Archaeopress Publishing Ltd

Urban Landscapes in Iron Age Iberia provides an up-to-date synthesis on the urbanism of Iron Age hillforts and oppida of Iberia. The emergence of large and complex fortified settlements is a characteristic phenomenon of the period between the Late Iron Age and the expansion of the Roman Empire (4th–1st centuries BC) in extensive areas of Central and Western Europe. In this geographical context the Iberian Peninsula has a key position between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. A vast Spanish and Portuguese scientific literature has revealed a very diverse scenario with different paths for the development of complex urbanism, in some cases presenting clear alternatives to the Mediterranean models introduced by Phoenician-Punic, Greek, and Roman influence. The book integrates a series of novel contributions from across Iberian archaeology, with an explicit examination of urban structures using a rigorous multidisciplinary approach. Together they demonstrate the potential value and relevance of archaeological data for Urbanization Studies.

Frontiers of the Roman Empire: The Frontier of the Roman Province of Raetia explores the unique role of Raetia as both a defensive frontier protecting the Italian mainland and a geopolitical crossroads between the eastern and western Roman Empire. Drawing on the latest archaeological and historical research, the volume examines the evolution of the Raetian frontier, troop deployment, local populations, frontier organisation, and the changing fortunes of the province from the early Empire through Late Antiquity. Richly illustrated and accessible, the book offers readers an engaging introduction to the history and significance of one of Rome’s most important frontier regions.The book also highlights the international importance of the Raetian frontier within the UNESCO World Heritage initiative Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Sections of the former frontier are now recognised as part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes and the Danube Limes (Western Segment), reflecting their outstanding universal value. Featuring guidance to museums and visitor sites along the frontier, this volume supports ongoing efforts to preserve and promote the shared cultural heritage of the Roman world for future generations.

At least twenty-two sanctuaries of Demeter and Kore in Asia Minor and the islands off the western coast are attested by archaeological evidence. More than 272 epigraphic sources, nearly all of which are translated and discussed in this study, further document the cults of both goddesses in these regions. This monograph is the first study to draw on such a substantial body of material in order to demonstrate the cultic connections between cities in the Greek East and other parts of the Greek world. The archaeological and written sources provide insight into both regional and Pan-Hellenic features of the sanctuaries of Demeter and Kore, including their architectural layouts, the iconography of votive offerings, festivals, rituals, and the development of these practices over time. In assessing these regional and Pan-Hellenic characteristics, the analysis draws on the full range of archaeological and written evidence from across the Greek world. The available evidence indicates that the cults and sanctuaries of Demeter and Kore in the Greek East largely retained Greek characteristics; however, in certain regions, such as Caria, their cults were partially shaped by indigenous religious traditions. Despite Greek and later Roman hegemony, the cult of Demeter in other parts of Asia Minor, beyond western Asia Minor, was unable to supplant the cult of Cybele and other local chthonic fertility deities.

This volume reinterprets Richard Feachem’s 1950s excavation of Castlehill Wood dun, Stirling via key-hole excavation of in situ baulks and re-analysis of the object assemblage, placing the results in context. The works transform our understanding of the site from a simple enclosure to a roofed structure with an awareness of architectural trends across Scotland. The site is demonstrated to have been built prior to the Roman invasion and suggests a complex settlement pattern that should not be viewed solely in the light of the Roman incursions. Finally, the structure contains a series of small cells and galleries that find parallels across Scotland and might be linked to Iron Age ritual practices. The opportunity has also been taken to publish reviews of the artefacts from two other older excavations from the Stirling area: West Plean Homestead and Gallow Hill lava quern. In each case a proposed fieldwork phase never happened due to circumstances beyond the control of the author.

Cretan Chronicle: An Archaeological Childhood is about love and stoicism.As a young child, Mary is uprooted from her home in Crete among an archaeological community and resettles in England. Revisiting Crete each year, Mary begins to assist her father, Sinclair Hood, in his fieldwork. The ruined Palace of Minos transforms from her playground into her workplace. Sinclair struggles to publish excavation reports, preferring to revel in media acclaim. Burying family stories, he wrestles with pacifism and his Anglo-Catholic faith. Mary sets out to study architecture, and mixes pleasure and jealousy in a tangled love triangle with an artist-poet. She must learn to forsake lust, stop working for Sinclair, and figure her way out of her own Labyrinth.Steeped in the myths of Zeus and his daughter Athena, and born in Greece, but not Greek, Mary interweaves themes of identity, trauma and redemption with stories of fickle deities and the regenerative power of nature. She unearths her archaeological family’s secrets with riveting intricacy to give a unique perspective on her father’s unusual upbringing by a capricious wealthy mother, as well as his loves and career.Appealing to readers interested in mid-20th century archaeological lives, Cretan Chronicle sparkles with clarity and humour—strengthened and nurtured by the bright Mediterranean sun.

This three-volume work offers a comprehensive study of Winchester’s three Anglo-Saxon minsters – Old Minster, New Minster and Nunnaminster/St Mary’s Abbey – together with their cemeteries, domestic buildings, and elements absorbed into the Norman cathedral including the setting for the cult of St Swithun. Scientific evidence, and documentary, architectural, and artistic sources are woven into the results of the major excavations carried out on the sites of Old and New Minster between 1961 and 1970, and later work on Nunnaminster/St Mary’s Abbey, to present a new synthesis of Winchester’s ecclesiastical landscape. Volume 1 explores the archaeology of the first church, its documented origins in the mid-seventh century, and north Italian inspiration. It traces the architectural and liturgical development of Old Minster into a major complex celebrating the cult of St Swithun, its design inspired by the Tomb of Christ in Jerusalem. Documentary sources for the foundation of New Minster, the memorial church for the house of Wessex, on the Frankish model of Saint-Denis, are examined; archaeological evidence, though less extensive, confirms its final scale and magnificence before its documented removal to Hyde Abbey. The destruction and robbing of the two minsters during the building of the Norman cathedral are detailed. Volume 2 analyses burial practices in the Old and New Minster cemeteries, and their British and Continental parallels. Their evolution into the medieval Paradise cemetery follows, with the later ‘memorial court’ focused on St Swithun’s original burial place. Key finds are summarized, including gold braids from the probable grave of the ninth-century prince Athelstan. The architectural setting in Winchester Cathedral of St Swithun’s cult is examined. The archaeology and history of Nunnaminster and its successor St Mary’s Abbey are explored. The wider context for the Minsters as part of the evolution of Winchester as royal power centre is summarized. An appendix reviews cross-plan churches in the Byzantine empire and Europe. In addition to the illustrations with the text, Volume 3 contains detailed plans and sections, photographs, phasing charts, and images of manuscripts, artefacts and comparative churches.

Heritage assets in and around aquatic environments have already been impacted by climate change effects. Coastal erosion, extreme storminess, storm surges, tidal, fluvial and pluvial flooding, sea-level rise, sea-temperature increase, ocean acidification, frequently in combination with droughts and rising temperatures, and other climate change effects threaten and damage archaeological sites, historic landscapes and buildings. Concurrently, the decline of traditional maritime livelihoods, such as fishing and shipbuilding, and the rise of unsustainable tourism, along with the loss of associated local knowledge within communities and their empirical understanding of maritime regions, have isolated people from their surrounding natural environment and increased their vulnerability to environmental and socioeconomic shocks. This edited volume features projects that have taken action to record, monitor and protect maritime heritage in the face of the climate emergency. The eight chapters showcase completed or ongoing initiatives from distinct parts of the world that illustrate how the discipline of maritime archaeology can contribute to climate action, sustainability, adaptation and climate resilience, while also helping to mitigate some of the risks that heritage is experiencing due to the climate breakdown. While recognising the limitations and challenges brought up by climate change and its socio-economic implications, as well as the defunding of the archaeology and heritage sectors, the projects presented in this book show how talented early career scholars and practitioners can make substantial contributions to communities through volunteering work, small grants, and project-specific academic funding. Overall, each chapter proves how small-scale, local initiatives by passionate people can make a large impact.

This volume presents the results of the 2020 season excavations conducted by the Georgian National Museum at the multi-layered settlement of Irmis Rka, located in the Samtskhe-Javakheti province in southwest Georgia. Excavations on the site have confirmed the presence of pits and domestic architecture from the Early Bronze Age Kura-Araxes Culture, as well as deposits of the subsequent Bedeni Culture, along with abundant related materials. The site reveals signs of occupation during the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age, with evidence of fortification and various artefacts. Additionally, medieval activities have been documented. The site demonstrates the full evolution of the Kura-Araxes tradition, offering perspectives to illustrate its gradual changes and development. One of the site's most significant aspects is the presence of the Bedeni culture, marking its first appearance in this area. While excavations at Irmis Rka are ongoing, the results presented here contribute new data to a wide range of discussions.

During 2008 and 2009, Oxford Archaeology completed an extensive campaign of archaeological excavation at Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man, as part of a programme of runway and taxiway extension, and other airport improvements, undertaken by the Isle of Man Airport Division (part of the Isle of Man Government Department of Transport). This investigation uncovered a range of highly significant archaeological remains that complement other important discoveries made at the airport in the mid-twentieth century, which have figured prominently in discussions of the archaeology of the island.This volume presents details of these recent discoveries, which included an extremely rare Mesolithic dwelling dating to the end of the ninth millennium cal BC, representing the island’s earliest known house, along with Mesolithic pits and artefact scatters. Other important discoveries included Neolithic and earlier Bronze Age timber structures, and well-preserved elements of a later Bronze Age ‘village’, which contained domestic roundhouses, ancillary buildings, and workshops engaged in the casting of bronze and lead objects. Evidence relating to an unenclosed Iron Age settlement was also identified, as well as two important Iron Age burials, one of which contained an Iron Age ‘warrior’ who had been graphically killed during an act of interpersonal violence. Other recorded remains, dated to the later medieval and postmedieval periods and furnish evidence for the form of the agricultural landscape that existed prior to the construction of the modern airport.This volume is the result of a multi-disciplinary approach to the archaeology, involving detailed analyses of buried remains, artefacts, and environmental remains, with the work of a range of authors from Oxford Archaeology, as well as several external specialists. The results greatly enhance an understanding of the archaeology of the Isle of Man, and, more generally, provide important information on prehistoric settlement, contacts, and connections in the Irish Sea region, and along Britain’s western seaboard.

Archaeological excavation of almost the entirety of Broxy Kennels Fort to the north of Perth, was undertaken in advance of a new road development. It revealed a multivallate fortified settlement on a hill overlooking the River Tay. The fort constructed in the 6th century BC initially comprised two ditches that encircled the hill with a north-east entranceway that led to the interior. Around the late 5th-early 4th centuries BC, parts of the settlement’s defences were altered to accommodate a souterrain constructed into one of the silted-up ditches. The alteration necessitated a further short ditch either side of the entrance, followed by a final outer ditch that encircled the hill. Other changes within the enclosure may also have occurred at this time with material from clearance of structures being dumped in the ditches. After a short hiatus, an unenclosed settlement within the interior of the fort persisted from the 4th century BC until around the late 1st century AD. Other than traces of sporadic activity from the early medieval period to the post-medieval era, the site was to all intents and purposes lost to the plough.

Prehistoric Aesthetics provides a new definition of the concept of prehistoric art. It argues that the autonomy of art and the aesthetic can be extended beyond modernity, and reworks the Western tradition of philosophical aesthetics towards a prehistoric aesthetics. Whereas it is normally modern Western art that is considered to be an autonomous type of art, which is coupled to an autonomous aesthetic experience, the book argues that it is in prehistoric art that the true autonomous condition of art and aesthetics manifested itself. A new research strategy is developed in which the fields of prehistoric archaeology and theoretical archaeology are integrated with the fields of philosophical aesthetics and metaphysics. This is related to current theoretical developments in archaeology, in which we see a turn towards ontological questions. The study examines three different types of prehistoric art: the hand axe and stone bola of the Lower/Middle Palaeolithic, the cave art of the Franco-Cantabrian area, and the rock art and small sculptural objects of the Neolithic of Britain/Ireland. A new type of aesthetic autonomy and aesthetic experience is constructed for animism through the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze, Alfred North Whitehead, Immanuel Kant, and Theodor Adorno. The book proposes a new definition of prehistoric art that takes the form of a theoretical statement on the relation between prehistoric and modern/contemporary art. This means that the book is not only a study in prehistoric art and aesthetics, but also provides a model of how to compare prehistoric and modern/contemporary art with one another.

Réaliser un habit néolithique complet est un défi ambitieux ; cet ouvrage en présente l’aboutissement. Il est issu de mon mémoire de master en archéologie préhistorique a l’Université de Geneve, soutenu en septembre 2025. A l’aide de sources archéologiques centrées sur le Campaniforme périalpin, ainsi que de sources historiques et ethnographiques, j’ai tenté de reproduire au mieux les pratiques textiles du passé, afin d’en proposer une vision plausible. Les motifs géométriques complexes présents sur les steles anthropomorphes du site du Petit-Chasseur (Valais, Suisse), ont servi de base visuelle pour la conception du vetement. Cette étude aborde des sujets tres variés, tels que : la place de l’artisanat textile au sein des sociétés préhistoriques, autant du point de vue des modes de production et de l’investissement de ressources que de la valeur sociale ; la diversité des possibilités techniques liées a la fabrication de textiles, immense et encore peu explorée ; l’importance de l’expérimentation archéologique au sein de la recherche, et son intéret autant scientifique que médiatique. Bien qu’ancré dans des bases scientifiques rigoureuses, ce travail est également tres personnel. Il raconte, étape par étape, le long processus d’apprentissage qui a mené a la production de cet habit, avec son lot d’échecs, d’incertitudes, et – enfin – de réussites.

Graveyards hold a special fascination. We’re drawn to their quiet beauty, the artistry and symbolism of their carved stones, and the stories they preserve of lives once lived. Understanding Scottish Graveyards remains the essential guide to exploring and interpreting this rich part of Scotland’s heritage. First published in 1985, Betty Willsher’s groundbreaking work transformed how we understand historic gravestones. She combined meticulous fieldwork with an accessible appreciation of their cultural and historical significance. This new, expanded fourth edition—produced in collaboration with Archaeology Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland—honours that legacy while fully embracing the digital age. The original text is updated to include a new regional gravestone symbols guide, based on Willsher’s survey of more than 660 graveyards across Lowland Scotland. Crucially, information in this edition is linked to freely available online archives and resources, opening the door for today’s readers and community researchers to continue Betty Willsher’s pioneering work. Through its blend of insight, guidance, and practical advice, Understanding Scottish Graveyards invites us all to explore, record, and protect Scotland’s remarkable historic gravestones—ensuring that the carvings etched in stone endure for generations to come.

Zooarchaeology of Ancient Greek Sanctuaries in Southwestern Sicily addresses the topic of ancient Greek sacrificial practices that were performed in the western colonies of Sicily between the 7th and 3rd centuries BC. The approach is primarily centered on zooarchaeology, focusing on the analysis of faunal assemblages derived from three crucial sacred areas associated with the outstanding poleis of Selinus and Akragas. Adopting a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach, the study incorporates current methods in zooarchaeology alongside taphonomic investigations to explore how animals were used for ritual purposes. By repositioning animals within their central role in ancient sacrificial practice, the results have enriched our understanding of the various ritual activities that took place in Selinus and Akragas, providing a more complete view of how religious beliefs were expressed by the ancient inhabitants of these cities. The analyses have confirmed customary patterns of animal sacrifice as reported by literary and epigraphic sources (e.g. thysia and holocaust) as well as shedding light on less frequent ritual practices followed by ancient Greek communities (e.g. foundation sacrifices). Thanks to the large quantity of remains analyzed, the results go beyond the characterization of the sacrificial practice performed in the two poleis, providing significant insights from an extra-regional perspective involving the wider ancient Greek world. The book constitutes the first synthesis on the zooarchaeology of Greek Sicily, providing a substantial amount of new data which fills a noted void in zooarchaeological research due to the still limited use of faunal assemblage analysis in defining the religious landscape of ancient Greek Sicily.

This study brings together the numismatic, textual, and archaeological evidence required to discuss potential economic collaboration between the powerful Roman client-kingdom of Catuvellaunia in southeastern Britain and the growing Roman military presence in northern Gaul during the decades before the Claudian conquest of Britain in AD 43 and the inevitable full annexation of Catuvellaunia by Rome as Britannia, a strategic asset. The main theme of the study centres on the grain-wealth of intensively cultivated productive chalk-land in southern Britain and the potential for its ready export to fulfil the growing needs of the military in northern Gaul, a damaged war-zone already limited in its agricultural productivity, during the decades BC-AD. Context for the study is provided by a series of related case-studies:- discussion of climatic conditions, agrarian systems, and models of grain production-consumption set the basic agri-economic parameters;- the logistics and problems of managing land-based, riverine, and maritime supply-lines servicing the northwestern frontier are discussed, with added context on contemporary settlement and shipping;- the position of Camulodunon in the context of other oppida, of Greater Catuvellaunia within the tribal structures in southern Britain, and of its role as an agent of cross-Channel trade, located nearest to Gaul, reflect its wider controlling regional power;- evidence from Celtic coinage, stylistic and inscriptional, provide a major source for essential discussion of tribal structures and lineages;- questions of military supply are outlined in detailed case-studies of two developing near-contemporary frontier-zones: the Tayside Militarised Zone [Scotland], and the Rhine frontier;- political aspects of clientship and annexation by Rome across the wider Empire provide interesting parallels.

This handbook focuses on stratigraphy and the stratigraphic matrix, which are key tools in field archaeology to determine the chronology of any site. After a discussion of the theoretical background, the reader will find exercises - ranked in order of difficulty - helping them to master the concept of stratigraphy. The exercises consist in building the stratigraphic matrix of given archaeological sections that represent the main configurations an archaeologist might encounter in the field. The exercises are followed by their solutions and detailed comments. Easy to use and accessible to a large audience, this book is an indispensable companion to every student in archaeology, as well as professionals in field archaeology, whether they are beginning in their job or looking to improve their skills.