Recently Published at Archaeopress: Open Access

Recently Published at Archaeopress: Open Access

Setting the Scene: The deceased and regenerative cult within offering table imagery of the Egyptian Old to Middle Kingdoms (c.2686 – c.1650 BC) by Barbara O’Neill. 123 pages. Archaeopress Egyptology .
Ancient Egyptian offering table scenes have been explored from chronological and art historical perspectives over the past century of Egyptological research. This descriptive overview has usually centred on the diachronic evolution of philology and food offerings, focussing less frequently on offering table images as discrete elements of highly codified information. The exploration into offering 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CAA2014. 21st Century Archaeology Concepts, methods and tools. Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology edited by F. Giligny, F. Djindjian, L. Costa, P. Moscati and S. Robert. vi+649 pages; illustrated throughout in colour and black & white.
This volume brings together a selection of papers proposed for the Proceedings of the 42nd Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology conference (CAA), hosted at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University from 22nd to 25th April 2014. The program was divided into different themes and this structure has been maintained in the arrangement of articles in the various chapters of this book. Chapter headings include: Historiography; Field and Laboratory Data Recording; Ontologies and Standards; Internet and Archaeology; Archaeological Information Systems; GIS and Spatial Analysis; Mathematics and Statistics in Archaeology; 3D Archaeology and Virtual Archaeology; Multi-Agent Systems and Complex System Modelling.
CAA2014 is also available in paperback, priced £75.00. Click here for more information. 

Roman Barrows by Velika Gorica, Croatia, and Pannonian Glazed and Samian Pottery Production by Rajka Makjanić and Remza Koščević.
Description of Roman Barrows from the first and second centuries AD excavated in the 1980s in the forest of Turopoljski Lug near Velika Gorica (Zagreb), Croatia. Special attention is given to a luxurious lead-glazed relief bowl found on the funeral pyre of Barrow V, probably from a local Pannonian workshop, with decoration inspired by western Samian ware.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arthur Evans in Dubrovnik and Split (1875-1882) by Branko Kirigin. ii+14 pages; illustrated throughout in colour and black & white.
Thanks to the biography by Joan Evans, sister of Arthur Evans, the research of John J. Wilkes and the new biography by Silvia L. Horwitz, we know much about Arthur Evans’s work in the Balkans prior to his discoveries on Crete. This work will not repeat here the achievements Evans has made for archaeology, ethnography and cultural history of the region including his remarkable journalistic work where he showed deep knowledge of regional politics and admiration towards the Slav freedom movement ‘against Turks, Austrians, Russians, or any others – including Englishmen – who refused them their right to self-determination’. This work presents some details on the everyday life of Arthur Evans in Dubrovnik and Split as seen by the local people who wrote about him in newspapers, journals or books, material that is not easily available to those interested in Evans’s pre-Knossos period.

 

 

The Origins and Use of the Potter’s Wheel in Ancient Egypt (VIDEO) by Sarah K. Doherty.
A sequence of video's from Sarah K. Doherty to compliment her publication Archaeopress Egyptology 7: The Origins and Use of the Potter’s Wheel in Ancient Egypt.
Hand-building Cooking Pot, El Nazla Pottery

See the incredible hand building process using the paddle and anvil technique. This is still the traditional method of creating water jars in Egypt, unusually the potter is male.

Throwing Pottery with a Replica Ancient Egyptian Potter's Wheel

This is the results of my experiments in creating an ancient Egyptian potter's wheel and making replica Old Kingdom (4th dynasty c2600 BC) pottery. The wheel head is wooden, the base comprises a socket and pivot of basalt or limestone.

Throwing on a kick wheel at El Nazla, Faiyoum, Egypt

This shows the quick throwing and coiling process used by the potters of El Nazla, Faiyoum, Egypt.

Electric Wheel Throwing compared to ancient

Compare the actions of wheel throwing using a modern electric wheel. Notice how I use both hands to throw.


Sarah K. Doherty's publication The Origins and Use of the Potter’s Wheel in Ancient Egypt is available now priced £29.00. View description and full contents listings here.

 

Die Anfänge des kontinentalen Transportwesens und seine Auswirkungen auf die Bolerázer und Badener Kulturen by Tünde Horváth. iv+77 pages; illustrated throughout in colour and black & white. German text.
The earliest finds of wheeled vehicles in northern and central Europe date to 3900-3600 BC. However finds (3400–3300 BC) from the Boleráz sites of Arbon/Bleiche 3 and Bad Buchau/Torwiesen II, linked to pile-dwelling settlements, indicate methods of transport typical for higher altitudes (slides, sleds, etc.). The Boleráz and Baden cultures overlap in the Carpathian Basin between 3300–3000 BC and this period seems to have produced transport models that parallel finds in today’s Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and other regions. These suggest that generally the Boleráz settlers inside the Carpathian Basin did not know, or use, the wheel in the fullest sense. Cart and wheel forms are indicated only from Grave 177 at Budakalász (2800–2600 BC). The Hungarian Baden finds follow the Danube and to the East there are no certain vehicle remains. It is difficult to tell whether the Boleráz finds are linked to the wider Alpine zone, and the Baden finds are perhaps associated with the mixed-culture sites along the eastern slopes of the Carpathians. The four-wheeled wagon was a development linked to the plains and the Steppes (Cucuteni–Tripolje, Pre-Yamnaja, Yamnaja). The nature of the finds relating to vehicles associated with lake and riverine settlements reveal technical and material features: there is evidence of a high degree of carving, if not decoration, and these communities pointed the way for future skills and developments in wheel and cart/wagon manufacture.

 

Bell Beaker in Eastern Emilia (Northern Italy) Taken from Around the Petit-Chasseur Site in Sion (Valais, Switzerland) and New Approaches to the Bell Beaker Culture by Nicola Dal Santo, Alessandro Ferrari, Gabriella Morico and Giuliana Steffè. Pages 205-236.
This paper presents recent pre-Bell Beaker groups and other groups contemporary to Bell Beaker, such as the final stages of Spilamberto Group, the Castenaso facies and the Marzaglia facies, recently recognised after rescue excavations. New Bell Beaker settlements and some aspects of recent and final Bell Beaker Culture are discusssed. In Emilia Romagna the final stages of Beaker phenomenon, here called Late Bell Beaker, are well documented and they are contemporary to the development of Early Bronze Age communities in the southern fringe of central Pre-Alps (Polada Culture).
This paper is taken from Around the Petit-Chasseur Site in Sion (Valais, Switzerland) and New Approaches to the Bell Beaker Culture: Proceedings of the International Conference (Sion, Switzerland – October 27th – 30th 2011) edited by Marie Besse, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Occlusal macrowear, antemortem tooth loss, and temporomandibular joint arthritis at Predynastic Naqada Taken from Palaeopathology in Egypt and Nubia: A century in review by Nancy C. Lovell. Pages 95-106.
This paper is based on the results of an examination of crania and mandibles from three cemeteries at Predynastic Naqada, which were excavated by Petrie in 1895. These remains are curated as part of the Duckworth Collection at the University of Cambridge. Patterns of occlusal macrowear, antemortem tooth loss, and lesions of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) are described, and are discussed in the contexts of diet and the biomechanics of mastication. The incomplete nature of most of the dentitions restricted the assessment of the pathological conditions, but no statistically significant differences were observed in the prevalence of TMJ arthritis between males and females, nor between elite and non-elite cemetery samples. Furthermore, antemortem tooth loss and occlusal wear were not associated with TMJ lesions.
This paper is taken from Palaeopathology in Egypt and Nubia: A century in review edited by Ryan Metcalfe, Jenefer Cockitt and Rosalie David, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Terra Sigillata / Samian Ware found in Siscia (Sisak, Croatia) now at the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb by Rajka Makjanić.
Publication of Samian ware from the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, found in Roman Siscia. The assemblage includes Italian, Gaulish, African, Pannonian, Moesian and other pottery. It also incorporates a study on some types of North Italian Sigillata and their distribution in Pannonia. First published in BAR S621.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shipwrecks and Global ‘Worming’ by P. Palma and L.N. Santhakumaran. ii+62 pages; illustrated in full colour throughout.
Marine borers, particularly the shipworms, as destroyers of timber, par excellence, are well known from very ancient times. They attacked the wooden hulls of ships with such intensity that the weakened bottom planks broke up even due to a mild impact caused by hitting a rock or any floating objects inducing shipwrecks. Even the survival of sunken ships as wrecks depends on the mercy of wood-destroying organisms, which may turn these ‘port-holes’ to history into meaningless junks. The silent saboteurs, involved in several early shipwrecks, are the molluscan and crustacean borers, aided by bacteria and fungi.

This paper presents an account of the marine wood-borers, together with a historical review of literature on their depredation on wooden ships, and on protective methods adopted from antiquity to modern times. The seriousness with which early mariners faced the problem of bio-deterioration and the fear the wood-borers created in their minds have been brought to light with, in some cases, excerpts from their journals and books. The anxiety and concern for protecting the ships from the ravages of wood-borers and for their own safety, as evidenced from their accounts, are discussed. Classification of various groups of marine wood-borers with notes on characters of systematic value and a complete list of species so far recorded in literature have been included under Appendix I and II. Methods employed to prevent damage to the boats included deep-charring, coating with pitch, coal-tar, whale oil and mustard oil with lime; scupper nailing (‘filling’); sheathing with animal skin, hair, tarred paper, wooden boards (untreated or soaked in coal tar, Ferrous sulphate, Copper sulphate or Lead monoxide); sheathing with metals (Lead or Copper sheets); plastic, neoprene coated ply-woods; and painting with Copper oxide, Pentachlorophenol or phenylarsenious oxide. None of these imparts complete protection. Recent archaeological investigations carried out in British waters, especially on ‘Mary Rose’, are also summarised. It is suggested that, though borers are instrumental in inducing ship-wrecks thereby enriching the materials for archaeological studies, excavations at known ship-wreck sites should be augmented to unearth valuable historical data, before they are lost to satisfy the insatiable appetite of these pests.

 

Alternative Trajectories in Bronze Age Landscapes and the ‘Failure’ to Enclose: A Case Study from the Middle Dunajec Valley Taken from Settlement, Communication and Exchange around the Western Carpathians by Tobias L. Kienlin, Marta Korczyńska and Klaus Cappenberg. Pages 159-200.
Drawing on current archaeological work in the surroundings of the Bronze Age hilltop-settlement of Janowice on the middle part of the Dunajec valley in this paper we want to highlight some shortcomings in the traditional modelling of Bronze Age landscapes. Instead of focusing on political power and the control of trade and exchange along the Dunajec valley, it is asked in what other sense the hilltop-settlement of Janowice with its long history of occupation from broadly the Middle Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age could have been ‘central’ for the development of this micro-region. GIS applications are used to integrate the spatial data obtained and to improve our understanding of local environment, choices of site location and subsistence economy. In a wider perspective, attention is drawn to the variability in Bronze Age landscapes – even along the course of the same river valley. In broadly the same cultural and natural setting there were different ‘solutions’ or strategies available to communities in order to cope with external restraints and cultural notions how social life should be organised. The development of these communities was contingent upon numerous factors beyond even the most sophisticated attempt at geographical modelling. In consequence, we must not mistake any notions we may hold on the development of Bronze Age society for a model of general applicability.
This paper is taken from Settlement, Communication and Exchange around the Western Carpathians edited by T. L. Kienlin, P. Valde-Nowak, M. Korczyńska, K. Cappenberg and J. Ociepka, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

New Geophysical Data on the Internal Structure of the Gáva Sites of Andrid-Corlat and Căuaş-Sighetiu in North-Western Romania Taken from Settlement, Communication and Exchange around the Western Carpathians by Tobias L. Kienlin and Liviu Marta. Pages 381-403.
Over the past years there has been an intensification of archaeological research on fortified settlements of the Late Bronze Age Gáva culture in the lowlands or marshes of the Tisza river and its tributaries. Unlike fortified sites on the hilltops along the mountain ranges of the Carpathians, that traditionally attracted archaeological research, much less is known on their lowland counterparts. It is in the context of this group of fortified lowland sites that Căuaş-Sighetiu and Andrid-Corlat have to be seen, which are located on islands in the swamps of the Romanian Ier valley. Fortified sites of the Gáva culture and its neighbouring groups, that may reach substantial size, are interpreted everything from the proto-urban centres of hierarchical societies, via the focal points of tribal groups, to refuges in times of crisis or enclosures for livestock. In fact, little still is known on the occupation of such sites. Our work at Căuaş- Sighetiu and Andrid-Corlat is one step towards a better understanding of such sites in terms of their internal organisation and their function in a wider settlement network. Drawing on data from a joint project of the Muzeul Judeţean Satu Mare and the Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Universität zu Köln, in this paper we will focus on the spatial organisation of the settlement remains. New magnetometer data is available that allows for the first time a comparison of both sites and their internal organisation. It is shown, that even in the same micro-region and during broadly the same period, there may be considerable variability. Our data indicate that both sites were occupied by closely comparable household units. Between them, however, they show indications of rather different notions how social space should be organised. It is an important task for future work to understand why such differences occurred, and how such sites relate to smaller neighbouring sites in chronological and functional terms.
This paper is taken from Settlement, Communication and Exchange around the Western Carpathians edited by T. L. Kienlin, P. Valde-Nowak, M. Korczyńska, K. Cappenberg and J. Ociepka, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Tard-Tatárdomb: An Update on the Intensive Survey Work on the Multi-Layer Hatvan and Füzesabony Period Settlement Taken from Settlement, Communication and Exchange around the Western Carpathians by Klára P. Fischl, Tobias L. Kienlin, Tamás Pusztai, Helmut Brückner, Simone Klumpp, Beáta Tugya and György Lengyel. Pages 341-379.
In this paper the results of an intensive survey programme are discussed carried out on the Early to Middle Bronze Age site of Tard-Tatárdomb on the foothills of the Bükk mountains. This work is part of a joint project that seeks to provide more detailed information on the multi-layer tell or tell-like sites of the Hatvan and Füzesabony periods in northern Hungary than was hitherto available. Starting on the micro-level it is our aim to explore the inner structure of these settlements, to establish the location and the structure of households, to establish if there are settlement parts with specialised function, and to compare the architecture and activity patterns of the various parts of these sites. On a macro-level an attempt is made to define the factors that determined the choice of site location and to understand the spatial organisation of settlement in environmental, economic and social terms. In the long-run, it is asked what role the sites examined had to play in the settlement network of the Hatvan and Füzesabony cultures, and an attempt will be made at comparing the land use, economy and society of both groups. To this end, our current research is based mainly on intensive archaeological survey, aerial photography, topographical measurements and magnetometer survey that provide important data both on the intra- and off-site level. In this paper we discuss the spatial data obtained by aerial photography and magnetometry as well as the results of our intensive surface survey including aspects of lithic raw material procurement and the evidence from animal bone finds.
This paper is taken from Settlement, Communication and Exchange around the Western Carpathians edited by T. L. Kienlin, P. Valde-Nowak, M. Korczyńska, K. Cappenberg and J. Ociepka, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Megaliths of Easter Island Taken from Around the Petit-Chasseur Site in Sion (Valais, Switzerland) and New Approaches to the Bell Beaker Culture by Nicolas Cauwe. Pages 321-330.
In 1992, a thesis came to light, sustaining the collapse of Easter Island’s culture after a change in the landscape. This idea was more than a simple hypothesis: the demonstration of the deforestation of the island was the basis of this reflection. The solution presented here appears radically contradictory; however it is not more than an amendment of the previous one: twenty years ago, understanding of environmental change contributed fundamentally to knowledge; since then, the dossier has been enriched with the history of the island’s monuments. Now we know that the statue platforms never were destroyed, but conscientiously dismantled and converted into necropolis. Likewise it is demonstrable that the volcano-quarry (Rano Raraku), where the moai were sculpted, was not abandoned in mid-operation, but voluntarily turned into an assembly of human figures. The absence of great famines on Rapa Nui during the 17th and the 18th centuries is shown by precise analyses. The very scarce presence of weapons of war is a fact deduced from technological studies. Finally, critical examination of the myths and legends shows that these texts do not record historical events, but the view which Easter Islanders at the end of the 19th century took of their past, after they had been irredeemably cut off from it by circumstances beyond their control. It is therefore incontestable that the last generations of Rapanui before the arrival of the white man had begun a deep re-structuring of their politico-religious system. Starting from this new documentary basis, we must look for new hypotheses. That one proposed here, namely a globalisation of island’s society giving new visibility to the god Makemake to the detriment of the traditional pantheon, which was placed under a taboo, seems provisionally the most credible, since it accounts for all the elements recorded so far. This mutation of Rapanui’s society was in progress at the time of the arrival of the 18th century explorers. They were not aware of it, but no one could have been on first discovering a hitherto unknown people. The first step of new arrivals is to describe the present; the underlying dynamic can only be discerned later, with hindsight.
This paper is taken from Around the Petit-Chasseur Site in Sion (Valais, Switzerland) and New Approaches to the Bell Beaker Culture: Proceedings of the International Conference (Sion, Switzerland – October 27th – 30th 2011) edited by Marie Besse, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

‘Metal makes the wheel go round’: the development and diffusion of studded-tread wheels in the Ancient Near East and the Old World Chapter 18 from ΑΘΥΡΜΑΤΑ: Critical Essays on the Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean in Honour of E. Susan Sherratt by Simone Mühl. Pages 159-176.
As emphasized by the image on the cover of Stuart Piggott’s book Ancient Europe (1965), the wheel is, perhaps, one of humanity’s greatest inventions. The ingenuity and simplicity of its idea and the forms we know today are the result of a long process that involved several stages of construction, testing and cumulative improvement. Developments in wheel technology were, of course, related to the emergence of different categories of vehicles – including different forms of carts, wagons, or chariots – each representing a response to changing needs in agriculture, elite representation and warfare. One of these modifications was the ‘studded-tread wheel’ and this will form the focus of this paper.
This paper is taken from ΑΘΥΡΜΑΤΑ: Critical Essays on the Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean in Honour of E. Susan Sherratt edited by Yannis Galanakis, Toby Wilkinson and John Bennet, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Arthur Evans and the quest for the “origins of Mycenaean culture” Chapter 11 from ΑΘΥΡΜΑΤΑ: Critical Essays on the Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean in Honour of E. Susan Sherratt by Yannis Galanakis. Pages 85-98.
It is hard to say what chance had first drawn his attention to the unknown island; it seems as if a thousand tiny facts and things had drifted like dust and settled to weigh down the scales of his decision (J. Evans 1943: 299)

What were these “thousand tiny facts and things”, that Joan Evans alluded to in her influential biographical history, that attracted Arthur Evans to Crete? An answer to this question may be gleaned from a series of clues in the Evans story, which are described as pivotal and decisive for the development of Aegean archaeology; namely his transformation from a museum director and collector of antiquities interested in history, art and archaeological research, to one of the most influential figures in the – still nascent in those days – field of Aegean archaeology. It is his quest for clues of a pre-alphabetic writing system in this area of the Mediterranean that is now pinpointed by scholars as the critical moment which led to the “dramatic fulfillment” of Evans’s “most sanguine expectations”: the discovery at Knossos, in various deposits, of materials inscribed with pre-alphabetic writing.
This paper is taken from ΑΘΥΡΜΑΤΑ: Critical Essays on the Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean in Honour of E. Susan Sherratt edited by Yannis Galanakis, Toby Wilkinson and John Bennet, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

The Middle Helladic Large Building Complex at Kolonna. A Preliminary View Taken from Our Cups Are Full: Pottery and Society in the Aegean Bronze Age by Walter Gauß, Michael Lindblom and Rudolfine Smetana. Pages 76-87.
This paper introduces the so-called Large Building Complex at Kolonna, Aegina for the first time in a comprehensive way. The “Large Building Complex” is the thus far largest building found at Kolonna, except the fortification wall. The Building was constructed at the beginning of the Middle Helladic period (MH I/II) and remained in use until the beginning of the Late Helladic period (LH I/II ). Within its long history, it underwent a series of changes and modifications. Size and dimensions as well as the rich finds from its interior clearly indicate that the “Large Building Complex” is the unambiguous residential building from Middle Helladic Kolonna.

 

 

Late Classic Ceramic Technology and Its Social Implications at Yaxuná, Yucatán: A Petrographic Analysis of a Sample of Arena Group Ceramics Chapter 19 from The Archaeology of Yucatán: New Directions and Data by Tatiana Loya González and Travis W. Stanton. pages 337-362.
This chapter represents an effort to interpret the social and cultural aspects of ceramic technology and how they relate to the political economy of the site of Yaxuná, Yucatán during the Late Classic (A.D. 600-700/750, Yaxuná III) (see also Loya González 2008; Loya González and Stanton 2013). We begin by introducing the reader to the archaeology of Yaxuná, with an emphasis on the Late Classic period and a diagnostic pottery group – Arena – that only appears during this time. We then describe the Arena Group ceramics in more detail and the role they have played in defining power struggles and control over central Yucatán in the archaeological literature. Focusing on a petrographic analysis of a sample of Arena Group ceramics from Yaxuná conducted during spring of 2009 at the Center for Material Research in Archaeology and Ethnology (CMRAE) at MIT we then discuss the implications of tempers found in the Yaxuná vicinity and those used in the making of the Arena Group vessels. Finally, we discuss the economic relationship between the sites of Yaxuná and Cobá – two cities that were connected by a 100 km long raised causeway during the Late Classic.
This paper is taken from The Archaeology of Yucatán: New Directions and Data edited by Travis W. Stanton, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Pilgrimage to Binsey: Medieval and Modern Taken from Binsey: Oxford's Holy Place by Lydia Carr. Pages 81-88.
Binsey’s holy well, with its literary and spiritual overtones, represents a key attraction of the little church for the modern visitor. In this brief essay, the broad history of pilgrimage in England is considered before approaching Binsey’s own post-Reformation history.
This paper is taken from Binsey: Oxford’s Holy Place - Its saint, village, and people edited by Lydia Carr, Russell Dewhurst and Martin Henig, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

 

 

 

The Archaeology of the North Sea Palaeolandscapes Chapter 9 from Mapping Doggerland: The Mesolithic Landscapes of the Southern North Sea by Simon Fitch, Vincent Gaffney and Kenneth Thomson.
From the introduction: The map data generated as part of this project represents one of the largest samples of a, potentially, well preserved early Holocene landscape surviving in Europe and it is essential that some consideration of the archaeological context of the mapped remains is presented here. The European cultural period associated with this landscape is the Mesolithic which lasts between c. 10,000 BP and c. 5,500 BP, dependent on geographic position. Tremendous environmental change forms the backdrop to cultural events throughout this period. Sea level rise, associated with climate change, resulted in the loss of more than 30,000 km2 of habitable landscape across the southern North Sea basin during the Mesolithic alone, and the inundation of this immense area has essentially left us with a ‘black hole’ in the archaeological record for northwestern Europe as a whole. This situation is made worse by the fact that finds from the region only rarely possess an accurate provenance or context (Koojimans 1971; Verhart 2004). View pdf to continue…
This paper is taken from Mapping Doggerland: The Mesolithic Landscapes of the Southern North Sea edited by Vincent Gaffney. Kenneth Thomson and Simon Finch, Archaeopress 2007. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Gods at all hours: Saite Period coffins of the ‘eleven-eleven’ type This paper is taken from Body, Cosmos and Eternity: New Trends of Research on Iconography and Symbolism of Ancient Egyptian Coffins by Jonathan Elias and Carter Lupton. 122-133.
A distinct coffin style known as the Eleven-Eleven, featuring a lid format with processions of eleven gods on the right and left sides, came into prominence in the later Saite Period (likely after 630 BC). It is a style found in multiple regions throughout Upper Egypt. Examples have been found at Akhmim, Thebes and Edfu. The current study presents new findings arising from analysis of an Eleven-Eleven coffin manufactured around 600 BC for the funerary preparer Djed-hor son of Padiamon and Neshmut-Renenutet from Akhmim (Milwaukee Public Museum A10264). Critical information relating to how the Eleven-Eleven was intended to function symbolically comes from a little known container fragment found at the end of the 19th century by Naville at the Delta site of Tell el-Baklieh (Hermopolis Parva). It shows that the twenty-two gods of the Eleven-Eleven style had protective functions linked to the Day- and Night-hour goddesses of the Stundenwachen tradition. The twenty-two deities served as guardians of the deceased during the eleven divisions between the twelve hours of Day- and the eleven divisions between the twelve hours of Night. With full hours and inter-hourly divisions properly supervised by deities, all aspects of time were therefore protected as the transformation of the deceased into a resurrected being occurred.
This paper is taken from Body, Cosmos and Eternity: New Trends of Research on Iconography and Symbolism of Ancient Egyptian Coffins edited by Rogério Sousa, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback or pdf eBook here.

 

Investigating the orientation of Hafit tomb entrances in Wādī Andām, Oman This paper is taken from Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 44 (2014) by William M. Deadman. 139-152.
This paper presents the results and analysis of a small research project exploring the orientation of Hafit tomb entrances in Wadi Andam, Oman. Measurements were taken at three sites along the course of the wadi: Fulayj in the northern mountains, Khashbah in the foothills, and ΚUyun on the plains to the south. The clear similarity between the collective tomb entrance orientation data and the annual variation in the position of the sunrise suggests that the path of the sun was of great significance to the Hafit population of Wadi Andam, and that it was recorded in their tomb architecture. Variation in the tomb entrance data between the three sites suggests that the population was nomadic and moved between areas of Wadi Andam according to season. These results are discussed in the context of the distribution of Hafit tombs and the terrain of Wadi Andam in order to explore how, where, and when this seasonal migration could have occurred. Ethnographic studies of the modern nomadic pastoralists of Oman and the UAE are examined to provide potential parallels and to obtain a better understanding of the driving force behind the Hafit seasonal nomadism. The tomb entrance orientation measurements from Wadi Andam are also presented alongside the available published data, revealing a possible east/west regional divide in the Hafit funerary architecture of the northern Oman peninsula. The results of this research suggest that the Hafit population of Wadi Andam was nomadic, and migrated from the southern plains in the summer to the mountains and foothills when the rains came in the winter, moving through the terrain along the major watercourses and building tombs on nearby elevated areas as they were needed, with entrances pointing towards the sunrise.
This paper is taken from Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 44 edited by Robert Hoyland & Sarah Morriss, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Towards a Hadramitic lexicon: lexical notes on terms relating to the formulary and rituals in expiatory inscriptions This paper is taken from Languages of Southern Arabia: Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 44 (2014) by Alessia Prioletta. 101-110.
Although the corpus of Hadramitic inscriptions is highly fragmented both chronologically and geographically, its grammatical system and above all its lexicon display unique traits that make it of particular interest to scholars. These traits are especially well defined in the textual genre of the expiatory inscriptions since they display a distinctive formulary and ritual lexicon compared to the textual counterparts in the other South Arabian kingdoms. The study focuses, in particular, on the lexical analysis of some key terms that appear in the fixed formulas within which these inscriptions are structured. The lexicon of these texts is characterized by many unique features compared to the other ASA languages and, on a broader level, combines isoglosses with the Southern Semitic languages, archaisms that recall Akkadian, and a more typically Central Semitic lexicon. These elements still await full analysis and systematic organization into a comparative Hadramitic lexicon that will allow scholars to pursue broader studies on the position of Hadramitic within the Ancient South Arabian and Semitic in general.
This paper is taken from Languages of Southern Arabia: Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 44 edited by Orhan Elmaz and Janet C.E. Watson, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Maritime activity and the Divine: an overview of religious expression by Mediterranean seafarers, fishermen and travellers Chapter 1.1 from Ships, Saints and Sealore: Cultural Heritage and Ethnography of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea by Timmy Gambin. 3-12.
Over the past decades, modern technologies such as electronic navigational aids, improved ship designs and accurate weather forecasts have all contributed to making maritime activity safer. However, even today the undertaking of a journey by sea or even a fishing trip involves varying degrees of danger. Over the centuries, those involved with earning a living at sea, as well as those simply travelling by ship, have invoked specific rituals and developed particular superstitions. These could be aimed at alleviating fears, supplication for a safe journey or simply to plea for a bumper catch. The relationship between seafarers and the divine is not limited to a particular chronological period, religion or geographical zone. The aim of this paper is to illustrate broadly how the maritime-divine link has manifested itself through time. The presentation has been divided into a number of themes that include ritual, iconography and the deities themselves.
This paper is taken from Ships, Saints and Sealore: Cultural Heritage and Ethnography of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea edited by Dionisius A. Agius, Timmy Gambin and Athena Trakadas with contributions by Harriet Nash, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Sailing the Red Sea: ships, infrastructure, seafarers and society Chapter 5.1 from Ships, Saints and Sealore: Cultural Heritage and Ethnography of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea by Cheryl Ward. 115-123.
Sailing along the coast reinforces the benefits of long-established Indian Ocean monsoon and trade patterns that extended into the Red Sea. Vastly profitable and culturally significant expeditions and fleets channelled people and exotic animals from giraffes to elephants, Chinese porcelains, coffee, incense, textiles and other goods into a durable, if episodic, infrastructure of coastal sites in a pattern that endured for thousands of years. The acquisition and influx of exotic materials established economic and social interactions illuminated by recent archaeological exploration of anchorages, harbours, shipwrecks and other installations. New data from Red Sea sites offer a basis for examining the development of extensive maritime systems from the middle of the third millennium BCE through the early modern era.
This paper is taken from Ships, Saints and Sealore: Cultural Heritage and Ethnography of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea edited by Dionisius A. Agius, Timmy Gambin and Athena Trakadas with contributions by Harriet Nash, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

The Boudica Code: recognising a 'symbolic logic' within Iron Age material culture Taken from Landscapes and Artefacts: Studies in East Anglian Archaeology Presented to Andrew Rogerson by John Davies. 27-34.
The material culture of the Iceni carries a wealth of imagery and symbols. It is apparent that a number of these representations were repeatedly chosen and, by implication, that they carried meaning for the Iceni. The deep significance of symbols and imagery in material culture can be observed in relation to other tribal societies, such as the plains Indians of North America, whose objects of everyday use possessed deep symbolic importance to them.
This paper is taken from Landscapes and Artefacts: Studies in East Anglian Archaeology Presented to Andrew Rogerson edited by Steven Ashley and Adrian Marsden, Archaeopress 2014. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

A note on the development of Cypriot Late Roman D forms 2 and 9 Taken from LRFW 1. Late Roman Fine Wares. Solving problems of typology and chronology. A review of the evidence, debate and new contexts by Paul Reynolds. 57-65.
The development and evolution of LRD 2 into LRD 9 through the 5th to 7th centuries is traced and illustrated through a revision of the evidence presented in Late Roman Pottery (Hayes 1972) and finds from new contexts excavated in Beirut.
This paper is taken from LRFW 1. Late Roman Fine Wares. Solving problems of typology and chronology. A review of the evidence, debate and new contexts edited by Miguel Ángel Cau, Paul Reynolds and Michel Bonifay, Archaeopress 2012. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

An initiative for the revision of late Roman fine wares in the Mediterranean (c. AD 200-700): The Barcelona ICREA/ESF Workshop Taken from LRFW 1. Late Roman Fine Wares. Solving problems of typology and chronology. A review of the evidence, debate and new contexts by Miguel Ángel Cau, Paul Reynolds and Michel Bonifay. 1-13.
This paper summarises both the evolution and the results of the Barcelona ICREA/ESF workshop on late Roman fine wares. A brief guide to what we agreed were the principal Mediterranean contexts for the dating of fine wares, as well as a summary of the principal conclusions on the dating and sources of ARS, LRC and LRD forms are presented. Plans for the publication of the workshop and its results, as well as future collaborative projects are outlined.
This paper is taken from LRFW 1. Late Roman Fine Wares. Solving problems of typology and chronology. A review of the evidence, debate and new contexts edited by Miguel Ángel Cau, Paul Reynolds and Michel Bonifay, Archaeopress 2012. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Ceramica e contesti nel Quartiere Bizantino del Pythion di Gortina (Creta): alla ricerca della “complessità” nella datazione Taken from LRFW 1. Late Roman Fine Wares. Solving problems of typology and chronology. A review of the evidence, debate and new contexts by Enrico Zanini and Stefano Costa. 33-44. Italian text.
The paper explores some critical points in the dating of fine tableware found in occupation deposits and contexts of late Antique and early Byzantine sites in the Mediterranean. The refinement of the typological-chronological seriation of artifacts, the availability of increasingly sophisticated stratigraphic sequences and the awareness of the multiplicity of possible cognitive approaches create the conditions for a methodological reflection on the complexity of dating.
This paper is taken from LRFW 1. Late Roman Fine Wares. Solving problems of typology and chronology. A review of the evidence, debate and new contexts edited by Miguel Ángel Cau, Paul Reynolds and Michel Bonifay, Archaeopress 2012. Click on the PDF to read the full paper online, or download to your device. The full volume is available in paperback here.

 

Sigillatas africanas y orientales de mediados del VI d. C. procedentes de los rellenos de colmatación de una cisterna de Hispalis (Sevilla) Los contextos de la Plaza de la Pescadería Taken from LRFW 1. Late Roman Fine Wares. Solving problems of typology and chronology. A review of the evidence, debate and new contexts by Jacobo Vázquez Paz and Enrique García Vargas.

The public works carried out on the road network of Seville (Spain) uncovered a structural complex of Roman date for the storage and redistribution of water. According to some