This wide-ranging yet detailed study describes and assesses the many-faceted cultural achievement of an area remote from Athens, the Dorian islands. Elizabeth Craik's scholarship sets this lively outlying region of the ancient Greek world - which included Rhodes, Kos, Karpathos, Melos, and Thera - in the perspective of Greek civilization as a whole, demonstrating that excessive emphasis on the Athenian advancements of the fifth century BC tends to obscure the contribution of other regions. Beginning with a discussion of the geographical setting, natural resources and historical development of the area, The Dorian Aegean goes on to survey linguistic usage and local scripts, and to examine the regional contribution to literature, medicine and science. In the final three chapters, the religious traditions and practices of the islands are discussed, in terms of myths, cults and administration. This work will appeal to students of the classical world, archaeology, and cultural history.

An attempt to use archaeological materials to investigate the colonization of southeastern Africa during the period 1500 to 1900. Perry demonstrates the usefulness of archaeology in bypassing the biases of the ethnohistorical and documentary record and generating a more comprehensive understanding of history. Special attention is paid to the period of state formation in Swaziland and a critique of the Settler Model', which the author finds to be invalid.

On the remote north-western Isle of Lewis stands one of the most spectacular megalithic monuments in the world, a stone circle forming part of a huge Celtic Cross, built over four thousand years ago. Behold Callanish! This small book, packed with fine old engravings, is a great new introduction to the 'Stonehenge of the Hebrides' by one of the leading writers and lecturers in the subject. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

For over three centuries, the inhabitants of North Britain faced the might of Rome, resulting in some of the most extraordinary archaeology of the ancient world. Drawing on his on his extensive experience, John H. Reid considers many of the controversies surrounding Roman Scotland, several of which remain points of lively debate. From a reassessment of the loss of the Ninth Legion and the reasons for building and maintaining Hadrian's Wall, to considering what spurred at least four Roman Emperors to personally visit the edge of the Empire, he offers an informed view of what it was like to be at the dark heart of imperialism and slavery, and to be on the receiving end of Rome's merciless killing machine.

An invigorating journey through Britain's prehistoric landscape, and an insight into the lives of its inhabitants. 'Highly compelling' Spectator, Books of the Year 'An evocative foray into the prehistoric past' BBC Countryfile Magazine 'Vividly relating what life was like in pre-Roman Britain' Choice Magazine 'Makes life in Britain BC often sound rather more appealing than the frenetic and anxious 21st century!' Daily Mail In Scenes from Prehistoric Life, the distinguished archaeologist Francis Pryor paints a vivid picture of British and Irish prehistory, from the Old Stone Age (about one million years ago) to the arrival of the Romans in AD 43, in a sequence of fifteen profiles of ancient landscapes. Whether writing about the early human family who trod the estuarine muds of Happisburgh in Norfolk c.900,000 BC, the craftsmen who built a wooden trackway in the Somerset Levels early in the fourth millennium BC, or the Iron Age denizens of Britain's first towns, Pryor uses excavations and surveys to uncover the daily routines of our ancient ancestors. By revealing how our prehistoric forebears coped with both simple practical problems and more existential challenges, Francis Pryor offers remarkable insights into the long and unrecorded centuries of our early history, and a convincing, well-attested and movingly human portrait of prehistoric life as it was really lived.

This, the first volume of Sir E. A. Wallis Budge's The History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia, first published in 1928, presents an account of Ethiopian history from the earliest legendary and mythic records up until the death of King Lebna Dengel in 1540. Using a vast range of sources - Greek and Roman reports, Biblical passages, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Ethiopian chronicles - an enthralling narrative history is presented with clarity. This reissue will be of particular interest to students of Ancient Egyptian culture, religion and history.

The recital of The Book of Opening the Mouth and the Liturgy of Funerary Offerings were in use among the Predynastic Egyptians of the later part of the Neolithic Period, before the art of writing had evolved, and continued to exercise a considerable influence on Egyptian religious literature up until the time of Roman Empire. The ceremonies were believed to enable the spiritual elements of the deceased to continue their existence. The object of the formulae was the reconstitution of the body and the restoration to it of the heart-soul ('Ba'). This is the second volume of The Book of Opening the Mouth, first published in 1909, which is edited from three copies written in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-sixth Dynasties respectively. It is believed they describe faithfully the forms of the rites which originated among the primitive indigenous inhabitants of the Nile Valley.

This is the second of three volumes, first published in 1906, which explore the Egyptian theology of the afterlife. It contains the complete hieroglyphic text of the short form of the Am-Tuat and of the Book of Gates, with translations and reproductions of all the illustrations. In the Book of Gates the doctrines of the sophisticated cult of Osiris are prominent: they affirm that the beatified live for ever in the kingdom of Osiris, and feed daily upon his eternal body. The object of all the Books of the Other World was to provide the dead with a 'guide' or 'handbook, ' containing a description of the regions through which their souls would have to pass on their way to the Kingdom of Osiris, and which would supply them with the words of power and magical names necessary for an unimpeded journey from this world to the next

This is the second of three volumes exploring some of the most remarkable insights into Ancient Egypt to have come to light in modern times. The first two volumes deal with the Rosetta Stone, an outstanding archaeological discovery which has supplied the basis for Egyptian decipherment; the final volume explores the "Stele of Canopus", discovered in 1866. The significance of the Rosetta Stone lies in the three different languages inscribed on it: Koine Greek, Demotic Egyptian, and, crucially, Hieroglyphic. This has facilitated a vast increase in our understanding of the sacred language of Ancient Egypt, as well as enhancing our understanding of the nature of kingship at a time of immense cultural transformation. First published in 1904, this title provides an accessible general introduction to this fascinating subject, useful for the amateur enthusiast as well as undergraduate students.

This is the first of three volumes, first published in 1906, which explore the Egyptian theology of the afterlife. It contains the complete hieroglyphic text of the Book Am-Tuat, with translations and reproductions of all the illustrations. This text, at least in the form that we have it, was produced by the priests of Amen-Ra at Thebes, with the intention of demonstrating that their god was the overlord of all the gods, and the supreme power in the universe. The object of all the Books of the Other World was to provide the dead with a 'guide' or 'handbook, ' containing a description of the regions through which their souls would have to pass on their way to the Kingdom of Osiris, and which would supply them with the words of power and magical names necessary for an unimpeded journey from this world to the next

This is the second volume of Sir E. A. Wallis Budge's narrative account of Ethiopian history, and continues the chronicle of the Kings of Abyssinia where the first volume ended: the death of Lebna Dengel in 1540. The list of kings ends with the Regent Ras Tafari, who still reigned at the time of first publication in 1928. Thereafter, the author devotes considerable attention to an overview of the cultural, social and political idiosyncrasies of the Ethiopian people: literature, spells and magic, architecture, ethnography, the alphabet, and a wide range of other engrossing topics. This material complements the narrative history, helping to situate the deeds of the kings and the fortunes of their people in a broader context.

Containing a comprehensive dictionary of hieroglyphs to all the texts of the Theban Recension of the Book of the Dead, and also to most of the supplementary Chapters of the Saite and Graeco-Roman period that are usually appended to it, this volume will prove to be a staple part of a rounded appreciation of Ancient Egyptian literature. First published in 1911, the index includes all English equivalents to the Egyptian words. Phonetic values for each symbol are provided, the arrangement of the words and their various forms is arranged alphabetically throughout, and each hieroglyph is printed clearly: a user-friendly and concise tool for all enthusiasts, students and researchers.

Daniel Albero Santacreu presents a wide overview of certain aspects of the pottery analysis and summarizes most of the methodological and theoretical information currently applied in archaeology in order to develop wide and deep analysis of ceramic pastes. The book provides an adequate framework for understanding the way pottery production is organised and clarifies the meaning and role of the pottery in archaeological and traditional societies. The goal of this book is to encourage reflection, especially by those researchers who face the analysis of ceramics for the first time, by providing a background for the generation of their own research and to formulate their own questions depending on their concerns and interests. The three-part structure of the book allows readers to move easily from the analysis of the reality and ceramic material culture to the world of the ideas and theories and to develop a dialogue between data and their interpretation. Daniel Albero Santacreu is a Lecturer Assistant in the University of the Balearic Islands, member of the Research Group Arqueo UIB and the Ceramic Petrology Group. He has carried out the analysis of ceramics from several prehistoric societies placed in the Western Mediterranean, as well as the study of handmade pottery from contemporary ethnic groups in Northeast Ghana.

This book portrays the Himalayan-born River Saraswati, a legendary river that was the lifeline of a progressive and vibrant society for more than three thousand years. Written in simple language and richly illustrated, it highlights the events that resulted in the robbing of the Saraswati of its water and the end of a wonderful culture. The author weaves a geological narrative out of a mass of data generated by explorers, archaeologists, sedimentologists, geohydrologist, seismologists and remote-sensing specialists. The story explains how a great Himalayan river disappeared and how the Harappan Civilization vanished from the banks of the river Saraswati more than three and half thousand years ago in the wake of tectonic upheavals in the foothills of the Himalaya at a time when the rainfall had drastically declined. And it reveals that nowadays the Saraswati is an extraordinary wide water-less channel coursing through the vast but dry floodplain in western India.

This is the third of three volumes exploring some of the most remarkable insights into Ancient Egypt to have come to light in modern times. The first two volumes deal with the Rosetta Stone, an outstanding archaeological discovery which has supplied the basis for Egyptian decipherment; the final volume explores the "Stele of Canopus", discovered in 1866. The Decree inscribed on the Stele of Canopus was passed at a general Council of Egyptian priests, setting forth the good deeds of Ptolemy III, and enumerating the benefits that he and his wife Berenice had conferred upon Egypt. Yet, the real significance of the Stele is that, like the Rosetta Stone, the text is inscribed in Hieroglyphic, Greek and Demotic Egyptian. First published in 1904, this reissue provides an accessible general introduction to this fascinating subject, particularly useful for the amateur enthusiast as well as undergraduate students.

Sir E. A. Wallis Budge (1857-1934) was Keeper of the British Museum's department of oriental antiquities from 1894 until his retirement in 1924. Carrying out many missions to Egypt in search of ancient objects, Budge was hugely successful in collecting papyri, statues and other artefacts for the trustees of the British Museum: numbering into the thousands and of great cultural and historical significance. Budge published well over 100 monographs, which shaped the development of future scholarship and are still of great academic value today, dealing with subjects such as Egyptian religion, history and literature. First published in 1931, Egyptian Tales and Romances examines the historical and religious romances of the Egyptians from the early dynastic period to the twentieth century. Budge demonstrates Egypt's transition from Paganism to Christianity, and finally to Islam, through tales and stories carefully transcribed and translated. Part I contains historical romances written on papyrus and stone, whilst parts II and III are derived largely from Coptic and Muslim manuscript sources. Including detailed illustrations and photographs, this fascinating classic work will be of interest to academics and students of Egyptian folklore, archaeology and history, as well as the general inquisitive reader.

The origins and development of civilization are vital components to the understanding of the cultural processes that create human societies. Comparing and contrasting the evolutionary sequences from different civilizations is one approach to discovering their unique development. One area for comparison is in the Central Andes where several societies remained in isolation without a written language. As a direct result, the only resource to understand these societies is their material artifacts.
In this second volume, the focus is on the art and landscape remains and what they uncover about societies of the Central Andes region. The ancient art and landscape, revealing the range and richness of the societies of the area significantly shaped the development of Andean archaeology. This work includes discussions on:

- pottery and textiles;
- iconography and symbols;
- ideology;
- geoglyphs and rock art.This volume will be of interest to Andean archaeologists, cultural and historical anthropologists, material archaeologists and Latin American historians.

The history of pearling is inextricably linked to the history of Bahrain, the strategically-located Gulf archipelago set amidst one of the richest and most plentiful pearl fisheries in the world. Sea of Pearls tells the story of pearl fishing in the Gulf, and the role that this timeless industry played in global commerce, fashion, urban development, political struggles and the earliest ever long-distance maritime trade. From the 18th to 20th centuries, the industry boomed, as pearls were fished by ever-increasing numbers of tribesmen and townspeople to feed an expanding international market. Bahrain was at the centre of this activity before the industry's collapse in the early 20th century with the introduction of cultured pearls from Japan. The influx of traders, migrants, merchants and political advisors - each seeking to partake in the booming trade - left an indelible mark on the Gulf, germinating new city-states with cosmopolitan communities, which are now the global metropolises that we know today. Launching with the generous support of the Bahrain Authority of Culture and Antiquities (BACA), Sea of Pearls spotlights Bahrain's UNESCO-listed 'Pearling Path', a 3.5 km pathway taking visitors on a journey from the oyster beds of Muharraq to the historical merchant homes and other structures involved in the pearling economy. Lavishly illustrated, this book covers in unprecedented detail the history, development, impact and florescence of this ancient industry before it died out and was eclipsed in the age of oil. It is essential reading, not only for those wishing to understand the historical growth and geopolitical dynamics of pearl fishing, but also for those interested in the history and origins of the Gulf states. It is the fascinating, seldom-told story behind the world's enduring desire for one of humankind's most prized precious stones.

This book constitutes a major reassessment of the mortuary remains from the two X-Group royal cemeteries at Qustul and Ballana in Lower Nubia (c. AD 380-500). Since their excavation more than seventy years ago, and the subsequent flooding of the sites following the building of the Aswan High Dam, and despite the spectacular nature of the finds, the sites have received remarkably little scholarly attention. This book offers the first interpretation of social life at these key sites, and proposes a series of innovative, theoretically informed frames for exploring the significance of the material remains found there. In doing so, it sheds new light on a culture which, although less well known than the Meroitic Empire that preceded it and the subsequent development of the Christian Kingdoms of the Sudan, is nevertheless of considerable archaeological and historical significance. The sites present a series of archaeologically unique monumental tumuli and multi-chambered tomb structures containing evidence of human and animal sacrifice, as well as a highly sophisticated material culture. The interpretations presented here draw on the emergent field of sensory archaeology to address the key issue of identity formation. It makes a case for the heretofore unrecognised significance of an 'aesthetic' identity mediated by material culture. It approaches X-Group culture as a materially complex indigenous culture that created and altered identities through time via the manipulation of materials, colours and patterns (the 'aesthetic' basis of identity). This study explores the relationships between humans, animals, and artefacts. It demonstrates how a less stable society, which based control on aggressive public displays, became a more stable state, as power was mediated by magico-ritual performances, festal occasions, and the rise of certain individuals. The interpretations put forward here are based on a systematic quantitative analysis of the archaeological material from the sites. These analyses draw on complex typologies differentiating objects according to use, ware, colour, decoration method, designs, surface finish, contents, grafitto, location in a tomb, location near a body, etc. Such a quantification and synthesis of tens of thousands of individual pieces of data enabled the identification of key trends in the dataset--the empirical basis for the modelling of socio-political change undertaken here. The study was undertaken to combat the limited and unsatisfactory set of questions posed by previous debates about the activities at Qustul and Ballana. It constitutes a significant departure from previous work which restricted the discussion of life at the sites to a limited debate about the identity of tribal groups and the chronology of activity at the sites. In contrast, this research demonstrates that the way in which the X-Group(s) dynamically created, maintained, and altered their identity through various forms of praxis. The book is essential reading for anybody researching ancient Sudanese civilisations. It has a wider appeal for researchers and graduate students interested in new developments in approaches to the archaeology of North-East Africa. It also has a broader appeal to all those interested in the theorisation of identity, the practical application of archaeological theory to the study of material culture and the human relationship to the sensory nature of the sensory world.

The Sacred Identity of Ephesos offers a full-length interpretation of one of the largest known bequests in the Classical world, made to the city of Ephesos in AD 104 by a wealthy Roman equestrian, and challenges some of the basic assumptions made about the significance of the Greek cultural renaissance known as the 'Second Sophistic'. Professor Rogers shows how the civic rituals created by the foundation symbolised a contemporary social hierarchy, and how the ruling class used foundation myths - the birth of the goddess Artemis in a grove above the city - as a tangible source of power, to be wielded over new citizens and new gods. Utilising an innovative methodology for analysing large inscriptions, Professor Rogers argues that the Ephesians used their past to define their present during the Roman Empire, shedding new light on how second-century Greeks maintained their identities in relation to Romans, Christians, and Jews.

This collection of original essays focuses upon Roman Italy where, with over 400 cities, urbanization was at the very centre of Italian civilization. Informed by an awareness of the social and anthropological issues of recent research, these contributions explore not only questions of urban origins, interaction with the countryside and economic function, but also the social use of space within the city and the nature of the development process.; These studies are aimed not only at ancient historians and classical archaeologists, but are directed towards those working in the related fields of urban studies in the Mediterranean world and elsewhere and upon the general theory of towns and complex societies.