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La cité Maya de Naachtun, au Guatemala, fut, a la période Classique (150-950 apr. J.-C.), une capitale politique et économique de premier ordre, dotée d’une architecture monumentale et publique majestueuse et siege d’une puissante dynastie. C’est au cours du Classique ancien (150-550 apr. J.-C.) que cette monumentalité a trouvé son apogée, avec la construction de la majorité des pyramides les plus volumineuses du site, de nombreuses plates-formes, de chaussées, d’un terrain de jeu de balle, de temples. Pourtant, on sait que dans les Basses Terres centrales Mayas, c’est au Classique récent (550-830 apr. J.-C.) que la population était, de loin, la plus nombreuse. Un paradoxe semble donc se dessiner : l’investissement massif dans l’architecture monumentale fut consenti par une population relativement bien plus réduite que ce qu’elle deviendrait au cours des siecles suivants. Quelles furent les implications de ces programmes architecturaux en termes de mobilisation de la main-d’ouvre au sein de la population ? Comment l’investissement dans l’architecture s’articule-t-il avec la démographie urbaine ? La présence d’une population nombreuse est-elle une condition, un facteur, ou une conséquence de la construction monumentale ? Pour répondre a ces questions, cet ouvrage s’attache a deux défis méthodologiques majeurs : celui de l’estimation de la population du site, pour une période dont les vestiges résidentiels sont majoritairement invisibles et inaccessibles, et celui de la quantification (en jours-personnes de travail) du cout énergétique d’une centaine d’épisodes de construction monumentale. En croisant ces données, il apparaît que les premiers tres grands chantiers correspondant a la « création d’un lieu » ont demandé la mobilisation d’une main-d’ouvre assez largement supérieure a la population demeurant sur place au cours du premier siecle de la cité. C’est donc probablement la monumentalité de la capitale nouvellement créée, avec ce que cela implique d’interactions et d’opportunités sociales et économiques, qui a attiré et surtout fixé la population autour de la cité au cours du Classique ancien. Une fois cette étape de fondation monumentale passée, la population sur place était amplement suffisante pour poursuivre les projets architecturaux.

Spain is a big country with many thousands of prehistoric monuments and associated museums. This guide provides information on a small number of the best ones. It details how to access over 220 prehistoric sites, museums and interpretation centres in many of Spain’s autonomous regions. It also provides a background to the prehistoric chronology of Spain and explains the main types of prehistoric monuments which can be visited. These range from Palaeolithic cave art to Neolithic dolmen and Iron Age castros. Many of these sites will take you into areas of Spain little visited by tourists and involve walks through beautiful and sometimes remote landscapes.

Codename SICILYWAR is a multidisciplinary, innovative investigation into the impact of World War II on archaeological sites and museums in Sicily (1940–45). The island’s cultural and archaeological heritage was under major threat from Allied bombing, landing and military occupation. The book has three main aims. Firstly, it investigates how national, local civilian and military authorities dealt with discoveries of archaeological finds in the area from construction of military structures by the Italian and Allied forces to the protection of antiquities. Secondly, it looks to reconstruct contexts and social networks involving the national and military authorities, archaeologists and local communities, acting and ‘clashing’ in a state of war and emergency. Finally, it contextualises Sicilian archaeology on the wider European stage, comparing Sicily with other European contexts.The book benefits from a thorough analysis of hundreds of newly-discovered documents (dispatches, letters, reports, pictures, etc.) which are included in a substantial appendix. Social contexts are assessed by a four-level system to identify networks on a national, regional, local and supranational scale. Through the lens of archaeology, history, archival records, museum, social and military studies, the book will benefit a variety of scholars and experts who are jointly interested in the study of Sicilian antiquities, local communities and war contexts in the 1930s and 1940s.

This study offers an interpretation of the Acropolis Korai of Athens with consideration given to their cultural and historical contexts.The starting point is an analysis of their inscriptions and the ancient usage of the terms Kore and Parthenos. This is followed by an iconographic evaluation of the Korai and a consideration of the contexts in which they were found. The mythology and cult practices of early Athens are then examined in order to outline possible interpretations of the sculptures. Finally, a dating proposal is formulated that enables a precise historical classification of the Acropolis Korai in archaic and early classical Athens.

Studies of the Late Roman Lower German frontier have often focused on the evidence for Germanic migrants from either burials, material culture or settlement forms. Cultural Transformations in Germania Secunda adopts a multi-variate approach combining data on settlements, finds and metallurgy in both Germania Secunda and Germania Magna to present a more complex picture. A long-term comparison of structural evidence, archaeobotanical data and handmade pottery from rural settlements challenges the role of migration in the changes observed in the Late Roman settlement landscape. Instead of distinct migration events, this book argues for long-term interactive processes such as trade, exchange and multi-directional mobility.This book further brings together evidence on style, decoration, dating, spatial distribution and find contexts of 4540 civilian and military copper-alloy dress ornaments to challenge labels such as "Roman", "Germanic", "military" and "civilian" to argue for long-term continuity and hybridisation of material culture styles in the Lower Rhine frontier area in the Late Roman period. This Nuanced approach is also supported by the metallurgical analysis of 686 copper-alloy dress accessories, which gave insight into the production organisation of items worn by different social groups.

This catalogue presents the first comprehensive study of the Egyptian collection at the Musée d’Histoire et d’Archéologie in Vannes, originally assembled by the Société polymathique du Morbihan, a learned society founded in 1826. The collection, largely made up of donations from famous explorers and scholars of the 19th and 20th centuries, traces the development of one of the first public collections of Egyptian antiquities open to the public. One of the main contributors is the famous explorer Frédéric Cailliaud. This catalogue meticulously reconstructs his original lots, as well as artefacts from other donors, revealing their historical significance.Notable items include 46 predynastic flint tools from Fayoum, donated by Walter Seton-Karr, a series of funerary objects such as linen strips used for the embalming of priests of Montu in Thebes, the painted and inscribed lid of a wooden anthropoid coffin of a priest from the Ptolemaic period in Akhmim, faience shabti figures from the Late Period, jewellery, amulets, a fragmentary papyrus in hieratic script, a mummified cat, two Ptolemaic royal coins and 25 Coptic textiles from Antinoe, donated by Émile Guimet.This scholarly work, enriched with detailed descriptions and high-quality images, provides new critical perspectives on these artefacts, many of which have never been published, constituting a valuable resource for Egyptologists, historians and museum curators. It makes a significant contribution to the study of small collections of antiquities in this remote region and is the first catalogue of Pharaonic artefacts from western Brittany.

The Priory Field excavation was a research, training and engagement project that investigated a large courtyard store-building in the legionary fortress of Isca at Caerleon. This was the first legionary store excavated to modern standards in the Roman Empire. The excavation exposed the building’s main entranceway and two small adjoining rooms, as well as four squarer storerooms. The coins and pottery provide an excellent chronological sequence for the store, which was constructed around AD 90-110 and remained in use until the end of the 3rd century, after which it fell into a derelict state before being partially demolished and levelled by around 350. Debris from the building’s collapse and demolition sealed the floors of two store rooms, one of which was littered with military finds, many of which survived in a very fragile condition. These included the highly fragmentary remains of a rare example of an elaborately decorated horse’s headpiece, at least one set of dismantled lorica segmentata body armour, as well as another set of unusual scale armour. Two new buildings were constructed among the ruins of the old and partially demolished legionary store, including one 3 room cottage-like building. Radiocarbon dates demonstrate this building was constructed and in use between 430 and 600. This is the first new structure at a Roman site definitively dated to the post-Roman 5th and 6th centuries from Wales (and, arguably, from Britain), and it has an important story to tell about life in Isca after the ending of Britannia, c. 410.

Having earned the title of ‘man’s best friend’ through their millennia-long relationship with humans, dogs have been constantly present in human life. The great number of textual and artistic representations of canines attests to the popularity of these animals in ancient Greece, where the existence of domesticated dogs has been traced back to the early Neolithic period. Dogs appear in more than 2,000 painted and sculpted scenes of Athenian art, serving a variety of roles: they are the faithful companions of warriors and riders, valuable collaborators in the hunt, cherished pets, and status symbols. They are present in the gymnasium, the symposium, and in domestic scenes. They are shown happily playing with children, providing protection and companionship for women, and accompanying males in various aspects of their everyday lives. They are associated with gods and mythical heroes and are even depicted on funerary reliefs, accompanying their humans in death. This book offers a thorough study and analysis of the iconography of dog depictions in Athenian sculpture and vase painting, employing an interdisciplinary approach to explore their multifarious function and the extent to which they were influenced by the human-canine bond.

Iron and the Iron Age presents a comprehensive account of the adoption of ironworking in Europe and Western Asia. The study is mainly based on archaeological evidence, but the early introduction of iron in the Near East also takes account of the written sources. After the fundamental innovation of iron production by smelting iron ores, iron use spread at an ever-increasing rate between the 12th and 9th centuries BC – eventually reaching a vast area between the Atlantic coast in the west and the North China Plain in the east.The book mainly concentrates on the adoption of iron in the Near East and southern Europe, but also includes discussions of early ironworking in Central Europe, the North Pontic steppe and the regions north and south of the Caucasus. The changing conceptualization of bronze and iron is another theme which receives detailed attention.In the final part of the book, the study turns to the concept of an ‘Iron Age’, and the fundamental culture-historical disjunctions and transformations which can be observed in many regions at the time of the introduction of iron.

This book examines the figure of Duke Theudemir, one of the last great nobles of the Kingdom of Toledo, and the impact of his career on the transfer of power between the Visigothic nobility and the Arab conquerors. In the historical record, Theudemir appears as the archetypal ambitious aristocrat involved in the complex political intrigues that led to the ruin of the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo in 711. Using this as a springboard, the book also analyzes the complex historical and administrative situation in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula between the Byzantine invasion and the Arab occupation. Finally, the important archaeological site of Pla de Nadal (Ribarroja de Turia, Valencia) and its identification with the original power centre of Duke Theudemir is considered.

The settlement of Port Louis is the most important archaeological and historical site in the Falkland Islands with a unique colonial history. For eighty years, from its foundation by the French aristocrat Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1764 until the capital was moved by the British to Stanley in 1844, Port Louis served successively as the principal settlement of the four occupying powers, France, Spain, United Provinces of the River Plate, and Britain.The settlement was virtually abandoned in 1844, leaving extensive earthworks and structural remains from all phases of occupation often in an excellent state of preservation. This monograph presents the detailed evidence from the first archaeological survey of this important site, mapping the remains by conventional surveying techniques, undertaken largely from 1994 to 1996. In 2023, new technology using drone photography and 3D photogrammetry was used to enhance the archaeological record. The monograph sets out the historical context for the foundation and development of the colonial settlement under successive administrations, integrating the rich cartographic and documentary record in European and South American archives to interpret the physical remains. Together, they show how the remote location, the influence of topography, the difficult climate and the overriding need for defence all contributed to the layout and character of the settlement, while the geopolitical manoeuvres of the European powers fractured the continuity of this remote establishment.

The rebellion of Hermenegild and his conversion form one of the most controversial and darkest episodes in the history of Spain. Even at the time, this event was the subject of widely differing interpretations which influenced subsequent versions. Today, there is still no consensus among researchers on the real reasons for the crisis that finally led to civil war between Leovigild and his son. However, from the outset, the issue was polarised between those who saw it as a simple usurpation motivated by ambition for the crown and those who considered the rebellion as a legitimate defence of the true faith. Beyond the controversy, the crisis caused by the prince’s royal anointing was a decisive episode in the historical development of the kingdom of Toledo, preparing the ground for the conversion of Reccared to Catholicism and accelerating the unification of Arians and Catholics, Goths and Romans. This study aims to provide a coherent response to the main questions raised by this important historical episode (the nature of the rebellion, the true motivations and reactions, personal responsibilities, political and religious consequences, etc.), as well as highlighting the importance of Hermenegild’s conversion in relation to the subsequent sacralisation of the Visigothic royal institution.

Patrimonio antes del patrimonio presents a critical reflection on the concept of cultural heritage and its association with archaeological practice in Mexico during the nineteenth century. The study asks what were the historical circumstances that facilitated the development of a set of uniquely conceived relationships between emerging comprehensions of Mexican antiquity and a nascent scientific discipline in these contexts? To address this query, three key processes are considered: the foundation and institutionalization of the incipient Mexican nation-state; the formation of new visual and semantic conceptions surrounding the material objects of the past; and the development of academic fields for their study.‘Patrimonialist thought’ is proposed as a category for the analysis. This elucidates two fundamental transformations, derived from Enlightenment-era thinking, surrounding the conception of the antiquities and monuments of the past: first, the generation and consolidation of novel linguistic frameworks, values, and methods to mediate the study of such objects; and second, the constitution of bases that legitimized the physical and ideological appropriation of the national – and pre-Hispanic – past by diverse social actors and groups. This perspective permits a deeper appreciation of the historical contexts that allowed individuals and institutions to produce and reproduce both conceptual categories and knowledge linked to Mexican history, both in the burgeoning nation and in other centres of power and influence.This book critically confronts the “natural” discourses – focused on the monumentalization of characters, names, things, and places – that make up the ‘official history’ of the relationship between Mexican archaeological practice and cultural heritage.

“It’s tempting to think that we can learn little from people who ate and drank, laughed and cried, between 40 and 12,000 years ago, but I think we should – because these remarkable people not only lived but survived through a period of unimaginable change on our planet.” – from the foreword by Chris PackhamLiving in the Ice Age takes you on a journey through life in Ice Age Europe, and the things you’d need to know to survive! This book looks at the daily life of biologically modern humans from about 40,000 to 12,000 years ago, a time when the climate and environment were changing rapidly. Explore the types of houses, food, clothes and toys people created in the Ice Age to see whether you would have liked to live back then.

“It’s tempting to think that we can learn little from people who ate and drank, laughed and cried, between 40 and 12,000 years ago, but I think we should – because these remarkable people not only lived but survived through a period of unimaginable change on our planet.” – from the foreword by Chris PackhamLiving in the Ice Age takes you on a journey through life in Ice Age Europe, and the things you’d need to know to survive! This book looks at the daily life of biologically modern humans from about 40,000 to 12,000 years ago, a time when the climate and environment were changing rapidly. Explore the types of houses, food, clothes and toys people created in the Ice Age to see whether you would have liked to live back then.

This study focuses mainly on the archaeological aspects of monasteries in the northern Judaean Shephelah and the western Samaria Hills during the Byzantine period. Many Christian sites have been uncovered in these two regions in the past years during salvage excavations and routine monitoring and inspection activities conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority. Some of these have not been systematically investigated and are presented here for the first time. In addition, all the locations where Christian archaeological remains and finds have been brought to light in these two geographic regions during the study period are presented. An effort has been made to draw a distinction between the different sites in terms of their type and function in order to determine whether they were villages, farmsteads, estates, monasteries, or some other type of settlement. The book examines the monasteries, the date of their foundation, the reasons for their establishment, and their interactions with the settlements in their broader area, with holy sites, pilgrimage sites, and pilgrim routes. In addition, the study proposes criteria according to which the different types of monasteries can be classified.