Books in the British Archaeological Reports International Series series

Paris Monographs in American Archaeology 33A study of private and public space in Mayan cities.

This collection of essays promises to make an important contribution to the field of Roman studies, particularly, by its concentration on monuments, to that of Roman art history. The current high level of interest in problems of identity, including studies of colonialism, Romanization, ethnicity, social class, gender and a host of related topics creates a vital intellectual context for the study of the art of provincials and the lower classes. The monuments themselves contribute a critical dimension to this discourse, the more so because the textual evidence for the non-elites of Roman society, apart from inscriptions, is relatively scarce.

A detailed illustrated catalogue of 406 (Mediterranean, Africa and Near East) ceramic lamps, dated from the Bronze Age to Late Roman era, from the Rivel Collection.

The Early Medieval Archaeology Student Symposium was created in 2007 to provide a platform for research students and early career archaeologists focusing on the early medieval period (c. AD 300 - 1200) to discuss and present their work. Over the years, the symposium has become a major event at which new and interdisciplinary research is presented in the field. The 12th Annual Early Medieval Archaeology Student Symposium (EMASS 2018) was held in Glasgow from 19 - 21 April and was jointly hosted by the University of Glasgow and the Glasgow School of Art. Twenty-one papers and four posters by a total of forty individuals were presented over two days, of which nine are included in this volume. These papers highlight interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological approaches which have led to new and innovative research on the early medieval period.

L'Età del Bronzo Medio (meta' XV - meta' XIII secolo a.C.) rappresenta un momento cruciale per lo sviluppo culturale delle comunità indigene siciliane, caratterizzato dall'intensificazione del rapporti con l'Egeo e l'Arcipelago Maltese e dagli effetti di tali rapporti osservabili soprattutto sulle pratiche mortuarie. Il presente volume è una e propria edizione postuma delle due necropoli siracusane di Cozzo del Pantano e Matrensa, tra le più importanti per questo periodo, indagate da Paolo Orsi rispettivamente nel 1893 e 1898 e solo parzialmente pubblicate. Lo studio complessivo di oltre 400 manufatti, presentato per la prima volta con un'aggiornata documentazione grafica e fotografica, l'analisi delle problematiche cronologiche ancora aperte, l'esame critico del multiforme fenomeno della religione funeraria insieme ad un inedita disamina delle complesse dinamiche di riuso dei cimiteri preistorici in epoca classica e post classica, fanno di esso un imprescindibile punto di riferimento nella letteratura scientifica sull'archeologia della Sicilia antica.For the cultural development of the Sicilian indigenous communities, the Middle Bronze Age (from the mid-15th to the mid-13th century BCE) represents a crucial phase characterised by an escalation of the relationship with the Aegean and the Maltese Archipelago and by the effect of that relationship on the local mortuary practices. This book analyses two Siracusan necropoleis of Cozzo del Pantano and Matrensa, among the most important for this period, originally explored and published in preliminary form by Paolo Orsi in 1893 and 1898. The study of over 400 artefacts, offered for the first time with updated technical drawings and colour pictures, analyses ongoing issues relating to chronology. The critical examination of the multifaceted phenomenon of funerary religion and of the afterlife of the two cemeteries in the Classical and post-Classical period makes this book an invaluable reference work for scientific literature on the archaeology of ancient Sicily.

This book combines GIS aided landscape analysis with an examination of both historical and ethnoarchaeological data to provide new insights on the link between water sources and the built environment at Great Zimbabwe. The book interrogates the centrality of water in shaping spatial and social processes at an ancient capital. In addition, the author examines the different methods used by the residents of Great Zimbabwe to manage water sources and to transport water from sources to the domestic area and the implications of such methods to the use of space. It also examines the ways in which water sources influenced social formation and use of space at the ancient city of Great Zimbabwe.The author has managed to expertly strike a balance between deploying GIS tools and historical and ethnoarchaeological data to model the effect of water on the spatial and social processes at Great Zimbabwe.

Il Castello di Milano è un'opera medievale voluta dai Visconti e potenziata dagli Sforza. Oggi è sede di biblioteche, musei e raccolte d'arte, ma rimane una formidabile "macchina da combattimento", dove hanno lavorato tra i migliori architetti e ingegneri italiani. I soli studi d'epoca medievale riguardanti la Fortezza, a oggi noti, sono di Leonardo da Vinci, il quale ne ha esaminato le difese, comprensive delle parti sotterranee, prospettando i miglioramenti. Trent'anni d'indagini speleologiche condotte innanzitutto nei suoi sotterranei hanno permesso di eseguire le planimetrie dell'articolato sistema, composto anche di canali d'acqua segreti, mettendole a confronto con i disegni leonardeschi. Si è così compreso che una parte della Fortezza non è stata demolita, ma solo "cimata": oggi nel sottosuolo esiste un patrimonio archeologico, architettonico e artistico inestimabile, ma da recuperare integralmente. Il lavoro presenta un metodo d'indagine multidisciplinare che può essere facilmente applicato allo studio di ogni altra fortificazione europea. The castle of Milan is a medieval work commissioned by the Visconti and developed by the Sforza. Today it is intended for cultural functions but its origins are those of a formidable "combat machine". Some of the best Italian architects and engineers worked on the creation of the castle. The only studies known about the fortress, belonging to the medieval age, are by Leonardo da Vinci. He examined the defences, including the underground parts, looking for improvements. Thirty years of speleological investigations, first of all conducted in its basements, and also concerning secret water channels, have allowed us to carry out the plans of the complex system and to compare them with Leonardo's drawings. This has made it clear to the author that a part of the Fortress has not been demolished, but only "cut" in the surface. Today there is an invaluable archaeological, architectural and artistic heritage to be fully recovered. The work presents a method of multidisciplinary investigation that can be applied to the study of any other European fortification.

Il presente volume prende avvio dalle riflessioni generate dall'analisi di tutti gli affreschi nelle catacombe cristiane di Roma, per identificare e catalogare le c.d. gammadiae, rappresentate sul lembo del pallio dei personaggi, e provando a comprenderne il significato attraverso una suddivisione per temi iconografici e un inquadramento topografico. Per raggiungere questo obiettivo, non è possibile fermarsi alle sole testimonianze presenti nei cimiteri romani, ma è anche necessario "viaggiare" attraverso l'Egitto e Israele, scoprendo i reperti tessili, toccando l'affascinante mondo dei sarcofagi-ritratto, così come quello degli affreschi della sinagoga di Dura Europos e, infine, esaminando i mosaici cristiani, profani e giudaici. Il volume, con un ricco catalogo di 209 schede, si propone come un punto di partenza per ricerche più approfondite, costituendosi anche come un importante passo per far sì che si indaghi su un tema iconografico che è sempre stato considerato estremamente intricato.This book analyses all the frescoes in the Early Christian Roman catacombs to identify and catalogue the so-called gammadiae, represented on the hem of the pallium of the characters. It interrogates their meaning through a thematic subdivision of iconographic themes and a topographical overview. The study explores beyond evidences found in the Roman cemetery: "travelling" through Egypt and Israel to discover textile finds; touching the fascinating world of the portrait-sarcophagi, as well as that of the frescoes in the synagogue of Dura Europos; and finally, examining Christian, profane and Jewish mosaics. This book, with a rich catalogue of 209 forms, is a starting point for further research, but it is also an important contribution to investigate an iconographic theme that has always been considered extremely intricate.

The Napatan Cylindrical Sheaths provides a complete analysis of the precious finds discovered at the royal cemetery of Nuri (Sudan) for the first time. This volume critically analyses translations of the inscriptions and identifies the divinities occurring on the cylinder sheaths, which were important in Kushite history between the VII and IV centuries BC. The work is composed of four parts studying: the royal cemetery of Nuri, where the cylindrical sheaths were found; the complete catalogue of the cylinders with their iconographical and epigraphic descriptions; observations on the inscriptions, the features of the bottoms and the main decorations, the crowns worn by the main figured goddesses, the relation of these goddesses and crowns, the attributes held by goddesses, and the small motifs occurring on the cylinders; and the hypothetical identification of the cylinders, their practical function and their ideological significance. This work emphasises the importance of Nubian archaeology as a subject, providing a useful contribution to stimulating and developing further discussion on the function of the cylindrical sheaths.

Freiburg Dissertations in Aegean ArchaeologyAn extensive study of the images impressed on Minoan and Mycenean seals. All seals are classified, fully illustrated and catalogued with a typology and interpretation of their meaning.

This publication is based on new fieldwork carried out on the island of Huahine, French Polynesia, in the years 2001-2004. The aim of the project was to establish a chronological framework of the marae structures mainly on the island of Huahine in the Leeward Society Islands. However dates were also conducted on earlier collected charcoal from excavated marae structures on the Windward Islands to control the wider context of our local results. Other questions of interest to this study were how the marae structures were located on the landscape, as well as, aspects of their extended uses and modern changes.

Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 78The primary aim of this study of The Luangwa Valley (eastern Zambia), is to assess the integrity of the archaeological record in reference to geomorphological effects to determine what remains of the human behavioural record. To achieve the primary aim of this research an archaeological landscape survey was conducted, and a geomorphological survey built into the project design.

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Remote Sensing in Archaeology held in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India, 17th-21st August 2009.

This book looks at the 942 artifacts of foreign origin - from Anatolia, Cyprus, Egypt, Italy, Mesopotamia, and Syro-Palestine - which have been found in the late Bronze Age Aegean area.

The book derives from the experiences of the authors as lecturers and tutors at different international summer schools on reality-based surveying and 3D modelling in the field of archaeology and cultural heritage. The book is organized in three main sections. The first part aims to introduce and discuss the contribution of geomatic techniques in archaeology and more generally in cultural heritage with particular attentions to the 3D domain. The second part is focused on the main areas involved in the implementation of 3D surveys (aerial and terrestrial LiDAR, photogrammetry, remote sensing), 3D documentations, GIS and 3D interpretations (virtual and cyber archaeology). The last section collects some relevant case studies showing the extraordinary contribution that geomatic techniques can give to archaeological research and cultural heritage at different scales of detail: object, site, landscape.

Polis-Pyrgos Archaeological Project IThe material presented here is derived from an extensive survey conducted by the Polis-Pyrgos Archaeological Project (PAP) in 1992-1994, 1996-1997, and 1999 in the area between the western bank of the Chrysochou River and Kato Pyrgos in northwestern Cyprus. This is the first comprehensive publication of ceramics and ground stone artefacts from the neighbouring area of Polis tis Chrysochous (Polis), formerly ancient Marion and Arsinoe. The pottery constitutes the bulk of the material. Because of the number of artefacts the material will be presented in two volumes. The main task of each contribution is to present the artefacts recorded in its local, regional and whole island context, as far as possible. The second volume will contain post-prehistoric ceramics, Chalcolithic to Iron Age ground stone artefacts, as well as contribution on the environment and resources.

L'ouvrage présente une analyse morphométrique et biométrique des Caprinae (Ovibovini et Caprini) actuels et du plio-pléistocène d'Europe occidentale provenant de 200 sites. De nouvelles interprétations et propositions taxonomiques et phylogénétiques y sont développées. La création d'une nouvelle tribu, Ovini, est proposée pour Ovis et Budorcas. Capra walie est repositionné en tant que sous-espèce de C. nubiana. La monophylie de C. ibex et C. pyrenaica, révélée par les analyses moléculaires, n'est pas confirmée par l'anatomie et la parasitologie. Une proximité entre C. pyrenaica et C. caucasica est révélée. L'influence de la loi de Bergmann et des isolats géographiques est mise en avant. Les modalités de l'origine et de l'évolution des Caprinae du Plio-Pléistocène résultent de l'analyse de sept genres et de seize espèces. Des néodiagnoses et des rectifications de déterminations sont proposées. Deux phases principales d'immigration sont reconnues ainsi qu'un appauvrissement progressif de la diversité des taxons. Une nouvelle répartition chronologique et géographique en découle. Ce volume fait partie d'un ensemble de deux volumes: ISBN 9781407357089 (Volume I); ISBN 9781407357096 (Volume II); ISBN 9781407354248 (Ensemble des deux volumes).This book proposes a morphological and biometric analysis of current Caprinae (Ovibovini and Caprini tribes) and Plio-Pleistocene Caprinae from Western Europe. New taxonomic and phylogenetical interpretations and propositions are developed. This volume is part of a two volume set: ISBN 9781407357089 (Volume I); ISBN 9781407357096 (Volume II); ISBN 9781407354248 (Set of both volumes).

This study outlines the history of the art of ironwork in Italy during the Middle Ages, examining the principal personalities involved, documents and significant episodes. Scientific studies that examine artistic ironwork in Italy are scarce and yet there are ample collections of documents on the arts, in the form of photographic portfolios and manuals, compiled in the late nineteenth century and the first three decades of the twentieth. The first part of this study examines the background, quantifying the legacy of still extant ironwork, and analysing its future in terms of protection, study, imitation, reproduction, reuse and dispersal. Understanding the technical similarities between the processes generally used in the workshops of jewellery-makers and blacksmiths, and attempting to distinguish between original mediaeval works and copies has meant dealing with the problem of techniques, a subject that is examined in some notes on the installation, assembly, decoration, colouring and interpretation of the precepts expounded in the treatises. The main area of focus is on those types of works which are dealt with in greater depth in archive documents, which essentially means monumental ironwork and thus primarily gates and railings. Light is then shed on another series of works - caskets and chests - which appear in large quantities in collections and museums and on those that are still in situ, such as locks and door bolts. The chronological limits of this study are not clear-cut, but the focus is mainly on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The initial date has had to be pushed back to include Romanesque works

This book includes papers on skull interpretations and related archaeological issues from a roundtable event organized by La Musée National de Préhistoire, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac (Dordogne, France), in October 2010.

Focusing on the Middle East, this book presents a collection of recent research on dolmens and standing stones.

Death in the Anasazi culture of the American southwestCases of trauma-related violent death among the Anasazi culture of the American Southwest have been documented since the beginning of archaeological study in the region. Researchers have reported these deaths as having been caused through violent activities associated with warfare, cannibalism, witch execution, and violence against women. Although trauma-related death has been discussed cursorily for a long period of time, in recent years it has received much attention as a legitimate study in and of itself. Several books have been written that focus on the subjects of warfare and cannibalism among the Anasazi. This study seeks to further the inquiry into violent death by comparing trauma-related death to non-trauma-related death in the Anasazi culture. Specifically, this study seeks to identify patterns of behaviour preserved in the archaeological record between those who died traumatically and those who did not among these prehistoric people.

Edited by Marie-Yvane Daire, Catherine Dupont, Anna Baudry, Cyrille Billard, Jean-Marc Large, Laurent Lespez, Eric Normand and Chris Scarre with the collaboration of Francis Bertin, Chloé Martin and Kate SharpeThis book presents the proceedings of the International conference 'HOMER 2011' (Ancient maritime communities and the relationship between people and environment along the European Atlantic coasts) held at the Palais des Arts et des Congrès, Vannes (France) between 28 September and 1 October 2011. This event was the first international scientific meeting devoted to the archaeology of coastal populations and the interactions between people and the environment in the geographical domain of the English Channel and Atlantic Europe. Recent advances in the archaeology of coasts and islands in the interlinked Atlantic, English Channel and north Sea complex were explored during the seven sessions of the conference, both through syntheses and through presentations focusing on individual research projects, some of them completed, others still ongoing.

Este libro propone una forma de estudiar la historia de los modos de vida en paisajes mineros desde una perspectiva histórica-arqueológica, más precisamente, desde el análisis de la documentación histórica disponible y la materialidad sociocultural recuperada en sitios arqueológicos mineros del norte de la provincia de Mendoza, en el centro oeste de Argentina. Especialmente, el estudio aborda los procesos de transformaciones y transiciones generadas en los sistemas de trabajo y modos de vida ocurridos en contextos mineros en la larga duración (siglos XVII al XX inclusive). Este trabajo realiza una descripción densa de las particularidades sociohistóricas y ambientales que configuraron a las labores mineras del área de estudio, identificando los sistemas tecnológicos y métodos de trabajo, la construcción del espacio doméstico-productivo y el impacto socioambiental que caracteriza a estas actividades mineras.This book studies the way of life in mining landscapes from a historical-archaeological perspective, analysing the available historical documentation and material culture recovered from mining archaeological sites in the north of Mendoza, in central western Argentina.  

This archaeological and art-historical study is woven around rock art and ancient metallic articles attributed to Tibet. The silver bowls, gold finial, and copper alloy spouted jars and trapezoidal plaques featured are assigned to the Iron Age and Protohistoric period. These rare objects are adorned with zoomorphic subjects mimicking those found in rock art and embody an artistic zeitgeist widely diffused in Central Eurasia in Late Prehistory. Diverse sources of inspiration and technological capability are revealed in these objects and rock art, shedding light on their transcultural dimension. The archaeological and aesthetic materials in this work prefigure the Tibetan cosmopolitanism of early historic times promoted through the spread of Buddhist ideas, art and craft from abroad. The metallic articles and petroglyphs of this study are markers of relationships between Tibet and her neighbours. These transactions enabled a fusion of Tibetan innovation and foreign inventiveness, a synthesis of disparate ideas, aesthetics and technologies in the objects and rock art presented.

The Christian cultural heritage of north Africa is ancient and rich, but at risk after recent political events. The Christian, Coptic heritage of Egypt remains poorly studied from the perspective of heritage management and is also at risk from a number of factors. Using first-hand study and analysis based upon original fieldwork, Egypt's Christian Heritage offers an assessment to the risks facing Coptic monuments in Egypt today. It does this by situating Egyptian heritage policy within the English framework, and it establishes theoretical approaches to value, significance, meaning, and interpretation in Egyptian heritage within a wider global framework. The research is based on the analysis of three markedly different Egyptian Christian Coptic sites, each with their own unique management issues. This book offers a series of solutions and ideas to preserve, manage and interpret this unique material culture and to emphasise community solutions as being the most viable and sustainable approaches, whilst taking into account the varied levels of significance of these monuments.

In 1990 the University of Minnesota carried out an architectural survey of the standing remains of the Bronze Age Palace of Nestor, discovered by Carl Blegen in 1939 and excavated from 1952 to 1966. While the first stone-by-stone state plan of the building was being created, it became clear that some of the architectural assumptions about the structure and its history could not be correct. Over the next eight years the Blegen-period backfill covering the site was systematically removed so that a complete architectural plan could be prepared. The work was carried out using the protocols of an archaeological excavation. Although only backfill was removed, numerous unexpected finds were recovered, ranging from discarded Linear B tablets and wall painting fragments to roof tiles and pottery; in addition, a detailed study of the architecture revealed evidence for startling new conclusions about the structure of the palace and the history of the site.Part I - New Studies at the Palace of NestorWith contributions by Todd M. Brenningmeyer, Frederick A. Cooper, Joshua N. Distler, Caitlin Downey, Anne B. Hollond, Eleni M. Konstantinidi-Syvridi, George Otto Marquardt, Shawn A. RossPart II - The Architecture of the Palace of Nestorby Michael C. Nelson

This volume presents the finds from an Early Bronze Age necropolis in the Jüna Morava Basin in the heart of the Balkans holding exclusively incinerated deceased. A total of 21 deceased were registered in the same number of graves, distributed in three segments. The remains of the deceased, along with grave goods, were covered by a small circular stone construction (c. 1 m) and then with a bigger circular stone structure between 1.5 and 3 m. The grave goods comprised fragmented or completely preserved vessels of which ember containers were the most specific. Besides a traditional archaeological approach to the topic, such as studies of necropolis architecture, burial rites, grave goods, and absolute dates, the book contains two analytical reports which approach the topic from a multidisciplinary perpspective. The first one (Filipovi¿, Filatova) analyses the remains of wood from the pyre and the second one (Gaji¿ et al.) deals with the physical-chemical composition of pottery from the necropolis.

En esta investigación se han estudiado los restos malacológicos recuperados en el conchero mesolítico de El Mazo (Asturias, España) aplicando diferentes análisis arqueológicos y geoquímicos. El estudio interdisciplinar desarrollado ha permitido reconstruir, por primera vez, el efecto del evento climático frío 8,2 ka cal BP en las condiciones marinas del norte de la península ibérica. Así mismo, también se ha estudiado el impacto de este cambio climático abrupto en las estrategias de subsistencia de los últimos cazadores-recolectores-pescadores en esta área litoral. La evolución biométrica de las conchas marinas ha permitido inferir cambios a corto plazo en los patrones de explotación del litoral durante el Mesolítico, deduciendo así lapsos temporales en los que se produjo una mayor presión sobre los recursos costeros. Por otro lado, los análisis de isótopos estables de oxígeno en conchas marinas de la especie Phorcus lineatus también permitieron deducir la estación o estaciones en las que se produjo la captura de estos moluscos. El desarrollo de un programa experimental, en el que se recolectaron moluscos modernos, posibilitó evaluar la gestión que los grupos humanos hicieron de los recursos costeros durante el Mesolítico.This book presents the results of an interdisciplinary archaeomalacological investigation carried out using mollusc shell remains recovered from the mesolithic shell midden site of El Mazo cave (Asturias, Spain).

En momentos de incremento de los gobiernos de extrema derecha en todo el mundo, la emergencia de regímenes autoritarios es, de nuevo, un tema de actualidad. La arqueología tiene mucho que decir a este respecto, dado que se adentra en los cimientos ideológicos y materiales de las formaciones políticas. Qué caracteriza a un régimen dictatorial, cuáles son los factores estructurales que los permiten emerger y consolidarse y cómo mantienen el poder y el control sobre la población son algunas de las cuestiones principales consideradas en este volumen desde un punto de vista arqueológico. Este volumen recoge contribuciones de ocho países distintos de Latinoamérica y Europa que aplican distintas metodologías arqueológicas sobre casos de estudio claves para analizar los regímenes dictatoriales del siglo XX. En el trasfondo, el volumen discute en profundidad las posibilidades, límites y retos de una arqueología de la dictadura tanto como metodología de análisis del pasado contemporáneo y como forma de entender mejor nuestro presente.Written during a time of increasingly extreme right politics across the globe, the emergence of authoritarian regimes is once again a relevant and pressing issue. This volume gathers contributions from eight different Latin American and European countries which apply different archaeological methodologies on key case studies to confront dictatorial regimes of the 20th century.

This monograph analyses human figures that appear in Aegean Bronze Age art, considering the roles and relations between genders, and interpreting differential status or power implications. Susan E. Poole studies a comprehensive range of figures that appear on wall paintings, glyptics (seals, seal impressions and finger rings), and some three-dimensional objects. The gestures and postures displayed in the body language are examined, together with placements and orientations between the figures. The author considers the way figures occupy their surrounding space, possible gender distinct activities, the seating of figures, and processions. A structural iconographic method is used to interpret the material, together with ethological, sociological and linguistic approaches, and a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis is applied. The research includes a rich corpus of images from a wide range of sources to illustrate observations.