Books in the British Archaeological Reports International Series series

The extent, nature and causes of settlement change in the rural Peloponnese (Greece) in the last centuries of the Hellenistic period and the early centuries of Roman rule (c.200 BC to c.AD 200) are the focus of this study. Understanding the rural landscape has implications for our readings of certain aspects of cultural change and land use, and can help bridge the gap between necessarily elite-driven historiographical studies and related stratified deposits. This study is not meant to be either an historical narrative on the 'decline and depopulation' of Greece or a treatise on survey archaeology. Rather, it is meant to elucidate the complex nature of the rural landscape of the Peloponnese in these periods, and to identify some of the behaviours of the inhabitants of that landscape.

The book represents the results of four years excavations and investigations in the Bitnah Valley, United Arab Emirates, carried out by the French Mission. The result is a comprehensive study of the Iron Age of the region. Travaux de la Mission Archéologique Française aux Emirats Arabes UnisWith contributions from A. Benoist, V. Bernard. C. Le Carlier, A. Hamel, M. Mashkour, S. Pillaut, A. Ploquin, A. Rougeulle, F. Saint-Genez, J.F. Saliège, J. Schiettecatte, M. Skorupka and A. Zazzo

This monograph examines the mosaic floors of the Early Christian basilicas of Kos island brought to light by the Italian Archaeological School of Athens during the military occupation. The documentation consisted of mostly unpublished archive material - watercolours, blueprints, photographs of the mosaics taken at the time of the findings. Work on the synthesis of the mosaics' different aspects was completed to better define the aspects of the Late Antiquity Koan decorative repertoire and its ties with the production of Imperial times; to understand the artisans working methodology and to distinguish the workshops; to find areas of diffusion of the decorative repertoire.

Edited by Gocha R. Tsetskhladze, Sümer Atasoy, Alexandru Avram, Sevket Dönmez and James Hargrave.The book consists of 49 papers and two Appendices. The themes covered are: Greeks around the Hellespont, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Western, Northern and Eastern Black Sea, and Relations with the Mediterranean World; Romans around the Hellespont, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Western, Northern and Eastern Black Sea, and Relations with the Mediterranean World; The Black Sea and Surrounding Regions in Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period; and New Excavations and Projects. With a short introduction by John Boardman.

The discovery by Bedouin of ancient scrolls in caves near the Dead Sea in 1947 led to scholastic and popular excitement that continues to the present day. This volume will assist text scholars and archaeologists alike, as well as readers from other disciplines, and the interested public, in approaching a better understanding of the ancient texts of Qumran and the site where these texts were found.

The purpose of this Viking-Age Icelandic study is to look beyond the catalogues of data already in the record and put the information in its social context. This study shows that the internal and external aspects of any grave reveal not only information about the deceased, but also about his or her family, society and, most importantly, the ideological realms of the people burying the dead, which was, relatively recently, not considered accessible from material remains. In so doing, the catalogues of internal data were anthropologically interpreted with the help of external information to provide an image of the society, showing differences based on age and gender and the role cosmology played in burial placement. In addition, this study shows that using Geographical Information Systems does not limit research to statements of quantity. GIS can be used to explore a range of subjects including qualitative analysis and cognitive choices. This is achieved by integrating Cognitive, Landscape and Mortuary theory; and Gender and Age approaches to the burial sites of pre-Christian Viking period Iceland. The approach of this study, therefore, is to analyse the internal grave structures and artefact inclusions and the external surroundings to draw out the meanings, symbols and behaviours behind those materials that define the culture.

For more than 50 years, international organizations have been recommending diffusion policies and strategies based on the idea of democratising society's physical and intellectual access to archaeological heritage. A vast array of initiatives, resources,activities and materials has been developed to get archaeological heritage (its message, its goals, its everyday tasks, its agents, etc.) closer to the public and vice versa. This book analyses the Spanish case in the European context, showing all the aspects that show today the on-site presentation and interpretation of archaeological heritage.

This volume contains papers presented at the international conference 'Networks in the Hellenistic world - according to the pottery in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond' which took place at the universities of Cologne and Bonn 23rd-26th February 2011.The organizers, all specialists in Hellenistic pottery of different regions in the Eastern Mediterranean, invited participants working from the Adriatic Sea to Asia Minor and up to Central Asia to consider their material according to the common platform of networks and exchange systems.

The city of Pompeii, or Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeiorum, the stage of the action that takes place here, is seen by the author from the perspective of its integration in the macro-economic system of the Roman Empire. The characters that take the centre stage here are slaves, freed slaves and free citizens of low social status, distinguished from others by the place they occupy within relations of oppression and exploitation. In the pages that follow, the author brings the popular Pompeian soul to life, through its manifestations of love, sexuality, anguish and sadness. The work examines particular linguistic expression of popular Latin and, most specifically, through the graffiti written on the walls of a Roman colonial city, rendered there for the attention of the local community.

Proceedings of the First Arheoinvest Congress, 10-11 June 2011, Iäi, Romania

This 2nd volume of the Oenotrian matt-painted pottery found during the excavations at Francavilla Marittima (Calabria) in the sanctuary on top of the Timpone della Motta and in the dwellings lower down the hill presents a decorative tradition labelled the 'Cross-hatching Bands Style'. An earlier BAR volume (S2423) treated the 'Undulating Bands Style' and further BAR volumes on the 'Fringes', 'Miniature' and 'Red-and-Black' Styles will hopefully follow. The books reflect the views of Prof. Douwe Yntema, in that matt-painted ceramics indicate one of the major starting points for investigations into the native societies of southern Italy and should merit closer study.

This study attempts to synthesise past and current archaeological research in the northern Luzon, as well as to present new findings from archaeological investigations in the Penablanca caves. Overall the book proposes a general cultural history of the area from the late Pleistocene to the mid-Holocone period.

Edited by Dionisius A. Agius, John P. Cooper, Athena Trakadas and Chiara ZazzaroProceedings of Red Sea Project V held at the University of Exeter, 16-19 September 2010British Foundation for the Study of Arabia Monographs No. 12

Soprintendenza ai Beni Archeologici di Salerno, Avellino, Benevento e CasertaThis volume presents a compendium of the history of the city of Suessa (Sessa Aurunca - northern Campania, Italy) which was the principal settlement of the Italic peoples of Ausoni-Aurunci, and later became one of the most important cities of ancient Campania Felix. Based on the most recent archaeological discoveries, the authors examine both the urban structure of the city from Roman times and some of the main places devoted to public life (such as the forum and the theatre), as well the suburban infrastructure, such as the roads connecting Suessa to the cities nearby. The work includes a review of the important figure of Matidia Minor and her much lauded philanthropy, of which there are so many testimonies in this part of ancient Italy. Two significant ancient monuments brought to light in this city are fully examined: The Roman theatre of the Imperial era and also the large suburban villa with its marbles, paintings, and mosaics.

The aim of the Congress organized in 2012 in Mérida (Yucatán, México), and the publication that arises from it, is to present different case studies on the management of the Mexican heritage from the reflective, rather than descriptive, point of view, as well as providing an analysis of the anthropological perspectives on heritage and cultural tourism-related aspects, the use of spaces, and arguable abuse of certain sites, and technologies applied to the dissemination of 'heritage' from different periods.

How small-scale processes contributed to the growth of early civilizationsThis volume demonstrates how models can contribute to an understanding of the development of ancient Mesopotamian settlement and landscape. The models are intended to show that early settlements co-evolved in an intimate relationship with their physical and social environments. Local rules that determined the subsistence practices of the householder then developed into more complex social mechanisms which culminated in the emergence of complex systems of settlement. Data for the models is drawn from archaeological surveys, environmental archaeology, anthropology and cuneiform texts. Although initially intended as an investigation of how agent-based models can contribute to understanding urban growth, this volume adopts a more broad-brush approach to include both 'bottom-up' and 'top-down' models as well as mathematical and qualitative methods.

This volume presents the architecture, biological remains, and other material culture from the Hellenistic, Roman, and later strata excavated at Tel Zahara, a small site approximately 0.25 ha, located in the central Jordan Valley in modern Israel. In both the Hellenistic and Roman periods of settlement, Tel Zahara's close proximity to Beth Shean (Scythopolis) influenced the site's development and illustrates the interconnection between rural settlement and urban site. The data produced by the Tel Zahara excavations reveal rural practices and subsistence patterns, and underscore the strength and significance of the rural sector for development in Hellenistic and Roman Palestine.

The papers collected here were originally given at a symposium during the European Archaeology Conference at Lake Garda, Italy in 2009. They have been revised and updated for this volume. Medieval and Post-Medieval ceramic studies have now for some decades been in the forefront of the archaeology of those periods, showing not only fascinating interactions with historical sources, in which both disciplines contribute novel information for each other, but also constantly exhibiting original methods and theories for the wider benefit of ceramology and archaeology in general.

This volume provides a welcome introduction to cave archaeology generally (or it may be used as a reader on aspects of cave research); its purpose is to underline the importance of caves in scientific research, be it archaeological, palaeontological, or environmental. The research adds up to a résumé of what is currently known in Greece about cave studies, and at the same time incudes specific contributions from across a wider area.

Since 1991, the Centro Studi Sotterranei of Genoa has conducted the exploration, survey and documentation of rock-cut and underground structures located in different regions of Turkey. The Ka.Y.A. project was begun in 2007, with the goal of the identification and the study of rock-cut sites around Ahlat in eastern Turkey, as completion of major archaeological excavations in the ancient city located on the northern shores of Lake Van. It is a vast area, at an altitude between 1,700 and 2,500 m.a.s.l. and wedged between massive volcanic systems. During the four years of research the team documented 395 rock-cut sites most of which date back to medieval and post-medieval times and relating to different cultures and religions: Armenian, Seljuk, Ilkhanid, Kara Koyunlu, Ak Koyunlu, and Ottoman. The results of the first survey campaign were completed in 2007 and published as BAR S2293 (2011). That volume is now supplemented by the data obtained during the second season in 2008, with the hope to publish as soon as possible the results of the subsequent missions completed in 2009 and 2010.

This study aims to represent an integrated approach of the historical process that took place in the Middle Guadalquivir lowlands (SW Spain) between the onset of agriculture in this area and the beginning of copper metallurgy. In particular, there is a focus on the IV millennium BC, period in which archaeological evidence suggests that the first agricultural occupation with remarkable density occurred by ca. 3500 BC in the lowlands of the Guadalquivir Basin. In this period, some visible changes arise in material culture, such as the emergence of carinated forms with low height and a large diameter (pottery), bifacial arrowheads and the development of standardized long flint blades (lithic), as well as the proliferation of archaeological sites with silo-shaped pits both in the vicinity of the floodplain, and especially in the east of Cordovan Campiña.

South American Archaeology Series No 19A collection of recent papers on aspects of Andean zooarchaeology.

Approaching precolumbian art in all of its various forms as the material expression of interlocking systems of visual communication opens a rich terrain upon which to further our insights into the cultural and symbolic lives of Andean peoples. For archaeologists, ethnohistorians, and anthropologists interested in such studies, however, it is no simple matter to determine how the varied graphic, artifactual, architectural, and spatial systems of visual communication found in the precolumbian world can or should be interpreted. This volume focuses specifically on the various systems of visual communication created by, or associated, with the imperial Inca state. This collection of papers advances understanding of Inca forms of representation, as well Andean systems more generally, by attending to the formal, contextual, functional, and ideological processes through which they are constructed and within which they are embedded. In essence, the volume constitutes a joint reflection on the important themes of representation and material systems of communication in the Andean context.

Researches in Stone Age prehistory from Bihar (NE India) have been reported from as early as the end of the nineteenth century. Despite these reports a sharp picture of the cultural transformation in this area has not emerged clearly. This study attempts to shed light on the various aspects of the cultural transformation processes from all the districts of Bihar.

Human bone in archaeological context is the product of natural processes and cultural patterns; the deposits can seal several things: the vital aspects of one skeleton, the intentions that led to the burial, and natural and accidental processes. This in turn becomes part of the history of these remains and the way they are arranged, their environmental changes and rituals can all influence the recovery procedure. The synchronic and diachronic bio-cultural environments involve new requirements and present further limitations. Taking the geographical framework of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, the author addresses the methodological issues involved in the recovery of archaeological skeletal remains: cremation and inhumation, primary and secondary burials, individual and collective deposits.

Written by Zenon Wozniak, Michal Grygiel, Henryk Machajewski and Andrzej Michalowski.This study sums up the research carried out so far and our current knowledge on Jastorf culture populations in northwest Poland with a special focus on the distinctive traits of the Jastorf settlements in two regions: Pomerania and Wielkopolska. It aims to depict a particular qualitative breakthrough that was witnessed in Polish research into this cultural formation in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The findings presented, and above all the pool of sources, are aimed at providing a basis for discussing the cultural situation in northwest Poland in the early younger Pre-Roman period. The sources amount to a signpost towards the moment when the cultural picture of the central European Barbaricum was taking its dramatic shape over the last few centuries BC.

This work brings together all that is currently known of early medieval grave disturbance in Anglo-Saxon England and on the Merovingian continent. It investigates in detail an intensive outbreak of grave disturbance in 6th-7th century Kent. This is closely related to the same phenomenon in Merovingia: an example of the import of not only material goods but also a distinctive cultural practice. Limited numbers of similar reopening episodes, affecting a much smaller proportion of graves in each cemetery, are also identified elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon England. Although the phenomenon of grave robbery is well-attested in Merovingia, this research is the first study at a regional level. The aim is to advance the debate about early medieval disturbance from general discussion of interpretative possibilities to evaluation of specific models and their compatibility with the archaeological evidence.

This volume groups together papers presented at a Commission 4 session at the XVI UISPP World Congress in Florianópolis, Brazil (4-10 September 2011), a UISPP commission 4 session in Leiden, The Netherlands (2nd November 2012) and at a session entitled Advanced Prospection Methods for Cultural Heritage Management - Experiences and Challenges during the EAA Annual Meeting in Helsinki, Finland (29th August - 1st September 2012).

Translated from the Russian, edited and with an introduction by P. Allsworth-Jones

Upper Paleolithic groups used the open-air site of Solutré (Saône-et-Loire, south-eastern France) as a location to intercept and hunt horse and reindeer herds. The primary goal of this study is to conduct a high-power use-wear analysis of a sample of lithic artifacts from each of the Upper Paleolithic cultural components in an effort to address a number of topics. A further aim is to test the current inferences of site activities at Solutré and attempt to identify any consistencies and differences in lithic toolkit structure and tool use through time at the site. A use-wear analysis of this sort allows one to recognize other activities unrelated to or secondarily related to the primary site function. Such methods can also be used to determine if tool use strategies changed or remained stable over time against the backdrop of site function.