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.

A Medieval Woman's Companion Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 176
ISBN: 9781785700798
Pub Date: 30 Nov 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: black/white illustrations
Description:
What have a deaf nun, the mother of the first baby born to Europeans in North America, and a condemned heretic to do with one another? They are among the virtuous virgins, marvellous maidens, and fierce feminists of the Middle Ages who trail-blazed paths for women today. Without those first courageous souls who worked in fields dominated by men, women might not have the presence they currently do in professions such as education, the law, and literature.
Environment, Society and the Black Death Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
ISBN: 9781785700545
Pub Date: 30 Nov 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
In the mid-fourteenth century the Black Death ravaged Europe, leading to dramatic population drop and social upheavals. Recurring plague outbreaks together with social factors pushed Europe into a deep crisis that lasted for more than a century. The plague and the crisis, and in particular their short-term and long-term consequences for society, have been the matter of continuous debate.
Hunters, fishers and foragers in Wales Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9781782979746
Pub Date: 30 Nov 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: colour and b/w illustrations
Description:
Malcolm Lillie presents a major new holistic appraisal of the evidence for the Mesolithic occupation of Wales. The story begins with a discourse on the Palaeolithic background. In order to set the entire Mesolithic period into its context, subsequent chapters follow a sequence from the palaeoenvironmental background, through a consideration of the use of stone tools, settlement patterning and evidence for subsistence strategies and the range of available resources.
RRP: £40.00
Huntsman’s Quarry, Kemerton Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781782979944
Pub Date: 30 Nov 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
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.
RRP: £30.00
Living with the Flood Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 128
ISBN: 9781782979661
Pub Date: 30 Nov 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: colour and b/w illustrations
Description:
The site at Mill Lane, Sawston, represents millennia of human activity within a dynamic and changing landscape setting. River valleys have been a focus for human activity since the early Holocene and, in addition to providing abundant archaeological evidence for this activity, the proximity to water also highlights the potential for the preservation of both archaeological remains and palaeoenvironmental source material. However, human activity within river valleys also commonly bridges areas of both wetland and dryland; ecological zones which are often approached using quite different archaeological methods and which present considerable differences in levels of archaeological visibility and preservation.
RRP: £19.95
Prehistoric Rock Art in Scandinavia Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 160
ISBN: 9781785701191
Pub Date: 30 Nov 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Swedish Rock Art Research
Description:
Scandinavia is home to prolific and varied rock art images among which the ship motif is prominent. Because of this, the rock art of Scandinavia has often been interpreted in terms of social ritual, cosmology, and religion associated with the maritime sphere. This comprehensive review is based on the creation of a Scandinavia-wide GIS database for prehistoric rock art and re-examines theoretical approaches and interpretations, in particular with regard to the significance of the ship and its relationship to a maritime landscape Discussion focuses on material agency as a means to understanding the role of rock art within society.
RRP: £25.00
Tools, Textiles and Contexts Cover Tools, Textiles and Contexts Cover
Format: 
Pages: 484
ISBN: 9781842174722
Pub Date: 31 Oct 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: 210 illus
Pages: 416
ISBN: 9781789259896
Pub Date: 15 May 2023
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: 210 illus
Description:
Textile production is one of the most important crafts in Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age societies and recent interdisciplinary and collaborative work offers crucial new perspectives into this field. The new and updated catalogue of archaeological textile finds presented here clearly demonstrates, even from the few extant finds, that knowledge of the use of fibres and of elaborate textile techniques that were used to produce textiles of different qualities was well developed. The functional analysis of spindle whorls and loom weights can be explored through experimental archaeology employing newly developed methodologies.
Weben und Gewebe in der Antike / Texts and Textiles in the Ancient World Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781785700620
Pub Date: 31 Oct 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: black/white & colour illustrations
Description:
Texts and Textiles in the Ancient World: Materiality – Representation – Episteme – Metapoetics presents 12 papers arranged under the four headings of the title which focus on the process of textile manufacture, the weaving process itself, and the materiality of fabric. Contributions adddress the problematic issues of cognitive archaeology, consumer research, literary theory and themes addressing both philosophical history and the history of reception of ideas and practice. The contributions seek both to close the critical gaps with respect to weaving, a broad and complex field in the area of ancient cultural techniques, and to identify new themes.
RRP: £38.00
For Future Generations Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 160
ISBN: 9781785701559
Pub Date: 31 Oct 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Archaeology of the Mary Rose
Illustrations: b/w pls, line-drawings and figs throughout
Description:
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.
The Materiality of Magic Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 152
ISBN: 9781785700101
Pub Date: 31 Oct 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: black/white illustrations
Description:
The subject of ‘magic’ has long been considered peripheral and sensationalist, the word itself having become something of an academic taboo. However, beliefs in magic and the rituals that surround them are extensive – as are their material manifestations – and to avoid them is to ignore a prevalent aspect of cultures worldwide, from prehistory to the present day. The Materiality of Magic addresses the value of the material record as a resource in investigations into magic, ritual practices, and popular beliefs.
Sealed by Time Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 216
ISBN: 9781785701528
Pub Date: 31 Oct 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Archaeology of the Mary Rose
Illustrations: b/w photos. line-drawings and figs throughout
Description:
Although the wreck of the Mary Rose was raised twenty years ago, the excavations and conservation work and indeed the ship itself have never been published in full. Now the Mary Rose Trust, with the Heritage Lottery Fund is publishing the complete history of the project and the research up to the present day in five highly illustrated volumes, revealing a wealth of information covering all aspects of the ship. Sealed by Time: The Loss and Recovery of the Mary Rose traces the history of the Mary Rose from great naval vessel to ruinous shipwreck to an outstanding museum display.
A Neolithic Ceremonial Complex in Galloway Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9781782979708
Pub Date: 31 Oct 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: colour and b/w illustrations
Description:
A complex enclosure identified by aerial photography at Dunragit Galloway, was demonstrated by excavation to have been of Late Neolithic date, and comprised three concentric timber ramped post-rings, 120–300 m in diameter. The two outer post-rings each comprised large uprights interspersed with smaller members, probably forming a continuous palisade. Each was a single-phase structure and the posts had rotted out.
A Handbook of Geoarchaeological Approaches to Settlement Sites and Landscapes Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781785700910
Pub Date: 30 Sep 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
Geoarchaeology is a major branch of archaeological science at the interfaces between geology, geography and archaeology, involving the combined study of archaeological, soil and geomorphological records and the recognition of how natural, climatic and human-induced processes alter landscapes. The formation and modification of past soils, and occupation sequences can be examined primarily through the use of soil micromorphological techniques and various physical and geo-chemical techniques. This short text aims to explain some of the basics of geoarchaeological approaches and research design used to tackle the investigation of landscapes and settlement archaeology, and the application of soil micromorphology to archaeological situations.
Flint Daggers in Prehistoric Europe Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 176
ISBN: 9781785700187
Pub Date: 30 Sep 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: black/white illustrations
Description:
For more than a century flint daggers have been among the most closely studied and most heavily published later prehistoric lithic tools. It is well established that they are found across Europe and beyond, and that many were widely circulated over many generations. Yet, few researchers have attempted to discuss the entirety of the flint dagger phenomenon.
Journal of Roman Pottery Studies Volume 16 Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
ISBN: 9781785700743
Pub Date: 30 Sep 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Journal of Roman Pottery Studies
Description:
The Journal of Roman Pottery Studies continues to present a cross-section of recent research not just from the UK but also Europe. Volume 16 carries papers on a variety of subjects from Britain and the Continent, ranging from papers dealing with production sites to those looking at the distribution of types. There are case studies on kiln vessels from Essex, pottery production in Roman Cologne, excavations at Toulouse, as well as an examination of transport routes of samian ware to Britain.
RRP: £50.00
Roman Military Architecture on the Frontiers Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 208
ISBN: 9781782979906
Pub Date: 30 Sep 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: black/white and colour illustrations
Description:
The Roman army was one of the most astounding organizations in the ancient world, and much of the success of the Roman empire can be attributed to its soldiers. Archaeological remains and ancient texts provide detailed testimonies that have allowed scholars to understand and reconstruct the army’s organisation and activities. This interest has traditionally worked in tandem with the study of Roman frontiers.