The city of Carchemish in the valley of the Euphrates river can be regarded as one of the iconic sites in the Middle East, a mound complex known both for its own intrinsic qualities as the seat of later Hittite power and Neo-Hittite kings, but also because its history of excavations included well known historical figures such as Leonard Woolley and T. E. Lawrence. However, because of its location within the military zone of the Turkish-Syrian border the site itself has been inaccessible to archaeologists for more than 90 years. Carchemish in Context summarises the results of regional investigations conducted within the Land of Carchemish Project in Syria, as well as other archaeological surveys in the region, in order to provide a regional, historical and archaeological context for the development of the city. A synthesis of the history of Carchemish is presented and a regional overview of the Land of Carchemish as it is defined by archaeological features and key historical references through to the early Iron Age. Insightful snapshots of the dynamics of an ancient state are revealed which can now be seen to have fluctuated dramatically in size throughout 700-800 years, in part depending upon the power of the king of Carchemish or the aggressions of external powers.The results from the Project provide an overview of the main trends of settlement in the region over 8000 years, using a combination of survey databases to both north and south of the Syrian-Turkish border and with a focus on the earlier phases of settlement from the Neolithic until the end of the Bronze Age when Carchemish became an outpost of the Hittite empire. The Iron Age is a period blessed by numerous historical records some of which can be traced in the modern landscape. Further chapters explore site-specific aspects of the regional archaeology, including a series of important sites on the Sajur river, some of which were positioned along the main campaign routes of the Assyrian kings. The close relationship between the nearby Early Bronze Age site of Tell Jerablus Tahtani and Carchemish are examined and the results from the 40 ha Carchemish Outer Town survey described, providing important new data sources regarding the layout, defences and dates of occupation of this significant part of the city. The Classical, Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic occupations are also discussed in relation to what is known of occupation in the surrounding region.

The 2015 TRAC proceedings feature a selection of 14 papers summing up some of the key sessions presented at the conference held at the University of Leicester in March 2015, which drew over 180 delegates of 17 nationalities from a variety of universities, museums, and research institutions in the UK, Europe, and North America. As this conference marked the 25th anniversary of TRAC, the volume opens with a preface commemorating the last 25 years with an eye toward the future direction of both conference and community. The proceedings begin with Dr Andrew Gardner’s keynote paper on the topic of ‘Debating Roman Imperialism: Critique, Construct, Repeat? ’. This is followed by an array of papers with topics ranging in geographic scope and period, from small finds in early Roman Britain to bathing practices Late Antique North Africa, and from the investigation of deviant burials to the application of urban scaling theory in Roman contexts. Because of this diversity the volume is not broken into specific sections, however, papers with similar themes are grouped accordingly, allowing the text to flow and be read as a whole. The range of contributing authors is also of note, as papers were submitted by PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and university faculty, all helping to make the 25th anniversary of this series one that continues to emphasise and reflect the aims of TRAC, both as a conference and as a conduit for exploring more theory-driven approaches to the Roman past.

Despite a growing literature on identity theory in the last two decades, much of its current use in archaeology is still driven toward locating and dating static categories such as ‘Phoenician’, ‘Christian’ or ‘native’. Previous studies have highlighted the various problems and challenges presented by identity, with the overall effect of deconstructing it to insignificance. As the humanities and social sciences turn to material culture, archaeology provides a unique perspective on the interaction between people and things over the long term. This volume argues that identity is worth studying not despite its slippery nature, but because of it. Identity can be seen as an emergent property of living in a material world, an ongoing process of becoming which archaeologists are particularly well suited to study. The geographic and temporal scale of the papers included is purposefully broad to demonstrate the variety of ways in which archaeology is redefining identity. Research areas span from the Great Lakes to the Mediterranean, with case studies from the Mesolithic to the contemporary world by emerging voices in the field. The volume contains a critical review of theories of identity by the editors, as well as a response and afterword by A. Bernard Knapp.

Plants are fundamental to life; they are used by all human groups and most animals. They provide raw materials, vitamins and essential nutrients and we could not survive without them. Yet access to plant use before the Neolithic can be challenging. In some places, plant remains rarely survive and reconstructing plant use in pre-agrarian contexts needs to be conducted using a range of different techniques. This lack of visible evidence has led to plants being undervalued, both in terms of their contribution to diet and as raw materials. This book outlines why the role of plants is required for a better understanding of hominin and pre-agrarian human life, and offers a variety of ways in which this can be achieved.Wild Harvest is divided into three sections. In section 1 each chapter focuses on a specific feature of plant use by humans; this covers the role of carbohydrates, the need for and effects of processing methods, the role of plants in self-medication among apes, plants as raw materials and the extent of evidence for plant use prior to the development of agriculture in the Near East. Section 2 comprises seven chapters which cover different methods available to obtain information on plants, and the third section has five chapters, each covering a topic related to ethnography, ethnohistory or ethnoarchaeology, and how these can be used to improve our understanding of the role of plants in the pre-agrarian past.

This collection of papers is presented in honour of Professor David Peacock’s many and lasting contributions to archaeological ceramic studies. Building on Professor Peacock’s legacy of inventive approaches, the volume contains some of the most exciting developments currently taking place within archaeological ceramic studies, including cutting-edge provenanceing techniques, computer-aided visualisations, and contemporary craft and design perspectives. Pottery is approached not as an end to itself but as a vehicle for addressing a wide range of archaeological questions, and the papers thereby demonstrate that ceramic studies represent one of the frontiers in modern-day archaeology. Developing new techniques and finding new uses for old ones open up avenues for research which will enrich our understanding of past societies across the world and through all periods. The volume closes with two thought-provoking papers; one from a ceramic artist and the other reflecting upon the role of ceramic studies in the various sectors of contemporary archaeological practice.

Millstone quarries are the sites where hard and abrasive stones were extracted to be fashioned into the querns or millstones to grind flour for bread, the staple food of our ancestors. These stones equipped the different grinding mechanisms, from the Prehistoric hand-driven saddle quern to the sophisticated industrial mills driven by wind and water. These little known extraction sites, ubiquitous throughout the European landscape, have been largely neglected. This study, focusing on the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula, attempts to draw attention to these often spectacular sites that merge so well with nature.

What constitutes an island and the archaeology contained within? Is it the physicality of its boundary (between shoreline and sea)? Does this physical barrier extend further into a watery zone? Archaeologically, can islands be defined by cultural heritage and influence? Clearly, and based on these few probing questions, islands are more than just lumps of rock and earth sitting in the middle of a sea or ocean. An island is a space which, when described in terms of topography, landscape form and resources, becomes a place. A place can sometimes be delineated with barriers and boundaries; it may also have a perimeter and can be distinguished from the space that surrounds it. The 16 papers presented here explore the physicality, and levels of insularity of individual islands and island groups during prehistory through a series of case studies on Neolithic island archaeology in the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions. For the eastern Atlantic (the Atlantic Archipelago) papers discuss the sacred geographies and material culture of Neolithic Gotland, Orkney, and Anglesey and the architecture of and ritual behaviour associated with megalithic monuments in the Channel Islands and the Scilly Isles.The Mediterranean region is represented by a different type of Neolithic, both in terms of architecture and material culture. Papers discuss theoretical constructs and ritual deposition, cave sites, ritualised and religious aspects of Neolithic death and burial; metaphysical journeys associated with the underworld in Late Neolithic Malta and the possible role of its Temple Period art in ritual activities; and palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Neolithic monuments of Corsica. The cases examined illustrate the diversity of the evidence available that affords a better understanding of the European-Mediterranean Neolithic 'island society', not least the effects of interaction/contact and/or geographical insularity/isolation, all factors that are considered to have consequences for the establishment and modification of cultures in island settings.

‘Fernweh’ is a collection of essays on archaeological heritage management issues dedicated to Professor dr. Willem J.H. Willems. Willem Willems (1950-2014) was one of the most prominent and influential Dutch archaeologists. He directed three national archaeological and heritage organizations, and played a major role in the development of both national and international heritage management systems. His professional passion was threefold: Roman archaeology, archaeological heritage management and international collaboration. This volume is a tribute to him, his passions and the provocative discussions he loved so much. It holds contributions by people who worked closely with him. The essays originate from various contexts across the globe; from governmental organizations to museums, from private sector companies to universities. Some are contemplative, others offer refreshing visions for the future. The essays contribute to contemporary debates in archaeological heritage management. They concern the various dimensions and consequences of current policies and practices and address the meaning and use of the world’s legacies from the past in and for society, at present and in the future. The overarching theme is the question of whose heritage we are protecting and how we can better valorise research results and connect with society. The book is organised into three parts. The first part, ‘Time travels’ covers the major challenges the archaeological heritage discipline is facing while heading towards the future. The second part, ‘Crossing borders and boundaries’, consists of essays that consider the international organizations and projects Willem Willems became (directly and indirectly) involved with. It reflects his trans-disciplinary interests and endeavours. In the third part, ‘Home sweet home’, the contributions discuss prof. Willems’ involvement with and dedication to Dutch archaeological heritage management, from the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Valletta Convention, to the engagement with people from all walks of life.

Dedicated to the investigation of fortifications as important and integral elements of ancient built space, the present volume results from the activity of the German based international research network Fokus Fortifikation. Ancient Fortifications in the Eastern Mediterranean and is intended as a guide to research on ancient fortifications and a source of inspiration for new research. Ancient city walls and other fortification structures have long been underestimated. Since the early years of the 21st century, research on ancient fortifications has experienced an international boom, particularly amongst young researchers. They approached the study of fortifications with fresh ideas and new aims, and felt the need to discuss the problems and potentials of these monuments and to develop harmonised research methods and objectives. The outcome is the present bilingual (English and German) book, which offers a condensed view of the network’s extended conversations. The goal is not so much to offer an overview on the development of ancient fortifications, but rather to present versatile and diverse approaches to their research and interpretation and to serve as a kick-off for a new understanding of this category of ancient buildings. The book is divided into two parts: the first part includes 12 chapters on methods of interpretation, documentation, and field project organisation; the systematic description and presentation of fortifications; the‘building experience’; masonry forms and techniques; defensive, symbolic, and urbanistic functions and aspects; on fortifications in written sources, the visual arts, and as a historical source; and on regional and rural fortifications, and regionally confined phenomena. Part two is a catalogue that offers exemplary presentations of fortifications studied by network members; it is arranged in four sections: regions, sites, architectural elements and architectural details.The book is Volume 1 in the new series Fokus Fortifikation Studies. Volume 2 in the series, Focus on Fortification: New Research on Fortifications in the Ancient Mediterranean and the Near East (Oxbow Books), the proceedings of an international conference held in Athens in December 2012, will also appear in 2015.

The 10th International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology was held in Roskilde, Denmark in 2003. The theme of the meeting was "Connected by the Sea", and was designed to emphasise the role of the sea, seafaring and watercraft as bridges rather than barriers. Maritime archaeology tends to take place within national borders, with a national focus, yet the very premise of seafaring is the desire to travel beyond the horizon to establish contact with other places and cultures. The conference theme was chosen to encourage the maritime archaeological community to think in international terms.

In 2014, the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World organized an international writing competition calling for accessible and engaging essays about any aspect of archaeology. Nearly 150 submissions from over two dozen countries were received. Archaeology for the People gathers the best of those entries. Their diverse topics—from the destruction of historic, urban gardens in contemporary Istanbul to the fall of the ancient Maya city— offer a taste of the global reach and relevance of archaeology. Their main common trait, however, is that they prove that archaeology can offer much more to a general audience than Indiana Jones or aliens building pyramids. All of the articles collected in this book combine sophisticated analysis of an exciting archeological problem with prose geared at a non-specialized audience. This book also offers a series of reflections on how and why to engage in dialogues about archaeology with people who are not specialists. These include a stunning photo-essay that captures the challenges of life at an archaeological site in northern Sudan, interviews with a number of leading archaeologists who have successfully written about archaeology for a broad public or who are actively engaged in practicing archaeology beyond academia, and a discussion of the experience of teaching a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) about archaeology to over 40,000 students. This book should be of interest to anyone who has wondered how and why to write about archaeology for people other than archaeologists.

Incomplete Archaeologies takes a familiar archaeological concept – assemblages – and reconsiders such groupings, collections and sets of things from the perspective of the work required to assemble them. The discussions presented here engage with the practices of collection, construction, performance and creation in the past (and present) which constitute the things and groups of things studied by archaeologists – and examine as well how these things and thing-groups are dismantled, rearranged, and even destroyed, only to be rebuilt and recreated. The ultimate aim is to reassert an awareness of the incompleteness of assemblage, and thus the importance of practices of assembling (whether they seem at first creative or destructive) for understanding social life in the past as well as the present. The individual chapters represent critical engagements with this aim by archaeologists presenting a broad scope of case studies from Eurasia and the Mediterranean. Case studies include discussions of mortuary practice from numerous angles, the sociopolitics of metallurgy, human-animal relationships, landscape and memory, the assembly of political subjectivity and the curation of sovereignty. These studies emphasise the incomplete and ongoing nature of social action in the past, and stress the critical significance of a deeper understanding of formation processes as well as contextual archaeologies to practices of archaeology, museology, art history, and other related disciplines. Contributors challenge archaeologists and others to think past the objects in the assemblage to the practices of assembling, enabling us to consider not only plural modes of interacting with and perceiving things, spaces, human bodies and temporalities in the past, but also to perhaps discover alternate modes of framing these interactions and relationships in our analyses. Ultimately then, Incomplete Archaeologies takes aim at the perceived totality not only of assemblages of artefacts on shelves and desks, but also that of some of archaeology’s seeming-seamless epistemological objects.

The excavations led by Margaret and Tom Jones on the Thames gravel terraces at Mucking, Essex, undertaken between 1965 and 1978 are legendary. The largest area excavation ever undertaken in the British Isles, involving around 5000 participants, recorded around 44,000 archaeological features dating from the Beaker to Anglo-Saxon periods and recovered something in the region of 1.7 million finds of Mesolithic to post-medieval date. While various publications have emerged over the intervening years, the death of both directors, insufficient funding, many organisational complications and the sheer volume of material evidence have severely delayed full publication of this extraordinary palimpsest landscape.Lives in Land is the first of two major volumes which bring together all the evidence from Mucking, presenting both the detail of many important structures and assemblages and a comprehensive synthesis of landscape development through the ages: settlement histories, changing land-use, death and burial, industry and craft activities. The long time-gap since completion of the excavations has allowed the authors the unprecedented opportunity to stand back from the density of site data and place the vast sum of Mucking evidence in the wider context of the archaeology of southern England throughout the major periods of occupation and activity.Lives in Land begins with a thorough evaluation of the methods, philosophy and archival status of the Mucking project against the organisational and funding background of its time, and discusses its fascinating and complex history through a period of fundamental change in archaeological practice, legislation, finance, research priorities and theoretical paradigms in British Archaeology. Subsequent chapters deal with the prehistoric landscape, each focusing on the major themes that emerge by major period from analysis and synthesis of the data. The authors draw on archival material including site notebooks and personal accounts from key participants to provide a detailed but lively account of this iconic landscape investigation.

This two-volume publication presents a study of the barrows of South Scandinavian Early Bronze Age and their social and environmental context. It is based on a series of projects conducted between 1992 and 2004, culminating in the excavation of the great barrow of Skelhøj in Southwest Jutland, and the analyses of its surroundings in the Tobøl barrow group, from 2002 to 2004.The excavation of Skelhøj was the first near-complete excavation of a scheduled great barrow conducted for purely research reasons since these monuments became scheduled under the Nature Protection Act of 1937 and it therefore offered very rare opportunities for analysis. The first volume presented an overview of the barrow tradition and a detailed account of the results of the excavation of the great barrow Skelhøj. In this second volume the consequences on our understanding of barrows are explored in more detail.

Archaeological investigations at Huntsman’s Quarry, Kemerton, south Worcestershire during 1995-6 recorded significant Late Bronze Age occupation areas and field systems spreading across more than 8 hectares. Limited evidence for Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Beaker activity was also recovered together with an Early Bronze Age ring-ditch. Waterholes and associated round-houses, structures and pits were set within landscape of fields and droveways radiocarbon dated to the 12th–11th centuries cal BC. Elements of this field system probably pre-dated the settlement. Substantial artefactual and ecofactual assemblages were recovered from the upper fills of the waterholes and larger pits . The settlement had a predominantly pastoral economy supported by some textile and bronze production. Ceramics included a notable proportion of non-local fabrics demonstrating that the local population enjoyed a wide range of regional contacts. Wider ranging, national exchange networks were also indicated by the presence of shale objects as well as the supply of bronze for metalworking, perhaps indicative of a site of some social status. Together the evidence indicates a small settlement within which occupation of individual areas was short-lived with the focus of the settlement shifting on a regular basis. It is proposed that this occurred on a generational basis, with each generation setting up a new ‘homestead’ with an associated waterhole. The settlement can be compared favourably to those known along the Thames Valley but until now not recognised in this part of the country. Cropmark evidence and limited other investigations indicate that the fields and droveways recorded represent a small fragment of a widespread system of boundaries established across the gravel terraces lying between Bredon Hill and the Carrant Brook. This managed and organised landscape appears to have been established for the maintenance of an economy primarily based on relatively intensive livestock farming; the trackways facilitating seasonal movement of stock between meadows alongside the Carrant Brook, the adjacent terraces and the higher land on Bredon Hill.

The Mary Rose, one of the first great British warships and Henry VIII's flagship, sank in 1545, taking all her contents and most of her crew to the bottom of the sea. The conservation of the hull of the Mary Rose, and more than 26,000 objects recovered during her excavation, has been a massive undertaking. The complex process of conservation was begun even before the hull was raised from the seabed in 1982, and continues today. For Future Generations: Conservation of a Tudor Maritime Collection is one of the series of books published by the Mary Rose Trust, with the Heritage Lottery Fund, on the archaeology of the Mary Rose. It provides an introduction to the conservation programme devised for the Mary Rose, and the principles, objectives and problems of marine archaeological conservation. A huge range of objects were recovered from the ship, including wood, textiles, leather, ceramics, glass, stone, metals, rope, pieces of sail-cloth, and many hundreds of animal and human bones. Almost all objects required some kind of treatment to halt the effects of 450 years of immersion in saltwater. This volume explains the conservation methods used for the treatment and preservation of each major category of material. It describes the processes of decay and degradation and the results of bacterial and animal infestation that affect shipwrecks in general, and the Mary Rose in particular. The variety and immensity of the task facing the excavators of the Mary Rose was so great that new methods and treatments had to be devised and tested. It proved to be ground-breaking work. The conservation work did not stop with the stabilisation of the hull and objects from the wreck. Museum display and the continuing storage of most objects presented their own problems. This volume also describes the design and construction of specialised display cases, ensuring that the museum could control and monitor potentially destructive environmental factors such as light, humidity, heat and atmospheric pollution, as well as allowing good public access to the objects.