This book reports on excavations at Paithan in India revealed the development of two early Hindu temples from the 4th century to the 9th: the key formative phase of Hinduism. The temples started as small shrines but were elaborated into formal temples. In relation to these changes, the excavations revealed a sequence of palaeobotanical and palaeofaunal evidence that give insight into the economic and social changes that took place at that time.

Proceedings of a Conference held at Durham University, November 3rd and 4th, 2001. Organized by the Centre for Iranian Studies, IMEIS and the Department of Archaeology of Durham University. Papers presented on Current Research in Sasanian Archaeology, Art and History from a Conference held at Durham University, November 3rd and 4th, 2001. Contents: The Functional Layout of the Fire Sanctuary at Takht-i Sulaiman (Dietrich Huff); The Discovery of a Sasanian Period Fire Temple at Bandiyan, Dargaz (Mehdi Rahbar); A Sasanian Site at Barbar, Bahrain (Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Sen F. Andersen); Sasanian Coins from aeUman and Bairayn (Derek Kennet); Suburb or slum? Excavations at Merv (Turkmenistan) and Observations on Stratigraphy, Refuse and Material Culture in a Sasanian City (St John Simpson); The Destruction of the Late Antique World Order (James Howard-Johnston); Bishops or Bureaucrats?: Christian Clergy and the State in the Middle Sasanian Period (Scott McDonough); History and Historiography: the Court Genre in Arabic and the Fatinamah-i Sind (Valeria Fiorani Piacentini); Iranian Society in the Sasanian Period (Hassan Karimian); The Great Families in the Sasanian Empire: some Sigillographic Evidence (Rika Gyselen); aeDionysiacAe Iconographic Themes in the Context of Sasanian Religious Architecture (Pierfrancesco Callieri); A Metamorphosis in Sasanian Silverwork: the Triumph of Dionysos? (Mehdi Moussavi Kouhpar and Timothy Taylor); Royal and Religious Symbols on Early Sasanian Coins (Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis); New Perspectives on Sasanian Rock Reliefs (Hubertus von Gall).

This study describes and illustrates, with plans, drawings and photographs, 75 of the defensive towers in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, which occupies the western side of the Musandam peninsula at the entrance to the Arabian Gulf. The material comes from a survey undertaken between December 1991 and January 1992, and includes an introduction discussing geography, history, typology and distribution, and construction techniques and features.