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Archaeology & Ancient History

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In September 2022 Oxbow's bookshop and distribution buisness merged with Pen & Sword Books, a family run independent publisher of history books. The  book distribution aspect of our business will continue to bring you some of the best books in the field of archaeology and related disciplines as Casemate UK. The Oxbow Books publishing imprint remains as a separate entity, still sold and distributed exclusively by us.

Corpus of Prehistoric Pottery and Palettes Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 68
ISBN: 9798888570180
Pub Date: 15 Mar 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
Facsimile edition of the 1974 reissue of Flinders Petrie’s 1921 corpus of prehistoric pottery and slate palettes from pre-dynastic, prehistoric Egypt. The pottery corpus was produced separately to accompany the catalogue of Egyptian artifacts in the volume Prehistoric Egypt and comprises hundreds of line drawings illustrating the shapes, forms and types of decoration. It was intended to be a ‘graveside’ aid for use during excavation, with the intent that it be used with record cards to classify and date pottery that could then be returned to the grave.
Prehistoric Egypt Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 114
ISBN: 9798888570166
Pub Date: 15 Mar 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
This is the facsimile edition of the 1974 reissue of Flinders Petrie’s 1921 description and catalogue of pre-dynastic, prehistoric artifacts from Egypt. Draws together evidence from various excavations and surveys undertaken by himself and others to present a fully illustrated, detailed catalogue of recovered artifacts of flint, other stone, clay, pottery, ivory/tusk and bone, metalwork, wood, shell and glass. He attempts to establish relative dating sequence based on a combination of object typologies and grave associations, combined with the then-latest geological and sedimentological information, concluding that the material covered a period from around 10,000–5000 BC.
The Marriage Bed of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 168
ISBN: 9781789257922
Pub Date: 15 Mar 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: B/w and colour
Description:
The Henry VII and Elizabeth of York marriage bed, rediscovered in 2010, is an exceptional piece of late medieval English royal furniture: no other equivalent example of secular domestic furniture is known to have survived, and, indeed, precious little woodwork from this period remains outside of ecclesiastical settings. As a tour-de-force of medieval royal woodwork, the bed offers an unprecedented insight into elite domestic furniture from this period.Since its rediscovery, the bed has been subjected to a wide array of investigation by furniture specialists, medieval historians, design historians and scientists.
Tools and Weapons Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 158
ISBN: 9798888570142
Pub Date: 15 Mar 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
Facsimile edition of the 1974 reissue of Flinders Petrie’s 1917 pioneering typological catalogue of Egyptian metal, wooden and composite tools and weapons, one of a number of such catalogues to be reissued in this new series. The volume is arranged by category, first of general tools, including axes, chisels and knives, and then weapons, such as daggers and spears. This is followed by sections on woodworking (artisans') and builders’ tools, personal items, agricultural equipment and a range of domestic items.
Contemporary Philosophy for Maritime Archaeology Cover Contemporary Philosophy for Maritime Archaeology Cover
Format: 
Pages: 344
ISBN: 9789464270402
Pub Date: 14 Mar 2023
Imprint: Sidestone Press
Illustrations: 32fc / 30bw
Pages: 344
ISBN: 9789464270396
Pub Date: 14 Mar 2023
Imprint: Sidestone Press
Illustrations: 32fc / 30bw
Description:
While terrestrial archaeology has engaged with contemporary philosophy, maritime archaeology has remained in comparative disciplinary – or subdisciplinary – isolation. However, the issues that humans face in the Anthropocene – from global warming to global pandemics – call for transdisciplinary cooperation, and for thinking together beyond the confines of the human-centered philosophical tradition. Growing areas such as the “blue humanities” and “oceanic thinking” draw directly on our maritime past, even as they ponder the future.
Amulets Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9798888570005
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: Fully illustrated with photographs and illustrations
Description:
This facsimile edition of the 1972 reissue of Flinders Petrie’s 1914 pioneering typological catalogue of Egyptian amulets, is one of a number of such catalogues to be reissued in this new series. Remarkably – although points of detail emanating from more recent research have surfaced – it remains unsurpassed in its comprehensive description, typological classification, and interpretation. While an absence of reasoned argument for the dating of his various groups is a weak point of Petrie’s study from the point of view of modern scholarship, his attention to detail and careful consideration of typology and potential meaning, borne of decades of observation, means that this, and the other catalogues in the series, remain as invaluable reference books for Egyptologists.
Ancient Weights and Measures Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 110
ISBN: 9798888570104
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: Fully illustrated
Description:
This facsimile volume of detailed catalogues prepared by Sir Flinders Petrie of ancient weights and measures, is based on examination of over 4,000 Egyptian weights within his collections. Eight standards have been identified and are described. The text discusses forms, multiples and fractions of standard weights, materials, and evidence for the adoption of different standards.
Buttons and Design Scarabs Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 68
ISBN: 9798888570043
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: Fully illustrated with photographs and illustrations
Description:
This facsimile reissue of Flinders Petrie’s extensive catalog of buttons and scarabs describes and illustrates over 1500 examples, along with an appendix on additions to the ‘Scarabs and Cylinders’ volume published earlier. In keeping with his other object catalogs, Petrie devises object classifications based on form with an attempt at dating their sequences. He describes the back of the objects, materials, their designs and inscriptions, and offers ideas on their meanings.
Glass Stamps and Weights Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 58
ISBN: 9798888570081
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: Fully illustrated with photographs and line drawings
Description:
A facsimile volume of a detailed catalogue prepared by Flinders Petrie on artifacts largely collected from his Egyptian explorations of a series of glass stamps of Egyptian manufacture that were used from the Roman to Abbasid period variously as tokens, counters, weights, or attached to glass cups as indications of measure. Various categories are identified and described, makers’ names discussed, and weight standards considered. Over 700 stamps are illustrated both as photographs and transcribed line drawings.
Objects of Daily Use Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 110
ISBN: 9798888570128
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: Fully illustrated
Description:
A facsimile edition of the 1974 reissue of Flinders Petrie’s fully illustrated 1927 description and catalogue of personal and everyday Egyptian and Roman objects in his collections. Jewellery items include necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings, many made from precious metals and/or incorporating gemstones or beads. Toilet items include mirrors, combs, kohl pots, and sticks.
Revealing Christian Heritage Cover Revealing Christian Heritage Cover
Format: 
Pages: 110
ISBN: 9789464261585
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2023
Imprint: Sidestone Press
Illustrations: 5fc / 15bw
Pages: 110
ISBN: 9789464261578
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2023
Imprint: Sidestone Press
Illustrations: 5fc / 15bw
Description:
This volume collects different case studies of rediscovery of Christian antiquities between 1860-1930 in Europe and the Mediterranean basin, in order to stimulate reflections about the impact of these rediscoveries on our culture in a period of great political transition. By turning the light on lesser-known stories on a wider European and Mediterranean horizon (Greece, Holy Land, Eritrea, Malta, Norway), this book gives a strong contribution to the history of Christian archaeology. All articles deal with many topics of the field (museology, cultural heritage protection law, history of religious orders, field archaeology, military explorations), and therefore offer a strong interdisciplinary cut.
Scarabs and Cylinders (with Names) Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 130
ISBN: 9798888570029
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: Fully illustrated with photographs and line drawings
Description:
Facsimile edition of the 1974 reissue of Flinders Petrie’s 1917 pioneering typological catalogue of Egyptian name-scarabs and cylinders, one of a number of such catalogues to be reissued in this new series. The beetle form of amulets are common finds on Egyptian sites but examples with engraved names represent a small proportion of the total. Over 240 different royal persons are named among the various major museum collections.
Shabtis Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 68
ISBN: 9798888570067
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: Fully illustrated with photographs
Description:
This is a facsimile edition of the 1972 reissue of Flinders Petrie’s 1914 pioneering typological catalogue of Egyptian Shabtis, one of a number of such catalogues to be reissued in this new series. Shabtis, funeral statuettes made of stone or timber, were frequently encountered in early tomb and cemetery excavations. Petrie identified and describes a chronological sequence of development from simple statuettes emphasising the head, which appear to be substitutes for real heads that were often removed from the body, through to later detailed forms that he recognised as substitutes for the mummy.
From Hunter-Gatherers to Early Christians Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9781914427220
Pub Date: 31 Jan 2023
Illustrations: B/w and colour
Description:
Jutting out some thirty miles into the Irish Sea, from the western edge of Snowdonia, the Llŷn Peninsula, in north-west Wales, is renowned for its stunning beaches and countryside, with much of its landscape designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The peninsula is also home to a remarkable and abundant collection of archaeological sites and monuments, some of national importance, which bear witness to the ancient societies who once inhabited this narrow finger of land on the western fringe of Britain. This abundantly illustrated book examines this rich corpus of archaeological evidence, beginning with the faint but fascinating traces that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers have left in the landscape of the Llŷn Peninsula and ending in the early medieval period, with about 9,000 years of human habitation thus covered in its pages.
Sailing the Monsoon Winds in Miniature Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 180
ISBN: 9780861592302
Pub Date: 15 Jan 2023
Series: British Museum Research Publications
Illustrations: 175 illustrations
Description:
Models of non-European watercrafts are commonly found in museum collections in the UK and throughout the world. These objects are understudied, rarely used in museum displays and at risk of disposal. In addition, there are several gaps in current understanding of traditional watercraft from the Indian Ocean, the region spanning from East Africa through to western Australia.
The Gilgamesh Epos in Pictures Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 124
ISBN: 9789492940155
Pub Date: 15 Jan 2023
Imprint: Blikvelduitgevers Publishers
Illustrations: Full colour images
Description:
Hugo de Reede (1929-2019), artist and archaeological illustrator has worked in Syria for many years. Gripped by the Gilgamesh Epos and the philosophy narrated in the epic, he created a pictorial book, re-telling the account of Gilgamesh and the eternal mystery of death. The style of drawing in the book suits the regional art in a remarkable manner and with a humorous touch that is fitting for the region’s storytelling tradition.