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Books > Humanities > Archaeology > Archaeology by period / region > European archaeology
The study of Roman sculpture has been an essential part of the
disciplines of Art History and Classics since the eighteenth
century. From formal concerns such as Kopienkritic (copy criticism)
to social readings of plebeian and patrician art and beyond,
scholars have returned to Roman sculpture to answer a variety of
questions about Roman art, society, and history. Indeed, the field
of Roman sculptural studies encompasses not only the full
chronological range of the Roman world but also its expansive
geography, and a variety of artistic media, formats, sizes, and
functions. Exciting new theories, methods, and approaches have
transformed the specialized literature on the subject in recent
decades. Rather than creating another chronological ARCH15OXH of
representative examples of various periods, genres, and settings,
The Oxford Handbook of Roman Sculpture synthesizes current best
practices for studying this central medium of Roman art, situating
it within the larger fields of art history, classical archaeology,
and Roman studies. This volume fills the gap between introductory
textbooks-which hide the critical apparatus from the reader-and the
highly focused professional literature. The handbook conveniently
presents new technical, scientific, literary, and theoretical
approaches to the study of Roman sculpture in one reference volume
and complements textbooks and other publications that present
well-known works in the corpus. Chronologically, the volume
addresses material from the Early Republican period through Late
Antiquity. The Oxford Handbook of Roman Sculpture not only
contributes to the field of classical art and archaeology but also
provides a useful reference for classicists and historians of the
ancient world.
This is an authoritative guide to the complete range of medieval
scholarship undertaken in twentieth-century Britain: history,
archaeology, language, culture. Some of the twenty-nine essays
focus on changes in research methods or on the achievements of
individual scholars, while others are the personal account of a
lifetime's work in a discipline. Many outline the ways in which
subjects may develop in the twenty-first century.
The Greek Bronze Age, roughly 3000 to 1000 BCE, witnessed the
flourishing of the Minoan and Mycenean civilizations, the earliest
expansion of trade in the Aegean and wider Mediterranean Sea, the
development of artistic techniques in a variety of media, and the
evolution of early Greek religious practices and mythology. The
period also witnessed a violent conflict in Asia Minor between
warring peoples in the region, a conflict commonly believed to be
the historical basis for Homer's Trojan War. The Oxford Handbook of
the Bronze Age Aegean provides a detailed survey of these
fascinating aspects of the period, and many others, in sixty-six
newly commissioned articles.
Divided into four sections, the handbook begins with Background and
Definitions, which contains articles establishing the discipline in
its historical, geographical, and chronological settings and in its
relation to other disciplines. The second section, Chronology and
Geography, contains articles examining the Bronze Age Aegean by
chronological period (Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late
Bronze Age). Each of the periods are further subdivided
geographically, so that individual articles are concerned with
Mainland Greece during the Early Bronze Age, Crete during the Early
Bronze Age, the Cycladic Islands during the Early Bronze Age, and
the same for the Middle Bronze Age, followed by the Late Bronze
Age. The third section, Thematic and Specific Topics, includes
articles examining thematic topics that cannot be done justice in a
strictly chronological/geographical treatment, including religion,
state and society, trade, warfare, pottery, writing, and burial
customs, as well as specific events, such as the eruption of
Santorini and the Trojan War. The fourth section, Specific Sites
and Areas, contains articles examining the most important regions
and sites in the Bronze Age Aegean, including Mycenae, Tiryns,
Pylos, Knossos, Kommos, Rhodes, the northern Aegean, and the
Uluburun shipwreck, as well as adjacent areas such as the Levant,
Egypt, and the western Mediterranean.
Containing new work by an international team of experts, The Oxford
Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean represents the most
comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date single-volume survey
of the field. It will be indispensable for scholars and advanced
students alike.
This is the first comprehensive and fully illustrated study of
silver vessels from ancient Macedonia from the 4th to the 2nd
centuries BC. These precious vessels formed part of dining sets
owned by the royal family and the elite and have been discovered in
the tombs of their owners. Eleni Zimi presents 171 artifacts in a
full-length study of form, decoration, inscriptions and
manufacturing techniques, set against contemporary comparanda in
other media (clay, bronze, glass). She adopts an art historical and
sociological approach to the archaeological evidence and
demonstrates that the use of silver vessels as an expression of
wealth and a status symbol is not only connected with the wealth
spread in the empire after Alexander's the Great expedition to the
East, but constitutes a practice reflecting the opulence and
appreciation for luxury at least in the Macedonian court from the
reign of Philip II onwards.
This book contains catalogues, analyses, photographs and drawings
of some 2,000 archaeological artefacts excavated from the Insula of
the Menander in Pompeii. The catalogues, and analyses are organized
by provenance - buildings, rooms, and location within rooms - so
that the reader can understand the artefacts as household
assemblages. The functions of artefacts and groups of artefacts are
discussed, as are the Latin names which are often given to these
artefacts, and the relationships of these assemblages to the state
of occupancy of the buildings in the Insula during the last years
of Pompeii. This study, therefore, provides a wealth of
information, not only on the range and use of artefacts in Pompeian
houses but also on Roman artefacts, and Roman society, more
generally.
By far the largest single source of new information about the
ancient Greek and Roman world is provided by the flow of newly
discovered inscriptions, which presents both a challenge and an
opportunity. In order to interpret any inscription we need to be
able to apply the knowledge that we already have. On the other
hand, inscriptions present the opportunity to gain new knowledge
about virtually every aspect of the mix of cultures and societies
which we call Graeco-Roman antiquity. This book therefore
emphasises the importance of the two-way connections and
contributions which link epigraphic studies with the historical
sciences as a whole. Epigraphic information is helping to reshape
and extend our knowledge of the religious life, the languages, the
populations, the governmental systems, and the economies of the
Graeco-Roman world. New techniques and technologies are helping to
make epigraphically based information more accessible, whether in
terms of public display or in terms of the ever-widening
possibilities of information technology. The act of looking at the
Graeco-Roman world through the window provided by the epigraphic
record offers a distinctive gaze of unique and exceptional value.
In June, 1973, a group of eleven teachers, students and pupils from
Glasgow boarded a new school minibus and began a trip - across
Europe, Turkey, Syria and Iraq - to Persepolis, in Iran, the
ceremonial capital of the great king Darius of Persia and his son
and successor Xerxes. This is the story, based on the diary and
photographs of one of the teachers. A fascinating mix of
archaeology and culture, the practicalities of travel on a tight
budget, bureaucracy, political disruption, and food and drink.
Liberally illustrated with maps of the route and photographs of
ancient sites, cities and landscapes, and of the minibus and its
inhabitants.
In June, 1973, a group of eleven teachers, students and pupils from
Glasgow boarded a new school minibus and began a trip - across
Europe, Turkey, Syria and Iraq - to Persepolis, in Iran, the
ceremonial capital of the great king Darius of Persia and his son
and successor Xerxes. This is the story, based on the diary and
photographs of one of the teachers. A fascinating mix of
archaeology and culture, the practicalities of travel on a tight
budget, bureaucracy, political disruption, and food and drink.
Liberally illustrated with maps of the route and photographs of
ancient sites, cities and landscapes, and of the minibus and its
inhabitants.
The Roman Remains of Brittany, Normandy and the Loire Valley is the
third in a series of companion guides. The only specialist
guidebook to the region, it provides context to many sites that
deserve to be better known, some only recently conserved for the
public. There are plenty of places to chose from: fifty-four
treated at length plus fourteen shorter entries. There is an
extended chapter dealing with the historical background and two
feature sections. The book is easy to use as there are a large
number of maps, plans and colour photographs. To ensure accuracy,
the author personally followed aqueduct routes, visited hidden
temples, admired ramparts, and visited all the museums. Through his
writing a visit is transformed into an experience.
In the early 1800's, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea
exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus
ivory. Norse netsuke, each face individual, each full of quirks,
the Lewis Chessmen are probably the most famous chess pieces in the
world. Harry played Wizard's Chess with them in Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer's Stone. Housed at the British Museum, they are among
its most visited and beloved objects. Questions abounded: Who
carved them? Where? Ivory Vikings explores these mysteries by
connecting medieval Icelandic sagas with modern archaeology, art
history, forensics, and the history of board games. In the process,
Ivory Vikings presents a vivid history of the 400 years when the
Vikings ruled the North Atlantic, and the sea-road connected
countries and islands we think of as far apart and culturally
distinct: Norway and Scotland, Ireland and Iceland, and Greenland
and North America. The story of the Lewis chessmen explains the
economic lure behind the Viking voyages to the west in the 800s and
900s. And finally, it brings from the shadows an extraordinarily
talented woman artist of the twelfth century: Margret the Adroit of
Iceland.
Two precious Gold Horns were sacrificed by a group of Angles in
South Jutland shortly before they migrated to England. The pictures
on the horns offer a substantial explanation of the pre-Christian
religion of the Angles. This book describes how many Anglian groups
from the continent migrated to England and brought with them their
culture and English language. It provides an original analysis of
archaeological finds and documentation of the Anglo-Saxon religion.
This can be observed in finds from the heathen Anglo-Saxons, - the
Sutton Hoo ship burial, Franks Casket, the square-headed brooches,
idols, amulets and ceramics. The book also explores Runes - the
most remarkable invention of the Angles. The book will be enjoyed
by anybody interested in English heritage and especially those with
an interest in pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons.
Knossos is one of the most important sites in the ancient
Mediterranean. It remained amongst the largest settlements on the
island of Crete from the Neolithic until the late Roman times, but
aside from its size it held a place of particular significance in
the mythological imagination of Greece and Rome as the seat of King
Minos, the location of the Labyrinth and the home of the Minotaur.
Sir Arthur Evans’ discovery of ‘the Palace of Minos’ has
indelibly associated Knossos in the modern mind with the ‘lost’
civilisation of Bronze Age Crete. The allure of this ‘lost
civilisation’, together with the considerable achievements of
‘Minoan’ artists and craftspeople, remain a major attraction
both to scholars and to others outside the academic world as a
bastion of a romantic approach to the past. In this volume, James
Whitley provides an up-to-date guide to the site and its function
from the Neolithic until the present day. This study includes a
re-appraisal Bronze Age palatial society, as well as an exploration
of the history of Knossos in the archaeological imagination. In
doing so he takes a critical look at the guiding assumptions of
Evans and others, reconstructing how and why the received view of
this ancient settlement has evolved from the Iron Age up to the
modern era.
Alfred Nobel made his name as an inventor and successful
entrepreneur and left a legacy as a philanthropist and promoter of
learning and social progress. The correspondence between Nobel and
his Viennese mistress, Sofie Hess, shines a light on his private
life and reveals a personality that differs significantly from his
public image. The letters show him as a hypochondriac and
workaholic and as a paranoid, jealous, and patriarchal lover.
Indeed, the relationship between the aging Alfred Nobel and the
carefree, spendthrift Sofie Hess will strike readers as
dysfunctional and worthy of Freudian analysis. Erika Rummel's
masterful translation and annotations reveal the value of the
letters as commentary on 19th century social mores: the concept of
honour and reputation, the life of a "kept" woman, the prevalence
of antisemitism, the importance of spas as health resorts and
entertainment centres, the position of single mothers, and more
generally the material culture of a rich bourgeois gentleman. A
Nobel Affair is the first translation into English of the complete
correspondence between Alfred Nobel and Sofie Hess.
In this book, Thomas F. Tartaron presents a new and original
reassessment of the maritime world of the Mycenaean Greeks of the
Late Bronze Age. By all accounts a seafaring people, they enjoyed
maritime connections with peoples as distant as Egypt and Sicily.
These long-distance relations have been celebrated and much
studied; by contrast, the vibrant worlds of local maritime
interaction and exploitation of the sea have been virtually
ignored. Dr Tartaron argues that local maritime networks, in the
form of 'coastscapes' and 'small worlds', are far more
representative of the true fabric of Mycenaean life. He offers a
complete template of conceptual and methodological tools for
recovering small worlds and the communities that inhabited them.
Combining archaeological, geoarchaeological and anthropological
approaches with ancient texts and network theory, he demonstrates
the application of this scheme in several case studies. This book
presents new perspectives and challenges for all archaeologists
with interests in maritime connectivity.
Walking served as an occasion for the display of power and status
in ancient Rome, where great men paraded with their entourages
through city streets and elite villa owners strolled with friends
in private colonnades and gardens. In this first book-length
treatment of the culture of walking in ancient Rome, Timothy
O'Sullivan explores the careful attention which Romans paid to the
way they moved through their society. He employs a wide range of
literary, artistic, and architectural evidence to reveal the
crucial role that walking played in the performance of social
status, the discourse of the body and the representation of space.
By examining how Roman authors depict walking, this book sheds new
light on the Romans themselves not only how they perceived
themselves and their experience of the world, but also how they
drew distinctions between work and play, mind and body, and
republic and empire."
The crisis of the Roman Republic and its transformation into an
Empire have fascinated generations of scholars. It has long been
assumed that a dramatic demographic decline of the rural free
peasantry (which was supplanted by slaves) triggered the series of
social and economic developments which eventually led to Rome's
political crisis during the first century BC. This book contributes
to a lively debate by exploring both the textual and the
archaeological evidence, and by tracing and reassessing the actual
fate of the Italian rural free population between the Late Republic
and the Early Empire. Data derived from a comparative analysis of
twenty-seven archaeological surveys - and about five thousand sites
- allow Dr Launaro to outline a radically new picture according to
which episodes of local decline are placed within a much more
generalised pattern of demographic growth.
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.
The first two centuries AD are conventionally thought of as the
"golden age" of the Roman Empire, yet Italy in this period has
often been seen as being in a state of decline and even crisis.
This book investigates the relationships between city and
countryside in Italy in the early Empire, using evidence from
literary texts and inscriptions, and the wealth of data derived
from archaeological field surveys over recent years. Looking at
individual towns and regions as well as at the broader picture, and
stressing the diversity of situations across Italy, John R.
Patterson examines how changing patterns of building and
benefaction in the cities were related to developments in the
country, and underlines the resourcefulness of the cities, both
large and small, in seeking to maintain and develop their civic
traditions.
The recent crisis in the world of antiquities collecting has
prompted scholars and the general public to pay more attention than
ever before to the archaeological findspots and collecting
histories of ancient artworks. This new scrutiny is applied to
works currently on the market as well as to those acquired since
(and despite) the 1970 UNESCO Convention, which aimed to prevent
the trafficking in cultural property. When it comes to famous works
that have been in major museums for many generations, however, the
matter of their origins is rarely considered. Canonical pieces like
the Barberini Togatus or the Fonseca bust of a Flavian lady appear
in many scholarly studies and virtually every textbook on Roman
art. But we have no more certainty about these works'
archaeological contexts than we do about those that surface on the
market today. This book argues that the current legal and ethical
debates over looting, ownership and cultural property have
distracted us from the epistemological problems inherent in all
(ostensibly) ancient artworks lacking a known findspot, problems
that should be of great concern to those who seek to understand the
past through its material remains.
Private associations organized around a common cult, occupation,
ethnic identity, neighborhood or family were among the principal
means of organizing social and economic life in the ancient
Mediterranean. They offered opportunities for sociability, cultic
activities, mutual support and contexts in which to display and
recognize virtuous achievement. This volume collects 140
inscriptions and papyri from Ptolemaic and early Roman Egypt, along
with translations, notes, commentary, and analytic indices. The
dossier of association-related documents substantially enhances our
knowledge of the extent, activities, and importance of private
associations in the ancient Mediterranean, since papyri,
unavailable from most other locations in the Mediterranean,
preserve a much wider range of data than epigraphical monuments.
The dossier from Egypt includes not only honorific decrees,
membership lists, bylaws, dedications, and funerary monuments, but
monthly accounts of expenditures and income, correspondence between
guild secretaries and local officials, price and tax declarations,
records of legal actions concerning associations, loan documents,
petitions to local authorities about associations, letters of
resignation, and many other papyrological genres. These documents
provide a highly variegated picture of the governance structures
and practices of associations, membership sizes and profiles, and
forms of interaction with the State.
Olynthus, an ancient city in northern Greece, was preserved in an
exceptionally complete state after its abrupt sacking by Phillip II
of Macedon in 348 B.C., and excavations in the 1920s and 1930s
uncovered more than a hundred houses and their contents. In this
book Nicholas Cahill analyzes the results of the excavations to
reconstruct the daily lives of the ancient Greeks, the organization
of their public and domestic space, and the economic and social
patterns in the city. Cahill compares the realities of daily life
as revealed by the archaeological remains with theories of ideal
social and household organization espoused by ancient Greek
authors. Describing the enormous variety of domestic arrangements,
he examines patterns and differences in the design of houses, in
the occupations of owners, and in the articulations between
household and urban economies, the value of land, and other aspects
of ancient life throughout the city. He thus challenges the
traditional view that the Greeks had one standard household model
and approach to city planning. He shows how the Greeks reconciled
conflicting demands of ideal and practice, for instance between
egalitarianism and social inequality or between the normative roles
of men and women and roles demanded by economic necessities. The
book, which is extensively illustrated with plans and photographs,
is supported by a Web site containing a database of the
architecture and finds from the excavations linked to plans of the
site.
This book explores ancient efforts to explain the scientific,
philosophical, and spiritual aspects of water. From the ancient
point of view, we investigate many questions including: How does
water help shape the world? What is the nature of the ocean? What
causes watery weather, including superstorms and snow? How does
water affect health, as a vector of disease or of healing? What is
the nature of deep-sea-creatures (including sea monsters)? What
spiritual forces can protect those who must travel on water? This
first complete study of water in the ancient imagination makes a
major contribution to classics, geography, hydrology and the
history of science alike. Water is an essential resource that
affects every aspect of human life, and its metamorphic properties
gave license to the ancient imagination to perceive watery
phenomena as the product of visible and invisible forces. As such,
it was a source of great curiosity for the Greeks and Romans who
sought to control the natural world by understanding it, and who,
despite technological limitations, asked interesting questions
about the origins and characteristics of water and its influences
on land, weather, and living creatures, both real and imagined.
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