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Books > Humanities > Archaeology > Archaeology by period / region > European archaeology
To date there has been little systematic study of the appropriation of, or attitudes to, prehistoric monuments in settlements of the period. The objectives of the research presented here are twofold. Firstly, it assesses how widespread the reuse of prehistoric monuments was in early to middle Anglo-Saxon settlements. In so doing, it examines the types of settlements in which the activity occurred and the types of prehistoric features that were reused. This is achieved through a review of the Anglo-Saxon settlement evidence in a regional study area. The settlements discussed in this study date to the period c.AD 450-850, with a regional focus based on central England, defined here to the north by the Humber and to the south by the Thames. In addition to well-known and published sites, this review makes use of data that is less frequently discussed in archaeological discourse, such as partially excavated or unpublished settlements that have not previously attracted a great deal of attention from scholars. The second aim is to assess how, and particularly why, monuments were appropriated in settlements. In order to answer these questions an in-depth, site-by-site approach is taken, in which the layout and use of space in a number of case studies are analysed. These case studies allow greater understanding of the ways in which older monuments could be referenced in settlements, how reuse changed over time, and why monuments may have been significant. Four Gazetteers provide locational and reference data to the selected sites.
One of the most tenacious and long-running controversies regarding the origin and development of the late Anglo-Saxon town has been the nature and function of 'heterogeneous tenure', one of the defining characteristics of the Domesday borough. This refers to the basic division of the larger boroughs as described in Domesday Book into the customary burgesses or tenements which owed dues and obligations to the king alone, and the non-customary burgesses or tenements which were appurtenant to the various manors of tenants-in-chief of the shire (and sometimes neighbouring shires) to whom they paid rent and owed other dues and services. This present study outlines a preliminary model for the development of these rural-urban connections, based primarily on a reassessment of the evidence in Domesday Book and in earlier charters, where available, and the spatial relationships of the manors enumerated in it to their central boroughs, their neighbours, and to shire and other early boundaries, as well as to other features of the physical and historic landscape. This model is developed and tested by the analysis of evidence from several adjoining areas in central England - 1) Wiltshire (chapters 2 and 3); 2) Hampshire (chapter 4); 3) Warwickshire and south Staffordshire (chapter 5); 4) Gloucestershire (including the former Winchcombeshire) (chapter 6); 5) Worcestershire (chapter 7); and 6) Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire (chapters 10-12).
This research takes an integrative approach to the study of Hellenistic cult and cultic practices in an important part of western Asia by employing a combination of archaeological, numismatic and historical evidence. Although any thorough investigation of Seleukid religion would prove illuminating in itself, this research uses religion as a lens through which to explore the processes of acculturation and rejection within a colonial context. It discusses the state attitude towards, and manipulation of, both Hellenic and indigenous beliefs and places this within a framework developed out of a series of case studies exploring evidence for religion at a regional level. The study outlines the development of religious practices and expression in the region which formed the birthplace of the modern world's three most influential monotheistic religions.
This richly illustrated volume discusses the histories of the port city of Butrint, and its intimate connection to the wider conditions of the Adriatic. In so doing it is a reading, and re-reading, of the site that adds significantly to the study of Mediterranean urban history over the longue duree . Firstly, the book proposes a new paradigm for the development-history of Butrint - based on discussions of the latest archaeological, historical and landscape studies from approximately 20 new excavations and surveys, together covering a temporal arch from prehistory to the early modern period. Secondly, it examines how the perception of the city influenced the archaeological methodology of 20th-century studies of the site, where iteration and reversal were often being applied in equal measure. In this it asks important questions on the management of heritage sites and the contemporary role of archaeological practise. Inge Lyse Hansen is Adjunct Professor of Art History at John Cabot University and specialises in the visual and material culture of the Roman world. She has published on portraiture, funerary art and the use of role models and patronage and has edited several archaeological volumes. Richard Hodges is Scientific Director of the Butrint Foundation, a leading medieval archaeologist and the author of more than 20 books. Sarah Leppard has led or participated in more than 15 excavations in eight countries and has managed major excavations at Butrint.
Medieval castles were, alongside the great cathedrals, the most recognisable buildings of the medieval world. Closely associated with concepts of justice, lordship and authority as well as military might, castles came to encapsulate the period's very essence. Looking at above and below-ground evidence and examining a wide variety of sites - from towering donjons to earth and timber castles - in different parts of western Europe, this book explores the relationship between early castle building and the emergence of a new aristocracy and investigates the impact of authority on the organisation of the landscape.
The purpose of this study is to examine the healing strategies employed by the inhabitants of Egypt during the Roman period, from the late first century BC to the fourth century AD, in order to explore how Egyptian, Greek and Roman customs and traditions interacted within the province. Thus this study aims to make an original contribution to the history of medicine, by offering a detailed examination of the healing strategies (of which 'rational' medicine was only one) utilised by the inhabitants of one particular region of the Mediterranean during a key phase in its history, a region, moreover, which by virtue of the survival of papyrological evidence offers a unique opportunity for study. Its interdisciplinary approach, which integrates ancient literary, documentary, archaeological and scientific evidence, presents a new approach to understanding healing strategies in Roman provincial culture. It refines the study of healing within Roman provincial culture, identifies diagnostic features of healing in material culture and offers a more contextualised reading of ancient medical literary and documentary papyri and archaeological evidence. This study differs from previous attempts to examine healing in Roman Egypt in that it tries, as far as possible, to encompass the full spectrum of healing strategies available to the inhabitants of the province. The first part of this study comprises two chapters and focuses on the practitioners of healing strategies, both 'professional' and 'amateur'. Chapter 2 examines those areas of ancient medicine that have traditionally been neglected or summarily dismissed by scholars: 'domestic' and 'folk' medicine with particular emphasis on the extent to which the specific natural environment of any given location affects healing strategies. Chapter Three examines the nature and frequency of eye diseases and injuries suffered by the inhabitants of Roman Egypt. Chapter Four examines the nature and frequency of the fevers suffered by the inhabitants of Roman Egypt, focusing first on the disease malaria, which is attested by papyrological, archaeological and palaeopathological evidence as having been suffered throughout Egypt. Chapter Five examines the dangers that the animal species of Egypt could pose to the inhabitants of the province, focusing particularly upon snakes, scorpions, crocodiles and lions, as attested by papyrological and epigraphic evidence such as private letters, mummy labels and epitaph inscriptions. The concluding chapter underlines the importance for a study of the healing strategies utilised in any province of the Roman Empire (or indeed any region in the ancient world) of taking into account the historical, geographical, cultural and social context of the location in question.
Pisciculture - the process of raising fish--held a lasting fascination for the people of ancient Rome. Whether bred for household consumption, cultivated for sale at market, or simply kept in confinement for reasons of aesthetic appreciation, fish remained an important commodity and prominent cultural symbol throughout the periods of the Roman Republic and early Empire. Roman pisciculture reached its greatest level of sophistication, though, between the first century b.c. and the first century a.d. with the development of a highly specialized architectural element: the piscina, or artificial fishpond. Based on a thorough examination of the archaeological record and complemented by site plans, maps, and photographs, James Higginbotham's work represents the most comprehensive study of the fishponds of Roman Italy. Higginbotham covers the technical aspects of Roman fishponds--their design, construction, and operation--and places the piscinae within their social, political, and economic context. He argues that in a society fascinated by pisciculture, ownership of a fishpond was a powerful display of wealth and social status and, ultimately, a manifestation of the intense competition between aristocratic Roman families that would eventually lead to civil war. UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
These papers demonstrate the importance of archaeological context in the study of Greek pottery. Topics include the reception and consumption of Greek pottery in various Italic societies, the archaeological interpretation of Attic pottery in Greek contexts, questions of trade and commissions, and the birth of red-figured pottery in Sioily. Four papers in English, two in Italian.
This is a study on textile production in central Tyrrhenian Italy from the final Bronze Age to the Republican period. Textile production is studied here through its technological, social and economic aspects. Textiles and their making were important parts of all fields of life in ancient Italy. Textiles and textile implements are found from settlement sites, burials, votive deposits and sanctuaries. The differences between the finds from different contexts through time point out the changes in material culture related to textile-making. The changes in the materials also indicate the change from household production of textiles
The present study evolved out of an attempt to explore the mechanisms involved in the transformation of a social practice and its spatial context from one cultural, technological and architectural system to another in a given geographical area in classical antiquity. The practice chosen was that of the bath, the two main and overlapping cultural traditions were the Greek and the Roman and the two technological traditions are termed in the present study 'before' and 'after' the hypocaust. The geographical area covered in the study is that of modern Greece with a more detailed analysis of the Peloponnese.
This study investigates the nature of indigenous settlement in northern England. Chapter 1 covers the geological background, modern literature on the Brigantes and the history of archaeological work in the area. Chapter 2 considers the relevant Roman literature and epigraphy. Chapter 3 discusses the artefactual and material evidence covering pottery, metalwork, taphonomy, querns, glass and coinage. Regional patterns based on use, decorative styles and the use of imported Roman goods and styles, are identified which may indicate the presence of indigenous societies. Chapter 4 also identifies evidence for regionalisms by observing patterning in settlement sites themselves. In both cases factors affecting the archaeological record are highlighted. These two diverse approaches produce broadly similar results. In chapter 5 conclusions are drawn regarding indigenous society and possible regional identities.
Excavations at Komini near Pljevlja and at Kolovrat near Prijepolje were conducted from 1964-1967, and again in 1970-1977. Two Roman-city cemeteries were discovered and nearly 700 graves, many of them with inscribed monuments. These excavations represent the significant finds of a Roman municipium at Komini, near present-day Pljevlja, which sprang up in the central Balkan area far from the main Roman communications network. The settlement grew in Roman times in the valley through which the small Cehotina river flows, a tributary of the river Lim. The municipium was situated in a plain enclosed by high mountains, not far from another big Roman settlement in present-day Kolovrat near Prijepolje. The Roman city existed, as the findings from the excavated cemeteries prove, for no longer than three and a half centuries, from the 1st to the 4th centuries AD. There is no doubt that the settlement was granted municipal status. Citizens holding municipal offices appear in the inscriptions, but the actual name of the municipium has not yet surfaced - either in inscriptions or in literary evidence. It is believed that the abbreviation 'S' in one inscription refers to the name of the municipium, although this is not proved by any other inscription. The author, in this new study of the site, has adopted the toponym 'Municipium S.', focussing on the collection, commentary, and re-publication of all the inscriptions from this location in the hope of presenting a reconstruction of the life of the city, from the 1st to the 4th centuries AD, basing his research on the literary, archaeological and epigraphical evidence.
Roman coinage represents the largest single category of object recorded through the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), with over 300,000 single finds in addition to several thousand hoards. This dataset, unparalleled anywhere else in the world, provides a unique perspective on the province of Roman Britain and its interaction with the larger Roman Empire. By exploring 50 key finds of Roman coinage it is possible to shed light on all aspects of Roman Britain from the conquest in AD 43 through to the Roman withdrawal by c. AD 410. Unusually for a Roman numismatic dataset, the PAS examples provide wide coverage of the entire province, revealing evidence for early military activity, the development of the rural landscape, as well as the socio-political and cultural evolution of the province. Approaching the material thematically, it will be possible to examine key elements of Roman Britain such as religion, the economy, British 'identity', the 'Britannic Empire', and the archaeological application or implications of the PAS data. Dr Andrew Brown is Deputy National Finds Advisor for Iron Age and Roman coinage at the Portable Antiquities Scheme/British Museum.
This re-publication of Cheddar has been prompted by the unavailability of the original, published over a quarter of a century ago. Unlike much historical scholarship, the archaeological report on a site is primary data and therefore needs itself to be read before turning to re-interpretations. It is also appropriate in the context of the recent re-evaluation of the British and Saxon palace of Yeavering, after a similar interval since publication. In the intervening years since publication, Cheddar has frequently been cited and reviewed, not least as the most extensively-excavated of the royal complexes of the pre-Conquest period.
This volume publishes the intial results from the excavation of a significant temple complex in northern Galilee dating from the earliest years of Roman imperial rule. Specialist reports describe the structural remains, wall painting fragments, pottery and small finds from the site, as well as looking at conservation issues. Further chapters discuss the complex as a major statement of Roman political control and influence in the region, and analyse its iconography.
'offers not only that breakfast for the mind we keep hearing about, but lunch, tea, dinner, supper and non-stop snacks...offers a cornucopia of accurate and succinct knowledge that would be hard to equal' (Peter Green, Washington Times about the third edition). For over sixty years, The Oxford Classical Dictionary has been the unrivalled one-volume reference in the field of classics. Now completely revised and updated to include the very latest research findings, developments, and publications, this highly acclaimed reference work will be the most up-to-date and comprehensive dictionary available on all aspects of the classical era. In over 6,700 entries written by the very best of classical scholars from around the world, the Dictionary provides coverage of Greek and Roman history, literature, myth, religion, linguistics, philosophy, law, science, art, archaeology, near eastern studies, and late antiquity. New entries supplement the existing material, including entries on topics such as Adrasteia, Latin anthologies, Jewish art, ancient religious beliefs, emotions, film, gender, kinship, and many more. Other specific developments include an added focus on two new areas: 'anthropology ' and 'reception'. All entries are written in an accessible style and all Latin and Greek words have been translated to ensure ease of use. Under the editorship of Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow, a huge range of contributors have revised and updated the text, which has made an already outstanding work even better. The Dictionary covers: 1) politics, government, economy - from political figures to political systems, terms and practices, histories of major states and empires, economic theory, agriculture, artisans and industry, trade and markets 2) religion and mythology - deities and mythological creatures, beliefs and rituals, sanctuaries and sacred buildings, astrology 3) law and philosophy - from biographies of lawgivers and lawyers to legal terms and procedures, from major and minor philosophers to philosophical schools, terms, and concepts 4) science and geography - scientists and specific theory and practice, doctors and medicine, climate and landscape, natural disasters, regions and islands, cities and settlements, communications 5) languages, literature, art, and architecture - languages and dialects, writers and literary terms and genres, orators and rhetorical theory and practice, drama and performance, art, painters and sculptors, architects, buildings and materials 6) archaeology and historical writing - amphorae and pottery, shipwrecks and cemeteries, historians, and Greek and Roman historiography 7) military history - generals, arms and armour, famous battles, attitudes to warfare 8) social history, sex, and gender - women and the family, kinship, peasants and slaves, attitudes to sexuality
Between 1999 and 2003 the University of Southampton conducted excavations on the site of Quseir al-Qadim (western shores of the Red Sea), a place that had not been examined since the excavations by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago ended in 1982. The new work was prompted by the discovery that the site of Quseir al-Qadim was, in all probability, not that of the minor port of Leucos Limen, as had been previously thought, but none other than Myos Hormos. This port, together with its sister harbour Berenike, articulated Rome's trade with India and the East. This second volume concentrates on the finds made during the excavation period and the volume concludes with an overview of what we now know of the nature and function of the ports of Myos Hormos and Quseir al-Qadim and a discussion of outstanding problems which can only be resolved by further work.
The important city of Halmyris lay where the Danube empties into the Black Sea (Romania). The sizable present collection of inscriptions published here contains the complete number of the epigraphs found before and during the excavations at the site of Murighiol (ancient Halmyris) in the span of time before ca. 1896 and 2010. The epigraphic material presented in this volume intends to be a contribution to the knowledge of the social, economic and military history of the local society in the remotest part of the province of Moesia inferior, the extrema Minoris Scythiae, and to provide additional documents to the already impressive collection of Greek and Latin inscriptions related to the territories between the Danube and the Black Sea.
This second volume on the ancient rural spa at Mezzomiglio, in use from at least the 2nd century BC, and flourishing in the 2nd century AD, reports on the finds from excavations conducted in 2002-10. The vast majority of the book is given over to presenting and analysing the pottery to give a detailed picture of occupation of the site and its integration into the wider economy. The volume also presents computer generated reconstructions of the site's structures.
The Scandinavian Late Iron Age, popularly known as the Viking Age, is often represented as deeply and inherently male, with male aggressiveness as the ideal presented to the public, leaving little room for alternative gender roles in the popular imagination. This study presents a more complex picture, analysing gender as a factor in mortuary practices and the siting of burials in the Vestfold of Norway, focusing in particular on the sites of Kaupang and Oseberg.
This study examines the spread, both geographical and chronological, of domus -type buildings in Gaul, based primarily on a catalogue and analysis of floor plans. The domus-type is defined in the first instance from Vitruvius, and tow subdivisions based on features of atrium and peristyle are identified. Houses of these types are mapped, and comparisons for floor plans are drawn with the evidence from Pompeii.
ilitary monuments in Lincolnshire (eastern England) have hitherto received little attention, with only four being the subject of published studies. No attempt has previously been made to produce a corpus of surviving examples. There are 62 military effigies in Lincolnshire, including some of national importance as well as many others of great interest. In the former category are the effigies at Careby, Halton-Holegate, Holbeach, Kirkstead Abbey, Stoke Rochford and Surfleet. The main object of the critical catalogue in this volume is to provide an accurate analytical description of these figures as they appear today; a project that has been long overdue, for what is some of England's finest extant medieval monumental sculpture. The catalogue is arranged chronologically, with the monuments being divided into four main groups. Every effigy is illustrated and the accompanying catalogue entry gives a description of the effigy and the armour shown and an account as to the person thought to be commemorated by the figure.
This illustrated book introduces serious students of Anglo-Saxon culture to selected aspects of the realities of Anglo-Saxon life through reference to artefacts and textual sources. Everyday practices and processes are investigated, such as the exploitation of animals for clothing, meat, cheese and parchment; ships for travel, trade and transport; manufacturing processes of metalwork; textiles for dress and furnishing and the practicalities of living with illness or disability. Articles collected in this volume illuminate how an understanding of the material culture of the daily Anglo-Saxon world can inform reading and scholarship in Anglo-Saxon studies. Scholarly and practical material presented inform one another, making the book accessible to any reader seriously interested in England in the early Middle Ages.
When soldiers of the Roman 9th Legion arrived in AD 70, they built a fortress and this huge military camp formed the foundation of the modern city of York. Roman legionaries were garrisoned in the city for over three centuries and a huge provincial town grew up around them. Eboracum was a city at the edge of the Empire. The city was a thriving metropolitan hub and a cultural and technological boiling pot, as well as being a seat of power visited by Roman Emperors. Author Adam Parker introduces the archaeology of Eboracum, discussing the people, the places, and the objects in an accessible way, illustrated throughout. This study focuses on the diversity with which early medieval society formed not only among macro European zones but also within individual areas, and thus on the need to look beyond the models elaborated during a phase in which archaeological sources were still fragmentary and inadequate. Through a combination of historical and documented-based investigation and the most recent extensive archaeological data, the author makes a comparative analysis of the different results of the movements of Germanic groups, especially in the particularly representative area of northern Italy and the Alpine system, during various periods: in the 5th century as auxiliary troops under the control of the same Roman Empire (Burgundians), then as the new military elites and finally as the new ruling class (Ostrogoths and Langobards), revealing how the cultural evolution of the new sites appears to be strictly correlated to different situations and often common to the new Germanic element and to the local Romanised components. Interesting and stimulating concepts that underscore the formation of a shared culture are presented in this contribution along with a refreshing new perspective of certain aspects, such as the evolution of clothing and funerary rituals, already considered expressions of simple ethnic preservation. |
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