One of the most puzzling phenomena of the European Bronze Age, is that many communities buried or otherwise hid large numbers of valuable bronze objects, but never returned to retrieve them. This book focuses on the metal finds of one small European region, the southern Netherlands and the adjacent part of North Belgium. Fontijn considers the question of why so many elaborate bronze objects have been found in watery locations in this landscape, such as rivers, streams, and marshes, while so few have been found in the controlled excavations of local settlements and cemeteries. He looks at the evidence for the selective deposition of metal objects, and discusses the "cultural biographies" of weapons, ornaments or dress fittings, and axes respectively. He considers how different depositional contexts might be related to the construction of various forms of social identity, such as male or female, or of belonging to local or non-local communities. He also looks at the way the land itself may have been defined and structured by the act of object deposition.

Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, located in the Dead Sea Rift valley, is one of the oldest non-African sites to have yielded evidence for the activities of groups of hominin hunter-gatherers. The excavations recovered thousands of Acheulian period stone tools and animal bones that had accumulated in and around an ancient lake about 780, 000 years ago. The deposits have remained waterlogged virtually ever since, and this unusual circumstance resulted in the preservation of plant macrofossils, including pieces of wood and bark that can be identified to the level of individual plant species. Most of the pieces probably accumulated naturally around the lake, but a few show signs of hominin modification - making them the oldest wooden artefacts yet discovered. The unique contribution of the Gesher Benot Ya'aqov palaeobotanical assemblage, however, lies in its value for the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of a pre-agricultural age - an age that predates changes induced by intensive human activity. This monograph describes the geological and archaeological context of the ancient wood, the criteria for its identification, and its implications for the woods surrounding Gesher Benot Ya'aqov in Lower to Middle Pleistocene times. They include detailed descriptions of the different wood taxa, discuss the present habitats of the identified species, and consider the possible mechanisms by which the wood was deposited. They also provide a survey of the wood fragments that have occasionally been found at other ancient Palaeolithic sites. This volume is the first in a series of monographs which will focus on different aspects of the multidisciplinary investigations at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov.

Identified from cropmarks and excavated in 1974, the site consisted of three enclosures belonging to a small farmstead lasting from at least the later 1st century BC to the middle of the 2nd century AD. The evidence of the houses is that the site had been inhabited by a single family group at all times and had developed in tandem with the growing complexity of landscape division, and almost certainly was closed down in favour of another site nearby. After it was abandoned, its earthworks were incorporated into the Roman field system and, eventually, the corner of an enclosure was used for a small cemetery of nine burials

This is a volume no Palaeolithic archaeologist should be without. It is offered to Derek Roe by his friends and colleagues as a tribute to his enthusiasm, support and encouragement over many years. The twenty-seven papers range from Africa to the Near East and beyond, to Kazakhstan and Korea, and across southern Europe to Britain, the Thames Valley, East Anglia and Pontnewydd. The list of authors and the range of topics they write about are a reflection of Derek Roe's influence throughout the Palaeolithic world.

This report provides a chronological account of excavation findings at 25 Cannon Street, supported by many illustrations and specialist contributions. The dig revealed a long sequence of occupation, and adds to findings made on the site in 1954. Redeposited pottery provided rare evidence for Middle Bronze Age activity in the area of the City of London. Early Roman quarrying and timber buildings were followed by increased development from c. AD 70. By the late 2nd century the area included masonry buildings, some possessing tessellated floors. Building alignments indicate the route of a Roman road immediately to the north of the site, beneath Watling Street. One Roman building was occupied until the late 4th century, its ruins covered by 'dark earth'. Four cellared buildings had been constructed on the site by the mid 11th century, and pre-dated Friday Street and the Church of St Werburga, later St John the Evangelist. The church was founded between 1098 and 1108, and was rebuilt with a wider chancel in the 13th or 14th century. Medieval and later buildings, cellars and cesspits were associated with occupation up to the Great Fire.

The first part of the final synthesis of excavations which took place in advance of the southern bypass in Norwich. The report focuses on six main excavations as well as providing details on the context and history of the project, the research aims and methodology. The evidence recovered ranges from the Mesolithic through to the Late Anglo-Saxon, Medieval and modern periods and includes sites at Bixley, Harford Farm at Caistor St Edmund, Valley Belt in Trowse, Markshall Borrow Pit, Frettenham Lime Co. Quarry, Cringleford and Little Melton. The final two chapters discuss the environmental evidence and a synthesis brings all the information together. Part II: The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Harford Farm is also available (EAA 92, 2000).

The first comprehensive study of the use of copper in the northernmost TRB cultures of Scandinavia. One hundred years of intensive research has been collated in this book which includes a typology of material finds, especially metal artefacts, details on chronology and of the relationships with TRB cultures of Central Europe. Text in German.

This volume presents over 1000 reliefs and 39 paintings recorded by Czech archaeologists as part of the UNESCO project to salvage antiquities threatened by the rising waters of damming projects. Ranging from 4000 to 1000 years old the artworks constitute important source materials for our understanding of Egyptian-Nubian relations over a long period of time. The position, characteristics and bibliographic references are presented for each site, while each is also illustrated by excellent crisp line drawings. Text in German.

The Matopo Hills, an area of rugged and majestic hills in Zimbabwe, contain a staggering number of prehistoric rock paintings. Eighteen years of fieldwork in this area has produced a stunning collection of rock art images, many previously unpublished and probably unique to the Matopo region. These rock paintings are a unique record of hunter-gatherer society and provide insights into the relationship between hunter-gatherers and immigrant pastoralists, evidence that is generally lacking in the archaeology of the area. Well over one thousand painted panels have been closely observed and the illustrations presented here have been drawn from 124 separate sites. The exact copies have been produced using techniques that scrupulously avoid direct contact with the images and are the work of Janet Duff, a scientific illustrator. This method emphasises the importance of conservation and preservation which is also discussed extensively in the book. An evocative look at the work of a lost people, this study is intended to stimulate further research and interpretation of these incredible paintings.

`Clay-with-flints' refers to deposits lying on the hilltops and plateaux of the Chalk Downlands of southern England. This study is based on the archaeology, geology and sedimentology of these deposits and forms a comprehensive review of the Palaeolithic stone tools found embedded within them. Evidence relating to the author's excavations at the Lower Palaeolithic site of Wood Hill in East Kent (1993-1994) provides the foundation for her discussion of these clay-with-flint deposits and the earliest occupation of southern England. Since this work presents much new information, two explanatory sections outline the theoretical analysis of the deposits and the processes of their function as well as the methodology for studying and identifying in-situ Palaeolithic material.

Plant-centred issues are fundamental in the definitions and explanations of the Neolithic as a phenomenon.The meeting of the Neolithic Studies Group from which this volume developed aimed to provide a forum for the wide range of approaches now applied to Neolithic archaeobotany at site and landscape scales of resolution.

Excavations at Sumburgh Airport in the 1960s and 70s discovered stone-built houses of the later Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. This report describes the results of the excavations (stone walls, paved areas, hearths, cubicles) and of the analysis of the stratigraphy and the position of the artefacts. It shows how one house was added to the other, and how both were then substantially modified. Comparison with other sites shows that the two-house unit was a feature of the later Bronze Age in Shetland in contrast to earlier Bronze Age oval houses and later Iron Age circular houses divided by radial piers, and that longevity of occupation was usual with the three house forms suceeding each other as here at Sumburgh.

The site at Ivy Chimneys, Witham, appears to have been occupied continuously throughout the Iron Age, and remained in use until the end of the Roman period. Most traces of domestic Iron Age structures were removed by ploughing, but the surviving ditches seem to indicate more than a simple farmstead. Very large, probably defensive, ditches of late Iron Age date may imply that the settlement at Ivy Chimneys was a focus of activity at that time, and a small amount of circumstantial evidence hints at a religious use for part of the site. The nature of activity in early Roman times is unclear, although there is ample evidence for occupation of some form. The instigation of two large, long-lived, artificial depressions at this time may point towards the beginnings of Roman religious activity on the site. In the 3rd century AD a large, almost square, post-hole structure, interpreted as a Romano-Celtic temple, was constructed on the crest of the hill, and was enclosed by various ditches remnant of earlier activity. A large pond with a sophisticated water regulation system was constructed at about this time, and isolated timber columns may also have been present. A new temple appears to have been constructed in the early 4th century, represented by a continuous ditch enclosing a sub-rectangular area. An adjacent depression contained votive material and may have been used for religious ceremonies, although a pottery kiln appears to have produced only conventional material. The interpretation of a Christian phase in the mid-4th century is based on the presence of a baptismal font constructed of tile, and of a small two-celled structure, possibly a chapel. Other evidence may indirectly point to a pause in the pagan activity, but no specifically Christian portable objects were found. In the late 4th and early 5th century the site was certainly used as a pagan shrine, as attested by numerous votive offerings such as coins and pieces of jewellery. There is no evidence for the date of the final destruction of the site, but the presence of a relatively high number of Theodosian coins suggests continued activity well into the 5th century.

When mechanical ploughing was introduced on Felix Eriths farm in the 1950s, fragments of Bronze Age pottery were brought to the surface. Wherever this occurred, Erith excavated, and in 1960 he published an account of his discoveries which clearly established the importance of the Ardleigh cemetery. The pottery, with its flamboyant decoration, became the classic Deverel-Rimbury ceramic of southern East Anglia. A prolonged campaign of aerial photography revealed an extensive cropmark landscape of ring-ditches, trackways and enclosures. Further excavations in the 1960s by Erith with the Colchester Archaeological Trust revealed an Iron Age round-house, 'Belgic burials and Roman kilns. In the 1970s investigations by the Central Excavation Unit were designed to examine the nature of the cropmark complex and to place the earlier work in context. This book describes the results of both these campaigns. It provides an illustrated corpus of Ardleigh style Deverel-Rimbury ceramics, and an account of the evidence for a rural Roman pottery production centre in the hinterland of Colchester. The nature of the cropmark landscape, and the present condition and potential of the archaeology of Ardleigh are considered.

While significant advances have been made in direct dating French and Spanish rock art, direct dates obtained by AMS for the New World are extremely scarce and existing stylistic hronologies cannot be trusted. These papers from the International Rock Art Congress held in Bolivia in 1997 focus in the dating problem. They also reflect discussion of the earliest art in the light of recent research and as seen from a world palaeo-art perspective.

These essays, in honour of John Coles, reflect his interests in experimental archaeology and in the exploration of wetland sites. Contents include: Palaeolithic Archaeology: Radiocarbon dating and the origins of anatomically modern populations in Europe ( P Mellars ); The Chauvet cave dates ( J Clottes ); The archaeology of Scotland: The Hidden landscape: the Neolithic of Tayside ( G J Barclay ); The stony limits - rock carvings in passage graves and in the open air ( R Bradley ); Evidence, North and South, in the earlier Neolithic ( R J Mercer ); The birth of the Scottish Bronze Age ( J N Graham Ritchie ); Drinking, driving, death and display: Scottish Bronze Age artefacts since Coles ( A Sheridan ). Bronze Age archaeology: Bronze Age landscapess in Southern Europe ( G Barker ); From Skåne to Scotstown: some notes on amber in Bronze Age Ireland ( G Eogan ); Swords, shields and scholars: Bronze Age warfare, past and present ( A Harding ); Gold reflections ( J J Taylor ); Rise and fall: the deposition of Bronze Age weapons in the Thames valley and the Fenland ( R Thomas ); Bronze Age settlement in south Scandinavia - territorality and organisation ( H Thrane ); Experimental Archaeology: Getting to grips with music's prehistory: experimental approaches to function, design and operational wear in excavated musical instruments ( G Lawson ); Experimental ship archaeology in Denmark ( O Crumli-Pedersen ); Wood-tar and pitch experiments at Biskupin Museum ( W Piotrowski ); The nature of experiment in archaeology ( P J Reynolds ). Wetland Archaeology: Somerset and the Sweet conundrum ( B Coles ); Paths, tracks and roads in early Ireland: viewing people rather than the trees ( B Raftery ); Underwater medieval sites on Lake Paladru (Isère, France): from rescue excavations to cultural project ( M Colardelle & E Verdel ). Epilogue: Of weapons and wetlands ( T Champion ). J M Coles - a bibliography.