The themes of sedentarisation, urbanisation and state formation are fundamental ones in the archaeology of many diverse parts of the world but have been little explored in relation to early societies of the Saharan zone. Moreover, the possibility has rarely been considered that the precocious civilisations bordering this vast desert were interconnected by long-range contacts and knowledge networks. The orthodox opinion of many of the key oasis zones within the Sahara is that they were not created before the early medieval period and the Islamic conquest of Mediterranean North Africa. Major claims of this volume are that the ultimate origins of oasis settlements in many parts of the Sahara were considerably earlier, that by the first millennium AD some of these oasis settlements were of a size and complexity to merit the categorisation 'towns' and that a few exceptional examples were focal centres within proto-states or early state-level societies.

Despite what history has taught us about imperialism's destructive effects on colonial societies, many classicists continue to emphasize disproportionately the civilizing and assimilative nature of the Roman Empire and to hold a generally favorable view of Rome's impact on its subject peoples. "Imperialism, Power, and Identity" boldly challenges this view using insights from postcolonial studies of modern empires to offer a more nuanced understanding of Roman imperialism.

Rejecting outdated notions about Romanization, David Mattingly focuses instead on the concept of identity to reveal a Roman society made up of far-flung populations whose experience of empire varied enormously. He examines the nature of power in Rome and the means by which the Roman state exploited the natural, mercantile, and human resources within its frontiers. Mattingly draws on his own archaeological work in Britain, Jordan, and North Africa and covers a broad range of topics, including sexual relations and violence; census-taking and taxation; mining and pollution; land and labor; and art and iconography. He shows how the lives of those under Rome's dominion were challenged, enhanced, or destroyed by the empire's power, and in doing so he redefines the meaning and significance of Rome in today's debates about globalization, power, and empire.

"Imperialism, Power, and Identity" advances a new agenda for classical studies, one that views Roman rule from the perspective of the ruled and not just the rulers.

In a new preface, Mattingly reflects on some of the reactions prompted by the initial publication of the book.

More coin hoards have been recorded from Roman Britain than from any other province of the Empire. This comprehensive and lavishly illustrated volume provides a survey of over 3260 hoards of Iron Age and Roman coins found in England and Wales with a detailed analysis and discussion.Theories of hoarding and deposition and examined, national and regional patterns in the landscape settings of coin hoards presented, together with an analysis of those hoards whose findspots were surveyed and of those hoards found in archaeological excavations. It also includes an unprecedented examination of the containers in which coin hoards were buried and the objects found with them. The patterns of hoarding in Britain from the late 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD are discussed. The volume also provides a survey of Britain in the 3rd century AD, as a peak of over 700 hoards are known from the period from AD 253-296. This has been a particular focus of the project which has been a collaborative research project between the University of Leicester and the British Museum funded by the AHRC. The aim has been to understand the reasons behind the burial and non-recovery of these finds. A comprehensive online database (https://finds.org.uk/database) underpins the project, which also undertook a comprehensive GIS analysis of all the hoards and field surveys of a sample of them.

This is the concluding volume of the Archaeology of Fazz n series, bringing to press the combined results of two Anglo-Libyan projects in southern Libya: the pioneering work of Charles Daniels between 1958 and 1977 and the Fazz n Project directed by David Mattingly between 1997 and 2001. The investigations carried out by these two projects allow an entirely new reconstruction and understanding of the historic desert societies of the Libyan Sahara. In particular, the work has shed light on the ancient people known to Greco-Roman writers as the Garamantes, who are now revealed to have been a sophisticated state, with permanent towns and villages and an economy based on oasis agriculture and Saharan trade. This volume presents the results of excavations and survey work at the site of Old Jarma, identifiable with the Garamantian capital, Garama, that also had a long after-life in Medieval and Early Modern times. The Fazz n Project revealed an extraordinary urban story, spanning 10 major construction phases that extended from c.400 BC to the AD 1930s. The detailed publication of the complex stratigraphic evidence and the accompanying finds assemblages opens a fascinating window on the cultural heritage and lifeways of a central Saharan oasis."

The Sahara is Libya's outstanding landscape feature and is the source of most of its significant natural resources. This desert region is also extraordinarily rich in historical and cultural heritage that is in itself another valuable resource, through exploitation by Libya's tourism industry. This volume draws attention to the link between the benefits that Libya draws from its Saharan resources (oil, gas, water, minerals and tourism) and the need to safeguard and record aspects of its cultural heritage. The book also provides a summary of important developments in Saharan studies and shows how these can contribute to modern planning and development of the desert regions.

The Archaeology of Fazzan is a major series of reports on the archaeology and history of Libya's south-west desert region. This volume contains reports and analysis on a series of excavations carried out between 1958 and 1977 by the British archaeologist Charles Daniels, lavishly illustrated by site plans and numerous colour photographs- particularly of the rich artefact assemblages recovered. The publication will be high profile and a significant landmark in work seeking to record information about Libya's long-term Saharan heritage. It will be an indispensable reference work to the nature of the Libya's Saharan archaeology. The work will be of major value to the Libyan antiquities service and contracted archaeologists in concert with foreign oil companies, the NOC and the GMMR, and other similar major schemes. The key element of the story of Fazzan is the existence here of an early Libyan civilisation, the Garamantes, and the publication of the Archaeology of Fazzan volumes is putting in the public domain a rich dossier of information about their antecedents and descendants in this desert environment. This was a singularly important moment in Libya's cultural history, with resonances also in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is great interest in the published volumes from specialists in Saharan, Sub-Saharan and Mediterranean archaeologists and historians as for the first time we can see in detail the effect of early Trans-Saharan links.

The Archaeology of Fazzan, volume II, Site Gazetteer, Pottery and other Survey Finds, Edited by David J. Mattingly "The Libyan Sahara is one of the richest desert areas for the study of human adaptation to changing environmental and climatic conditions. This is the second volume in a projected series of four reports detailing the combined results of two Anglo-Libyan projects in Fazzan, Libya's south-west province. The late Charles Daniels led the first expeditions between l958 and l977, with David Mattingly directing the subsequent Fazzan Project from l997-2001. This second volume presents some of the key archaeological discoveries in detail, including a richly illustrated gazetteer of sites discovered and the first attempt at a full-scale pottery type series from the Sahara. In addition, there are separate reports on the programme of radiocarbon dating carried out, on lithics, metallurgical and non-metallurgical industrial residues and various categories of small finds (including coins, metal artefacts, beads, glass and stone artefacts). The later volumes will provide the detailed evidence from the excavations carried out by both projects.

A detailed report, the first in a series of four, of two Anglo-Libyan projects carried out in the Fazzan region of southwest Libya. This volume outlines the history of the area, the work of Charles Daniels in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and the most recent project directed by David Mattingly. The aims of the project are matched by the sections of this report and include syntheses of survey and excavation evidence for the geography, climate, hydrology and environment, as well as archaeological and historical data. Individual chapters also focus on the field-walking carried out from 1997 to 2000, the evidence for fortifications, settlements and domestic architecture, religious and funerary structures, irrigation technologies, rock art and inscriptions, ending with a summary of human activities in Fazzan from the palaeolithic to early modern period. An extraordinary civilisation emerged on the very margins of the Classical world in the remote Libyan desert. This is a vital study of a society at the crossroads between the Mediterranean and continental Africa. (Professor Michael Fulford, University of Reading) The Garamantes have emerged from the shadows. This study of the Fazzan from remotest antiquity to the present day is striking for the extent and range of the enquiry, the meticulousness of its documentation, and the clarity of its exposition. The completed volumes will immediately become the standard work on the region, and seem unlikely ever to be superseded. (Professor Roger Wilson, University of Nottingham)

"The desert margins of North Africa are extremely rich in archaeological ruins of the Roman period, evidence of dense settlement 2,000 years ago in what are now arid and hostile environments. Historians, geographers and archaeologists have long debated the significance of these sites, explaining the 'Greening of the Desert' variously in terms of environmental change, colonization, external market forces or combinations of factors. The debate so far has been characterized by the lack of scientific data from any one region concerning, on the one hand, the nature of settlement, society and land-use and, on the other, the contemporary climate and environment; this has made it impossible to compare rigorously the strengths and weaknesses of the alternative theories. The two volumes of Farming the Desert present the results of the alternative approach taken by the UNESCO Libyan Valleys Archaeological Survey: a detailed inter-disciplinary study by archaeologists, geographers and historians of a single region, i.e. the basins of the Wadis Sofeggin and ZemZem in Tripolitania, northwest Libya. The project's methodologies for studying the archaeology of arid-zone agriculture have been recognized internationally, and the results of their application to the study area have transformed our understanding of how the desert margins of North Africa were farmed in antiquity, with important implications for modern agricultural planning . 'A particular triumph. It marshals a wide variety of skills and techniques, transforms our understanding of ancient pre-desert farming, and is as vital a contribution to modern needs as it is to scholarship.' (Tim Potter, British Museum)

Series Information:
Leicester-Nottingham Studies in Ancient Society

The frontiers of the Roman Empire form the largest surviving monument of one of the world's greatest states, and stretch for around 7500km through 20 countries. The remains of these have been studied for many centuries. Inscriptions, sculpture, weapons, pottery and artefacts created and used by the soldiers and civilians who lived on the frontier form the basis for this history and are outlined in this book. The physical remains of the frontiers are also visible in many parts of Africa, including towers and forts, stretches of defensive lines of stone and earth with ditches broken by gates, and roads. The aim of this book is to inform the interested visitor about the history of the frontiers and to act as a guidebook as well. Multi-language edition: English, French, German & Arabic

This book presents a challenge to the long held view that the predominantly agricultural economies of ancient Greece and Rome were underdeveloped. It shows that the exploitation of natural resources, manufacturing and the building trade all made significant contributions to classical economies. It will be an indispensable resource for those interested in the period.

The Wadi Faynan is a harshly beautiful and desertic landscape in southern Jordan, situated between the hyper-arid deserts of the Wadi 'Arabah and the rugged and wetter Mountains of Edom. Archaeology and Desertification presents the results of the Wadi Faynan Landscape Survey, an inter-disciplinary study of landscape change undertaken in the Wadi Faynan by a team of archaeologists and geographers with the goal of contributing to present-day desertification debates by providing a long-term perspective on the relationship between environmental change and human history. The Wadi Faynan was the focus for some of the earliest farming in the Near East, and the earliest metallurgy, and in Roman times was a centre for copper and lead mining. The project reveals how past communities of farmers, shepherds, and miners managed their challenging environment, the solutions they developed, their successes and failures, and their short- and long-term environmental impacts. The richness of the palaeoclimatic, archaeological and palaeoecological data reveals an environmental/cultural history of complex pathways, synergies, and feedbacks operating at many different geographical scales, rates, and intensities. The project's findings on the complexity of past and present people: environment relations in the Wadi Faynan affirm the power of inter-disciplinary landscape archaeology to contribute significantly to the desertification debate. With global warming likely to threaten the lives of millions of people in the semi-arid and arid lands that comprise over a third of the planet through the course of this century, with potentially dire consequences for adjacent populations in better-watered regions, understanding the complexity of past responses to aridification has never been more urgent.