With Wayne Bennett From the silky wax qualities of the surfaces of some quartz menhirs to the wood-grain textures of others, to the golden honeycombed limestones of Malta, to the icy frozen waves of the Cambrian sandstone of south-east Sweden, this book investigates the sensuous material qualities of stone. Tactile sensations, sonorous qualities, colour, and visual impressions are all shown to play a vital part in our understanding of the power and significance of prehistoric monuments in relation to their landscapes. In The Materiality of Stone, Christopher Tilley presents a radically new way of analyzing the significance of both 'cultural' and 'natural' stone in prehistoric European landscapes. Tilley's groundbreaking approach is to interpret human experience in a multidimensional and sensuous human way, rather than through an abstract analytical gaze. The studies range widely from the menhirs of prehistoric Brittany to Maltese Neolithic temples to Bronze Age rock carvings and cairns in southern Sweden. Tilley leaves no stone unturned as he also considers how the internal spaces and landscape settings are interpreted in relation to artifacts, substances, and related places that were deeply meaningful to the people who inhabited them and remain no less evocative today. In its innovative approach to understanding human experience through the tangible rocks and stone of our past, The Materiality of Stone is both a major theoretical and substantive contribution to the field of material culture studies and the study of European prehistory.

Work and labour are fundamental to an understanding of Roman society. In a world where reliable information was scarce and economic insecurity loomed large, social structures and networks of trust were of paramount importance to the way work was provided and filled in. Taking its cue from New Institutional Economics, this book deals with the wide range of factors shaping work and labour in the cities of Roman Italy under the early empire, from families and familial structures, to labour collectives, slavery, education and apprenticeship. To illuminate the complexity of the market for labour, this monograph offers a new analysis of the occupational inscriptions and reliefs from Roman Italy, placing them in the wider context by means of documentary evidence like apprenticeship contracts, legal sources, and material remains. This synthesis therefore provides a comprehensive analysis of the ancient sources on work and labour in Roman urban society, leading to a novel interpretation of the market for work, and a fuller understanding of the daily lives of nonelite Romans. For some of them, work was indeed a source of pride, whereas for others it was merely a means to an end or a necessity of life.

Graffiti are ubiquitous within the ancient world, but remain underexploited as a form of archaeological or historical evidence. They include a great variety of texts and images written or drawn inside and outside buildings, in public and private places, on monuments in the city, on objects used in daily life, and on mountains in the countryside. In each case they can be seen as actively engaging with their environment in a variety of ways. Ancient Graffiti in Context interrogates this cultural phenomenon and by doing so, brings it into the mainstream of ancient history and archaeology. Focusing on different approaches to and interpretations of graffiti from a variety of sites and chronological contexts, Baird and Taylor pose a series of questions not previously asked of this evidence, such as: What are graffiti, and how can we interpret them? In what ways, and with whom, do graffiti communicate? To what extent do graffiti represent or subvert the cultural values of the society in which they occur? By comparing themes across time and space, and viewing graffiti in context, this book provides a series of interpretative strategies for scholars and students of the ancient world. As such it will be essential reading for Classical archaeologists and historians alike.

During much of the twelfth century the Crusaders dominated the military scene in the Levant. The unification of Egypt and Syria by Saladin gradually changed the balance of power, which slowly begun to tilt in favour of the Muslims. This book examines the development and role of Muslim fortresses in the Levant at the time of the Crusaders and the Mongol invasion, situating the study within a broad historical, political and military context. Exploring the unification of Egypt with a large part of Syria and its effect on the balance of power in the region, Raphael gives a historical overview of the resulting military strategies and construction of fortresses. A detailed architectural analysis is based on a survey of four Ayyubid and eight Mamluk fortresses situated in what are today the modern states of Jordan, Israel, Southern Turkey and Egypt (the Sinai Peninsula). The author then explores the connection between strongholds or military architecture, and the development of siege warfare and technology, and examines the influence of architecture and methods of rule on the concept of defence and the development of fortifications. Drawing upon excavation reports, field surveys and contemporary Arabic sources, the book provides the Arabic architectural terminology and touches on the difficulties of reading the sources. Detailed maps of the fortresses in the region, the Mongol invasion routs, plans of sites and photographs assist the reader throughout the book, providing an important addition to existing literature in the areas of Medieval Archaeology, Medieval military history and Middle Eastern studies.

The New Biblical Archaeology reflects the major changes happening today in the historical archaeology of the Holy Land. Whereas traditional Biblical archaeology was a highly descriptive and subjective discipline, The New Biblical Archaeology represents a fundamental paradigm shift brought about by the application of objective science-based dating methods, Geographic Information Systems, anthropological models, and an array of computer-based and digital technology tools. Today, The New Biblical Archaeology can serve as a model for how researchers in other regions of the world can investigate the relationship between ancient texts (both sacred and profane) and the archaeological record. Examples include the Vedas and India, the Homeric legends and Greek Classical Archaeology, the Sagas and Icelandic archaeology, Islamic Archaeology and the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ayyubid periods. In this book, over 20 noted archaeologists and Biblical scholars join together to answer a wide range of questions that bear on future research such as: What are the most important issues in Biblical archaeology to be researched now and in the near future? Why are Biblical archaeology, the Bible, and Ancient Jewish history important in the curriculum of universities in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and other parts of the world today and in the future? How should graduate students be trained to be professionals in the interdependent fields of archaeology and Biblical studies in the future? Using their own research projects, these scholars show how their work can be used to build a foundation for future research in Biblical archaeology, Ancient Jewish history and the Biblical studies.

Through the close study of texts, Roman Imperial Identities in the Early Christian Era examines the overlapping emphases and themes of two cosmopolitan and multiethnic cultural identities emerging in the early centuries CE - a trans-empire alliance of the Elite and the "Christians." Exploring the cultural representations of these social identities, Judith Perkins shows that they converge around an array of shared themes: violence, the body, prisons, courts, and time. Locating Christian representations within their historical context and in dialogue with other contemporary representations, it asks why do Christian representations share certain emphases? To what do they respond, and to whom might they appeal? For example, does the increasing Christian emphasis on a fully material human resurrection in the early centuries, respond to the evolution of a harsher and more status based judicial system? Judith Perkins argues that Christians were so successful in suppressing their social identity as inhabitants of the Roman Empire, that historical documents and testimony have been sequestered as "Christian" rather than recognized as evidence for the social dynamics enacted during the period, Her discussion offers a stimulating survey of interest to students of ancient narrative, cultural studies and gender.

This book is the story of an area of landscape in the English Midlands from earliest prehistory to around AD 900. Although it looks like a typical rural landscape, archaeological research, much of it in advance of quarrying, has revealed that this area has a long and remarkable history of occupation stretching back to the Ice Age. In particular at Catholme the project has revealed spectacular monuments from the Neolithic and Bronze Age (including a 'woodhenge-type' monument, a 'sunburst' monument and a cursus) that represent a regional expression of the monumental traditions of the age of Stonehenge.

The economic and political challenges along the maritime borders of the Roman Empire were multiple. The North Sea coasts were the focus of the attention of traders within the framework of commercial exchanges, of the General Staff preparing for the conquest of Britain under Claudius, and for the defence of the coastlines from the time that their protection became required. The design of a defensive system and the establishment of a supportive force followed a long path through five centuries, adapting to each development and changing strategy and evolving military installations. It had to face the threat of Saxon pirates, not to mention the use of the Roman fleet for political purposes as under Carausius. Military systems are complex because they rely upon the combination of various elements, ports, fleets - thus the famous Classis Britannica - forts protecting estuaries and watch-towers. This border represents a page in military maritime history, but its coasts, in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, contain archaeological sites of high heritage value that deserve a large audience.

This volume celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Society for Medieval Archaeology (established in 1957), presenting reflections on the history, development and future prospects of the discipline. The papers are drawn from a series of conferences and workshops that took place in 2007-2008, in addition to a number of contributions that were commissioned especially for the volume.

This book presents essays that exemplify key themes including the interdependence of conservation, research and access; the need for a 21st-century inventory of the medieval sculpture; the breadth and value of the wide range of the research tools; and conservation issue.

The Scandinavian Early Modern World explores the early modern colonialism, globalization, and modernity in Scandinavia, along with its colonies, and its role in the shaping of the modern world. Scandinavians played an active role in early modern globalization and were present as traders, as colonialists, and as consumers in competition and collaboration with indigenous agents and other colonial actors in America, Africa, and India. This story is rarely told. The joint study of history, historical landscape, and material culture, from a Scandinavian vantage point, provides for a comprehensive and original interpretation of the birth of globalization and modernity. New perspectives and data are presented, deepening and challenging our knowledge of the long seventeenth century. In-depth analysis of case studies, encompassing four continents and their material entanglement, makes this book a unique contribution to historical archaeology. The Scandinavian Early Modern World aims at students and scholars of anthropology, archaeology, and history, alike, taking interest in the global connections of the long seventeenth century and the role of Scandinavia in that process.

This book focuses on a forgotten place-the Khami World Heritage site in Zimbabwe. It examines how professionally ascribed values and conservation priorities affect the cultural landscape when there is a disjuncture between local community and national interests, and explores the epistemic violence that often accompanied colonial heritage management and archaeology in southern Africa. The central premise is that the history of the modern Zimbabwe nation, in terms of what is officially remembered and celebrated, inevitably determines how that past is managed. It is about how places are experienced and remembered through narratives and how the loss of this heritage memory may mark the un-inheriting of place. Memory and Cultural Landscape at the Khami World Heritage Site, Zimbabwe is informed by the author's experience of living near and working at Great Zimbabwe and Khami as an archaeologist, and uses archives and traditional narratives to build a biography for this lost cultural landscape. Whereas Great Zimbabwe is a resource for the state's contentious narrative of unity, and a tool for cultural activism among communities whose cultural rights are denied through the nationalisation and globalisation heritage, at Khami, which has lost its historical gravity, there is only silence. Researchers and students of cultural heritage will find this book a much-needed case study on heritage, identity, community and landscape from an African perspective.

Examining stone vessels in the Levant during the 2nd millennium BC, the author explores the links between material culture and society through a comprehensive study of production and distribution. Extensively illustrated with 100 drawings, maps and charts, this volume includes a full object catalogue. This study represents the first comprehensive overview of the stone vessel assemblagesof the Levant in this period, a time which, fed by an increase of wealth and interregional trade, saw a growth in the popularity and variety of such vessels. Previously, our understanding of the varied functions and forms of these diverse vessels has been relatively underdeveloped. In this volume the author attempts to address this problem by creating a typological framework though which we can analyse variability and define essential characteristics of local stone vessel workshops. Only once this has been achieved is it possible to look at stone vessel production in its wider cultural context. Subsequent chapters explore broader themes, beginning within the workshops themselves, examining the links between craftsmen, their sources of raw materials, and the authorities that controlled and distributed their output. Considerations of the geographical and chronological distribution of such goods are then used to provide a regional perspective for the operation of these workshops, connections between them, and further insights into the nature of local and international trade. Finally, the objects themselves can be used to assess the impact of trends such as the growing Egyptianization of the ruling classes of the Levant at this time.

Examining the final years of Delphic consultation, this monograph argues that the sanctuary operated on two connected, yet distinct levels: the oracle, which was in decline, and the remaining religious, political and social elements at the site which continued to thrive. In contrast to Delphi, other oracular counterparts in Asia Minor, such as Claros and Didyma, rose in prestige as they engaged with new "theological" issues. Issues such as these were not presented to Apollo at Delphi and this lack of expertise could help to explain why Delphi began to decline in importance. The second and third centuries AD witnessed the development of new ways of access to divine wisdom. Particularly widespread were the practices of astrology and the Neoplatonic divinatory system, theurgy. This monograph examines the correlation between the rise of such practices and the decline of oracular consultation at Delphi, analyzing several examples from the Chaldean Oracles to demonstrate the new interest in a personal, soteriological religion. These cases reveal the transfer of Delphi's sacred space, which further impacted the status of the oracle. Delphi's interaction with Christianity in the final years of oracular operation is also discussed. Oracular utterances with Christian overtones are examined along with archaeological remains which demonstrate a shift in the use of space at Delphi from a "pagan" Panhellenic center to one in which Christianity is accepted and promoted.

A thrilling study of the greatest of all epic poems, by one of the world's leading classicists Homer's Iliad is the famous epic poem set among the tales of Troy. Its subject is the anger of the hero Achilles and its dreadful consequences for the warring Greeks and Trojans. It was composed more than 2,600 years ago, but still transfixes us with its tale of loss and battle, love and revenge, guided throughout by the active presence of the gods. Its beauty and profound bleakness are intensely moving but great questions remain: where, how and when it was composed and why it has such enduring power? In this compelling book Robin Lane Fox addresses these questions, drawing on a life-long love and engagement with the poem. He argues for a place, a date and a method for its composition, giving us a sense of alternative approaches and grounding his own in discoveries about long heroic poems composed elsewhere in the world, and the ever-growing evidence of archaeology. Unlike other books on the Iliad, this one combines the detailed expertise of a historian with the sensitivity of a teacher of it as poetry. Lane Fox goes on to consider hallmarks of the poem, its values, implicit and explicit, its characters, its women, its gods and even its horses. He argues repeatedly for its beautiful observation and addresses its parallel use of what is, to us, the natural world. Thousands of readers turn to the Iliad every year. In this superbly written and conceived tribute, Lane Fox expresses and amplifies what old and new readers can find in it. It is pervaded, he argues, by a poignant hardness which is not just a poetic trick. It is a deeply held view of the world.

Britain has been inhabited by humans for over half a million years, during which time there were a great many changes in lifestyles and in the surrounding landscape. This book, now in its second edition, examines the development of human societies in Britain from earliest times to the Roman conquest of AD 43, as revealed by archaeological evidence. Special attention is given to six themes which are traced through prehistory: subsistence, technology, ritual, trade, society, and population.

Prehistoric Britain begins by introducing the background to prehistoric studies in Britain, presenting it in terms of the development of interest in the subject and the changes wrought by new techniques such as radiocarbon dating, and new theories, such as the emphasis on social archaeology. The central sections trace the development of society from the hunter-gatherer groups of the last Ice Age, through the adoption of farming, the introduction of metalworking, and on to the rise of highly organized societies living on the fringes of the mighty Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Throughout, emphasis is given to documenting and explaining changes within these prehistoric communities, and to exploring the regional variations found in Britain. In this way the wealth of evidence that can be seen in the countryside and in our museums is placed firmly in its proper context. It concludes with a review of the effects of prehistoric communities on life today.

With over 120 illustrations, this is a unique review of Britain's ancient past as revealed by modern archaeology. The revisions and updates to Prehistoric Britain ensure that this will continue to be the most comprehensive and authoritative account of British prehistory for those students and interested readers studying the subject.

Punjabi is the language of the Punjab - the land of five rivers - of northern India and Pakistan. Primarily written in three distinct scripts, a unique feature of the language is that, along with Lahanda and the Western Pahari dialects, it is the only modern Indo-European language spoken in South-East Asia which is tonal in nature. It is recognised as one of the several national languages of India and Pakistan, and approximately forty-five million people speak Punjabi as either a first or second language.This Descriptive Grammar accounts for the linguistic and sociolinguistic properties of Punjabi and Lahanda/Multani. It explores the standard language, giving a comprehensive account of syntax, morphology and phonology. With a descriptive, typological and cognitive examination of the language, this is a comprehensive and authoritative description of modern Punjabi . This volume will be invaluable to students and researchers of linguistic theory and practice.

Concepts of agency and identity have penetrated very little into practices and research agendas in Near Eastern archaeology. This volume addresses this lack, and initiates a new level of theoretical discourse in the field. Several themes run throughout the chapters in the volume, including: how agency theory can be employed in reconstructing the meaning of spaces and material culture; how agency and identity intersect and how archaeologists might investigate this intersection; how the availability of a textual corpus may impact the agency approach. An overarching goal of this volume is to advance the theoretical discourse within archaeology, and particularly among practitioners of archaeology in the Near East. The volume is interdisciplinary, including contributions derived from the fields of philology, art history, computer simulation studies, materials science, and the archaeology of settlement, architecture, and empire. It offers chapters ranging in time from the Neolithic to the Islamic period, and covers cultures and sites located in the present-day regions of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel.

This survey offers an accessible and broad-ranging synthesis of the history and archaeology of Kirkintilloch, Dunbartonshire, and aims to inform conservation guidance for future development. Kirkintilloch lies at a key point in Scotlands central belt. Here, by accident of geography, the Antonine Wall, ancient and modern route ways and the Forth and Clyde Canal pass within yards of each other. Here also, iron founding was added to the linen and cotton weaving industry giving Kirkintilloch an important role in Scotlands nineteenth-century economic development. The town has benefited from archaeological investigations in advance of development, and those designed to enhance our knowledge of the Antonine Wall. The authors consider where the areas of archaeological potential lie, in order to inform future management of Kirkintillochs historic environment, and pose questions about the evolution of Scotlands burghs.

The human body serves as a symbolic bridge between communities of the living and the divine. This is clearly evident in mythological stories that recount the creation of humans by deities within ancient and contemporaneous societies across a very broad geographical environment. In certain circumstances, parts of selected humans can become an ideal proxy for connecting with the supernatural, as demonstrated by the cult of human skulls in Near Eastern Neolithic communities, as well as the cult of relics of Christian saints from the early Christian era. To go deeper into this topic, this volume undertakes a cross-cultural investigation of the role played by both humans and human remains in creating forms of relationality with the divine in antiquity. This approach highlights how the human body can be envisioned as part of a broader materialisation of religious beliefs that is based on connecting different realms of materiality in the perception of the supernatural by communities of the living.

A long-overdue advancement in ceramic studies, this volume sheds new light on the adoption and dispersal of pottery by non-agricultural societies of prehistoric Eurasia. Major contributions from Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia make this a truly international work that brings together different theories and material for the first time. Researchers and scholars studying the origins and dispersal of pottery, the prehistoric peoples or Eurasia, and flow of ancient technologies will all benefit from this book.

Un-Roman Sex explores how gender and sex were perceived and represented outside the Mediterranean core of the Roman Empire. The volume critically explores the gender constructs and sexual behaviours in the provinces and frontiers in light of recent studies of Roman erotic experience and flux gender identities. At its core, it challenges the unproblematised extension of the traditional Romano-Hellenistic model to the provinces and frontiers. Did sexual relations and gender identities undergo processes of "provincialisation" or "barbarisation" similar to other well-known aspects of cultural negotiation and syncretism in provincial and border regions, for example in art and religion? The 11 chapters that make up the volume explore these issues from a variety of angles, providing a balanced and rounded view through use of literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence. Accordingly, the contributions represent new and emerging ideas on the subject of sex, gender, and sexuality in the Roman provinces. As such, Un-Roman Sex will be of interest to higher-level undergraduates and graduates/academics studying the Roman empire, gender, and sexuality in the ancient world and at the Roman frontiers.

This volume offers a detailed case study of the internationally acclaimed online programmes in Egyptology at the University of Manchester, UK. It distils over a decade of online teaching experience and student feedback, providing guidance for instructors developing their own online offerings. Today, many universities are actively encouraging their teaching staff towards the development of: * online programmes (programmes to be taught entirely online) and/or * online units (units to be incorporated into "blended" programmes taught partially online and partially face-to-face). Unfortunately, the staff tasked with the development of online learning rarely have access to the expertise that they need to help them utilise their teaching skills to their full potential. Technical assistance may be provided by the university e-learning department, but pedagogical and practical help - the support of colleagues with many years' experience teaching online - is lacking. Written by experts, the book provides an invaluable guide for those wishing - or being compelled - to establish their own online courses within the humanities.

This unique book provides the student of Roman history with an accessible and detailed introduction to Roman and provincial coinage in the late Republic and early Empire in the context of current historical themes and debates. Almost two hundred different coins are illustrated at double life size, with each described in detail, and technical Latin and numismatic terms are explained. Chapters are arranged chronologically, allowing students to quickly identify material relevant to Julius Caesar, the second triumvirate, the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra, and the Principate of Augustus. Iconography, archaeological contexts, and the economy are clearly presented. A diverse array of material is brought together in a single volume to challenge and enhance our understanding of the transition from Republic to Empire.

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