Funerary rituals and the cult of the dead are classics of research in religious studies, especially for ancient Egypt. Still, we know relatively little about how people interacted in daily life at the city of Memphis and its Saqqara necropolis in the late second millennium BCE. By focussing on lived ancient religion, we can see that the social and religious strategies employed by the individuals at Saqqara are not just means on the way to religious, post-mortem salvation, nor is their self-representation simply intended to manifest social status. On the contrary, the religious practices at Saqqara show in their complex spatiality a wide spectrum of options to configure sociality before and after one's own death. The analytical distinction between religion and other forms of human practices and sociality illuminates the range of cultural practices and how people selected, modified, or even avoided certain religious practices. As a result, pre-funerary, funerary and practices of the subsequent mortuary cults, in close connection with religious practices directed towards other ancestors and deities, allow the formation of imagined and functioning reminiscence clusters as central social groups at Saqqara, creating a heuristic model applicable also to other contexts.

This book aims to portray ancient civilizations and the development of early states in China and the rest of the world during the Liangzhu period. From a global perspective, it describes the ancient Egyptian, Sumerian and Harappan civilizations, as well as lesser-known civilizations such as the Cyclades and Caral, underscoring the similarities and differences between their central settlements, capitals and material cultural remains. As for the national aspect, the book mainly explores the development process of east Asian civilization as represented by Chinese civilization and probes into the evolution of the Liangzhu, Dawenkou and Qujialing civilizations four to five thousand years ago in a search for the origins of Chinese civilization.

This book includes a collection of papers, dedicated to Tjalling Waterbolk, on various topics, including palaeobotanical and archaeological research, prehistoric settlement in the province of Drenthe and the coastal areas of Groningen and Friesland, and radiocarbon dating of archaeological samples.

This book presents selected work from the Florence Heri-Tech, a conference focused on the use of innovative technologies and methods for analyzing, managing, and preserving cultural heritage. This book presents chapters on the chemical and physical advancement in the development of new materials and methods for the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. It also covers trends in conservation and restoration technology: biotechnology, nanotechnology, tailored materials, and physical technologies. The reader also finds information on methods and instruments for the conservation diagnosis and treatments.

`This eagerly awaited book is an outstanding and right up-to-date summary of every excavation and investigation undertaken in Ireland into the earthworks, castles, ecclesiastical buildings and towns of the period from the arrival of the Anglo-Normans to the mid-sixteenth century...a most welcome synthesis and will be valued by the layperson, student and professional archaeologist, historical geographer and historian alike.' Archaeology Ireland

Hannah M Cotton's collected papers focus on questions which have fascinated her for over four decades: the concrete relationships between law, language, administration and everyday life in Judaea and Nabataea in particular, and in the Roman world as a whole. Many of the papers, especially those devoted to the Judean Desert documents of the 2nd century CE have been widely cited. Others, having appeared in less accessible publications, may not have received the attention they deserve. On the whole, rather than addressing the grand narratives of world or national history, they look at the texture of life, seeking to provide tentative answers to historical questions and interpretations by paying fine attention to the details of literary and, especially, documentary evidence. Taken together they illuminate fundamental, often legal, questions concerning daily life and the exercise of Roman rule and administration in the early imperial period, and especially, their impact on life as it was lived in the province and the period where Roman and Jewish history fatefully intersected. The volume includes a complete bibliography of her publications.

This second fully updated and extended edition of Biotechnology and Conservation of Cultural Heritage provides in-depth insights into the role of different microorganisms and microbial compounds in biodeterioration, conservation and restoration of artworks and artifacts. Latest methods to detect, remove and prevent microbial colonization on artwork surfaces and in air environments of libraries and museums are discussed and illustrated by engaging case studies. Furthermore, this edition covers new case studies on Archaeobiology, exploring ways to perform the molecular biology characterization, restoring and protecting museum taxidermal specimens, preserving and guaranteeing the future integrity. Finally, the use of halloysite-nanotubes is investigated to set up innovative protocols in consolidation and long-term protection of waterlogged and archaeological wood. This book addresses to Biologists, Microbiologists, Conservation Scientists and Conservators who are interested in understanding the role of microorganisms and bioactive molecules in conservation projects.

Studies in Archaeological Conservation features a range of case studies that explore the techniques and approaches used in current conservation practice around the world and, taken together, provide a picture of present practice in some of the world-leading museums and heritage organisations. Archaeological excavations produce thousands of corroded and degraded fragments of metal, ceramic, and organic material that are transformed by archaeological conservators into the beautiful and informative objects that fill the cases of museums. The knowledge and expertise required to undertake this transformation is demonstrated within this book in a series of 26 fascinating case studies in archaeological conservation and artefact investigation, undertaken in laboratories around the world. These case studies are contextualised by a detailed introductory chapter, which explores the challenges presented by researching and conserving archaeological artefacts and details how the case studies illustrate the current state of the subject. Studies in Archaeological Conservation is the first book for over a quarter of a century to show the range and diversity of archaeological conservation, in this case through a series of case studies. As a result, the book will be of great interest to practising conservators, conservation students, and archaeologists around the world.

What do we really know about how and where religions began, and how they spread? In this bold new book, award-winning author Robin Derricourt takes us on a journey through the birth and growth of several major religions, using history and archaeology to recreate the times, places and societies that witnessed the rise of significant monotheistic faiths. Beginning with Mormonism and working backwards through Islam, Christianity and Judaism to Zoroastrianism, Creating God opens up the conditions that allowed religious movements to emerge, attract their first followers and grow. Throughout history there have been many prophets: individuals who believed they were in direct contact with the divine, with instructions to spread a religious message. While many disappeared without trace, some gained millions of followers and established a lasting religion. In Creating God, Robin Derricourt has produced a brilliant, panoramic book that offers new insights on the origins of major religions and raises essential questions about why some succeeded where others failed. -- .

Situated in the middle of the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man is like a stepping-stone between the lands that surround it. In medieval times, it played an important role in the histories of Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. This book explores the first part of that turbulent era, tracing the story of the Isle of Man from the fifth to the thirteenth centuries. It looks at the ways in which various peoples - Britons, Scots, Irish, English and Scandinavians - influenced events in Man over a period of more than 800 years. A large portion of the book is concerned with the Vikings, a group whose legacy - in place names, old burial mounds and finely carved stones - is such a vivid element in the Manx landscape today.

In 1628 the Dutch East India Company loaded the Batavia, the flagship of its fleet, with a king’s ransom in gold, silver, and gems for her maiden voyage to Java; the ship itself was a tangible symbol of the world’s richest and most powerful monopoly.

The company also sent along a new employee to guard its treasure. He was Jeronimus Corneliszoon, a disgraced and bankrupt man with great charisma and dangerously heretical ideas. With the help of a few disgruntled sailors, he hatched a plot to seize the ship and her riches. The mutiny might have succeeded, but in the dark morning hours of June 3, 1629, the Batavia smashed through a coral reef and ran aground on a small chain of islands near Australia. The captain and skipper escaped the wreck, and in a tiny lifeboat they set sail for Java—some 1,500 miles north—to summon help. More than 250 frightened survivors waded ashore, thankful to be alive. Unfortunately, Jeronimus and the mutineers had survived too, and the nightmare was only beginning.

As a result of rapid advancements in computer science during recent decades, there has been an increased use of digital tools, methodologies and sources in the field of digital humanities. While opening up new opportunities for scholarship, many digital methods and tools now used for humanities research have nevertheless been developed by computer or data sciences and thus require a critical understanding of their mode of operation and functionality. The novel field of digital hermeneutics is meant to provide such a critical and reflexive frame for digital humanities research by acquiring digital literacy and skills. A new knowledge for the assessment of digital data, research infrastructures, analytical tools, and interpretative methods is needed, providing the humanities scholar with the necessary munition for doing critical research. The Doctoral Training Unit "Digital History and Hermeneutics" at the University of Luxembourg applies this analytical frame to 13 PhD projects. By combining a hermeneutic reflection on the new digital practices of humanities scholarship with hands-on experimentation with digital tools and methods, new approaches and opportunities as well as limitations and flaws can be addressed.

Archaeology at Home takes a deep dive into the entanglements between humans and their things. It explores the notion that things themselves "remember" when left by "their" people and illustrates how the integration of humans and things involves connections running all the way from the present into deep time. Combining methods from contemporary and deep-time archaeology and balancing scholarly archaeology with personal narrative, Hein Bjerck presents three case studies of homes all intimately known to him - the home of his father after his abrupt passing, the home of his uncle that was lost in a fire, and a Stone Age home he excavated many years ago. This evocative approach to archaeologies of memory will be appreciated by professional archaeologists, and by general readers who are drawn to the study of the past and the things that connect us with it.

This volume gives an impression of the Archaeozoology Department's current research activity. It will be useful for several research workers, a number of technical assistants, and research students of archaeozoology.

The recent years have seen an upswing in studies of women in the ancient Near East and related areas. This volume, which is the result of a Danish-Japanese collaboration, seeks to highlight women as actors within the sphere of the religious. In ancient Mesopotamia and other ancient civilizations, religious beliefs and practices permeated all aspects of society, and for this reason it is not possible to completely dissociate religion from politics, economy, or literature. Thus, the goal is to shift the perspective by highlighting the different ways in which the agency of women can be traced in the historical (and archaeological) record. This perspectival shift can be seen in studies of elite women, who actively contributed to (religious) gift-giving or participated in temple economies, or through showing the limits of elite women's agency in relation to diplomatic marriages. Additionally, several contributions examine the roles of women as religious officials and the language, worship, or invocation of goddesses. This volume does not aim at completeness but seeks to highlight points for further research and new perspectives.

This book presents cutting-edge archaeological materials from Xinjiang, from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. Through a systematic topological study of major archaeological cemeteries and sites, it establishes chronologies and cultural sequences for three main regions in Xinjiang, namely the circum-Eastern Tianshan region, the circum-Dzungarian Basin region and the circum-Tarim Basin region. It also discusses the origins and local variants of prehistoric archaeological cultures in these regions and the mutual relationships between them and neighboring cultures. By doing so, the book offers a panoramic view of the socio-cultural changes that took place in prehistoric Xinjiang from pastoral-agricultural societies to the mobile nomadic-pastoralist states in the steppe regions and the agricultural states of the oasis, making it a must-read for researchers and general readers who are interested in the archaeology of Xinjiang.

This book represents a reflection on the policies of preservation that were established and interventions for restoration that occurred in Iran before and in the years after the Khomeinist Revolution, as well as being an analysis of the impact that Italian restoration culture has had in the country. Research concerning the state of conservation and the ongoing restoration of the Armenian churches in the Khoy and Salmas areas is included, along with precise documentation of the observation of the two cities, their architecture and the context of their landscape. The problems of architectural restoration in present-day Iran and the compatible use of buildings no longer intended for worship are addressed. The book is bolstered by first-hand documentation obtained through inspections and interviews with Iranian specialists during three missions carried out between 2016 and 2018 and a large anthology of period texts that have only recently been made available for the first time for study in electronic form, including travel reports written by Westerners describing Persia between the 15th and 19th centuries.