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Books > Humanities > Archaeology
This book tells the fascinating story of Roman Britain, beginning
with the late pre-Roman Iron Age and ending with the province's
independence from Roman rule in AD 409. Incorporating for the first
time the most recent archaeological discoveries from Hadrian's
Wall, London and other sites across the country, and richly
illustrated throughout with photographs and maps, this reliable and
up-to-date new account is essential reading for students,
non-specialists and general readers alike. Writing in a clear,
readable and lively style (with a satirical eye to strange features
of past times), Rupert Jackson draws on current research and new
findings to deepen our understanding of the role played by Britain
in the Roman Empire, deftly integrating the ancient texts with new
archaeological material. A key theme of the book is that Rome's
annexation of Britain was an imprudent venture, motivated more by
political prestige than economic gain, such that Britain became a
'trophy province' unable to pay its own way. However, the impact
that Rome and its provinces had on this distant island was
nevertheless profound: huge infrastructure projects transformed the
countryside and means of travel, capital and principal cities
emerged, and the Roman way of life was inseparably absorbed into
local traditions. Many of those transformations continue to
resonate to this day, as we encounter their traces in both physical
remains and in civic life.
In ancient Egypt, one of the primary roles of the king was to
maintain order and destroy chaos. Since the beginning of Egyptian
history, images of foreigners were used as symbols of chaos and
thus shown as captives being bound and trampled under the king's
feet. The early 18th dynasty (1550-1372 BCE) was the height of
international trade, diplomacy and Egyptian imperial expansion.
During this time new images of foreigners bearing tribute became
popular in the tombs of the necropolis at Thebes, the burial place
of the Egyptian elite. This volume analyses the new presentation of
foreigners in these tombs. Far from being chaotic, they are shown
in an orderly fashion, carrying tribute that underscores the wealth
and prestige of the tomb owner. This orderliness reflects the
ability of the Egyptian state to impose order on foreign lands, but
also crucially symbolises the tomb owner's ability to overcome the
chaos of death and achieve a successful afterlife. Illustrated with
colour plates and black-and-white images, this new volume is an
important and original study of the significance of these images
for the tomb owner and the functioning of the funerary cult.
From 5 May through 19 May, 1969, units of the 1st Squadron, 1st
Cavalry were ordered to clear elements of the VC (Viet Cong) from
the Tam Ky area in the wake of the Post-Tet Offensive of 1969. They
began an assault on a hilltop, Nui Yon Hill, which was a South
Vietnamese Army outpost that had been overrun by VC and NVA troops
a few days before. After the initial assault to retake the hill
failed, the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment was air assaulted
in to reinforce the 1st Cavalry. A, B, C, and D Companies of the
3/21 were committed to this operation.
On 13 May, 1969, the men of C Company were combat assaulted
into a hot landing zone near the South Vietnamese village of Tam
Ky. Their objective was to take Nui Yon Hill. As the Hueys carrying
C Company began to descend, they were hit by heavy enemy fire. Once
the U.S. soldiers had their boots on the ground, they became
embroiled in a fierce two-day battle that claimed the lives of
twelve Charlie Tigers. This is the compelling story of that battle
told by the men who were there.
Over its venerable history, Hadrian’s Wall has had an undeniable
influence in shaping the British landscape, both literally and
figuratively. Once thought to be a soft border, recent research has
implicated it in the collapse of a farming civilisation centuries
in the making, and in fuelling an insurgency characterised by
violent upheaval. Examining the everyday impact of the Wall over
the three centuries it was in operation, Matthew Symonds sheds new
light on its underexplored human story by discussing how the
evidence speaks of a hard border scything through a previously open
landscape and bringing dramatic change in its wake. The Roman
soldiers posted to Hadrian’s Wall were overwhelmingly recruits
from the empire’s occupied territories, and for them the frontier
could be a place of fear and magic where supernatural protection
was invoked during spells of guard duty. Since antiquity, the Wall
has been exploited by powers craving the legitimacy that came with
being accepted as the heirs of Rome: it helped forge notions of
English and Scottish nationhood, and even provided a model of
selfless cultural collaboration when the British Empire needed
reassurance. It has also inspired creatives for centuries,
appearing in a more or less recognisable guise in works ranging
from Rudyard Kipling’s Puck of Pook’s Hill to George R. R.
Martin’s A Game of Thrones. Combining an archaeological analysis
of the monument itself and an examination of its rich legacy and
contemporary relevance, this volume presents a reliable, modern
perspective on the Wall.
For 250 years encrusted wonders have been turning up in fishermen's
nets: everything imaginable from prehistoric animal bones to
priceless Roman statues. Fishing trawlers annually sweep an area
equivalent in size to half the world's continental shelves.
Everything in the wake of these bulldozers of the deep is battered.
A devastating trail of smashed shipwrecks runs from the North Sea
to Malaysia. The profound threat of the global fishing industry
remains a black hole in marine archaeology, poorly understood and
unmanaged. Fishing and Shipwreck Heritage is the first global
analysis of the threat of bottom fishing to underwater cultural
heritage, examining the diversity, scale and implications on
endangered finds and sites. Throughout, the key questions of
whether it is too late to save the planet's three million wrecks
and how sustainable management is achievable are debated.
For more than a century researchers have studied Maya ruins, and
sites like Tikal, Palenque, Copan, and Chichen Itza have shaped our
understanding of the Maya. Yet the lowlands of Belize, which were
once home to a rich urban tradition that persisted and evolved for
almost 2,000 years, are treated as peripheral to these great
Classic period sites. The hot and humid climate and dense forests
are inhospitable and make preservation of the ruins difficult, but
this oft-ignored area reveals much about Maya urbanism and culture.
Using data collected from different sites throughout the Maya
lowlands, including the Vaca Plateau and the Belize River Valley,
Brett Houk presents the first synthesis of these unique monuments
and discusses methods for mapping and excavating. Considering the
sites through the theoretical lenses of the built environmentand
ancient urban planning, Houk vividly reconstructs their political
history, how they fit into the larger political landscape of the
Classic Maya, and how the ancient cities fell apart over time.
The Peace of Westphalia (1648), ending the Thirty Years' War,
resulted in the rise of the modern European states system. However,
dynasticism, power politics, commerce, and religion continued to be
the main issues driving International politics and warfare.
William Young examines war and diplomacy during the Age of Louis
XIV and Peter the Great. His study focuses on the later part of the
Franco-Spanish War, the Wars of Louis XIV, and the Anglo-Dutch Wars
in the West. In addition, the author explores the wars of the
Baltic Region and East Europe, including the Thirteen Years' War,
Second Northern War, War of the Holy League, and the Great Northern
War.
The study includes a guide to the historical literature
concerning war and diplomacy during this period. It includes
bibliographical essays and a valuable annotated bibliography of
over six hundred books, monographs, dissertations, theses, journal
articles, and essays published in the English language.
"International Politics and Warfare in the Age of Louis XIV and
Peter the Great" is a valuable resource for individuals interested
in the history of diplomacy, warfare, and Early Modern Europe.
Built in 1566 by Spanish conquistador Juan Pardo, Fort San Juan is
the earliest known European settlement in the interior United
States. Located at the Berry site in western North Carolina, the
fort and its associated domestic compound stood near the Native
American town of Joara, whose residents sacked the fort and burned
the compound after only eighteen months. Drawing on archaeological
evidence from architectural, floral, and faunal remains, as well as
newly discovered accounts of Pardo's expeditions, this volume
explores the deterioration in Native American-Spanish relations
that sparked Joara's revolt and offers critical insight into the
nature of early colonial interactions.
This collection of twenty-eight essays presents an up-to-date
survey of pre-Islamic Iran, from the earliest dynasty of Illam to
the end of Sasanian empire, encompassing a rich diversity of
peoples and cultures. Historically, Iran served as a bridge between
the earlier Near Eastern cultures and the later classical world of
the Mediterranean, and had a profound influence on political,
military, economic, and cultural aspects of the ancient world.
Written by international scholars and drawing mainly on the field
of practical archaeology, which traditionally has shared little in
the way of theories and methods, the book provides crucial pieces
to the puzzle of the national identity of Iranian cultures from a
historical perspective. Revealing the wealth and splendor of
ancient Iranian society - its rich archaeological data and
sophisticated artistic craftsmanship - most of which has never
before been presented outside of Iran, this beautifully illustrated
book presents a range of studies addressing specific aspects of
Iranian archaeology to show why the artistic masterpieces of
ancient Iranians rank among the finest ever produced. Together, the
authors analyze how archaeology can inform us about our cultural
past, and what remains to still be discovered in this important
region.
This book successfully connects archaeology and archaeometallurgy
with geoscience and metallurgy. It addresses topics concerning ore
deposits, archaeological field evidence of early metal production,
and basic chemical-physical principles, as well as experimental
ethnographic works on a low handicraft base and artisanal metal
production to help readers better understand what happened in
antiquity. The book is chiefly intended for scholars and students
engaged in interdisciplinary work.
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