Westminster Abbey contains the only surviving medieval Cosmatesque mosaics outside Italy. They comprise: the ‘Great Pavement’ in the sanctuary; the pavement around the shrine of Edward the Confessor; the saint’s tomb and shrine; Henry III’s tomb; the tomb of a royal child, and some other pieces. Surprisingly, the mosaics have never before received detailed recording and analysis, either individually or as an assemblage. This two-volume publication presents a holistic study of this outstanding group of monuments in their historical architectural and archaeological context. The shrine of St Edward is a remarkable survival, having been dismantled at the Dissolution and re-erected (incorrectly) in 1557 under Queen Mary. Large areas of missing mosaic were replaced with plaster on to which mosaic designs were carefully painted. This 16th-century fictive mosaic is unique in Britain. Conservation of the sanctuary pavement was accompanied by full archaeological recording with every piece of mosaic decoration drawn and coloured by David Neal, phase plans have been prepared, and stone-by-stone examination undertaken, petrologically identifying and recording the locations of all the materials present. It has revealed that both the pavements and tombs include a range of exotic stone types. The Cosmati study has shed fresh light on every aspect of the unique series of monuments in Westminster Abbey; this work will fill a major lacuna in our knowledge of 13th-century English art of the first rank, and will command international interest.

This latest title in the highly successful Ancient Textiles series is the first substantial monograph-length historiography of early medieval embroideries and their context within the British Isles. The book brings together and analyses for the first time all 43 embroideries believed to have been made in the British Isles and Ireland in the early medieval period. New research carried out on those embroideries that are accessible today, involving the collection of technical data, stitch analysis, observations of condition and wear-marks and microscopic photography supplements a survey of existing published and archival sources. The research has been used to write, for the first time, the ‘story’ of embroidery, including what we can learn of its producers, their techniques, and the material functions and metaphorical meanings of embroidery within early medieval Anglo-Saxon society. The author presents embroideries as evidence for the evolution of embroidery production in Anglo-Saxon society, from a community-based activity based on the extended family, to organised workshops in urban settings employing standardised skill levels and as evidence of changing material use: from small amounts of fibres produced locally for specific projects to large batches brought in from a distance and stored until needed. She demonstrate that embroideries were not simply used decoratively but to incorporate and enact different meanings within different parts of society: for example, the newly arrived Germanic settlers of the fifth century used embroidery to maintain links with their homelands and to create tribal ties and obligations. As such, the results inform discussion of embroidery contexts, use and deposition, and the significance of this form of material culture within society as well as an evaluation of the status of embroiderers within early medieval society. The results contribute significantly to our understanding of production systems in Anglo-Saxon England and Ireland.

Excavations on the site of this remarkable fort in northern Bulgaria (1996–2005) formed part of a long-term programme of excavation and intensive field survey, aimed at tracing the economic as well as physical changes which mark the transition from the Roman Empire to the Middle Ages, a programme which commenced with the excavation and full publication of the early Byzantine fortress/city of Nicopolis ad Istrum. The analysis of well-dated finds and their full publication provides a unique data-base for the late Roman period in the Balkans; they include metal-work, pottery (local and imported fine ware), glass, copper alloy finds, inscriptions and dipinti (on amphorae) as well as quantified environmental reports on animal, birds and fish with specialist reports on the archaeobotanical material, glass analysis and querns. The report also details the results of site-specific intensive survey, a new method developed for use in the rich farmland of the central Balkans. In addition, there is a tailed report on a most remarkable and well-preserved aqueduct which employed the largest siphon ever discovered in the Roman Empire. This publication will provide a substantial database of material and environmental finds, an invaluable resource for the region and for the Roman Empire: material invaluable for studies which seek to place the late Roman urban and military identity within its regional and extra-regional economic setting.

Fourteen papers explore a variety of inter-disciplinary approaches to understanding the Viking past, both in Scandinavia and in the Viking diaspora. Contributions employ both traditional inter- or multi-disciplinarian perspectives such as using historical sources, Icelandic sagas and Eddic poetry and also specialised methodologies and/or empirical studies, place-name research, the history of religion and technological advancements, such as isotope analysis. Together these generate new insights into the technology, social organisation and mentality of the worlds of the Vikings. Geographically, contributions range from Iceland through Scandinavia to the Continent. Scandinavian, British and Continental Viking scholars come together to challenge established truths, present new definitions and discuss old themes from new angles. Topics discussed include personal and communal identity; gender relations between people, artefacts, and places/spaces; rules and regulations within different social arenas; processes of production, trade and exchange, and transmission of knowledge within both past Viking-age societies and present-day research. Displaying thematic breadth as well as geographic and academic diversity, the articles may foreshadow up-and-coming themes for Viking Age research. Rooted in different traditions, using diverse methods and exploring eclectic material – Viking Worlds will provide the reader with a sense of current and forthcoming issues, debates and topics in Viking studies, and give insight into a new generation of ideas and approaches which will mark the years to come.

Compared to modern standard, the Roman army of the imperial era was surprisingly small. However, when assessed in terms of their various tasks, they by far outstrip modern armies – acting not only as an armed power of the state in external and internal conflicts, but also carrying out functions which nowadays are performed by police, local government, customs and tax authorities, as well as constructing roads, ships, and buildings.With this opulent volume, Thomas Fischer presents a comprehensive and unique exploration of the Roman military of the imperial era. With over 600 illustrations, the costumes, weapons and equipment of the Roman army are explored in detail using archaeological finds dating from the late Republic to Late Antiquity, and from all over the Roman Empire. The buildings and fortifications associated with the Roman army are also discussed. By comparing conflicts, border security, weaponry and artefacts, the development of the army through time is traced.This work is intended for experts as well as to readers with a general interest in Roman history. It is also a treasure-trove for re-enactment groups, as it puts many common perceptions of the weaponry, equipment and dress of the Roman army to the test.

Temples are the most prestigious buildings in the urban landscape of ancient Italy, emerging within a network of centres of the then-known Mediterranean world. Notwithstanding the fragmentary condition of the buildings’ remains, these monuments – and especially their richly decorated roofs – are crucial sources of information on the constitution of political, social and craft identities, acting as agents in displaying the meaning of images. The subject of this volume is thematic and includes material from the Eastern Mediterranean (including Greece and Turkey). Contributors discuss the network between patron elites and specialized craft communities that were responsible for the sophisticated terracotta decoration of temples in Italy between 600 and 100 BC, focusing on the mobility of craft people and craft traditions and techniques, asking how images, iconographies, practices and materials can be used to explain the organization of ancient production, distribution and consumption. Special attention has been given to relations with the Eastern Mediterranean (Greece and Anatolia). Investigating craft communities, workshop organizations and networks has never been thoroughly undertaken for this period and region, nor for this exceptionally rich category of materials, or for the craftspeople producing the architectural terracottas. Papers in this volume aim to improve our understanding of roof production and construction in this period, to reveal relationships between main production centres, and to study the possible influences of immigrant craftspeople.

Between 58 and 51 BC Julius Caesar conquered Gaul. He campaigned across much of present day France and the Low Countries, crossed the Rhine to Germany, and sailed the Channel to invade Britain. In doing this he achieved immense personal wealth and glory and the loyalty of a battle-hardened army of veterans. Caesar’s eventual return to Rome began with the crossing of the Rubicon which started a bloody civil war from which he emerged victorious and as dictator. Roman historians have little to say on the consequences of the war on the Iron Age communities of north-west Europe. Their story is told instead by archaeology and numismatics. Huge numbers were involved in the war, at a vast cost in people and wealth. In the aftermath, leaders sympathetic to Rome were installed and sometimes whole peoples were resettled. The diplomatic relations created at this time directly affected the eventual incorporation of these peoples into the Roman Empire. This book presents the latest archaeological research on the Battle for Gaul and its aftermath. Based on an acclaimed 2017 conference, it is the first Europe-wide overview and much of the research is published here in English for the first time. After an introduction to recent trends in historical studies, thematic studies and regional surveys analyse the archaeological and numismatic evidence from across north-west Europe. Comparative evidence for the Roman conquest of Spain is also examined, along with the fundamental role that the study of the Battle for Gaul played in shaping the development of Iron Age archaeology. Written by leading international experts, this book will be of interest to archaeologists, numismatists, ancient historians and military historians.

Until now insular and continental material, mostly metal-work, found in pagan Viking Age graves in Norway, has been interpreted as looted material from churches and monasteries on the British Isles and the Continent. The raiding Vikings brought these objects back to their homeland where they were often broken up and used as jewellery or got alternative functions. Looting or Missioning looks at the use and functions of these sacred objects in their original Christian contexts. Based on such an analysis the author proposes an alternative interpretation of these objects: they were brought by Christian missionaries from different parts of the British Isles and the Continent to Norway. The objects were either personal (crosses, croziers, portable reliquaries etc.), objects used for baptism (hanging bowls), equipment to officiate a mass (mountings from books or reading equipment, altars or crosses) or to give the communion (pitchers, glass vessels, chalices, paten). We know from contemporary sources (Ansgar in Birka, Sweden in the ninth century) that missionaries brought this sort of equipment on their mission journeys. We also hear that missionaries were robbed, killed or chased off. Mikkelson interprets the sacred objects found in Viking Age pagan graves as objects that originate from the many unsuccessful mission attempts in Norway throughout the Viking Age. They changed function and were integrated in the pagan tradition.The conversion and Christianisation of Norway can thus be seen as a long-lasting process, at least from about 800 (but probably earlier) to the beginning of the eleventh century. As we must assume that the written sources on the subject are incomplete, the archaeological evidences are the main source. In addition to metal work and written sources, the dating and interpretation of stone crosses, rune stones, manuscript fragments and early Christian graves and churches are discussed. The main part of the manuscript regards the context of all these sources, studied in each part of Norway separately: Where do we find concentrations of objects that could support the interpretation of these being the result of mission attempts, and where can we combine archaeological and written sources to tentatively create more complete stories related to mission? One analysis is of special interest to British and Norwegian scholars and even a broader audience. It refers to the chieftain Ohthere from Northern Norway, who visited King Alfred the Great in Winchester in 890. The author finds a link between Alfred´s court and Ohthere´s farm which, it is argued, for was Borg at Vestvågøy, Lofoten, where the biggest Viking Age house in Northern Europe has been excavated. In the hall of this house were found a rare glass beaker with gold cross decorations, a Continental or British made pitcher, pieces of a bronze bowl and an æstel of gold. This last piece is only found in Northern Norway and in England, with Wessex and Mercia as the core areas. “The Alfred Jewel” (Ashmolean Museum) is also an æstel of the same main type, but much more splendid and with an inscription relating it to King Alfred. Mikkelson argues for a bishop being sent from Wessex and Alfred´s court on Ohthere´s ship back to Northern Norway as a missionary.

For many people it is clear: the actions and beliefs of Ancient Israel are described in the Bible. The stories about its peoples and kings, struggles and wars, deities and shrines, are supposed to have been told and retold throughout the ages and recorded in ancient archives. At a certain moment in time these stories have been assembled in the Bible which becomes history. However, from the 19th century at least, scholars have doubted the historical reliability of many biblical stories, and archaeological research has hardly been able to confirm their historicity. The aim of this book is to describe the often-complicated relationship between archaeology and the Bible. It is not a book on `biblical archaeology’, and archaeology is not used to illustrate the biblical stories, let alone to prove that the Bible is right. On the contrary, it focuses on the information that archaeology can provide of the lives and beliefs of the ancient peoples that inhabited the land in which the Bible was written, and on the question of how this information relates to the biblical stories. It aims at providing some examples of how this interplay of archaeology and biblical stories works, and how to interpret the discrepancy that may exist between the results of archaeological research and the biblical narrative. It thus offers an introduction into the field from the standpoint of an archaeologist. The book is intended for the general public, and will also be of interest to biblical scholars, historians and teachers, as well as archaeologists in other fields. It differs from the average non-scholarly book on this subject in that it is more personal, more eclectic, more archaeological. Reviews of the Dutch edition praise the passionate style and the way it focuses on the scientific process of researching problems, instead of on finding answers and presenting the solution.

The 23 papers presented here are the product of the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and approaches to the study of kitchen pottery between archaeologists, material scientists, historians and ethnoarchaeologists. They aim to set a vital but long-neglected category of evidence in its wider social, political and economic contexts. Structured around main themes concerning technical aspects of pottery production; cooking as socio-economic practice; and changing tastes, culinary identities and cross-cultural encounters, a range of social economic and technological models are discussed on the basis of insights gained from the study of kitchen pottery production, use and evolution. Much discussion and work in the last decade has focussed on technical and social aspects of coarse ware and in particular kitchen ware. The chapters in this volume contribute to this debate, moving kitchen pottery beyond the Binfordian ‘technomic’ category and embracing a wider view, linking processualism, ceramic-ecology, behavioural schools, and ethnoarchaeology to research on historical developments and cultural transformations covering a broad geographical area of the Mediterranean region and spanning a long chronological sequence.

Heritage under Pressure examines the relationship between the political perspective of the UK government on 'soft power' and the globalising effect of projects carried out by archaeologists and heritage professionals working in the historic environment. It exemplifies the nature of professional engagement and the role of the profession in working towards a theory of practice based on the integrity of data, the recovery and communication of information, and the application of data in real world situations. Individual papers raise complex and challenging issues, such as commemoration, identity, and political intervention. A further aim of the volume is to illustrate the role of professionals adhering to standards forged in the UK, in the context of world heritage under pressure. Papers also contribute to the emerging agenda developing as a result of the re-orientation of the UK following the Brexit vote, at once emphasising the global aspiration of the Uk’s professional archaeological body – the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists – in relation to the global reach of UK academic practice. By implication the volume also addresses the relationship between professional practice and academic endeavour. The volume as a whole contributes to the emerging debate on the authorised heritage discourse and provides an agenda for the future of the profession.

The Chalcolithic period in Cyprus has been known since Porphyrios Dikaios’ excavations at Erimi in the 1930s and through the appearance in the antiquities market of illicitly acquired anthropomorphic cruciform figures, often manufactured from picrolite, a soft blue-green stone. The excavations of the settlement and cemetery at Souskiou Laona reported on in this volume paint a very different picture of life on the island during the late 4th and early 3rd millennia BC. Burial practices at other known sites are generally single inhumations in intramural pit graves, only rarely equipped with artefacts. At Souskiou, multiple inhumations were interred in deep rock-cut tombs clustered in extra-mural cemeteries. Although the sites were also subjected to extensive looting, excavations have revealed complex multi-stage burial practices with arrangements of disarticulated and articulated burials accompanied by a rich variety of grave goods. Chief among these are a multitude of cruciform figurines and pendants. This unusual treatment of the dead, which has not been recorded elsewhere in Cyprus, shifts the focus from the individual to the communal, and provides evidence for significant changes involving kinship group links to common ancestors. Excavations at the Laona settlement have furnished evidence suggesting that it functioned as a specialised centre for the procurement and manufacture of picrolite during its early phase. The subsequent decline of picrolite production and the earliest known occurrence of new types of ornaments, such as faience beads and copper spiral pendants, attest to important changes involving the transformation of personal and social identities during the first centuries of the 3rd millennium BC, a topic that forms a central theme of this final report on the site.

Glass of the Roman World illustrates the arrival of new cultural systems, mechanisms of trade and an expanded economic base in the early 1st millennium AD which, in combination, allowed the further development of the existing glass industry. Glass became something which encompassed more than simply a novel and highly decorative material. Glass production grew and its consumption increased until it was assimilated into all levels of society, used for display and luxury items but equally for utilitarian containers, windows and even tools. These 18 papers by renowned international scholars include studies of glass from Europe and the Near East. The authors write on a variety of topics where their work is at the forefront of new approaches to the subject. They both extend and consolidate aspects of our understanding of how glass was produced, traded and used throughout the Empire and the wider world drawing on chronology, typology, patterns of distribution, and other methodologies, including the incorporation of new scientific methods. Though focusing on a single material the papers are firmly based in its archaeological context in the wider economy of the Roman world, and consider glass as part of a complex material culture controlled by the expansion and contraction of the Empire. The volume is presented in honour of Jenny Price, a foremost scholar of Roman glass.

Beads, bracelets, necklaces, pendants and many other ornaments are familiar objects that play a fundamental role in personal expression and communication. This book considers how and why the human relationship with ornaments developed and continued over tens of thousands of years, from hunter-gatherer life in the cave to urban elites, from expedient use of natural resources to complex technologies. Using evidence from archaeological sites across Turkey, the Near East and the Balkans, it explores the history of personal ornaments from their appearance in the Palaeolithic until the rise of urban centres in the Early Bronze Age and encompassing technologies ranging from stone cutting to early glazing, metallurgy and the roots of glass manufacture. The development of theoretical and practical approaches to ornaments and the current state of research are illustrated with a wide variety of examples. This book shows that far from being objects of display, of little value in archaeological interpretation and often overlooked, these artefacts are key to understanding trade, relationships, values, beliefs and the construction of personal identity in the past. Indeed, more than any other group of artefacts, their variety in material, form, use and distribution opens doors to both wide ranging scientific exploration and consideration of what it is to be human.

The Egyptian Collection at Norwich Castle Museum represents the first full publication of this important collection which contains several outstanding objects. Part 1 begins with an outline of the acquisition history of the Egyptian collection and its display within Norwich Castle in 1894, when it was converted from a prison to a museum. The collection was largely acquired between the nineteenth and first part of the twentieth centuries. Its most prominent donor was Flaxman Spurrell, whose varied collection of flints, faience beads and necklaces as well as Late Antique cloths was obtained from Sir Flinders Petrie. Also prominent was the Norwich-based Colman family, most notable for its manufacture of mustard, whose collection was purchased in Egypt during the late-C19. Also included in this part are essays on several of the museum’s outstanding items – Ipu’s shroud, a rare early 18th Dynasty example with fragments also held in Cairo; the 22nd Dynasty finely decorated and well-preserved cartonnage and wooden lid of the priest, Ankh-hor; and the exceptional model granary of Nile clay painted with lively scenes, one showing the owner, Intef, playing senet. Part 2 is a detailed catalogue of the complete collection. It is organised into sections with objects grouped together mainly according to type – stelae, shabtis, scarabs, jewellery, amulets, vessels, flints, lamps, inscribed Book of the Dead fragments, metal figurines, and Late Antique cloths; and also according to function – such as cosmetics& grooming, and architectural & furniture elements. The inscribed materials have all been translated and individual entries give examples or parallels. Seventy colour plates illustrate each object.

Recent developments in aDNA has reshaped our understanding of later European prehistory, and at the same time also opened up for more fruitful collaborations between archaeologists and historical linguists. Two revolutionary genetic studies, published independently in Nature, 2015, showed that prehistoric Europe underwent two successive waves of migration, one from Anatolia consistent with the introduction of agriculture, and a later influx from the Pontic-Caspian steppes which without any reasonable doubt pinpoints the archaeological Yamnaya complex as the cradle of (Core-)Indo-European languages. Now, for the first time, when the preliminaries are clear, it is possible for the fields of genetics, archaeology and historical linguistics to cooperate in a constructive fashion to refine our knowledge of the Indo-European homeland, migrations, society and language. For the historical-comparative linguists, this opens up a wealth of exciting perspectives and new working fields in the intersections between linguistics and neighbouring disciplines, for the archaeologists and geneticists, on the other hand, the linguistic contributions help to endow the material findings with a voice from the past. The present selection of papers illustrate the importance of an open interdisciplinary discussion which will gradually help us in our quest of Tracing the Indo-Europeans.