Oxbow Books

Oxbow Books is a leading publisher in the fields of archaeology, ancient history and medieval studies, with an international reputation for quality and affordability. Oxbow's archaeology publishing covers all periods from earliest prehistory through classical archaeology, the ancient Near East, Egyptology, the Middle Ages and post-medieval archaeology. They publish a wide variety of books including scholarly monographs, edited collections of papers, and excavation and research reports in related fields such as archaeological practice and theory, archaeozoology, and environmental, landscape and maritime archaeology.

Founded in Oxford in 1983 by academic and museum archaeologist, David Brown, Oxbow Books has evolved and expanded significantly over the years. Now celebrating their 40th anniversary, Oxbow remains dedicated to the quality of their publishing for readers, and the contribution their books bring to the scholarly and professional communities more broadly.

Trinacria, 'An Island Outside Time' Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9781789255911
Pub Date: 28 Apr 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: B/w
Description:
Trinacria, the ancient name for Sicily extending back to Homeric Greek, has understandably been the focus of decades of archaeological research. Recognising Sicily’s rich prehistory and pivotal role in the history of the Mediterranean, Sebastiano Tusa - professor, head of heritage agencies and councillor for Cultural Heritage for the Sicilian Region - promoted the exploration of the island’s heritage through international collaboration. His decades of fostering research initiatives not only produced rich archaeological results spanning the Palaeolithic to the modern era but brought scholars from a range of schools and disciplines to work together in Sicily.
RRP: £55.00
Building for Eternity Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
ISBN: 9781789256369
Pub Date: 15 Mar 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
One marker of the majesty of ancient Rome is its surviving architectural legacy, the stunning remains of which are scattered throughout the circum-Mediterranean landscape. Surprisingly, one truly remarkable aspect of this heritage remains relatively unknown. There exists beneath the waters of the Mediterranean the physical remnants of a vast maritime infrastructure that sustained and connected the western world’s first global empire and economy.
Studies in the Roman and Medieval Archaeology of Exeter Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 656
ISBN: 9781789256192
Pub Date: 15 Mar 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Exeter: A Place in Time
Illustrations: Colour
Description:
This second volume presenting the research carried out through the Exeter: A Place in Time project presents a series of specialist contributions that underpin the general overview published in the first volume. Chapter 2 provides summaries of the excavations carried out within the city of Exeter between 1812 and 2019, while Chapter 3 draws together the evidence for the plan of the legionary fortress and the streets and buildings of the Roman town. Chapter 4 presents the medieval documentary evidence relating to the excavations at three sites in central Exeter (High Street, Trichay Street and Goldsmith Street), with the excavation reports being in Chapter 5-7.
RRP: £35.00
Themes in Old World Zooarchaeology Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9781789255348
Pub Date: 15 Mar 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: B/W
Description:
This new collection of papers from leading experts provides an overview of cutting-edge research in Old World zooarchaeology. The research presented here spans various areas across Europe, Western Asia and North Africa – from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Several chapters focus on Iberia, but the eastern Mediterranean and Britain are also featured.
RRP: £60.00
The Wrecks of HM Frigates Assurance (1753) & Pomone (1811) Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 160
ISBN: 9781789256376
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: B/w and colour
Description:
With the thought of treasure, Isle of Wight islander, Derek Williams researched ancient local wreck records. Top of his extensive wreck list was the 40-gun frigate Assurance lost in 1753 while returning from Jamaica with Governor Trelawny on board, whose story possibly inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Treasure Island. Derek’s first dive at the western point of the Isle of Wight called “The Needles” put him on top of cannons, various wreckage and Spanish-American “Pieces of Eight”, all scattered at the foot of the rock face.
RRP: £48.00
Roman and Medieval Exeter and their Hinterlands Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 416
ISBN: 9781789256154
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Exeter: A Place in Time
Illustrations: Colour
Description:
This first volume, presenting research carried out through the Exeter: A Place in Time project, provides a synthesis of the development of Exeter within its local, regional, national and international hinterlands. Exeter began life in c. AD 55 as one of the most important legionary bases within early Roman Britain, and for two brief periods in the early and late 60s AD, Exeter was a critical centre of Roman power within the new province.
The Social and Cultural Contexts of Historic Writing Practices Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9781789254785
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Contexts of and Relations Between Early Writing Systems
Illustrations: b/w
Description:
Writing is not just a set of systems for transcribing language and communicating meaning, but an important element of human practice, deeply embedded in the cultures where it is present and fundamentally interconnected with all other aspects of human life. The Social and Cultural Contexts of Historic Writing Practices explores these relationships in a number of different cultural contexts and from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including archaeological, anthropological and linguistic. It offers new ways of approaching the study of writing and integrating it into wider debates and discussions about culture, history and archaeology.
RRP: £55.00
Interdisciplinarity and Archaeology Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 232
ISBN: 9781789254662
Pub Date: 15 Feb 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: b/w
Description:
The aim of this book is to explore the interdisciplinary relationships between archaeology and other branches of knowledge in Europe and elsewhere. Interdisciplinary cooperation has been essential in the development of archaeology as we know it today, although until now its role and influence have been largely ignored in the histories of the discipline. This book brings to light the processes that led to interdisciplinary relations in archaeology from the 19th to the 20th centuries, with scholarly contributions that offer a critical overview of this complex, dynamic and long-lasting transformative process.
RRP: £29.99
Before the Mast Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 760
ISBN: 9781789256352
Pub Date: 05 Feb 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
The Mary Rose carried a crew of naval officers and sailors, a fighting force of gunners and soldiers, a Barber-surgeon, several ship's carpenters and skilled navigators. Of nearly 500 men, fewer than 40 survived the sinking on 19th July 1545. Trapped by netting, or below deck, they stood little chance, and their bodies and belongings went to the bottom of the sea.
Script and Society Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9781789255836
Pub Date: 05 Feb 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Contexts of and Relations Between Early Writing Systems
Illustrations: B/w
Description:
By the 13th century BC, the Syrian city of Ugarit hosted an extremely diverse range of writing practices. As well as two main scripts – alphabetic and logographic cuneiform - the site has also produced inscriptions in a wide range of scripts and languages, including Hurrian, Sumerian, Hittite, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Luwian hieroglyphs and Cypro-Minoan. This variety in script and language is accompanied by writing practices that blend influences from Mesopotamian, Anatolian and Levantine traditions together with what seem to be distinctive local innovations.
Far from Equilibrium: An Archaeology of Energy, Life and Humanity Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9781789256031
Pub Date: 15 Jan 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: B/w
Description:
Archaeology is in crisis. Spatial turns, material turns and the ontological turn have directed the discipline away from its hard-won battle to ­ find humanity in the past. Meanwhile, popularised science, camouflaged as archaeology, produces shock headlines built on ancient DNA analyses that reduce humanity’s most intriguing historical problems to ‘just-so stories’.
RRP: £55.00
Weapons and Tools in Rock Art Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 208
ISBN: 9781789254907
Pub Date: 15 Jan 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: b/w and colour
Description:
Weapons and tools are frequently found depicted in rock art in many parts of the globe and different periods and in varying social contexts. This collection of papers by leading rock art specialists examines the subjective and metaphorical value of weapons and tools in art, the actions that created them, and their contexts. It also takes into account that such representations incorporate and transmit some kind of understanding about the world and the relationship between objects and humans.
RRP: £50.00
Everyday Life in Viking-Age Towns Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
ISBN: 9781789255461
Pub Date: 05 Jan 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
The study of early medieval towns has frequently concentrated on urban beginnings, the search for broadly applicable definitions of urban characteristics and the chronological development of towns. Far less attention has been paid to the experience of living in towns.The thirteen chapters in this book bring together the current state of knowledge about Viking-Age towns (c.
Karia and the Dodekanese Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 264
ISBN: 9781789255102
Pub Date: 05 Jan 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
The papers in Karia and the Dodekanese, Vol. I, focus on regional developments and interregional relations in western Asia Minor and the Dodekanese during the Late Classical and Early Hellenistic period. Throughout antiquity, this region was a dynamic meeting place for eastern and western civilizations.
Karia and the Dodekanese Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9781789255140
Pub Date: 05 Jan 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
Karia and the Dodekanese, Vol. II, presents new research that highlights cultural interrelations and connectivity in the Southeast Aegean and western Asia Minor over a period of more than 700 years. Throughout antiquity, this region was a dynamic meeting place for eastern and western civilizations.
Making Journeys Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9781785709302
Pub Date: 01 Jan 2021
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: b/w
Description:
Despite notable explorations of past dynamics, much of the archaeological literature on mobility remains dominated by accounts of earlier prehistoric gatherer-hunters, or the long-distance exchange of materials. Refinements of scientific dating techniques, isotope, trace element and aDNA analyses, in conjunction with phenomenological investigation, computer-aided landscape modelling and GIS-style approaches to large data sets, allow us to follow the movement of people, animals and objects in the past with greater precision and conviction. One route into exploring mobility in the past may be through exploring the movements and biographies of artefacts.