During the late 1st millennium BC into the early 1st millennium AD, the small island of Unst in the far north of the Shetland (and British) Isles was home to well-established and connected farming and fishing communities. The Iron Age settlement at Milla Skerra was occupied for at least 500 years before it was covered with storm-blown sand and abandoned. Although part of it had been lost to the sea, excavation revealed many details of the life of the settlement and how it was reused over many generations. From the middle of the 1st millennium BC people were constructing stone-walled yards and filling them with hearth waste and midden material. Later inhabitants built a house on top, with a paved floor and successive hearths, and more domestic rubbish accumulated inside it. Outside were new yards and workshops for crafts and metalworking, which were remodelled several times. The buildings fell into disrepair and became a dumping ground for domestic waste until the 2nd or 3rd century AD, when sand buried the settlement. Within a few generations, a man was buried beside the ruins along with some striking objects. Thousands of artefacts and environmental remains from Milla Skerra reveal the everyday practices and seasonal rhythms of the people that lived in this windswept and remote island settlement and their connections to both land and sea.

The visual imagery of Neolithic Britain and Ireland is spectacular. While the imagery of passage tombs, such as Knowth and Newgrange, are well known the rich imagery on decorated portable artefacts is less well understood. How does the visual imagery found on decorated portable artefacts compare with other Neolithic imagery, such as passage tomb art and rock art? How do decorated portable artefacts relate chronologically to other examples of Neolithic imagery?Using cutting edge digital imaging techniques, the Making a Mark project examined Neolithic decorated portable artefacts of chalk, stone, bone, antler, and wood from three key regions: southern England and East Anglia; the Irish Sea region (Wales, the Isle of Man and eastern Ireland); and Northeast Scotland and Orkney. Digital analysis revealed, for the first time, the prevalence of practices of erasure and reworking amongst a host of decorated portable artefacts, changing our understanding of these enigmatic artefacts. Rather than mark making being a peripheral activity, we can now appreciate the central importance of mark making to the formation of Neolithic communities across Britain and Ireland.The volume visually documents and discusses the contexts of the decorated portable artefacts from each region, discusses the significance and chronology of practices of erasure and reworking, and compares these practices with those found in other Neolithic contexts, such as passage tomb art, rock art and pottery decoration. A contribution from Antonia Thomas also discusses the settlement art and mortuary art of Orkney, while Ian Dawson and Louisa Minkin contribute with a discussion of the collaborative fine art practices established during the project.

Dieses Buch bietet eine umfassende Studie zum Jungneolithikum (JN, auch Einzelgrabkultur, ca. 2850 – 2250 v. Chr. ) in Schleswig-Holstein. Neben einer detaillierten Darstellung aller Funde und Befunde dieser Epoche, liegt ein besonderer Fokus auf Analysen zu den charakteristischen Streitäxten. Diese eignen sich in hervorragender Weise dazu, einen gesellschaftlichen Wandel zu erkennen, da die morphologische Variationsbreite im Laufe des JN zunimmt. So existieren im späten JN neben sehr elaboriert gestalteten Stücken auch plump wirkende Exemplare. Dies spiegelt vermutlich ein komplexer werdendes Gesellschaftssystem wider und deutet einen Bedeutungswandel der Äxte an. Die Streitäxte werden im Spätneolithikum(SN) durch die Silexdolche abgelöst, die durch ähnliche Variationsunterschiede gekennzeichnet sind. Dies deutet eine Kontinuität in der sozialen Organisation an der Wende zum SN an. Viele Streitäxte liegen im fragmentierten Zustand vor, wobei Schneiden- weitaus häufiger als Nackenhälften belegt sind. Da viele dieser Fragmente weiterhin im Besitz von Applikationen (Schälchen, pars pro toto Schaftlöcher) sind, ist anzunehmen, dass die Fragmente – und darauf aufbauend vermutlich ein Großteil aller Streitäxte aus Einzelfundkontexten – intentionale Deponierungen darstellen. Ein weiterer Fokus wurde auf die Transformation zum JN gelegt, die sich besonders im profanen Bereich als Phase kontinuierlicher Entwicklungen zeigt. Weiterhin wurde ein Unterschied zwischen dem Westen und Osten des Arbeitsgebietes aufgedeckt, der entgegen langläufiger Meinung keine chronologischen Ursachen besitzt. Vielmehr zeigt sich darin eine strukturell unterschiedliche soziale Orientierung der beteiligten Gruppen. Sowohl im JN als auch im SN ist es im Westen gängige Praxis, dem Verstorbenen Statusobjekte (Streitäxte, Silexdolche und früheBronzeartefakte) als Grabbeigabe mitzugeben, während diese Objekte im Osten des Landes äußerst selten Eingang in Bestattungen fanden, jedoch als Einzel- und im Falle der Bronzeobjekte auch als Depotfunde regelmäßig anzutreffen sind. English abstract This book offers a comprehensive study of the Younger Neolithic period ([YN], c. 2850 – 2250 BC) of Schleswig-Holstein (SH). Apart from presenting all currently known artefacts and contexts of that period in detail, a particular focus was placed on the examination of YN battle axes. They appear to be the most common artefact that is preserved from the YN, and they are very well suited for investigating social phenomena. These artefacts furthermore changed diachronically. While battle axes of the early stage are shaped more or less equally elaborately, late specimens exhibit significant morphological variation and difference, as some specimens were shaped very elaborately whereas others were quite simple. The same difference has been observed for the subsequently used flint daggers. It is suggested that this difference reflects the emergence of a more stratified society. Many battle axes appear to have been deposited as broken pieces. As the ratio of cutting edges to butt ends is unequal (2:1) both in SH and in a wider region and as many pieces have “decorations” (Applikationen, pars pro toto shaft holes), battle axes are regarded as intentionally deposited. Accordingly, a large proportion of single finds are regarded as intentional depositions. Another focus was set on examining the transition to the YN. It is argued that many aspects that are said to characterize the YN are rooted in the preceding Middle Neolithic. A novelty is that social role becomes marked in funerary contexts. Thus, the transformation to the YN marks a certain point where already initiated societal changes become visible for first time. The examination of certain attributes revealed furthermore that there are differences between western and eastern SH which are not determined by chronological changes only. Rather, general differences appear between western and eastern regions, an in a wider geographical as well as temporal frame, which might be linked to different social orientations – either collectively or individually acting groups. Scales of Transformation Series This is the publication series of the Kiel University research project “CRC 1266” which takes a long-term perspective, from 15,000 BCE to 1 BCE, to investigate processes of transformation in a crucial period of human history, from late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers to early state societies. Funded by the German Research Foundation, the CRC combines research of around 60 scientists from eight institutions and the Johanna-Mestorf-Academy of the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel as well as the Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology (ZBSA) and the Archaeological State Museum Schloss Gottdorf.

This volume of Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia focuses on how local communities in prehistory define themselves in relation to a bigger social world. Communities from the deep past managed to make a living in landscapes we tend to perceive as inconvenient, build complex and elaborate monuments with relatively simple tools, and by shaping their landscape carved out a place for themselves in a much bigger social world. The contributions in this volume underscore how small worlds can be big at the same time.

Past Landscapes presents theoretical and practical attempts of scholars and scientists, who were and are active within the Kiel Graduate School “Human Development in Landscapes” (GSHDL), in order to disentangle a wide scope of research efforts on past landscapes. Landscapes are understood as products of human-environmental interaction. At the same time, they are arenas, in which societal and cultural activities as well as receptions of environments and human developments take place. Thus, environmental processes are interwoven into human constraints and advances. This book presents theories, concepts, approaches and case studies dealing with human development in landscapes. On the one hand, it becomes evident that only an interdisciplinary approach can cover the manifold aspects of the topic. On the other hand, this also implies that the very different approaches cannot be reduced to a simplistic uniform definition of landscape. This shortcoming proves nevertheless to be an important strength. The umbrella term ‘landscape’ proves to be highly stimulating for a large variety of different approaches. The first part of our book deals with a number of theories and concepts, the second part is concerned with approaches to landscapes, whereas the third part introduces case studies for human development in landscapes. As intended by the GSHDL, the reader might follow our approach to delve into the multi-faceted theories, concepts and practices on past landscapes: from events, processes and structures in environmental and produced spaces to theories, concepts and practices concerning past societies.

Het oostelijk deel van West-Friesland was in de midden- en late bronstijd (ca. 1600-800 v. Chr. ) een dicht bevolkt gebied met vele boerendorpjes. Door de uitzonderlijk goede conserveringsomstandigheden in dit voormalig kwelderlandschap is de regio een unieke schatkamer voor de overblijfselen daarvan. Vanaf de jaren 60 van de vorige eeuw zijn omvangrijke delen van het cultuurlandschap uit de bronstijd opgegraven, maar nooit gepubliceerd. In deze studie zijn oude opgravingsgegevens uitgewerkt en vertaald in nieuwe inzichten in de inrichting en ontwikkeling van dit indrukwekkende prehistorische cultuurlandschap.Een van de opvallende resultaten van dit onderzoek is dat de nederzettingsterreinen vaak vele generaties bewoond zijn, maar tegelijkertijd een dynamisch karakter hebben. Continuïteit was er op locaties waar een huisplaats is ingericht: nieuwe boerderijen werden vaak generaties lang op dezelfde plaats als de voorganger gebouwd. Ook bij andere structuren, zoals nederzettingsgreppels en clusters kringgreppels, zien we dat terreinen lange tijd dezelfde functie behouden. Maar we zien ook dat huisplaatsen die generaties lang bewoond zijn geweest, op een zeker moment werden opgegeven en bijvoorbeeld als akker in gebruik werden genomen.Door de lange bewoningsduur van terreinen en goede conservering en herkenbaarheid van grondsporen, zijn de Westfriese vindplaatsen bij uitstek geschikt om deze dynamiek in beeld te brengen. De vele greppels die door de bronstijdboeren zijn gegraven vormen bij de analyses een handig hulpmiddel bij het ontrafelen van de stratigrafie en de lay-out van de nederzettingen. Veel beter dan elders in Nederland is het daarom mogelijk inzicht te krijgen in de keuzes die men in de bronstijd heeft gemaakt bij de inrichting van het landschap. Dat maakt deze studie een ijkpunt voor bronstijdonderzoek in Nederland, maar ook in noordwest Europa. Vrijwel nergens zijn dergelijke bronstijdlandschappen zo goed bewaard gebleven en zo intensief onderzocht.English summaryThis books focusses on the Bronze Age settlements of West-Frisia (The Netherlands). This area consisted mainly of lowland wetlands but nonetheless extensive settlement sites dating to the Middle and Late Bronze age have been documented and excavated.

Excavation of a site on river gravels in the Cam/Granta valley, by Archaeological Solutions Ltd, took place in advance of gravel extraction and construction of a reservoir. The excavation revealed five phases of archaeological activity, beginning in the Neolithic period with evidence for episodic or seasonal occupation and burial. After a gap of several centuries, there were three phases of Middle Iron Age to early Roman activity representing the continuous development of the same system of enclosures focussed on a central trackway. Domestic occupation was also evident in the form of partial ring gullies. During the Conquest period there was probably a landing site for boats operating on the former river channel evident at the site. Economic activity during these phases represents a mixed, surplus-generating economy and it is possible that river traffic played an important role in the trade of the agricultural surplus. Limited finds of later Roman artefacts indicate a continued Romano-British presence in the vicinity. The final phase of occupationis a small rural Anglo-Saxon settlement comprising seven sunken-featured buildings and associated pits. Environmental and soil micromorphological analysis from this phase has provided important information about the internal arrangement of SFBs and the processes associated with development of their fills.

The book presents the contributions offered to Professor Jan Bouzek at the conference “Contacts, Migrations and Climate Change“ in honour of his 80th birthday held in May 2015 in Prague. The conference goal was not only to honour his exceptional professional achievements but also to create a broad forum for discussion across the archaeology of Europe and the Black Sea, and specifically to include the following topics: The Black Sea Area; The Aegean and Anatolia; Central Europe; Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman; Climate; Celts on the Move; Thrace and its Rulers. Jan Bouzek has been one of the most influential and prolific archaeologists in Europe over the course of his career, with interests spanning climate change, the world of later prehistory in central and eastern Europe, and the archaeology of the Iron Age and Classical world from central Europe, through Bulgaria, to Turkey and the Black Sea area. The papers in this volume reflect these concerns. The world of ancient Thrace is an important area of interest, especially in view of the excavations at Pistiros (Bulgaria) which he led between 1993 and 2015. Contributions relating to the prehistoric Aegean, to Bronze and Iron Age central Europe, to the Classical and Hellenistic Balkans, and to the ancient Pontic world, are among those which reflect the many interests of this wide-ranging and learned - but very human - scholar, and the numerous friendships he formed over the whole of Europe and beyond.

Depuis 2001, des recherches archéologiques sont menées dans l’archipel de Molène. Ce secteur s’avère particulièrement riche en vestiges du Néolithique et de l’Age du Bronze. Une concentration exceptionnelle de monuments mégalithiques y a été mise en évidence. Plusieurs habitats sont attestés par la présence de dépotoirs domestiques. A la pointe de Beg ar Loued (île Molène), l’un de ses amas coquilliers fit l’objet d’un premier sondage en 2003 marquant le début d’une série de campagnes de fouilles. Dès la deuxième année, celle-ci prit un tournant décisif avec la reconnaissance des premiers murs en pierres sèches, correspondant à un bâtiment conservé sous la dune. Pendant près d’une décennie, ce site fit l’objet de fouilles par une équipe interdisciplinaire. Les données obtenues par l’étude de l’habitat renseignent sur la chronologie des différentes occupations du site et permettent de documenter la transition IIIe-IIe millénaire avant notre ère, fourchette chronologique encore très mal connue dans la moitié nord de la France.Outre l’apport d’une chronologie relative, l’approche architecturale donne une meilleure compréhension des choix ayant présidé aux différentes phases de construction du bâtiment occupé pendant plus de trois siècles. Les éléments de la culture matérielle (céramique, lithique, métallurgie) viennent aussi soulever le voile sur une période essentiellement connue en Bretagne à travers les monuments funéraires.Pour la première fois dans cette région, grâce à la conservation des vestiges organiques, il est permis d’esquisser l’économie (élevage, agriculture pêche, collecte des coquillages, etc.) des hommes ayant occupé les rivages de la mer d’Iroise. Leur mode de vie suggère une communauté sédentaire à économie vivrière, exploitant l’ensemble des ressources insulaires sans pour autant être coupée du continent (style céramique, métallurgie).Afin de mieux comprendre l’évolution globale de cet environnement insulaire, de nouvelles recherches ont été menées sur les variations du niveau marin corrélées à l’étude du paysage végétal, de la géomorphologie, de la géologie et de la faune.English abstractSince 2001, archaeological research has been conducted in the Molène Archipelago, an area that is particularly rich in remains from the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, with an exceptional concentration of megalithic monuments. Several settlements are attested by the presence of domestic refuse dumps. At the point of Beg ar Loued (Molène Island), one of those shell middens was the object of an initial sondage in 2003, and that marked the beginning of a long series of excavations. Fieldwork took a decisive turn during the second year with the recognition of the first dry stone walls, belonging to a building preserved within the sand dunes. For nearly a decade, this site has been excavated by an interdisciplinary team. The data that have been obtained from this fieldwork provide information on the chronology of the various periods of occupation of the site and help to document the 3rd–2nd millennium BC transition, a period still largely unknown in the northern half of France. In addition to providing a relative chronology, the architectural approach gives us a better understanding of the choices that governed the different construction phases of the building, which was occupied for over three centuries. The elements of material culture (pottery, lithics, metalwork) also shed light on a period essentially known in Brittany through its funerary monuments. For the first time in this region, thanks to the preservation of organic remains, it is possible to sketch the lifestyle (livestock management, agriculture, fishing, shell gathering, etc.) of the people who occupied the shores of the Iroise Sea. In order to understand better the overall trends in this insular environment, new researches have been carried out on sea level changes in tandem with the study of the palaeoenvironment, geomorphology, geology and wildlife.

If there is a feature of the Central European Neolithic period that deserves increased attention of researchers and all those with interest in prehistory, it is circular architecture of the dimensions of many tens of metres, from which only negative imprints of the ditches and imprints of posts in the form of postholes or narrow trenches are preserved to this day. The reason is that it offers quite a different insight into the skills and interpersonal relationships of ancient societies that lived in Europe in the first half of the fifth millennium BC. The authors of the book ask whether these structures, most often termed rondels, can be regarded as ‘architecture of power’ – the first clear evidence of thought-out power strategies of some individuals or their groups. Using anthropological terms – were they skilful and exceptional entrepreneurs with an ad hoc status (such as Big Men) living in egalitarian/segmented communities, or rather powerful Chiefs living in rank and hereditary based societies/chiefdoms?In the introduction, the book points out the difficulties that necessarily arise when cultural (social) anthropology and archaeology join forces in an attempt to generalise information about kinship and socio-political relationships, in an effort to project them into the world of archaic societies that are only known from material culture in the archaeological record. After summing up various hypotheses, the authors use selected sites, results and often only recently processed terrain research projects to summarise more information about the settlements and burials in order to present the important period in which an attempt at accumulation of power took place, perhaps not the first but definitely not the last in European prehistory.Besides other methods used in archaeology to evaluate the archaeological record, the book devotes an important chapter to the radiocarbon dating method, which may – with a critical assessment of the outcomes of dating of carefully selected samples – bring fundamental information not only about dating itself but also about the limits of archaeological sources.Welcome to the world of rondel builders, from whom we are separated by nearly 280 generations of people!

Excavations at Middle Barn, Selhurst Park, Eartham uncovered a Middle Iron Age to early Roman farmstead, sitting upon the southern slopes of the South Downs in West Sussex, and overlooking the Sussex coastal plain. Few such excavations have been undertaken on the Downs in recent decades and even less on such a large-scale. While the structural remains were unremarkable for a site of this type, consisting of the probable remains of three roundhouses, surrounded by a network of ditched enclosures, the recovered artefact assemblages were substantial and important. Of particular note were three large pits, cut into the chalk, and backfilled with structured deposits of pottery, animal bone, grain and fired clay. Not only do these bear testimony to notable Iron Age feasting events, but their assemblages fill significant gaps in our understanding of regional pottery traditions and agricultural practices from the Middle to the Late Iron Age. These results can now be compared with those coming from the surge in developer-funded excavations on the coastal plain below. The resulting wealth of new evidence relating to Iron Age and Roman occupation there provides a whole new backdrop for the understanding of what was happening on the Downs to the north. It is hoped that the publication of the results from these excavations will contribute to the debate over how these two topographies interrelated, particularly in the context of expanding cross-channel trade during the later Iron Age. The excavation project at Middle Barn was carried out in 2005–2008 by volunteers under the direction of Chichester District Council’s Heritage Outreach Officer.

German Abstract:Was die sogenannten „frühen Kelten” tranken, weckt seit über hundert Jahren das Interesse der Wissenschaft und der Öffentlichkeit. Funde mediterraner Importkeramik ließen Forscher_innen schon früh vermuten, dass den „Kelten“ vor allem an einer Nachahmung mediterraner Trinksitten gelegen war.Die in Mitteleuropa gefundene Gelagekeramik griechischen Ursprungs und die mediterranen Transportamphoren sah man bis vor kurzem als Beleg für eben jene Übernahme griechischer Lebensstile auch nördlich der Alpen. An diesem Punkt setzte die Tagung an, deren Basis die Forschungen im Rahmen des vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) geförderten Verbundprojekts BEFIM (www.befim.gwi.uni-muenchen.de) darstellten. Es war das Ziel, innovative Ansätze aus den Geistes- und Naturwissenschaften zu verbinden und auf den archäologischen Befund gewinnbringend zu übertragen.Zu diesem Zweck präsentierten im Rahmen der Konferenz Forscher_innen aus ganz unterschiedlichen Disziplinen ihre Forschungsergebnisse, sei es zur Interkulturalität, zur Keramik der „frühen Kelten“, zu naturwissenschaftlichen Analysen von Nahrungsrückständen oder Weinkonsum auch jenseits der Keltike.Im Zentrum standen Fragen wie diese: Entfaltete der Kontakt mit fremden Trinksitten und -gefäßen ein transformatives Potential auch außerhalb einer vereinfachend als „Elite“ verstandenen Personengruppe? Wie schnell und in welchen Kontexten wurden exotische Getränke wie vor allem Wein angeeignet? Ging dies mit der Verwendung neuer Gefäßformen und damit vermutlich auch anderen Trinkpraktiken einher? Hatte die Akzeptanz ungewohnter Gelagesitten auch jenseits der „frühen Kelten“ kulturellen Wandel zur Folge? Wie können wir die mediterranen Getränke nachweisen? Was wurde zuvor auf welche Weise konsumiert? Was für Nahrungsmittel boten sich an, in (alkoholische) Getränke verwandelt zu werden und welche Herstellungstechniken fassen wir? Zeichnet sich auch der Austausch von Wissen zur Herstellung oder Würzung von Getränken im interkulturellen Dialog ab? Der Band richtet sich mit allgemeinen Einführungen, Überblicksartikeln und speziellen Beiträgen gleichermaßen an ein breites akademisches Publikum an Universitäten, Museen und in der Denkmalpflege wie an Studierende und interessierte Laien.English abstractWhat the so-called “early Celts” used to drink has been a matter of debate amongst scientists and in the wider public for more than a century. Finds of Mediterranean imported pottery were the reason for scholars to suspect already at an early date that the “Celts” had aimed at imitating Mediterranean drinking habits. Until recently, these drinking vessels of Greek origin and Mediterranean transport amphorae were considered proof of exactly this adoption of Greek lifestyle even north of the Alps. This is the point, where our conference came into play, the basis of which is research conducted in the context of the joint research project BEFIM (www.befim.de).We aim at connecting innovative approaches from both arts and sciences and at profitably transferring them to the archaeological evidence. To this purpose, academics from entirely different disciplines presented their research results at the conference – whether it be on interculturality, pottery of the early Celts, scientific analyses of food residues or wine consumption also beyond the Keltiké.In the centre of interest there were questions such as these: Did the contact with foreign drinking customs and the associated vessels unfold transformative potential even beyond the group of persons we simplistically call the “elite”? How quickly and in which contexts were exotic drinks (such as wine in particular) appropriated? Was this accompanied by the use of new vessel types and thus perhaps also by different drinking habits? Did the acceptance of unusual banqueting customs result in cultural change beyond the early Celts? How can we prove the presence of these Mediterranean drinks? What used to be consumed in which way before their arrival? What types of food lent themselves to being transformed into (alcoholic) beverages at all and which techniques for producing drinks are reflected in the archaeological evidence? Is the exchange of knowledge on the production and seasoning of beverages recognisable in the intercultural dialogue?This volume with its general introductions, overview articles, and specialised papers is directed at a broader academic public from universities, museums, and heritage preservation authorities on the one hand as well as students and interested non-specialists on the other hand.

Ce livre est consacré à la recherche sur le développement de la production et des échanges céramiques entre le continent et les îles de Bretagne, du Néolithique à la période gallo-romaine. L’analyse archéométrique de la céramique est utilisée pour explorer le développement des réseaux de communication: la circulation des personnes et des produits entre les îles et le continent. Ces îles produisaient-elles leur propre poterie ou étaient-elles dépendantes de la production continentale? En déterminant si la poterie a été produite ou importée localement, il est possible d’identifier les degrés variables de connexion ou d’isolement avec des réseaux plus larges. Plusieurs méthodes d’analyse ont été utilisées pour examiner 368 tessons de poterie provenant de 25 sites. Des observations macroscopiques ont été effectuées afin de documenter les traitements de surface, ainsi que l’examen microscopique de coupes céramiques minces pour l’identification de la composition minéralogique de l’argile et pour déterminer ses origines géologiques et géographiques. Ces techniques ont été complétées par des analyses chimiques: SEM-EDS, XR-D et P-XRF.Enfin, une nouvelle approche méthodologique a été utilisée pour la provenance des argiles: l’analyse LA-ICP-MS. Cette méthode est basée sur des comparaisons chimiques des inclusions minérales dans les pâtes céramiques avec les mêmes types de minéraux dans les roches mères. Elle permet de déterminer plus précisément les origines des argiles, surtout lorsque les pâtes n’offrent pas d’éléments caractéristiques qui permettent de les distinguer des autres productions.La longue portée chronologique de cette étude nous permet de documenter l’évolution des caractéristiques céramiques et les lieux changeants de l’approvisionnement en argile et de la production de poterie. Les résultats de cette recherche apportent de nouvelles preuves de l’occupation préhistorique des îles bretonnes.English AbstractSea, ceramics and islands in western France: archaeometric approach to paleo-economic relations of island populations from the Neolithic to AntiquityThis book is about research on the development of ceramic production and exchange between the mainland and islands of Brittany from the Neolithic to the Gallo-Roman period. Archaeometric analysis of ceramics is used to explore the development of communication networks: the movement of people and of products between the islands and the mainland.Did these islands produce their own pottery or were they dependent on mainland production? By determining whether pottery was locally produced or imported, it is possible to identify the changing degrees of connection with, or isolation from, wider networks.Several analytical methods have been employed to examine 368 sherds of pottery from 25 sites. Macroscopic observations were made in order to document surface treatments, as well as microscopic examination of ceramic thin sections for the identification of the mineralogical composition of the clay, and to determine its geological and geographic origins. These techniques have been complemented with chemical analyses: SEM-EDS, XR-D and P-XRF. Finally, a new methodological approach has been used to provenance the clays: LA-ICP-MS analysis. This method is based on chemical comparisons of the mineral inclusions in the ceramic pastes with the same mineral types in the parent rocks. It can determine more precisely the origins of clays, especially when the pastes do not offer characteristic elements that allow them to be distinguished from other productions.The long chronological scope of this study allows us to document the evolution of ceramic characteristics and the changing locations of clay supply and pottery production. The results of this research provide new evidence about the prehistoric occupation of the islands of Brittany.

This volume considers how the discovery of Etruscan sites and artefacts has inspired artists, architects, statesmen, collectors, scholars and travellers to Italy from the 16th through to the 20th century, from Ferdinando de' Medici to Piranesi and Federico Fellini. Subjects include the reclaiming of Etruscan identity and its influence on Italian political history, the collecting and reproduction of Etruscan artefacts, as well as new insights into the lives and activities of early British Etruscologists and the pleasures and perils which they encountered on their travels. Other essays look at Etruscan concepts in jewellery, gems and pottery. The extent of Etruscan influence on European culture has often been underestimated, but still less well known till now is how knowledge of certain aspects of Etruscan civilisation spread to the United States of America, as demonstrated, for example, by the tomb of a Civil War officer which was inscribed with an intriguing Etruscan-like inscription. A key theme under consideration is the impact that Etruscan discoveries have had on the public imagination, in particular the Campanari display of reconstructed Etruscan tombs staged in Pall Mall in 1837 - the first archaeological ‘blockbuster’ exhibition of its kind. The British Museum acquired much of this material, and the excavation of Etruscan tombs with their stunning wall-paintings was to have a lasting impression on displays in the major museums of Europe. But before that, Etruscan material was among Sir Hans Sloane’s collection, the founding collection of the British Museum, and it has been on display since the Museum first opened its doors to the public in 1759.

Metals, Minds and Mobility seeks to integrate archaeometallurgical data with archaeological theory to address longstanding questions about mechanisms of exchange, mobility and social complexity in prehistory. The circulation of metal has long been viewed as a catalyst for social, economic and population changes in Europe. New techniques and perspectives derived from archaeological science can shed new light on the understanding of the movement of people, materials and technological knowledge. In recent years these science-based approaches have situated mobility at the forefront of the archaeological debate. Advances in the characterisation of metals and metallurgical residues combined with more sophisticated approaches to data analysis add greater resolution to provenance studies. Though offering better pictures of artefact source, the explanation of artefact distribution across geographic space requires the use of theoretically informed models and solid archaeological evidence to discern differences between the circulation of raw materials, ingots, objects, craftspeople and populations. Bringing together many leading expert contributions address topics that include the invention, innovation and transmission of metallurgical knowledge; archaeometric based models of exchange; characterization and discrimination of different modes of material circulation; and the impact of metals on social complexity. The 13 papers are organised in three main sections dealing with key debates in archaeology: transmission of metallurgical technologies, knowledge and ideas; prestige economies and exchange; and circulation of metal as commodities and concludes with a review current approaches, situating the volume in a broader context and identifying future research directions.

This volume presents the results of diachronic archaeological and palaeoecological research conducted in two study areas: the intermontane Kazanlak Valley along the Upper Tundzha River of central Bulgaria, and the Thracian Plain along the Middle Tundzha River south of the city of Yambol in southeastern Bulgaria. The Tundzha Regional Archaeology Project (TRAP), a cooperative effort including Australian, Bulgarian, and Czech investigators, undertook archaeological survey and environmental sampling between 2009-2011. Major field activities of the project included over 100 sq km of systematic pedestrian survey, legacy data verification and mapping, trial excavations, artefact processing, and environmental sampling in and around the study areas. Through this research, TRAP inventoried over 100 surface artefact concentrations and 800 burial mounds. At the heart of the volume is a geospatial analysis of settlement patterns derived from the survey dataset, which relates the footprint of past human activities to environmental and sociocultural drivers. We also present a range of associated studies conducted between 2009-2015: histories of archaeological research in both study areas, soil erosion and productivity modelling in the Kazanlak Valley, reconstruction of a 30,000-year environmental history based on samples from a wetland in the Thracian Plain north of Yambol, investigation of palaeodiet using isotope analysis of human remains from Bronze Age burials in the Yambol study area, exploration of shifting Roman occupation patterns based on trial excavations in the Yambol area, research into subsistence strategies based on palaeobotanical evidence recovered from one of the Yambol area trial excavations, analysis of trade and exchange based on the transport amphorae fragments recovered during Yambol-area survey, and epigraphic comparison and synthesis of Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman inscriptions from the two study areas. Finally, TRAP has produced a granular digital dataset of surface artefacts and features unparalleled in Bulgaria to promote reinterpretation of our results, encourage secondary studies, and foster comparative research.