia, is evident throughout. The increasing application of scientific techniques to archaeological research and landscape archaeology features prominently in many of these chapters. However, the key element is the multidisciplinary nature of much of the work, which allows specialists drawn from a wide range of backgrounds and scholarly traditions to contribute to the better understanding and appreciation of the Georgian historic environment.

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The Rural Hinterland of Antipatris from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Periods presents the results of extensive excavations conducted in the rural region south and east of the modern city of Rosh Ha’Ayin. The archaeological and historical data that are analysed span a period of over 1000 years. To examine the settlement pattern of the region, 22 sites were chosen, divided into five primary models, which represent a hierarchal settlement pattern: farmsteads; subsidiary villages; fortresses; monasteries and churches; towns. These five settlement types were examined throughout the periods under study. Emphasis is consistently placed on landscape archaeology – rural roads, field towers, plot boundaries, oil presses, winepresses, and terraces. A key aim is to date the creation of agricultural systems and to track the potential areas of cultivation of different agricultural products. Twelve sites dating to the Hellenistic period were found, most being farmsteads established in the Iron Age II and functioning until the 3rd Century BCE, when they were abandoned in an organized manner, possibly in the transition between Ptolemaic and Seleucid rule. During the Roman Period a dramatic decline in settlement distribution is noted, with a total of only five sites known - and among them only one large village – Migdal-Afek. Twenty more settlements from the Byzantine period were discovered, indicating a significant rise in their number from the Roman period. The settlements include large villages, manor houses and monasteries which functioned from the 5th to 8th centuries.

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The third volume of the Homines, Funera, Astra series gathers works presented at the third and fourth editions of the International Symposium on Funerary Archaeology: Death and Fire in Ancient Times (15–18 September 2013), and Time and Cause of Death from Prehistory to the Middle Ages (21–23 September 2014), both held at the ‘1 Decembrie 1918’ University in Alba Iulia, Romania. The contributions focus on two central topics regarding past funerary behaviour in Central and South-Eastern Europe: cremation, and cause and time of death. As in previous volumes, interdisciplinarity is a key feature. The study of archaeological contexts through 14C dating and Bayesian modelling, osteological studies including palaeopathologies, and epigraphic and numismatic evidence were all taken into account to establish the various causes of death and/or the moment these tragic events took place. The present volume includes 13 studies, six of which are dedicated to prehistoric funerary practices – dating to the Neolithic and Eneolithic periods (four studies), Bronze Age (one study) and Iron Age (one study). Three more papers are focused on the Roman Age, while the volume is completed with four papers on the Medieval period, overall providing a wealth of new information on funerary behaviour in this part of Europe.

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Groma stems from the Department of History and Cultures (DISCI) of the University of Bologna and focuses on the different methodologies applied to archaeology. Particular attention is paid to Mediterranean archaeology and to specific methodological aspects such as archaeological documentation and landscape archaeology.

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Growing Up in the Cis-Baikal Region of Siberia, Russia analyses the dietary life histories of prehistoric hunter-gatherers from six cemeteries in the Lake Baikal region of Siberia, Russia. The overarching goal was to better understand how they lived by examining what they ate, how they utilized the landscape, and how this changed over time. Recent archaeological advances offer new ways to gain insight into the lives of people who died many years ago. With the application of biochemistry, archaeologists can study an individual’s dietary choices from the time they were born up until the last few months of life, providing a fuller picture of how people lived, the challenges they may have faced, and the choices they made. This study tests the application of a technique known as dentine micro-sampling, in which the inner part of a tooth is sectioned into thin strips, each representing roughly nine months of development. These strips were subjected to stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, unveiling the chemical markers of different foods. The results show that the dietary contribution of terrestrial and aquatic food sources varied within and between cemeteries and cultural periods, which can be viewed as evidence of dietary independence among groups occupying the same area. The results also show that the movement of these individuals around the Lake Baikal region is observable in the chemical markers from their teeth. In conjunction with other methods, dentine micro-sampling helps us understand the interplay of personal choice and ecological constraint that makes up the dietary behaviour of these prehistoric peoples.

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Dinámicas sociales y roles entre mujeres aims to revaluate the importance of women as active and powerful social agents in the definition of ancient cultures, their contribution to the economic and social development of the community and to the position, reputation, and prestige of their families. By engaging new theoretical and methodological frameworks from anthropological and gender studies, developed in the last decade, this book compiles an unparalleled set of papers with a well-defined common goal: to deepen the idea of women as key economic and cultural actors in the maintenance and development of ancient Oriental societies. The book derives from an international conference held on 11-12 March 2021 at the University of Alcalá (UAH), in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, Spain), completed by further articles received from scholars from different institutions and disciplines. Overall, the contributions aim to critique previous positions and methods and to propose new avenues of research and approaches in a series of case studies. Furthermore, the theoretical and interpretative frameworks they develop will have relevance for other women's historical studies as well as for related disciplines such as anthropology, philosophy, political science and gender studies in their interdisciplinary approach.

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The Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautores is an international learned society that brings together researchers from the territory that once belonged to the Roman Empire and from far beyond, united in the goal of developing Roman ceramics studies at its most diverse categories. This volume serves as an interim collection due to the postponement of the expected congress following the COVID pandemic. Comprised of 16 contributions encompassing various pottery categories like terra sigillata, black gloss Italian ware, and more, this special collection offers multidisciplinary perspectives on trade, local production, and societal contexts. Spanning from early to late Roman periods, these contributions shed light on pottery's significance and its diverse usage across the ancient Roman world.

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Normative, Atypical or Deviant? Interpreting Prehistoric and Protohistoric Child Burial Practices, the tenth volume in the SSCIP monograph series, explores the response of the living when dealing with the death of a child. This response is strongly connected to belief systems and concern for the fate of the deceased in the afterlife. The funerary rituals for each culture generally follow a prescribed format that will both satisfy the needs of the dead and ensure there are no negative consequences for the living. But how do we interpret burials that do not adhere to the recognised formula for their society? Can we find evidence that such differences involved positive or, indeed, negative emotions? Should atypical rites for children actually be considered normal since they are typical for their age cohort, differing only from those of adults, and perhaps simply reflect adult-centric interpretations of the past? The papers within the volume discuss these issues by focusing on juvenile burial practices in Europe and the Near East during recent prehistory and protohistory. The interpretation of normative, atypical or deviant is interrogated based on the context of the burials and the intentionality of the practice.

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Desde su nacimiento en la Sierra de Cazorla hasta su desembocadura en el océano Atlántico, el río Guadalquivir ha sido a lo largo de la Historia un factor identitario de las comunidades asentadas en torno a él. Los recursos proporcionados por el propio río, sus afluentes y su extenso valle han contribuido a la supervivencia, bienestar y desarrollo de diferentes culturas. Fruto de esta relación entre el hombre y el territorio se han ido generando diversos paisajes culturales. No obstante, la situación política, económica y sanitaria de los últimos años ha provocado que la sostenibilidad de algunos de ellos se vea amenazada, al igual que sus bienes patrimoniales, condenados en muchos casos al abandono y el olvido. La presente monografía surge con el objetivo de reflexionar sobre esta compleja situación desde múltiples perspectivas, incluyendo la arqueología, el medio natural, la didáctica, las nuevas tecnologías y el turismo. Para ello hemos contado con la colaboración de reputados profesionales e investigadores procedentes de diversos ámbitos académicos. Entre todos hemos tratado de analizar diversas realidades, exponer las necesidades patrimoniales a la que nos enfrentamos hoy y sugerir propuestas para (re)activar las industrias culturales de la cuenca del Guadalquivir.

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People and Agrarian Landscapes aims to offer the reader a series of keys to understand why agrarian archaeology has become one of the most dynamic, experimental, and innovative sectors of the discipline in southern Europe, providing an overview of the driving theories, methodologies and main topics that have been addressed to date. In this way, the text is presented as an introduction for students, a critical reading guide for other scholars, and an informative instrument aimed at a wide audience. Most of the results of agrarian archaeology are to be found in highly specialized journals and venues that are not always easily accessible, and thus the volume presents the works, tools, and conceptual frameworks that have been developed by some of the main research groups active in the south of Western Europe to study rural societies throughout history, considering the materiality of agricultural activities.

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The frontiers of the Roman Empire together form the largest monument of one of the world’s greatest ancient states. They stretch for some 7,500 km through 20 countries which encircle the Mediterranean Sea. The remains of these frontiers have been studied by visitors and later by archaeologists for several centuries. Many of the inscriptions and sculptures, weapons, pottery and artefacts created and used by the soldiers and civilians who lived on the frontier can be seen in museums. Equally evocative of the lost might of Rome are the physical remains of the frontiers themselves. The aim of this series of books is not only to inform the interested visitor about the history of the frontiers but to act as a guidebook as well. Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of the great Wall which still bears his name ‘to separate the barbarians from the Romans’ (Historia Augusta, Life of Hadrian, 11). The complex of military installations, 117 km long, but with an extension without the linear barrier for about 40 km down the west coast, contained 74 km of stone wall, 43 km of turf rampart, 200 towers, 100 fortlets, 20 forts, took years to construct and was probably still being modified when Hadrian died in July 138. This highly illustrated book offers an accessible summary of Hadrian’s Wall, and an overview of the wider context of the Roman frontiers.

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Current Research in Egyptology 2021 presents papers from the Twenty-First Annual Meeting of the international postgraduate conference Current Research in Egyptology, held online by the Department of Mediterranean Studies of the University of the Aegean (Rhodes, Greece) on 9-16 May 2021. Almost 100 participants from institutions all over the world presented their insightful research on a wide range of topics regarding all periods of ancient Egypt. Fifteen Egyptological and Papyrological papers are published here, which investigate a great variety of issues, including social and religious aspects of life in ancient Egypt, ritual and magic, language and literature, ideology of death, demonology, the iconographical tradition, and intercultural relations, ranging chronologically from the Prehistoric to the Coptic period. The wide chronological and thematic scope of the book reflects the multifaceted, interdisciplinary and innovative character of modern Egyptology.

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