Books published by BAR Publishing

The papers in this volume were originally collected for a symposium entitled Recent Developments in Bone Tool Studies, organized for the 69th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology held in Montreal (Canada) on April 2nd, 2004.

Proceedings of a conference at Coalbrookdale, 4-7th May 2006 hosted by the Ironbridge InstituteThis book includes papers presented at a conference on World Heritage management held at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, England in May 2006. hosted by the Ironbridge Institute.

Between the 5th and 12th centuries Ireland was responsible for some of the most beautiful decorative work in bronze, silver and gold in Europe. This study focuses on the archaeological and industrial context of these objects, an area, Michelle Comber argues, that has been largely overshadowed in favour of aesthetic appreciatopn.

Proceedings of the IFA Wales/Cymru Conference, Aberystwyth 2001The aim of the conference hosted by IFA Wales/Cymru Group was to stimulate debate on a national research strategy for Welsh archaeology. The result was two intensive days of discussion by archaeologists representing all aspects of Welsh archaeology on themes ranging from the need for research frameworks and the organization of Welsh archaeology to initial thoughts regarding what the priorities might be. The 26 papers published here from the conference cover all topical buzzwords in research agenda development - 'sustainability', 'social inclusion', 'joined up thinking', and 'sense of place'. As a result, the volume informs and stimulates constructive debates at all levels - from grass-roots to national.

Medieval castles are, as Professor Liddiard states in his Foreword to this volume, 'evocative monuments and perhaps more than any other building capture the ideals of the Middle Ages.' This idealization and romanticism of castles, however, can often obscure their histories as functioning dwellings, fortresses, and political and social centres. Wallingford Castle in Oxfordshire is a prime example of a structure with a rich history. Its importance lies in its strategic position on the Thames, allowing it to serve as a vital stronghold during conflicts and a royal residence in more peaceful times. This volume is a product of the Wallingford Burh to Borough Research Project (2008-2010), a collaborative project between the Universities of Leicester, Exeter and Oxford. It contains reports of excavations undertaken at the castle and its town, excavated between the 1960s and today. The results of the archaeological investigations are contextualized using contemporary documents and accounts of the castle, such as surveys and rent agreements. Combining the text and material evidence, the contributions to this volume provide a detailed narrative of the history of the site from its construction to its destruction, as well as helpful contextual sections on English history and medieval castles. Also included are sections on excavations at the castle at the nearby town of Oxford and the priory at Wallingford. The text is accompanied by colour photographs, drawings, plans, maps, and transcripts of the Medieval and Tudor documents. This volume accompanies 'The Origins of the Borough of Wallingford: Archaeological and historical perspectives', edited by K. S. B. Keats-Rohan and D. R. Roffe in 2009, (BAR 494), and 'Transforming Townscapes: From burh to borough: the archaeology of Wallingford, AD 800-1400' edited by N. Christie and O. H. Creighton in 2013 published by the Society for Medieval Archaeology.

HYPOGEAN ARCHAEOLOGY: Research and Documentation of Underground StructuresEdited under the Aegis of the Federazione Nazionale Cavità Artificiali (F.N.C.A.): No 6Atti III Congresso Nazionale di Archeologia del Sottosuolo: Massa 5-7 Ottobre 2007The study and registration of artificial cavities means the documentation of underground structures. Just as Man started creating buildings on the surface of the Earth, over the course of time, he also perforated the surface thus creating new spaces and handing down structures which are essentially intact, which can be studied, restored and even utilised. In fact there exists an underground heritage, consisting of structures both built and buried underground over the passing of time. The interpretation and understanding of such structures is a source of interesting information on our past, in favour of the present. This series was created under the aegis of the Federazione Nazionale Cavità Artificiali (F.N.C.A.). The aim is to create a base for the disclosure of relevant, scientific research studies, whether monographs, the works of various authors or documentation from conferences and conventions and a series of easily consultable tools for the development of artificial cavity research.Translations by Federica Barna and Sara Bianchi

Starting as an examination of space in Roman Pompeii, the author soon found the sheer architectural fabric of the city at odds with the rather simplistic explanations for it offered in the academic literature. This prompted a more rigorous exploration of the definition of 'built space' and an ultimate goal of highlighting the diversity of housing in Pompeii and offering a new interpretation of its meaning. In an attempt to broach the archaeological question of how we can come to understand human social action from a contemplation of built space, the author turned equally to the disciplines of architecture and anthropology, before realizing the need to develop his own interpretative framework. What follows is a study which takes as its point of departure the fabric of Pompeian housing, with a theoretical understanding of the relationship between construction and human society, and, as such, reaches out beyond Roman Archaeology to touch anyone interested in the analysis and interpretation of built space. Contains 99 pages of ground plans, access maps, and tables of spatial analyses.

Edited by Jessica Cox, Caleb R. Hamilton, Katharine R. L. McLardy, Amy J. Pettman and David StewartProceedings of a Conference held between 18-20 October 2013 on Approaches to Studying the Ancient PastThis volume presents 12 of the papers from the Ancient Cultures at Monash University post-graduate conference (2013) at Monash University, Australia, in the disciplines of archaeology, history, Classics and indigenous studies. The papers showcase research by post-graduates at Monash across a range of ancient disciplines, and as such contains a lot of innovative study. It is an interesting and varied collection of articles on a range of topics from the Classical world and the ancient Near East.

Neolithic cultural groups are traditionally determined on the basis of pottery distribution, and ceramic clusters have therefore been conflated with cultural ones. Though there has been general acknowledgement of the methodological and theoretical problems with this practice, it is still common. This volume aims to find a solution to this problem, by investigating this topic using burial customs. It includes data from nearly five hundred burials at fifty sites around the Mediterranean, thus providing wide-ranging but detailed evidence. The funerary evidence is presented in a thorough catalogue along with several maps and illustrations. The author, using spatial analysis, then combines his findings with the more traditional conclusions taken from ceramic evidence to provide a more nuanced set of conclusions. It thus provides a dynamic and detailed account of the complexities of Neolithic society in southern Europe.

The seventh 'Notebook on Military Archaeology and Architecture' presents the reports of the Congress '1744. La campagna gallispana in Piemonte', which took place in Turin in November 2005. Contributors outlined the main topics relating to the history and archaeology of a military campaign in Piedmont during the War of the Austrian Succession, when Spanish and French forces fought against the army of the king of Piedmont-Sardinia. Several papers describe the military and strategic proceeding of campaign, others examine the field-fortifications of the Varaita valley, the fortress of Demonte and the fortress and siege of Cuneo, the military actions and battlefields of Pietralunga, in the Varaita valley, and Madonna dell'Olmo near Cuneo, ending with the military organisations of the opposing armies. The aim of the Congress, and this collection of papers, is to create both a general and exact picture of a singular military event so as to present it from all possible points of view: historical, archaeological, historico-architectural and historico-territorial.

Early Polynesian social development, and its dispersal through migration, are hotly debated topics, though this development is thought to have been centred on Tonga. This thesis uses material from Tongan archaeological sites to attempt to form more definite conclusions about ancestral Polynesian society, and to attempt to trace its development. It also provides a ceramic chronology for Tonga, which was previously lacking. Using Tongan evidence, along with comparative material from elsewhere in western Polynesia, it provides new insights into this ongoing debate. It is therefore an important contribution to the study of early Polynesian society.

Foreword by Garry Momber.Contributions by Nigel Nayling, Peter Northover, Shirley Northover, Nick Cokes, Philippa Naylor, Florencis Malamud, Joe Kelleher, Jon James and Paul Simpson.In 1991, sports divers discovered a previously unknown section of wooden shipwreck, subsequently named Alum Bay 1, lying in the sheltered waters of Alum Bay on the north-west coast of the Isle of Wight. The identity of the vessel was initially unknown but it was strongly linked to the loss of the 38-gun frigate HMS Pomone on the nearby Needles in 1811, an identification formally confirmed by the research detailed in this monograph. Archaeological work on the site since 1993 has comprised a seabed survey of the site, targeted excavation of specific areas and sampling of structural remains for dendrochronological and metallurgical analysis. In 2001, a second shipwreck was discovered a short distance away and the focus of archaeological work shifted to this new set of remains, named Alum Bay 2. This vessel proved to be a much smaller vessel that was upturned on the seabed and covered by a thin layer of sediment. This vessel was also subject to archaeological survey and investigation, including dendrochronological analysis. On the basis of the ship structure surviving on the seabed, Alum Bay 2 has been classified as a relatively small vessel that was likely to have been involved in local transport or coastal trade in the very late 18th century and early decades of the 19th century. The role of public engagement in the management of such archaeological sites was developed further in the mid-2000s when a dive trail was established around the two Alum Bay shipwrecks. The dive trail in Alum Bay provides an interesting case study in this form of archaeological interaction with the diving public. In concert with such outreach work, further archaeological survey has been undertaken across Alum Bay in the light of a number of isolated finds being reported by sports divers including parts of cannon carriages and hull elements. Investigative work in Alum Bay has also encompassed the broken remains of the Victorian Pier that was constructed in 1887 to serve the growing boom in seaside tourism. The two shipwrecks of Alum Bay 1 and 2 provide a snapshot of two different aspects of English shipbuilding, naval and merchant, in the very late 18th and early 19th century. The archaeological work conducted in their investigation forms the core of this monograph, with further chapters that discuss the wider searches of Alum Bay and also the installation and use of the public Alum Bay Dive Trail. Such an account represents the results of twenty years of archaeological investigation within Alum Bay by the Maritime Archaeology Trust (which incorporates the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology). This work has been undertaken across a time span in which maritime archaeology in the UK has seen tremendous changes, becoming ever more integrated into the wider heritage discipline and with increasing numbers of professional archaeologists working within the marine zone. Throughout this period, archaeological work in Alum Bay has brought together professional and a-vocational archaeologists, who have worked successfully alongside each other. The various fieldwork seasons have provided extensive opportunities for people to receive archaeological training and develop their experience. This monograph therefore represents the last stage of this work, addressing the processing, analysis, interpretation and finally publication and dissemination.

Our picture of Iron Age and Archaic Crete is constantly changing due to the increasing number of field investigations that reveal new information on these centuries. Results from many recent excavations (at sites like Azoria in Eastern Crete and Thronos/Kephala (ancient Sybrita) in the Western region of the island) will eventually transform our view of the period. The focus of this particular study is centred on sites with a long-established history of research. Sites like, for example, Phaistos, Knossos, Praisos, Axos, Dreros, Gortyn, Vrokastro, Kavousi, Kato Syme and Aphrati have thus received a large amount of attention in the analyses. However, the author has also tried to introduce lesser well-known sites of a rural character in order to obtain a more varied rendering of Iron Age and Archaic Crete. As the title indicates, she is interested in site variations within the different site-categories and how these change during the 8th, 7th and 6th centuries.

One of the most significant features in the suburbium of Roman cities throughout Italy were the villae suburbanae. Modern scholarship has undertaken a large amount of research into the residential properties and lifestyles of the Roman nobility, and the Roman villa has been a prime subject area in this regard. But villae suburbanae have only received limited detailed analysis from these scholars. To this end, this study examines both the literary and archaeological evidence relating to villae suburbanae in an effort to gain a better understanding of this type of residence. The first fundamental feature of this investigation is to understand these buildings within their social and geographical context. The second feature is the method employed to interpret the social aspects of villae suburbanae, which utilises statistical analysis to determine the percentage of space allocated for potential entertainment. This dual approach makes the study both historically relevant for a more comprehensive analysis of villae suburbanae, and methodologically innovative as it introduces a new methodology for analysing floor plans of residences, which should be applicable to other types of structure in future investigations.

A story revealed by tavern, inn and other bottles.With a catalogue of bottles and seals from the collection in the Ashmolean Museum.

Proceedings of the 1st ICAZ Symposium on the History of the Domestic Dog,Eighth Congress of the International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ98), August 23-29, 1998, Victoria, B.C., CanadaThe remains of domestic dogs are found in archaeological sites around the world, providing an unexpected global link between archaeologists regardless of the cultures they study. Dogs were the first animal to establish a domestic relationship with humans and thus have the longest archaeological history of any domesticate. Due to this wide-spread distribution over time and space, the dog is literally the only animal that prehistorians have in common. Therefore the questions which still need answering regarding the history of the dog are relevant to virtually all archaeologists no matter where they work. The contributors hope that the presentation of these Congress papers in one volume will not only enlighten colleagues and non-professionals alike, in terms of what is presently known about the history of dogs, but will also encourage more consistent and rigorous data collection and reporting of archaeological dog remains in future. A fascinating and original work. Richly illustrated.

"In the fall season of A.D. 536 Cassiodorus sat at his writing table....." So Joel D. Gunn begins this interesting and unusual topic of study. Fifteen further papers discuss the climatic events and ramifications of that year, when the absence of sunlight turned the grapes bitter and gaunt faces walked the streets of Rome and all of Europe. This book examines the first millennium A.D. worldwide context of Cassiodorus and the situation he and his contemporaries experienced. Can we draw any comparisons with today's global changes?

Papers from a session held at the European Association of Archaeologists Sixth Annual Meeting in Lisbon 2000

Expresiones artísticas en la arquitectura maya: Técnicas de análisis y documentaciónPrehispanic Maya architecture features a large variety of artistic expression, from reliefs and sculptures made of stone or stucco to mural paintings and graffiti found on the plastered surfaces of their walls and façades. All of this constitutes both an important artistic component which complements the architecture, and a new source of information about the people who built these buildings and those who lived within them. In order to preserve them it is vital that innovative techniques are used during archaeological excavations and explorations which allow detailed records to be made immediately after the discovery of such ancient vestiges. This book presents selected studies about the techniques for documentation and analysis of architectural decorative remnants in use by a variety of research teams currently working in the Maya area as well as interesting discussions about the symbolism of the artistic elements on the façades of Maya buildings.

This work explores the nature and extent of the use of clothing in the pre-colonial Australian Aboriginal population. Anthropological reviews have indicated that while a total absence of clothing was the usually the case, garments were sometimes worn. Clothing appears to have been used almost exclusively for reasons of warmth, and the geographical distribution seems to be consistent with an essentially thermal pattern. Clothes are documented in the cooler southern and southeastern areas of the continent, and more frequently in the cooler seasons. The garments were of a single-layer, draped variety, hung loosely from the shoulders. They generally took the form of capes or cloaks, and were manufactured from marsupial skins, mainly kangaroo or wallaby hides, or a number of opossum furs sewn together. These items served additionally, and sometimes primarily, as mats or rugs, and as bags or containers, the latter especially among women, who also used them to carry their infants. However, one problem with this ethnographic picture is that the Aborigines of Tasmania apparently made less use of clothing than did their counterparts across the Bass Strait. This "Tasmanian clothing paradox", referring to the fact that the Tasmanians would be expected to use at least as much clothing as Aborigines on the southern mainland, forms the focus of this study. A systematic analysis of the ethnographic record forms the main study. It comprises first-hand observations of the use of clothing by Aborigines prior to, and in the decades following, the beginning of the colonial era, in relation to latitude and various meteorological indices. A separate study indicates not only that morphological variation within the mainland Aboriginal population manifests strong thermal trends, but also that the Tasmanian Aborigines may have developed greater morphological cold adaptations. A third study is included, in which thermal factors are explored in relation to one of the archaeological challenges posed by the Tasmanian Aborigines, namely their utilization of cave sites in the remote southwest region of the island during the latter part of the last ice age.

This volume focusses on the mosaics and geometric designs from Écija, the ancient Roman Astigi, the capital of the Conventus Astigitanus, which is one of four conventus iuridici that made the Roman Baetica. This work is part of a much larger study centered recently on the mosaics and the geometrical compositions of the Conventus Astgitanus, whose immediate objective pursued to cover the analysis of the musivaria of the whole of Baetica. In conjunction with the mosaics catalogue, this volume presents a catalogue of geometric designs, which are results of studies of different fields that make up the pavements themselves.

A study of vessels in prehistory, both sea and river, and in all materials, from around the world.

In this wide-ranging study of the beginnings of Christian art, the author takes as her starting point the question of positive assimilation between Christian and non-Christian images in early Christian art. This study attempts to determine whether the theological term of syncretism can be appropriate to the study of early Christian art. During her study of the genesis of early Christian art, the author became aware that her attitude toward the notion of syncretism differs from most of the existing literature on early Christian art history and architecture. Some scholars have avoided using the notion of syncretism, and some have used it pejoratively to describe a mish-mash of religions, perhaps taking their cue from the doctrinal discussion of the term by the Church itself. In contrast, in the literature of the history of Japanese religions and art, religious synthesis has been referred to as 'syncretism,' and the term in that literature is defined as a blending of the ideas or practices of different religions that results in a unity of deities.

Portal tombs are the least researched megalithic class in Ireland, despite the fact that they have one of the widest distributions of all tomb classes. This study sets out to present a critical synthesis of the previous work on portal tombs and to investigate the chronology, morphology and landscape setting of this enigmatic tomb class. It concerns itself with all portal tombs, in Ireland, Wales and Cornwall. Chapter 1 defines the research methods and the main research questions and aims. Chapters 2 and 3 present the history of research in two parts. All excavations, antiquarian explorations, classification models and the theoretical concepts underlying them are discussed in chapter 2, while landscape studies, phenomenology and my own theoretical approach are discussed in chapter 3. Chapter 4 analyzes the morphology of portal tombs and the different architectural elements, i.e. capstone, portal stones, cairns and so on, and chapter 5 discusses subtypes, hybrids with other tomb classes and regional variations. Chapters 6 and 7 both deal with the chronology of portal tombs. Chapter 6 re-assesses the material culture found in portal tomb contexts and establishes a relative chronology, and chapter 7 introduces the newly obtained radiocarbon assays and puts them into context with the previously obtained dates. Chapter 8 provides an analysis of the various landscape elements found around portal tombs and suggests several conclusions as to what role the landscape might have played for portal tomb builders. Chapter 9 looks in detail at eight case studies, macro-regions with portal tomb clusters, to see if these might provide clues as to how society was organised, if there is evidence for settlement and how portal tombs related there to other tomb classes and to the landscape. Chapter 10 looks at portal tombs and settlements, especially using Early Neolithic settlement evidence, but also comparing it with the Late Mesolithic. Finally Chapter 11 provides a summary and conclusions. A full catalogue is provided in Appendix A containing all 225 sites of portal tombs which had been named as such.

Based on analyses of stratigraphy and finds, this book reconstructs the history of Iuvavum, the Roman town of Salzburg (Austria). Founded as the first municipium in the northern part of the province of Noricum, this town was crossed by an important west-eastern traffic route, as well as a correspondingly important transalpine road, and thus developed into a vibrant nexus of traffic and trade. Covering some 90 acres, the centre assumed the role of 'capital' of northwestern Noricum.

This monograph is an epigraphic study of the Roman auxiliary units raised on the Iberian Peninsula based on a corpus of over 750 inscriptions. It presents the literary and epigraphic evidence for late Republican allied and auxiliary forces and for the structure of imperial auxiliary units. It then examines the recruiting practices of the auxilia, the settlement of veterans, and the evidence for the personal relationships of the soldiers enlisted in these units as they are recorded in the epigraphic record, including inscriptions on stone and military diplomas.

Tell el-Mazar (central east Jordan valley, c. 3km north of Tell Deir Alla and 5.5km south of Tell es-Sa'idiyeh) forms part of a complex of sites in the East Jordan Valley that were all occupied in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages: the regional density of nearby occupation testifies to the importance of the locality. It was not only economically important because of its climate, but it was also a crossroads, connecting north and south, as well as east and west. Towards the end of the Late Bronze Age an Egyptian trade route ran from Beth Shean towards the Amman Plain, crossing the river first by Pella, and later by Tell es-Sa'idiyeh. This route must have passed Tell Mazar, which was inhabited during the late Bronze Age, as shown by the large number of Late Bronze Age sherds that were found by successive surveys. This volume contains the final publication of the four seasons of excavations on the main mound and the sanctuary on mound 'A'.

Written by Aidan O'Sullivan, Finbar McCormick, Thomas R. Kerr, Lorcan Harney and Jonathan KinsellaThis monograph concentrates on early Irish medieval dwellings and settlements, AD 400-1100, and is directly based on a report compiled and written in the main over the course of 2009 and 2010, largely based on evidence available up to that time. Drawing on both published and unpublished material, it sets out an interpretive, analytical text and a gazetteer of some 241 key early medieval settlements revealed through archaeological excavations. The report also focuses on such themes as houses and buildings, the organisation of settlement enclosures, agricultural activity and crafts and industry; it arguably represents the first compilation, analysis and discussion of early medieval settlement archaeology in Ireland.

The search for the origins of rural communities in England as perceived in the medieval period has exercised a strong fascination for scholars. Until well into the 20th century, such work was almost exclusively the preserve of historians and was, by and large, "document-driven". Today, the landscape itself is "interrogated" to provide evidence in its own right, and archaeologists can give answers to many questions posed by landscape historians. In this work, the author presents a general, synthetic survey of certain aspects of medieval settlement in three contrasting areas (hundreds) within the county of Somerset, England. The objective is to give an impression of the nature of rural occupation, its affinities and antecedents, very much from a topographical perspective. The author makes extensive use of fieldwork, historic maps and records, and unpublished archaeological and landscape reports, and it soon becomes apparent that a wide range of settlement patterns and forms is encompassed both within and between the three hundreds of the present study, and this allows the reader to draw illuminating comparisons and contrasts in terms of the topographical themes that define the work.

This study focuses the relationship between man, territory and water resources in the area of Andean Lake Puruhuay (Ancash, Peru). This region is rich in cochas (lakes), each of which has a special place in the local ancient and modern history. Highly specialized hydraulic structures were found in many of the sites investigated during the course of this research, suggesting that water carried out an important role in the area. Keeping aside a strictly economic analysis, studies revealed that specific rites developed in the area surrounding Puruhuay lake. During the pre-Hispanic past, access to Puruhuay and the perpetuation of ritual activities carried out at this stretch of water became an important factor for constructing the prestige and identity of the populations who lived in this area. This factor persists into the present day.With contributions from Luigi Capezzoli, Alessandro Capra, Cristina Castagnetti, Alessandro Corsini, Nicola Masini, Luigi Mazzari, Marta Porcedda and Enzo Rizzo