Trade before Civilization explores the role that long-distance exchange played in the establishment and/or maintenance of social complexity, and its role in the transformation of societies from egalitarian to non-egalitarian. Bringing together research by an international and methodologically diverse team of scholars, it analyses the relationship between long-distance trade and the rise of inequality. The volume illustrates how elites used exotic prestige goods to enhance and maintain their elevated social positions in society. Global in scope, it offers case studies of early societies and sites in Europe, Asia, Oceania, North America, and Mesoamerica. Deploying a range of inter-disciplinary and cutting-edge theoretical approaches from a cross-cultural framework, the volume offers new insights and enhances our understanding of socio-political evolution. It will appeal to archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, conflict theorists, and ethnohistorians, as well as economists seeking to understand the nexus between imported luxury items and cultural evolution.

This study focuses on the sheaths and scabbards of the Anglo-Saxon period, rather than the blades once held within them. Esther Cameron presents a largely technical approach to the study of material from the period of the first Anglo-Saxons in England in the 5th century, through to the 11th century. Alongside a large corpus of examples, she looks at the nature of the material evidence, of skin, leather and wood, and the composition of the materials used, their decomposition and preservation in the archeological reord. The wider significance of her findings for Anglo-Saxon archaeology and for the study of organic materials form archaeological contexts in general, are revealed in the final chapter.

Ethnographic studies trace the background to and impact of urbanisation and Christianisation, and the development of royal power, which stimulated the transition from the Viking age to the medieval period. Using the evidence of archaeology, poetry, legal texts and annals, this volume investigates the social, economic and symbolic structures of early Scandinavia at the time of the Viking expansion. The contributors provide an outlineethnography, covering dwellings and settlements, kinship and social relations, law, political structures and external relations, rural and urban economies, and the ideology of warfare. The topics are discussed through case-studies, illustrating the changing scholarly interpretations of this formative period in Scandinavian history. By addressing these key research questions, the contributions trace the background to and the impact of urbanisation and Christianisation, and the development of royal power, which stimulated the transition from the Viking age to the medieval period in Scandinavia. JUDITH JESCH is Professor in Viking Studies at the University of Nottingham. Contributors: LENA HOLMQUIST OLAUSSON, BENTE MAGNUS, E. VESTERGAARD, BIRGIT ARRHENIUS, STEFAN BRINK, LISE BENDER JORGENSEN, SVEND NIELSEN, FRANDS HERSCHEND, NIELS LUND, DAVID N. DUMVILLE, JUDITH JESCH, DENNIS H. GREEN.

Modelling Christianisation breaks new ground by studying the underutilised archaeological material for the Christianisation of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Around the first Millennium, in present-day Central Europe, the political and religious landscape changed dramatically. With the Christianisation of the pagan societies on its borders, the Ottonian/Holy Roman Empire significantly expanded according to the principles of the Imperium Christianum. This process - Christianisation - frequently tied to 'the making of Europe', has long generated broad interest in scholarship. Although recent attempts have shown archaeology's potential to shed light on the subject, interpretations of Christianisation and state formation are still primarily dominated by historical narratives. Instead of concentrating on the upper echelons of society, the volume draws on the archaeological record relating to the Christianisation of the commoners - rural churches and field cemeteries - and more precisely (digital) archaeological archival data. This was subjected to geospatial analysis to uncover potential networks and clusters and to provide a different narrative about the course of Christianisation. Written evidence deals typically only with the topmost layer of institutions, such as the foundation of bishoprics, archbishoprics and some monasteries. Local churches, the smallest but most numerous elements of the church system, seldom appear in written sources; thus, theories about the development of the Church as an institution have often lacked direct evidence about the local church network. The approach taken here integrates this abundant data which provides information about the largest part of the population, otherwise absent in the written sources. It allows the reconstruction of a cultural landscape and lets us see the process of (institutionalised) Christianisation as a process of adaptation. Thus, it also offers a new interpretation for modelling Christianisation in newly emergent kingdoms.

The study of deserted villages abandoned during the last millennium in Europe has been the primary focus of archaeological interventions in rural settlements over recent decades. However, most of the hamlets and villages of medieval origin remain inhabited today and excavations in these small and medium-sized settlements are more unusual. The Archaeology of Medieval Villages Currently Inhabited in Europe focuses on these locations, giving examples of sites excavated in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Scandinavia and Spain. The case studies highlight the diversity of problems and debates around this subject such as the meaning of the term 'village', the chronology beyond the last millennium with continuities, discontinuities and ruptures, the integration of research into residential and working areas, the role of local communities in research programmes and the need for multidisciplinary approaches to address all these issues. Deserted villages research along with currently-inhabited settlement excavation has the important potential to achieve long-lasting historical syntheses on medieval settlement networks in Europe. These five chapters offer challenging approaches to the above issues and proposals for future research in the field from Spain to the North Sea.

This study traces and analyses the evolution of domestic space in Maltese vernacular and 'polite' houses from medieval to contemporary times. The houses under review range from humble buildings of modest size, materials and design, like farmhouses or those for the less affluent towndwellers, to buildings of grand design, like townhouses and palazzi. Owing to the complex nature of the Maltese houses a combination of enquires and a variety of sources was necessary to achieve a holistic picture. This included fieldwork in different parts of the islands, extensive research work in local archives, libraries and museums, an analysis of a sample of literary sources, national censuses and works-of-art, as well as methods of spatial analysis (Space Syntax). One of the major achievements obtained in this research concerns the development of the native dwelling. The field surveys and archival research have demonstrated that the evolution of the native dwelling was very much influenced by the political, social and economic changes that occurred locally during the period under review. In particular, it was observed that architectural and stylistic changes in the elite houses occurred at a faster rate to suit fashion, in line with what occurred in other European countries, while changes in peasant houses were slower and more sporadic as these adhered to their vernacular idiom for a longer time. Houses often served as a symbol of class and social status. The dwelling's size and architectural style, the configuration of domestic space as well as the house furniture and contents were among the main indicators which, between the late Medieval Period and the first half of the 20th century, distinguished a wealthy from a poor dwelling. Class distinction did not occur only between houses, but also within the same building, especially in the elite dwellings. Gender was also another important aspect which directly affected the upper middle and elite Maltese houses, particularly at a time when men and women had fixed roles in society. However, the restricted space by which the lower class houses were normally characterized permitted instead the mixing of genders in work and leisure. A major shift in the relationship between the family and the house occurred in the second half of the 20th century, when the social and demographic changes of this period brought more balance between the social classes. Through the available evidence, particularly the national censuses, works-of-art, literary sources and travelogues, it was also possible to acquire knowledge about various aspects related to dining fashions, dress code, health and education in the Maltese houses. The results obtained from our Space Syntax investigations have been instrumental to acquire new knowledge and to understand better the social logic of space underpinning Maltese dwellings and settlements.

Medieval Birmingham: People and Places, 1070-1553, attempts to show through documentary and archaeological evidence how it evolved from a village into its present role as the second city of the United Kingdom. It looks at the lives of the Bermingham family, who owned the town and ruled the townsmen. It looks at their retinue, who held surrounding manors in the area. It tells of the various wars both served in - civil and overseas. The medieval period was a time when the Christian church had great power, and its role in the manor is told, examining the canons of the priory, the friars and the parish priests. Probably the most important element were the inhabitants of the town, for it was they that built it up through trade, and their lives, occupations and physical surroundings form the final section of the book.

Since its invention by Renaissance humanists, the myth of the "Middle Ages" has held a uniquely important place in the Western historical imagination. Whether envisioned as an era of lost simplicity or a barbaric nightmare, the medieval past has always served as a mirror for modernity. This book gives an eye-opening account of the ways various political and intellectual projects-from nationalism to the discipline of anthropology-have appropriated the Middle Ages for their own ends. Deploying an interdisciplinary toolkit, author K. Patrick Fazioli grounds his analysis in contemporary struggles over power and identity in the Eastern Alps, while also considering the broader implications for scholarly research and public memory.

This book uses both succinct, informative essays and beautiful, detailed photography to reveal how recent archeological discoveries in the ancient country of Armenia have transformed our understanding of the origins of human civilization and humanity itself. It also tells the story of a heroic team of Armenian archeologists who have singlehandedly created a new golden age of archeology in their country. Their work demonstrates that Armenia has hosted a continuous human presence for at least 2 million years. They have succeeded in documenting the evolution of humanity and human culture across this vast span of time in minute detail. Their discoveries include the oldest known winemaking complex, the recreation of the first wines, the oldest known work of art, the oldest shoe yet discovered, and one of the oldest known religious documents. This book chronicles their achievements in a manner that lets the reader become part of the process of exploration and feel the excitement of discovery.

Trees were of fundamental importance in Anglo-Saxon society. Anglo-Saxons dwelt in timber houses, relied on woodland as an economic resource, and created a material culture of wood which was at least as meaningfully-imbued, and vastly more prevalent, than the sculpture and metalwork with which we associate them today. Trees held a central place in Anglo-Saxon belief systems, which carried into the Christian period, not least in the figure of the cross itself. Despite this, the transience of trees and timber in comparison to metal and stone has meant that the subject has received comparatively little attention from scholars. Trees and Timber in the Anglo-Saxon World constitutes the very first collection of essays written about the role of trees in early medieval England, bringing together established specialists and new voices to present an interdisciplinary insight into the complex relationship between the early English and their woodlands. The woodlands of England were not only deeply rooted in every aspect of Anglo-Saxon material culture - as a source of heat and light, food and drink, and wood and timber for the construction of tools, weapons, and materials - but also in their spiritual life, symbolic vocabulary, and sense of connection to their beliefs and heritage. These essays do not merely focus on practicalities, such as carpentry techniques and the extent of woodland coverage, but rather explore the place of trees and timber in the intellectual lives of the early medieval inhabitants of England, using evidence from archaeology, place-names, landscapes, and written sources.

Ringforts were an important part of the rural settlement landscape of early medieval Ireland (AD 400-1100). While most of those circular enclosures were farmsteads, a small number had special significance as centres of political power and elite residence, also associated with specialized crafts. One such 'royal site' was Garranes in the mid-Cork region of south-west Ireland. In 1937, archaeological excavation of a large trivallate ringfort provided evidence of high-status residence during the fifth and sixth centuries AD. The site had workshops for the production of bronze ornaments, with glass and enamel working as well as indications of farming. Pottery and glass vessels imported from the Mediterranean world and Atlantic France were also discovered. That trade with the Late Roman world is significant to understanding the introduction of Christianity and literacy in southern Ireland at that time. This monograph presents the results of an interdisciplinary project conducted 2011-18, where archaeological survey and excavation, supported by various specialist studies, examined this historic landscape. Garranes is a special place where archaeology, history and legend combine to uncover a minor royal site of the early medieval period. The central ringfort has been identified as Rath Raithleann, the seat of the petty kingdom of Ui Echach Muman, recalled in bardic poetry of the later medieval period. Those poems attribute its foundation to Corc, a King of Munster in the fifth century AD, and link the site closely to Cian, son-in-law of Brian Boruma, and one of the heroes of Clontarf (AD 1014). This study provides new evidence to connect the location of Rath Raithleann to high-status occupation at Garranes during the fifth and sixth centuries, and explores its legendary associations in later periods.

Carmarthen Castle was one of the largest castles in medieval Wales. It was also one of the most important, in its role as a centre of government and as a Crown possession in a region dominated by Welsh lands and Marcher lordships. Largely demolished during the seventeenth century, it was subsequently redeveloped, first as a prison and later as the local authority headquarters. Yet the surviving remains, and their situation, are still impressive. The situation changed with a major programme of archaeological and research work, from 1993 to 2006, which is described in this book. The history of the castle, its impact on the region and on Wales as a whole are also examined: we see the officials and other occupants of the castle, their activities and how they interacted with their environment. Excavations at the castle, and the artefacts recovered, are described along with its remaining archaeological potential. This book puts Carmarthen Castle back at the heart of the history of medieval Wales, and in its proper place in castle studies and architectural history, the whole study combining to make a major contribution to the history of one of Wales's great towns.

This book re-examines the history of the Carpathian-Danubian region during the eighth and the ninth centuries, to provide a synthetic historical overview of the region to the north of the Lower Danube in this period. Based on a critical and comparative analysis of archaeological, narrative and numismatic sources, the study presents a reconstruction of the socio-economic, ethnic, cultural, and political history of the area at a period during which nomadic peoples from the east including the Bulgars, Avars, and Khazars migrated here. The work is based on a comprehensive analysis of narrative and archaeological sources including sites, artefacts, and goods in the basin bordered by the Tisza river in the west, the Danube in the south, and the Dniestr river in the east, covering swathes of modern-day Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia, and Hungary.

Early Anglo-Saxon Christian Reliquaries presents a corpus and discussion of a group of Anglo-Saxon copper-alloy containers dating to the seventh and possibly eighth centuries, and variously described as work boxes, needle cases, amulet containers or Christian reliquaries. Seventy-one boxes, some incomplete or fragmentary, have been recorded from forty-nine sites across Anglo-Saxon England. A typology, material specification, drawings, design and construction principles are provided, and a nomenclature applicable to these containers is outlined. Catalogue entries give details of site location, description, decorative features and references. Three box types are identified, and a concluding discussion suggests that boxes of Types I and II had a Christian function and should be considered as reliquaries. Type III boxes had a secular function, and their purpose remains enigmatic.

In this book, Marianne Hem Eriksen explores the social organization of Viking Age Scandinavia through a study of domestic architecture, and in particular, the doorway. A highly charged architectural element, the door is not merely a practical, constructional solution. Doors control access, generate movement, and demark boundaries, yet also serve as potent ritual objects. For this study, Eriksen analyzes and interprets the archaeological data of house remains from Viking Age Norway, which are here synthesized for the first time. Using social approaches to architecture, she demonstrates how the domestic space of the Viking household, which could include masters and slaves, wives and mistresses, children and cattle, was not neutral. Quotidian and ritual interactions with, through, and orchestrated by doorways prove to be central to the production of a social world in the Viking Age. Eriksen's book challenges the male-dominated focus of research on the Vikings and expands research questions beyond topics of seaborne warriors, trade, and craft.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

The two volumes of "The Archaeology of Medieval Europe" together comprise the first complete account of Medieval Archaeology across the continent. This ground-breaking set will enable readers to track the development of different cultures and regions over the 800 years that formed the Europe we have today. In addition to revealing the process of Europeanisation, within its shared intellectual and technical inheritance, the complete work provides an opportunity for demonstrating the differences that were inevitably present across the continent -- from Iceland to Sicily and Portugal to Finland.

The Watlington Hoard was discovered in southern Oxfordshire in 2015 by a metal-detectorist, and acquired by the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford in 2017. A nationally-important find of coinage and metalwork, and the first major Viking-Age hoard from the county, it dates from the late 870s, a fundamental and tumultuous period in Britain's history. The contents of the hoard include a highly significant collection of over 200 silver pennies, mostly of Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, and Ceolwulf II, king of Mercia, transforming our understanding of the coinage in this period, and 23 silver and gold pieces of contemporary metalwork much of which was derived from Scandinavia. Presenting the complete publication of the objects and coins in the Watlington Hoard - including an important re-assessment of the coinage of the late 870s - the authors discuss its wider implications for our understanding of hoarding in late 9th-century southern Britain, interactions between the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia, and the movements of the Viking Great Army after the Battle of Edington in 878. The book also relates another side to the hoard's story, beginning with its discovery and excavation, charting its path through the conservation work and acquisition by the Ashmolean Museum to the public outreach projects which ran alongside the scholarly research into the hoard.

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.

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.

This book examines the social role of castles in late-medieval and early modern Ireland. It uses a multidisciplinary methodology to uncover the lived experience of this historic culture, demonstrating the interconnectedness of society, economics and the environment. Of particular interest is the revelation of how concerned pre-modern people were with participation in the economy and the exploitation of the natural environment for economic gain. Material culture can shed light on how individuals shaped spaces around themselves, and tower houses, thanks to their pervasiveness in medieval and modern landscapes, represent a unique resource. Castles are the definitive building of the European Middle Ages, meaning that this book will be of great interest to scholars of both history and archaeology. -- .