Since 1985, Spanish archaeology has radically improved its organisation and effectiveness, supported by law and the transfer of powers to deal with archaeology from central to regional governments. There have been many excavations on development sites in towns and the countryside, but also new studies of rural landscapes and monuments. As in other European countries, this has produced a mountain of as yet undigested information about the history and archaeology of this fascinating country over four centuries. Now two Spanish archaeologists, aided by a large number of colleagues in Spain, France, Germany and Britain, have produced the first survey in either English or Spanish of the last 30 years of investigations, new discoveries and new theories. Chapters deal with the rural and urban habitat, daily life, trade and technology, castles and fortifications, the display of secular power and all three religions of medieval Spain: Islam, Christianity and Judaism. This is a major contribution to the archaeology of medieval Europe and a handbook for archaeologists and travellers.

In this extensively revised third edition of The Viking Age: A Reader, Somerville and McDonald successfully bring the Vikings and their world to life for twenty-first-century students and instructors. The diversity of the Viking era is revealed through the remarkable range and variety of sources presented as well as the geographical and chronological coverage of the readings. The third edition has been reorganized into fifteen chapters. Many sources have been added, including material on gender and warrior women, and a completely new final chapter traces the continuing cultural influence of the Vikings to the present day. The use of visual material has been expanded, and updated maps illustrate historical developments throughout the Viking Age. The English translations of Norse texts, many of them new to this collection, are straightforward and easily accessible, while chapter introductions contextualize the readings.

This book is based on several years of author's fieldwork in the valleys of the Black Mountains in South East Wales. Hodges had personal knowledge of the area having worked there in his professional capacity as a drystone waller. The aim of the fieldwork was to locate all the sites of derelict stone buildings within the designated upland study area of approximately 140 square kilometres. Initial research indicated that the area had not been previously surveyed to any great extent and the presence of derelict stone buildings that existed in the valleys was not a characteristic of the surrounding lower terrain. Using a combination of documentary evidence and fieldwork, a total of 549 potential sites were identified comprising houses, barns, other ancillary buildings and sheepfolds; 499 separate structures were located on the ground. Following a specially devised protocol at each site, information regarding masonry, modes of construction and extant features was recorded in both tabular and photographic forms.

This wide-ranging study uses historical and archaeological evidence to consider humanity's interactions with the environment, fashioning agricultural, gardening and horticultural regimes over a millennium and a half. The discussions of archaeological finds of seeds from discarded rubbish including animal fodder and bedding show the wide range of wild species present, as well as cultivated and gathered plants in the diet of inhabitants and livestock. Pollen analyses, and studies of wood, mosses, and beetles, alongside a look at the local natural environment, and comparison with medieval written records give us a tantalizing picture of early Winchester. The earliest record is by AElfric of Eynsham in his 11th-century Nomina Herbarum. From medieval records come hints of gardens within the city walls, and considerable detail about agriculture and horticulture, and produce brought into the city. Wild fruit and nuts were also being gathered from the countryside for the town's markets and mills. At St Giles' Fair exotic imported spices and fruits were also sold. All these sources of evidence are brought together to reveal more fully the roles of agriculture and the environment in the development of Winchester.

Medieval York provides a comprehensive history of what is now considered England's most famous surviving medieval city, covering nearly a thousand years. The volume examines York from its post-Roman revival as a town (c. 600) to the major changes of the 1530s and 1540s, which in many ways brought an end to the Middle Ages in England. York was one of the leading English towns after London, and in status almost always the 'second city'. Much research and publication has been carried out on various aspects of medieval York, but this volume seeks to cover the field in its entirety. David Palliser offers an up-to-date and broad-based account of the city by employing the evidence of written documents, archaeology (especially on the rich results of recent city centre excavations), urban morphology, numismatics, art, architecture, and literature. Special attention is paid to the city's religious drama and its wealth of surviving stained glass. The story of Medieval York is set in a wide context to make comparisons with other English and Continental towns, to establish how far York's story was distinctive or was typical of other English towns which have been less fortunate in the survival of their medieval fabric. It is essential reading for anyone interested in York's past and in its rich heritage of medieval churches, guildhalls, houses, streets, and city walls - the most complete medieval circuit in England.

Perceptions of the Prehistoric in Anglo-Saxon England represents an unparalleled exploration of the place of prehistoric monuments in the Anglo-Saxon psyche, and examines how Anglo-Saxon communities perceived and used these monuments during the period AD 400-1100. Sarah Semple employs archaeological, historical, art historical, and literary sources to study the variety of ways in which the early medieval population of England used the prehistoric legacy in the landscape, exploring it from temporal and geographic perspectives. Key to the arguments and ideas presented is the premise that populations used these remains, intentionally and knowingly, in the articulation and manipulation of their identities: local, regional, political, and religious. They recognized them as ancient features, as human creations from a distant past. They used them as landmarks, battle sites, and estate markers, giving them new Old English names. Before, and even during, the conversion to Christianity, communities buried their dead in and around these monuments. After the conversion, several churches were built in and on these monuments, great assemblies and meetings were held at them, and felons executed and buried within their surrounds. This volume covers the early to late Anglo-Saxon world, touching on funerary ritual, domestic and settlement evidence, ecclesiastical sites, place-names, written sources, and administrative and judicial geographies. Through a thematic and chronologically-structured examination of Anglo-Saxon uses and perceptions of the prehistoric, Semple demonstrates that populations were not only concerned with Romanitas (or Roman-ness), but that a similar curiosity and conscious reference to and use of the prehistoric existed within all strata of society.

Roots of Reform provides a thorough examination of the impact of the English Reformation through a detailed analysis of medieval and early modern church fittings surviving at parish churches located throughout the county of Norfolk in England. By utilizing an archaeological approach along with the written record, a deeper and more nuanced understanding of public worship reveals the theological imperatives of the reformers and conformers. This study compiled data from both rural and urban parish churches which provides a regional approach to engaging the issues of visuality, space and identity. Church fittings were selected based on their liturgical function and propensity to feature decorative iconography. This includes baptismal fonts, screens, wall paintings, and sculptures. Through an extensive analysis of church fittings, this research is the first to suggest that the Bible-centric component to Protestant theology provided the framework which contributed to the success of the Reformation. The religious identity of England was transformed as visual continuity enabled an entire generation to continue their religious experience in a traditional context despite the moderate alteration to liturgy and comprehensive transformation of doctrine. This criterion eased the transition, as liturgical continuity and selective iconoclasm forged a new physical religious environment that retained enough elements to satiate traditionalist. Furthermore, an assessment of post-Reformation innovations reveals the use of vernacular Biblical text as a preferred mode of decoration, with an increase in the use of secular heraldry and commemoration directly on church fittings.

Saharan trade has been much debated in modern times, but the main focus of interest remains the medieval and early modern periods, for which more abundant written sources survive. The pre-Islamic origins of Trans-Saharan trade have been hotly contested over the years, mainly due to a lack of evidence. Many of the key commodities of trade are largely invisible archaeologically, being either of high value like gold and ivory, or organic like slaves and textiles or consumable commodities like salt. However, new research on the Libyan people known as the Garamantes and on their trading partners in the Sudan and Mediterranean Africa requires us to revise our views substantially. In this volume experts re-assess the evidence for a range of goods, including beads, textiles, metalwork and glass, and use it to paint a much more dynamic picture, demonstrating that the pre-Islamic Sahara was a more connected region than previously thought.

As part of the Property Development Programme for Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, English Heritage created an ambitious reconstruction of the Elizabethan garden which formerly stood on the north side of the castle keep. In order to achieve a reliable representation of the original garden, a programme of archaeological trenching, open area excavation and watching brief was carried out by Northamptonshire Archaeology (now MOLA) from 2004 to 2008. This report discusses the results of the excavations which uncovered for the first time the foundation and culverts of an octagonal fountain basin, described by Robert Langham in a contemporary letter relating to Queen Elizabeth I's visit in 1575. The results of the excavation also clarified to some extent the original dimensions of the garden and the foundation level upon which the fine surfacing detail would have been applied. Contributions to understanding the geometry of the garden's architectural features are made by the identification of a series of rubble-and-mortar-filled pits, which probably formed bases for plinths for structures or other structural elements. The terrace which formed a viewing promenade over the garden was shown to have undergone substantial alteration. The impact of Civil War defences and slighting on the north of the keep and outer bailey wall were investigated. Following this, the area was subsequently cultivated as a kitchen garden and orchard from at least the beginning of the eighteenth century. Twentieth-century activity included consolidation of the castle fabric, the construction of paths and the remodelling of the terrace, and the remains of an ornamental knotwork garden created in 1975. The archaeology of the garden and its surroundings are discussed from the remnants of medieval features through to the present day.

How did past communities view, understand and communicate their pasts? And how can we, as archaeologists, understand this? In recent years these questions have been approached through studies of the extended occupation and use of landscapes, monuments and artefacts to explore concepts of time and memory. But what of objects that were already old in the past? Interpretations for these items have ranged from the discard of scrap to objects of veneration. Evidence from a range of periods would suggest objects of the past were an important part of many later societies that encountered them, either as heirlooms with remembered histories or rediscovered curiosities from a more distant past. For the first time, this volume brings together a range of case studies in which objects of the past were encountered and reappropriated. It follows a conference session at the Theoretical Archaeological Group in Cardiff 2017, in which historians, archaeologists, heritage professionals and commercial archaeologists gathered to discuss this topic on a broad (pre)historical scale, highlighting similarities and contrast in depositional practices and reactions to relics of the past in different periods. Through case studies spanning the Bronze Age through to the 18th century AD, this volume presents new research demonstrating that the reappropriation of these already old objects was not anomalous, but instead represents a practice that recurs throughout (pre)history.

A comprehensive survey of recent work in Medieval Italian history and archaeology by an international cast of contributors, arranged within a broader context of studies on other regions and major historical transitions in Europe, c.400 to c.1400CE. Each of the contributors reflect on the contribution made to the field by Chris Wickham, whose own work spans studies based on close archival work, to broad and ambitious statements on economic and social change in the transition from Roman to medieval Europe, and the value of comparing this across time and space.

The growth and development of towns and urbanism in the pre-modern world has been of interest to archaeologists since the nineteenth century. Much of the early archaeological research on urban origins focused on regions such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Mesoamerica. Intensive archaeological research that has been conducted since the 1960s, much of it as a result of urban redevelopment, has shed new light on the development of towns in Anglo-Saxon England. In this book, Pamela Crabtree uses up-to-date archaeological data to explore urban origins in early medieval Britain. She argues that many Roman towns remained important places on the landscape, despite losing most of their urban character by the fifth century. Beginning with the decline of towns in the fourth and fifth centuries, Crabtree then details the origins and development of towns in Britain from the 7th century through the Norman Conquest in the mid-eleventh century CE. She also sets the development of early medieval urbanism in Britain within a broader, comparative framework.

This book stems from the results of an interdisciplinary European Union supported research project, WreckProtect, which investigated the decay and preservation of wooden shipwrecks under water in the Baltic Sea. It is not limited to the decay of wrecks in the Baltic alone and is aimed at all stakeholders with a vested interest in the protection of the underwater cultural heritage including marine archaeologists, conservators, engineers, and students in related fields at universities around the world. The book includes chapters on the anatomy and structure of wood and the physical and biological decay of shipwrecks under water. Well-known shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea are introduced, focusing upon their state of preservation and are compared to finds typically found in the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Microbial decay processes and their identification in both sediments and the water column are also discussed and related to other natural decay processes, as well as human impacts. Finally, a summary of available methods for the in-situ protection of wrecks is presented and a cost-benefit analysis of in-situ preservation versus conventional raising and conservation is given.

Hill Street, Upper Well Street and Far Gosford Street comprise three suburban streets which stood directly outside the city gates of Coventry for much of the medieval period. As a result of the 2003-2007 excavations an extensive body of archaeological, environmental and documentary evidence has been brought together to allow comparison in terms of land planning, construction methodologies, character and relative fluctuations in the long-term economy of two of the city's medieval and post-medieval suburbs. As well as evidence for street frontage occupation, the sites contain substantial portions of the city's defences, never before looked at in such detail. The new data is of great value in comparing the results with those previously gained from a variety of smaller sites in Coventry and comparable sites elsewhere in the country. The work has, in some detail, married up excavated data and documentary sources for the working of the defences over a period of 250 years. In addition the immediate suburban environment has come under scrutiny and an unprecedented level of botanical data has come to light in a programme of sampling for both seeds and pollens as a guide to the changing character of the suburbs. At Hill Street, excavation uncovered two medieval and post-medieval frontage properties 50m wide and their rear yards adjacent to the city ditch. While upstanding structural remains were scant, analysis of contemporary pits has highlighted mainly domestic but also some industrial aspects of the properties and given an insight into the diet, economy and changing face of suburban Hill Street from the 13th to 19th centuries. Excavation also uncovered some 55m of the city ditch adjacent to Bond Street, into which four large sections were cut, three close to Hill Street and one at the junction with Upper Well Street. The excavations highlight the huge investment made in digging and maintaining the ditch as a defensive line for the first half of the 15th century before it was gradually misused for fly-tipping and eventually lost beneath a welter of dumping by the later 17th century. It was probably indefensible long before the Civil War. A varied and rich environmental profile of the site has been constructed, which paints a picture of a suburban, semi-rural habitat which was increasingly spoiled in the 16th and 17th centuries by unrestricted dumping of refuse and cess. A wide variety of finds was recovered, indicative of both domestic and industrial occupation and use. This range was dominated by a large group of well-preserved late medieval leather shoes. The Far Gosford Street excavations revealed evidence for some 800 years of human activity. The earliest remains comprised a solid timber post, possibly related to a bridge over the River Sherbourne, for which tree-ring dating established a felling date of 1162-1212. A frontage was first occupied in the early 14th century when buildings were laid out along the street. A hoard of silver pennies found buried beneath the floor of one of the buildings probably represents the savings of one of the street's earliest residents. These structures were replaced in the first half of the 15th century, probably at the same time as the city wall was built a short distance to the west. A second medieval frontage lasted until 1643 when it was again dismantled during the Civil War. Entrenchments dating to this period were also excavated. In the 18th century a third frontage was built, replaced in the 19th century and finally demolished to make way for Singer Motors car showroom after they acquired the site in 1926.

Just six miles from the center of Belfast, County Down, on the plateau of Ballynahatty above the River Lagan, is one of Ireland’s great Neolithic henge monuments: the 200 m wide Giant’s Ring. For over a thousand years, this area was the focus of intense funerary ritual seemingly designed to send the dead to their ancestors and secure the land for the living. Scattered through the fields to the north and west of the Ring are flat cemeteries, standing stones, tombs, cists, and ring barrows – ancient monuments that were leveled by the plough when the land was enclosed in the 18th and 19th centuries. A great 90 m long timber enclosure with an elaborate entrance and inner ‘temple’ was first observed through crop marks in aerial photos. Excavation of the site between 1990–1999 revealed a complex structure composed of over 400 postholes, many over 2 m deep. This was a building in the grand style, elegantly designed to control space, views, and access to an inner sanctum containing a platform for exposure of the dead. By 2550 BC, the timber ‘temple’ had been swept away in a massive conflagration and the remains dismantled. Ballynahatty was one of the last great public ceremonial enterprises known to have been constructed by the Neolithic farmers in Northern Ireland, an enterprise proclaiming their enigmatic religion, ancestral rights and territorial aspirations. This report reconstructs the remarkable building complex and explains the sophistication and organization of its construction and use. The report sets the site and excavation in the wider development of the Ballynahatty landscape and its study to the present day.

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: Nonrvay 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.

The excavation of settlements has in recent years transformed our understanding of north-west Europe in the early Middle Ages. We can for the first time begin to answer fundamental questions such as: what did houses look like and how were they furnished? how did villages and individual farmsteads develop? how and when did agrarian production become intensified and how did this affect village communities? what role did craft production and trade play in the rural economy? In a period for which written sources are scarce, archaeology is of central importance in understanding the 'small worlds' of early medieval communities. Helena Hamerow's extensively illustrated and accessible study offers the first overview and synthesis of the large and rapidly growing body of evidence for early medieval settlements in north-west Europe, as well as a consideration of the implications of this evidence for Anglo-Saxon England. SERIES DESCRIPTION The aim of the series is to reflect the creative dialogue that is developing between the disciplines of medieval history and archaeology. It will integrate archaeological and historical approaches to aspects of medieval society, economy, and culture. A range of archaeological evidence will be presented and interpreted in ways accessible to historians, while providing a historical perspective and context for those studying the material culture of the period.

Parks were prominent and, indeed, controversial features of the medieval countryside, but they have been unevenly studied and remain only partly understood. Stephen Mileson provides the first full-length study of the subject, examining parks across the country and throughout the Middle Ages in their full social, economic, jurisdictional, and landscape context. The first half of the book investigates the purpose of these royal and aristocratic reserves, which have been variously claimed as hunting grounds, economic assets, landscape settings for residences, and status symbols. An emphasis on the aristocratic passion for the chase as the key motivation for park-making provides an important challenge to more recent views and allows for a deeper appreciation of the connection between park-making and the expression of power and lordship. The second part of the volume examines the impact of park creation on wider society, from the king and aristocracy to peasants and townsmen. Instead of the traditional emphasis on the importance of royal regulation, greater attention is paid to the effects of lordly park-making on other members of the landed elite and ordinary people. These widespread enclosures interfered with customary uses of woodland and waste, hunting practices, roads, and farming; not surprisingly, they could become a focus for aristocratic feud, popular protest, and furtive resistance. Combining historical, archaeological, and landscape evidence, this ground-breaking work provides fresh insight into contemporary values and how they helped to shape the medieval landscape.

The majority of literature about the Viking period, based on artefacts or written sources, covers battles, kings, chiefs and mercenaries, long distance travel and colonisation, trade, and settlement. Less is said about the life of those that stayed at home, or those that immigrated into Scandinavia, whether voluntarily or by force. This book uses results from the examination of a substantial corpus of Swedish osteological material to discuss aspects of demography and health in the Viking period face=Calibri>- those which would have been visible and recognisable in the faces or physical appearances of the individuals concerned. It explores the effects of migration, from the spread of new diseases such as leprosy to patterns of movement and integration of immigrants into society. The skeletal material also allows the study of levels of violence, attitudes towards disablement, and the care provided by Viking communities. An overview of the worldwide phenomenon of modified teeth also gives insight into the practice of deliberate physical embellishment and body modification. The interdisciplinary approach to questions regarding ordinary life presented here will broaden the knowledge about society during the Viking Age. The synthesis of the Swedish unburnt human skeletal remains dated to the Viking age will be a valuable resource for future research, and provides an in-depth view on Viking age society.

A dramatic archaeological find at Windsor Castle reveals Edward III's 'House of the Round Table', designed to show off Edward's power and prestige at a crucial moment in his attempts to lay claim to the throne of France. NEW LOWER PRICE The image of King Arthur's Round Table is well-known, both as Thomas Malory's portrayal of a fellowship of knights dedicated to the highest ideals of chivalry, and as the great wooden table at Winchester castle. Now a dramatic archaeological find at Windsor castle sheds new light on the idea of a round table as a gathering: the 'House of the Round Table' which Edward III ordered to be constructed at the conclusion of his Windsor festival of 1344. The discovery of the foundation trench of a great building two hundred feet in diameter in the Upper Ward of Windsor castle, allows the reconstruction of that building's appearance and raises the question of itspurpose. Chronicles, building materials inventories from the royal accounts, medieval romances, and earlier descriptions of round table festivals all confirm the archaeological evidence: at a time when secular orders of knighthood were almost unknown, Edward declared his intention to found an Order of the Round Table with three hundred knights. This grand building, and the Arthurian entertainments he planned for it, would bind his nobles to his cause ata crucial point in his progress to claiming the throne of France. His ambitious scheme, however, was overtaken by events. Victory at Crecy in 1346 confirmed Edward's reputation, and the order which he founded in 1348 was themuch more exclusive Order of the Garter, rewarding those commanders who had helped him to win the Crecy campaign. His reputation was assured, the omens for his reign were auspicious; he had the loyalty of his knights and magnates.The Round Table building was abandoned, and eventually pulled down in the 1360s. Thus a major plank in the strategic thinking of one of England's greatest kings almost became a footnote in history. Time Team discovered .there [are] indeed foundations of a massive round building in Windsor Castle's upper ward. A splendidly produced volume, which gives full credit both to the history and to the archaeology: analysis of the chivalric background, archaeological analysis, discussion of the probable form of the building [and] the early history of Windsor Castle as well as the types of stone used by Edward III's masons. The book is attractively illustrated, and its appendicesprovide a full text in Latin, with translation, of the building accounts, as well as translations of many of the relevant chronicle extracts. MICHAEL PRESTWICH, THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

This book explores the experiences of rural communities who lived between the seventh and ninth centuries in central and eastern England. Combining archaeology with documentary, place-name and topographic evidences, it shows the way in which the settlements in which people lived provide a unique insight into social, economic and political conditions in 'Middle Saxon' England. The material derived from excavations within currently-occupied rural settlements represents a particularly informative dataset, and when combined with other evidence illustrates that the seventh to ninth centuries was a period of fundamental social change that impacted rural communities in significant and lasting ways. The transformation of settlement character was part of a more widespread process of landscape investment during the 'Middle Saxon' period, as rapidly stratifying social institutions began to manifest power and influence through new means. Such an analysis represents a significant departure from the prevailing scholarly outlook of the early medieval landscape, which continues to posit that the countryside of England remained largely unchanged until the development of historic villages from the ninth century onward. In this regard, the evidence presented by this book from currently-occupied rural settlements provides substantial backing to the idea that many historic villages emerged as part of a two-stage process which began during the 'Middle Saxon' period. Whilst it was only following subsequent change that recognisable later village plans began to take shape, key developments between the seventh and ninth centuries helped articulate the form and identity of rural centres, features that in many instances persisted throughout the medieval period and into the present day.

The long and vibrant history of north-eastern England has left rich material deposits in the form of buildings, works of art, books and other artefacts. This heritage is examined here in fifteen studies, ranging from the sculpture of the Roman occupation through the monuments and architecture of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods, to the manuscripts and fortified houses of the later Middle Ages. The monasteries at Hexham, Lindisfarne and Tynemouth, and the City of Newcastle itself, are all subjected to individual analysis, and there are papers on Alnwick and Warkworth castles, the great keep at Newcastle, the coffin of St Cuthbert and the Lindisfarne Gospels. The expert opinions presented here are intended to stimulate and advance scholarly debate on the material culture of a region which has played a critical role in English history, and whose broad and varied profile still offers many opportunities for critical inquiry.

To obtain sacred relics, medieval monks plundered tombs, avaricious merchants raided churches, and relic-mongers scoured the Roman catacombs. In a revised edition of "Furta Sacra," Patrick Geary considers the social and cultural context for these acts, asking how the relics were perceived and why the thefts met with the approval of medieval Christians.

A striking and famous feature of the English landscape, Dartmoor is a beautiful place, with a sense of wildness and mystery. This book provides a new perspective on an important aspect of Dartmoor's past. Its focus is transhumance: the seasonal transfer of grazing animals to different pastures. In the Middle Ages, intensive practical use was made of Dartmoor's resources. Its extensive moorlands provided summer pasture for thousands of cattle from the Devon lowlands, which flowed in a seasonal tide, up in the spring and down in the autumn. This book describes, for the first time, the social organisation and farming practices associated with this annual transfer of livestock. It also presents evidence for a previously unsuspected Anglo-Saxon pattern of transhumance in which lowland farmers spent the summers living with their cattle on the moor. Winner of the Devon Book of the Year Award 2013.

This volume is dedicated to the remarkable flourishing of art and architecture in Bohemia, and Prague in particular, as it became the political centre of Charles IV's Holy Roman Empire. A focus is on cultural exchange, and the links which can be traced through the artwork across Europe. Topics and buildings under discussion include Prague Cathedral, St Bartholomew's in Kyje, Karlstein Castle, St Stephen's Vienna, aristocratic patronage, chasuble iconography and the Zderad column in Brno.