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Books > Humanities > Archaeology > Archaeology by period / region > European archaeology > Classical Greek & Roman archaeology
The life cycle of a coin is long. One might even argue that its existence as a coin is only a minor part of the recycling of metal. In the field of archaeology, coin finds are evidence of connections between human beings. Coins were brought from one place to another by someone, with a reason to do so. Any object acquires new properties when moved from one cultural context to another, and the meaning of the Roman coin in the Danish Iron Age context no doubt differed greatly from its original significance. The Roman denarius was meant to be used as a coin in a monetary economy. Having left the area where the denarius was recognized as coin, it assumed new meanings. But, what were those new meanings? How was the denarius perceived in non-Roman communities? Which purposes did the coin serve? This book covers the later part of the Roman coin's existence - its arrival in Bornholm, its use there, and its deposition in and recovery from the soil.
In this book, Gabriel Zuchtriegel explores and reconstructs the unwritten history of Classical Greece - the experience of nonelite colonial populations. Using postcolonial critical methods to analyze Greek settlements and their hinterlands of the fifth and fourth centuries BC, he reconstructs the social and economic structures in which exploitation, violence, and subjugation were implicit. He mines literary sources and inscriptions, as well as archaeological and data from excavations and field surveys, much of it published here for the first time, that offer new insights into the lives and status of nonelite populations in Greek colonies. Zuchtriegel demonstrates that Greece's colonial experience has far-reaching implications beyond the study of archaeology and ancient history. As reflected in foundational texts such as Plato's 'Laws' and Aristotle's 'Politics', the ideology that sustained Greek colonialism is still felt in many Western societies.
Along with Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Levant, Minoan Crete was one of the primary cultures of the prehistoric Mediterranean world. In this book, L. Vance Watrous offers an up-to-date overview of this important ancient society. Using archaeological evidence from palaces, houses, surveys, caves, and mountain shrines, he describes and traces the development of Minoan Crete from the Neolithic era through the Late Bronze Age. Watrous also presents and interprets Minoan art works in a range of media, including fresco paintings, pottery, and seals, and explains how Minoan Crete affected the culture of classical Greece. Aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, this book can be used in courses on the ancient Mediterranean world and classical archaeology.
In the spring of 1900, British archaeologist Arthur Evans began to excavate the palace of Knossos on Crete, bringing ancient Greek legends to life just as a new century dawned amid far-reaching questions about human history, art, and culture. With "Knossos and the Prophets of Modernism," Cathy Gere relates the fascinating story of Evans's excavation and its long-term effects on Western culture. After the World War I left the Enlightenment dream in tatters, the lost paradise that Evans offered in the concrete labyrinth--pacifist and matriarchal, pagan and cosmic--seemed to offer a new way forward for writers, artists, and thinkers such as Sigmund Freud, James Joyce, Giorgio de Chirico, Robert Graves, and Hilda Doolittle. Assembling a brilliant, talented, and eccentric cast at a moment of tremendous intellectual vitality and wrenching change, Cathy Gere paints an unforgettable portrait of the age of concrete and the birth of modernism.
This volume is both a companion to the editors' Greek Historical Inscriptions, 404-323 BC, and a successor to the later part of the Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions to the End of the Fifth Century BC, edited by Russell Meiggs and David M. Lewis and published in 1969. As with the editors' earlier collection, it seeks to make a selection of historically significant inscribed texts accessible to scholars and students of fifth-century Greek history. Since the publication of Meiggs and Lewis' collection, a number of significant new inscriptions and fragments have been unearthed and new interpretations of previously known examples developed. As well as updating the scholarly corpus, this volume aims to broaden the thematic range of inscriptions discussed and to include a greater selection of material from outside Athens, while still adhering to the intention of presenting texts which are important not just as typical of their genre but in their own right. In doing so, it offers an entry point to all aspects of fifth-century history, from political and institutional, to social, economic, and religious, and in order to make the material as accessible as possible for a broad readership concerned with the study of these areas, the Greek texts are presented here alongside both English translations and incisive commentaries, which will be of utility both to the specialist academic and to those less familiar with the areas in question. The inclusion of photographs depicting inscribed stones and bronzes complements discussion of the inscriptions themselves and enables parallel consideration of their nature, appearance, and transmission history, resulting in a work of thoroughly comprehensive, cutting-edge scholarship and an invaluable reference text for the study of fifth-century Greek history.
This volume is a successor to the second volume of M. N. Tod's Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions (OUP, 1948). It provides an up-to-date selection - with introduction, Greek texts, English translations, and commentaries which cater for the needs of today's students - of inscriptions which are important for the study of Greek history in the fourth century BC. The texts chosen illuminate not only the mainstream of Greek political and military history, but also institutional, social, economic, and religious life. To emphasize the importance of inscriptions as physical objects, a number of photographs have been included.
In this book, Hella Eckardt offers new insights into literacy in the Roman world by examining the tools that enabled writing, such as inkwells, styli and tablets. Literacy was an important skill in the ancient world and power could be and often was, exercised through texts. Eckardt explores how writing equipment shaped practices such as posture and handwriting and her careful analysis of burial data shows considerable numbers of women and children interred with writing equipment, notably inkwells, in an effort to display status as well as age and gender. The volume offers a comprehensive review of recent approaches to literacy during Roman antiquity and adds a distinctive material turn to our understanding of this crucial skill and the embodied practices of its use. At the heart of this study lies the nature of the relationship between the material culture of writing and socio-cultural identities in the Roman period.
Poverty in fifth- and fourth-century BCE Athens was a markedly different concept to that with which we are familiar today. Reflecting contemporary ideas about labour, leisure, and good citizenship, the 'poor' were considered to be not only those who were destitute, or those who were living at the borders of subsistence, but also those who were moderately well-off but had to work for a living. Defined in this way, this group covered around 99 per cent of the population of Athens. This conception of penia (poverty) was also ideologically charged: the poor were contrasted with the rich and found, for the most part, to be both materially and morally deficient. Poverty, Wealth, and Well-Being sets out to rethink what it meant to be poor in a world where this was understood as the need to work for a living, exploring the discourses that constructed poverty as something to fear and linking them with experiences of penia among different social groups in Athens. Drawing on current research into and debates around poverty within the social sciences, it provides a critical reassessment of poverty in democratic Athens and argues that it need not necessarily be seen in terms of these elitist ideological categories, nor indeed solely as an economic condition (the state of having no wealth), but that it should also be understood in terms of social relations, capabilities, and well-being. In developing a framework to analyse the complexities of poverty so conceived and exploring the discourses that shaped it, the volume reframes poverty as being dynamic and multidimensional, and provides a valuable insight into what the poor in Athens - men and women, citizen and non-citizen, slave and free - were able to do or to be.
Picenum and the Ager Gallicus at the Dawn of the Roman Conquest: Landscape Archaeology and Material Culture is a coherent collection of papers presented at an International Workshop held in Ravenna (Italy) on 13-14 May 2019. The event, organized by the Universities of Bologna and Ghent and Arcadria, focussed on the transition between Italic culture and Romanised society in the central Adriatic area - the regions ager Gallicus and Picenum under Roman dominance - from the fourth to the second centuries BCE. By bringing together the experience of international research on this topic, the volume highlights a period that marks a profound transformation in the whole of central Italy by analysing the relationships between the central settlements and their territories and, more generally, by measuring the impact of early Romanization on the territorial structure, social organization and cultural substrata of populations living here. The volume also discusses methodological aspects regarding best practices in fieldwork, landscape investigation and study of material culture, identifying research lines and perspectives for the future deepening of knowledge in this crucial period of central Adriatic archaeology.
A desire to recreate Minoan palaces, villas, and houses of the Late Bronze Age inspired the author of this book to undertake an eight year research program that has radically modified our conception of the appearance of Cretan dwellings. He not only interprets the use of the rooms that partially survive but reconstructs the guest suites and banquet halls of the vanished upper storeys. Written both as a preparation for a visit to Crete and as an actual guide to the sites," the book is prefaced with an account of the island's geography, history, and culture in antiquity, and packed with illustrations including photographs, plans, reconstructions, and a map of the island showing the sites. Originally published in 1987. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. Originally published in 1987. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Our Beloved Polites assembles a large number of studies presented in honour of one of the most remarkable historians of ancient Greece, Professor P. J. Rhodes, to celebrate his life and the splendidly scholarly work which has been and will continue to be a major reference for scholars around the world. The volume starts with an appreciation of the honorand by John Davies, followed by twenty-eight contributions from junior and established scholars, organised in four sections that map closely onto four prominent areas of P. J. Rhodes' research into ancient Greece: History and Biography, Law, Politics, and Epigraphy.
The frontiers of the Roman empire together form the largest surviving monument of one of the world's greatest 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 sculpture, 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 booklets is not only to inform the interested visitor about the history of the frontiers but to act as a guidebook as well. The Roman Empire reached its near full extent during the reign of Emperor Augustus. At that time Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the entire Mediterranean were part of it. The Hungarian part of the Empire had a river frontier that was more precisely called ripa. Pannonia province existed from the occupation during the reign of Emperor Augustus to the 20s and 30s of the 5th century A.D. Its border stretched alongside the Danube and was always one of the most important European frontiers in Roman times, as it is justified by keeping a very strong defence force there, consisting of 4 legions and an average of 30 auxiliary units. Some 420 km long section of the entire Pannonian limes from Klosterneuburg (Austria) to Belgrade (Serbia) belongs to the territory of present-day Hungary.
In this volume, Felipe Rojas examines how the inhabitants of Roman Anatolia interacted with the physical traces of earlier civilizations in their midst. Combining material and textual evidence, he shows that interest in and knowledge about pre-classical remains was deep and widespread. Indeed, ancient interaction with the remnants of even more ancient pasts was a vital part of life for many and diverse people in Roman Anatolia. Such interaction ranged from the purported translation of Bronze and Iron Age inscriptions to the physical manipulation of monuments and objects, including prehistoric earthen mounds and archaic statues. Occasionally, it even involved the production of fake antiquities. Offering new insights into both the archaeology and history of the Roman Mediterranean, Rojas's book is also an innovative contribution to the archaeology and anthropology of memory.
Longlisted for the RUNCIMAN AWARD, 2021 Medicine is one of the great fields of achievement of the Ancient Greeks. Hippocrates is celebrated worldwide as the father of medicine and the Hippocratic Oath is admired throughout the medical profession as a founding statement of ethics and ideals. In the fifth century BC, Greeks even wrote of medicine as a newly discovered craft they had invented. Robin Lane Fox's remarkable book puts their invention of medicine in a wider context, from the epic poems of Homer to the first doctors known to have been active in the Greek world. He examines what we do and do not know about Hippocrates and his Oath and the many writings that survive under his name. He then focuses on seven core texts which give the case histories of named individuals, showing that books 1 and 3 belong far earlier than previously recognised. Their re-dating has important consequences for the medical awareness of the great Greek dramatists and the historians Herodotus and Thucydides. Robin Lane Fox pieces together the doctor's thinking from his terse observations and relates it in a new way to the history of Greek prose and ideas. This original and compelling book opens windows onto many other aspects of the classical world, from women's medicine to street-life, empire, art, sport, sex and even botany. It fills a dark decade in a new way and carries readers along an extraordinary journey form Homer's epics to the grateful heirs of the Greek case histories, first in the Islamic world and then in early modern Europe.
The relentlessly self-promoting amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann took full credit for discovering Homer's Troy over one hundred years ago, and since then generations have thrilled to the tale of his ambitions and achievements. But Schliemann gained this status as an archaeological hero partly by deliberately eclipsing the man who had launched his career. Now, at long last, Susan Heuck Allen puts the record straight in this fascinating archaeological adventure that restores the British expatriate Frank Calvert to his rightful place in the story of the identification and excavation of Hisarlik, the site now thought to be Troy as described in the Iliad. Frank Calvert had lived in the Troad - in the northwest corner of Asia Minor - excavating there for fifteen years before Schliemann arrived and learning the local topography well. He was the first archaeologist to test the hypothesis that Hisarlik was the Troy of Hector and Helen. So that he would have unrestricted access to the site, he purchased part of the mound and was the first archaeologist to conduct excavations there. Running out of funds, he later interested Schliemann in the site. The thankless Schliemann stole Calvert's ideas, exploited his knowledge and advice, and finally stole Calvert's glory, in part by slandering him and denigrating his work. Allen corrects the record and does justice to a man who was a victim of his own integrity while giving a balanced treatment of Schliemann's true accomplishments. This meticulously researched book tells the story of Frank Calvert's development as an archaeologist, his adventures and discoveries. It focuses on the twists and turns of his turbulent relationship with the perfidious Schliemann, the resulting gains for archaeology, and the successful conclusion of their common quest. Allen has brought together a wide range of relevant published material as well as unpublished sources from archives, diaries, letters, and personal interviews to tell this gripping story.
Kommos, located on the south coast of Crete, is widely known for its important sanctuary of the Greek period. and for its earlier role as a major Minoan harbortown. Volumes II and III of this series on the results of the major excavations there have already been published. Now Part I of Volume I offers a general introduction to the site with chapters on the history and character of its excavation seen within the context of earlier archaeological exploration of the Mesara Plain and specifically in the Kommos area (Joseph W. Shaw) and studies on the geomorphology (John A. Gifford), the flora (C. Thomas Shay and Jennifer M. Shay, with Katherine A. Frego and Janusz Zwiazek) and the fauna (David S. Reese, with contributions by Mark J. Rose and Sebastian Payne) of the Kommos region, and ancient and modern land use (Michael Parsons, with John A. Gifford), A catalogue and analysis of finds from a foot survey in the Kommos area are included (Richard Hope Simpson, with Philip P. Betancourt, Peter J. Callaghan, Deborah K. Harlan, John W. Hayes, Joseph W. Shaw, Maria C. Shaw, and L. Vance Watrous). A final chapter by Harriet Blitzer treats Minoan implements and industries. This excavationwas conducted by the University of Toronto and the Royal Ontario Museum under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Originally published in 1995. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
This book discusses how Greek and South Italian vase paintings of the musical contest between Apollo and Marsyas became the model for Etruscan representations of Cacus ambushed by the Vibennae brothers, two Etruscan heroes of the sixth century B.C. The study demonstrates that the Etruscans knowingly adapted Greek iconographic forms to represent their own legends. Originally published in 1982. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
From thousands of fragments of plaster the author has assembled clues to the scheme of the wall painting in this royal palace destroyed by fire at the end of the thirteenth century B.C. Originally published in 1969. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Homer's King Nestor of "sandy Pylas" passes from legend into history in this first volume of the report of excavations on a hill called Englianos in Messenia, conducted by the Archaeological Expedition of the University of Cincinnati. The palace with its contents and the surrounding lower town indicate that this was an administrative center and the capital of a prosperous Mycenaean kingdom. The name Pylos appears on more than fifty tablets, and there can be no doubt that this was the Messenian abode of the Nestor of Greek tradition. Destroyed by fire at the end of the 13th century B.C., and never reoccupied, the palace has lain for more than 3,000 years in ruins. During the annual campaigns of the Expedition between 1952 and 1964, it emerged as a complex of four separate structures of considerable size. The floors, stumps of wall bearing plaster with painted decorations, doorways, and other evidence helped to identify gateways, courts, porticoes, vestibules, corridors, a great throne room, storerooms, a wine magazine, pantries filled with pottery, a bathroom, stairways, and a repair shop. Except for the tablets, seals, and frescoes, which will be described in other volumes, all the finds are recorded and illustrated with plans, drawings, and photographs. Originally published in 1966. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
This case study of an underdeveloped area was carried out by the Rockefeller Foundation in an effort to discover what kinds of assistance can be usefully given to underdeveloped areas and in what ways. It is hoped that the results will be useful to many kinds of specialists--government and foundation officials, foreign-aid missions, private investors, etc. Originally published in 1953. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Outside the north gate of Venta Belgarum, Roman Winchester, a great cemetary stretched for 500 yards along the road to Cirencester. Excavations at Lankhills from 1967 to 1972 uncovered 451 graves, many elaborately furnished, at the northern limits of this cemetery, and dating from the fourth century A.D. This book, the second in a two-part study of Venta Belgarum, which forms the third volume of Winchester Studies, describes the excavations of these burials and analyses in detail both the graves and their contents. There are detailed studies and important re-assessments of many categories of object, but it is the information about late Roman burial, religion, and society which is of special interest.
The use of stone in vast quantities is a ubiquitous and defining feature of the material culture of the Roman world. In this volume, Russell provides a new and wide-ranging examination of the production, distribution, and use of carved stone objects throughout the Roman world, including how enormous quantities of high-quality white and polychrome marbles were moved all around the Mediterranean to meet the demand for exotic material. The long-distance supply of materials for artistic and architectural production, not to mention the trade in finished objects like statues and sarcophagi, is one of the most remarkable features of the Roman world. Despite this, it has never received much attention in mainstream economic studies. Focusing on the market for stone and its supply, the administration, distribution, and chronology of quarrying, and the practicalities of stone transport, Russell offers a detailed assessment of the Roman stone trade and how the relationship between producer and customer functioned even over considerable distances.
Rome is one of the world's greatest archaeological sites, preserving many major monuments of the classical past. It is also a city with an important post-Roman history and home to both the papacy and the modern Italian state. Archaeologists have studied the ruins, and popes and politicians have used them for propaganda programs. Developers and preservationists have fought over what should and should not be preserved. This book tells the story of those complex, interacting developments over the past three centuries, from the days of the Grand Tour through the arrival of the fascists, which saw more destruction but also an unprecedented use of the remains for political propaganda. In post-war Rome, urban development predominated over archaeological preservation and much was lost. However, starting in the 1970s, preservationists have fought back, saving much and making the city into Europe's most important case study in historical preservation and historical loss.
The three centuries which followed the conquests of Alexander are perhaps the most thrilling of all periods of ancient history. This was an age of cultural globalization: in the third century BC, a single language carried you from the Rhone to the Indus. A Celt from the lower Danube could serve in the mercenary army of a Macedonian king ruling in Egypt, and a Greek philosopher from Cyprus could compare the religions of the Brahmins and the Jews on the basis of first-hand knowledge of both. Kings from Sicily to Tajikistan struggled to meet the challenges of ruling multi-ethnic states, and Greek city-states came together under the earliest federal governments known to history. The scientists of Ptolemaic Alexandria measured the circumference of the earth, while pioneering Greek argonauts explored the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic coast of Africa. Drawing on inscriptions, papyri, coinage, poetry, art, and archaeology, in this Very Short Introduction Peter Thonemann opens up the history and culture of the vast Hellenistic world, from the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC) to the Roman conquest of the Ptolemaic kingdom (30 BC). ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
The Bouros-Kastri peninsula at the south-eastern tip of the Greek island of Euboia has previously been overlooked in the archaeological literature. This survey by the Southern Euboea Exploration Project, conducted under the aegis of the Canadian Institute in Greece, now provides a wealth of intriguing information about fluctuations in long-term use and habitation in this part of the Karystia. While the peninsula is agriculturally poor, its coast is blessed with several small coastal inlets and one important ancient port, Geraistos. These provide access to vital maritime routes and connect the peninsula to Athens and other Aegean ports. The survey revealed modest use of the peninsula during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age; it was then virtually abandoned for the following two and a half millennia. Occupation resumed in the Late Archaic-Early Classical period, followed by near desertion in the 3rd century BC of all but some coastal sites, a resurgence of activity in the Late Roman period, and modest use in Byzantine and Ottoman times. The authors analyse the ways in which the peninsula's use was connected to that of the main urban centre at Karystos, and how the peninsula and the greater Karystia were integrated into the political, economic, and cultural spheres of Athens and the broader region. |
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