Böcker i British Archaeological Reports International Series-serien

El Prado es uno de los escasos yacimientos al aire libre del Neolítico Antiguo de la mitad norte peninsular. En la excavación arqueológica han sido documentadas cincuenta estructuras negativas asociadas a un poblado del Neolítico Antiguo con dataciones absolutas ca. 5295-4690 cal BC. Desde el punto de vista tipológico y funcional se documentan silos y fosas revestidas, fosas/cubetas no revestidas, fosas funerarias, estructuras relacionadas con el aprovechamiento del agua y una estructura de combustión. También hay una fosa ritual de tipo votivo del Neolítico Final (4045-3299 BC). Se presenta un estudio multidisciplinar del único asentamiento al aire libre del Neolítico Antiguo que ha sido excavado íntegramente en el interior peninsular. Es un trabajo inédito que contribuye a explicar los primeros asentamientos neolíticos del oeste de Europa y las sociedades segmentarias a partir del uso del espacio, la cerámica, la industria lítica, el ritual funerario, la bioarqueología, el paleoambiente y la fauna.El Prado is one of the few open-air Early Neolithic sites in the northern half of Spain. In the archaeological excavation of the site, fifty negative structures associated with an Early Neolithic settlement were documented, with absolute datings ca. 5295-4690 cal BC. From the typological and functional points of view, there are storage pits, coated pits, uncoated pits, burial pits, water storage structures and a Polynesian oven. There is also a votive-type ritual pit of the Late Neolithic (4045-3299 cal BC). The authors here present a multidisciplinary study of the only Early Neolithic open-air settlement that has been entirely excavated in the interior of Iberia. 'Life and Death in the Early Neolithic Settlement of El Prado (Pancorbo, Burgos): Constructing the Neolithic in Iberia' is a previously unpublished study that helps to explain the first Neolithic settlements of Western Europe and segmental societies, through analyses of the use of space, ceramics, lithic tools, funerary ritual, bioarchaeology, the paleoenvironment and faunal remains.

This book examines health indicators in sites in northern Belize and compares the results to the larger context of the health of the ancient lowland Maya. The research was completed through the analysis of the skeletal populations of three sites and by comparing results both within and among those sites.

Notebooks on Military Archaeology and Architecture 12Nel Maggio e settembre 1860 iniziò la campagna di conquista del regno delle Due Sicilie a cura degli eserciti Garibaldino e Piemontese. Garibaldi conquistò Messina dopo due mesi mentre le fortificazioni Borboniche furono assediate dall'esercito Piemontese. L'assedio terminò nel marzo 1861, quando le artiglierie piemontesi costrinsero il nemico alla resa incondizionata. Il regno delle Due Sicilie divenne parte del regno d'Italia il 17 marzo 1861.La campagna angloamericana in Sicilia (Husky) fu la più imponente operazione anfibia della seconda guerra mondiale, riguardo le diviosni sbarcate il primo giorno e la lunghezza del fronte di sbarco. Il 9-10 luglio 1943 sbarcarono due divisioni con il principale obiettivo di conquistare Messina e intrappolare il nemico nell'isola, il quale si era ritirato verso lo Stretto di Messina fortificandolo e sviluppando i sistemi difensivi e di trasporo. Il 16-17 agosto le truppe Alleate conquistarono Messina mentre il nemico stava sbarcando sulla penisola italiana con una grande quantità di uomini, equipaggiamento e materiali, utili a continuare la guerra in Italia.In May and September 1860 the campaign to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies by Garibaldi's army and the Piedmontese army began. Garibaldi reached Messina after two months, while the siege of Bourbon garrisons was undertaken by the Piedmontese army. The siege ended in March 1861, when the Piedmontese artillery forced the enemy to surrender unconditionally. The Kingdom of Two Sicilies became part of the Kingdom of Italy on 17 March 1861.The Anglo-American campaign in Sicily (Husky) was the most impressive amphibious operation of World War II, in terms of the number of divisions landed on the first day and the length of the landing front. On 9-10 July 1943, two armies landed with the main objective of reaching Messina and trapping the enemy on the island, who, as they retreated towards the Strait of Messina, strengthened and improved their defence and transportation systems. On 16-17 August, the Allied troops reached Messina; meanwhile the enemy was landing on the Italian peninsula with a great number of men, together with equipment and other materials that would be used to continue the war in Italy.

Il libro tratta delle fortificazioni urbane dell'antica città di Iasos, in Asia Minore. Sono analizzati sotto il profilo architettonico, tipologico, tattico e tecnico-costruttivo i sistemi fortificatori concepiti per la difesa della città della costa caria, a partire dai resti riferibili all'epoca classica, fino al periodo tardo bizantino, con particolare riferimento al circuito murario posto a contorno dell'insediamento urbano insulare. Sono altresì documentati episodi di architettura fortificata ascrivibili alla cosiddetta cinta di terraferma di epoca ellenistica, al kastron bizantino presso l'istmo e al castello posto alla sommità dell'acropoli. Le strutture emergenti sono analizzate attraverso gli strumenti propri dell'architetto rilevatore, mediante la restituzione grafica dei dati di rilievo prelevati in situ relativi ai segmenti di fortificazione ritenuti più significativi, con metodologie integrate. Particolare attenzione è riservata alla lettura delle tecniche costruttive impiegate e all'individuazione delle diverse fasi diacroniche che connotano questi complessi palinsesti, anche attraverso localizzate indagini stratigrafiche degli elevati. Le ipotesi interpretative avvengono attraverso il confronto di tali dati con le fonti storiche e archeologiche.This book presents the urban fortifications of the ancient city of Iasos, in Asia Minor. The fortification systems built for the defence of the city of the Carian coast are analysed from an architectural, typological, tactical and technical-constructive standpoint, from the remains datable to the classical era up to the late Byzantine period, with particular reference to the circuit wall placed around the edge of the insular urban settlement. Other examples of fortified building are also documented, including the walls of the Hellenistic mainland, the Byzantine kastron that runs alongside the isthmus and the castle at the top of the acropolis. The emerging structures are analysed using the tools of the surveyor-architect, through the graphic representation of survey data taken from significant fortification segments, using integrated methodologies. Particular attention is given to the recognition of the building techniques employed and to the identification of the different diachronic phases that characterize these complex palimpsests, as well as by localized stratigraphic investigation of the structures. Interpretative hypotheses are drawn from the comparison of these data with historical and archaeological sources.

Proceedings of the Third Postgraduate Conference in Studies of Antiquity and Middle Ages, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 23-25th November 2016Edited by Núria Pacheco Catalán, Ignacio Díaz Sierra, Marina Fernández Monterrubio, Isaac Lampurlanés Farré, Ariadna Martínez Guimerà, Marc Mendoza Sanahuja, Manel Pica Torné, Montserrat Rovira Rafecas and David Vázquez RuizEste volumen contiene las actas de las III Jornadas Predoctorales en Estudios de la Antigüedad y la Edad Media, celebradas en la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona los días 23, 24 y 25 de noviembre de 2016 y cuyo eje fue el contacto entre culturas. Los participantes - procedentes de distintas disciplinas académicas - analizaron el conflicto, la asimilación y el intercambio entre sociedades distintas a lo largo de la Antigüedad y la Edad Media, tratando temas que iban desde el comercio e intercambio cultural hasta la guerra y el exterminio. El presente volumen está compuesto por 19 artículos escritos en español, italiano e inglés, que a su vez se dividen en cinco grandes apartados: "Aculturación e intercambio cultural", "Contacto entre religiones", "Guerra, colonización y movimientos migratorios", "Lingüística y literatura", y "Economía y Urbanismo".This volume consists of the proceedings of an interdisciplinary PhD workshop that took place at the Autonomous University of Barcelona on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of November 2016, which revolved around the issue of contacts between cultures during Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The participants - who come from diverse academic disciplines - analyse multiple aspects of these encounters, relationships and conflicts between different societies, from trade and cultural exchange to war and extermination, throughout ancient and medieval history. The volume is composed of nineteen papers written in Spanish, Italian and English, which are divided into five main categories: 'Acculturation and Cultural Exchanges', 'Contact between Religions', 'War, Colonisation and Migration Movements', 'Linguistics and Literature' and 'Economy and Urbanism'.

Notebooks on Military Archaeology and Architecture 13Il libro illustra come il corridoio strategico, che univa la Spagna alle Fiandre, costituito da territori apparteneti all'Impero Spagnolo e corrispondenti agli attuali Belgio e Olanda, sia stato concepito, progettato, realizzato, difeso e infine smantellato. Gli eventi del "Cammino Spagnolo" sono ben noti grazie all'importante volume del professor Goeffrey Parker "The Army of Flanders and Spanish Road, 1576-1659". Nondimeno, pur in presenza di questo irrinunciabile studio, non tutta la materia è totalmente indagata e ben nota, soprattutto in merito al settore cruciale del tratto italiano del cammino. In questo lavoro l'autore vuole riferire non solo come un'armata si organizzasse nel passaggio da una destinazione all'altra, ma anche quale itinerario si scegliesse e come sia stato obbliterato dagli avversari della Spagna o da ostacoli naturali. Per descrivere questo processo storico l'autore ha coinvolto non soltanto l'esame delle fonti storiche e storiografiche, ma anche un importante strumento della moderna ricerca, la Conflict Archaeology, ovvero l'Archeologia Militare.This book describes how the strategic corridor that united Spain with Flanders (a territory belonging to the Spanish Empire, in what is today Belgium and the Netherlands), was conceived, designed, constructed, defended and dismantled. The events associated with the 'Spanish Road' are well known, thanks to the most important work on the subject, The Army of Flanders and Spanish Road, 1576-1659 by Professor Geoffrey Parker. However, despite this impressive study, not all of its history is perfectly clear and well understood, especially as relates to the crucial Italian sector. In this work, the author describes not only the way in which an army set off from one destination to another, but also how one route was chosen, and how it was cleared of opponents and of natural obstacles. To describe this process, the author calls not only on the historical and historiographical sources, but also on Conflict Archaeology, today a remarkable instrument of study.

This volume offers a selection of case studies on the interface between linguistics and archaeology. These case studies were presented at a session titled 'Archaeology and Language' at the XV Nordic Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) conference, held at the University of Copenhagen in April 2015. The main goal of the session was to present new and ongoing studies that combine aspects of archaeology and linguistics and theoretical perspectives on the field of archaeolinguistics, and to encourage new, fruitful studies on archaeology and language. The questions raised in this session concern the future of archaeolinguistic research. What can archaeologists and linguists learn from each other's disciplines? What kind of research questions are particularly suitable for future integrated studies?

The heart amulet is one of the most often depicted images in Egyptian art. Due to the scarcity of archaeological information available about the heart amulet, its artistic depictions represent an important and decisive source for the study of the meaning of these objects. We know that the amulet was already in use as early as the 11th Dynasty among the circle of Theban royalty. However, the first known depiction of the heart amulet only occurs at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty, in the Donation Stela, where the object is used by the young prince. This current study focuses on the significance and development of this iconic image.

Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 73The region traditionally known as the Méma is a plain of deep alluvial deposits that lies west of the current seasonally ¿ooded Inland Delta of the Niger River and southwest of the Lakes Region. The Méma is also sometimes referred to in the literature as the 'Dead Delta', a name that evokes the presence of a dense network of dry watercourses. This indicates that the Méma once formed a ¿oodplain of pseudo-deltaic hydrology similar to that of the current active ¿oodplain to the southeast. Today, the Méma lies within the sahelian zone and is very dry. The spotty distribution of modern permanent settlement in the Méma contrasts sharply with the situation during the last millennium. The ¿eldwork presented in this volume has identi¿ed numerous Iron Age (IA) habitation mounds. This thriving human settlement, clearly associated with a period of climatic amelioration, extends back in time to the Late Stone Age (LSA).Due to the dearth of information on both the history and archaeology of Méma, the Méma archaeological research program was designed as an exploratory inquiry. The primary objective of the archaeological research program executed from December 1989 to June 1990 was to collect basic data that will permit a preliminary analysis of settlement pattern and radiocarbon and ceramic chronology as well as a careful description of the material culture of the Méma during the Iron Age (IA). Research comprised two components: a) a regional site survey and b) the excavations at the IA site complex of Akumbu. These two components had the broad common goal of collecting basic information from which future research questions and research strategies could be derived.

This book includes papers from a symposium held in May 2006 in Rome on the Italian Late Glacial.

In this work the author correlates animal history with the evolution of human society and with the ecological transformations in mediaeval Moldavia, revealing the role played by animals in the life of mediaeval communities, the exploitation strategies employed, the dynamics of the morphology, and the distribution of various animal species in mediaeval Moldavia. The objectives in view were: to evaluate the animal resources and the purposes of their use in various mediaeval settlements in Moldavian territory; to identify consumer diversity depending on the geographical, ethnical and religious factors on the urban or rural environment; to describe different animal species identified starting from the archaeozoological samples and to establish certain racial types of domestic animals in mediaeval Moldavia on the basis of the correlation of archaeozoological and historiographical data, as well as present-day zootechnological data; to estimate the ways in which animals were utilized (age, gender, butchering methods, etc.). The work is presented in four chapters, followed by conclusions, bibliography, and appendices of metric data inventories. The first chapter presents the general study framework and background on previously published data. Chapter two provides a general description of the archaeozoological samples on which the synthetic analysis is founded. Chapter three is an investigation of the animal resources used in mediaeval Moldavia. Chapter four contains the osteometric description of the domestic animal species identified in the archaeological samples.

Freiburg Dissertations in Aegean ArchaeologyIn this study of Minoan cult practice, the author looks beyond the many vivid images from Cretan prehistory, focussing on the stratigraphy of the artefacts and buildings. She lists all the known cultural rooms in a database and divides them into "primary" and "secondary" rooms, according to their cultural objects and architectural situation. The former were selected for their good state of preservation, with their artefacts found in situ. These rooms were characterised by objects which were recognised as"cultural" by archaeology, present in other ancient religions better known from written sources (Egyptian, Hittite, Greek). Using this data it became clear that the same objects appeared in different contexts and their impact was only intelligible in combination with other findings belonging to the same surrounding architecture. Four groups of cultic activities were thus identified: Small offerings; Animal sacrifices; Ceremonial events; Purification rites.

This work introduces 'competitive advantage strategy' into heritage management within tourism and general development on the basis of differentiation. It argues that in a long term managerial policy, achieving sustainable conservation through development has a higher probability of success by shifting responsibilities to the public. The lack of a precedent managed in this way has necessitated the creation of a case-study, a strategic management model for the Mani, a region in the southern Peloponnese, Greece. The region is rich in cultural heritage but has been largely abandoned and the region's many different aspects and the urgent need to save the Mani's heritage are the main reasons for its selection in this study. The result is a strategic management and development plan for the Mani and a paradigmatic strategic model for further cases internationally.

This book is volume V in a series of inventories of 'First Neolithic Sites' in Europe. The series will consist of I) Bulgaria, II) Romania, III) Eastern Hungary, IV) Eastern Slovakia, V) Southeastern Poland. The main themes of each volume will be: 1) General information about cultural evolution at the onset of the Neolithic, 2) Additional data on cultural and economic problems specific for a given region, 3) A list of radiometric dates, 4) A catalogue of sites in alphabetical order.

This book, unlike most studies dealing with the Crusaders' voyages by sea across the Mediterranean and their arrival at the shores of the Levant, looks at this feat from a seaman's point of view. To this end, it examines the types of ships, the sails and rigging that were used at the time, drawing on the author's personal experience and knowledge of the wind regime of the region. It also tackles the problems of transporting cargo, humans and horses, and the management of large fleets and their navigational difficulties. The book also deals with the question of landing on the flat coast of Palestine. It looks into the connection between seaside Crusader castles and the sea at their foot, taking as a case study the mooring basin below the Apollonia-Arsuf castle. This examination includes under-water digging and sub-bottom profiling using special equipment, and reveals interesting finds which call for further research.

The prevailing opinion regarding Gallo-Roman religion is that it was a fusion between the two religions. Scholars who dissent from this view can be divided into two different groups. On the one hand, scholars contend that, during a formative period of Gallo-Roman civilisation, there was a partial abandonment of the Gallic rites, that Roman religion came to be understood to be better as well as different, and that Gallo-Roman religion offered more spiritually as well as materially. On the other hand, other researchers hold that the Gallic deities continued to be worshipped, some under a Roman guise, others in their original pre-Roman form; however, they accept aniconism, atectonism and the reports that the Romans stopped human sacrifice and headhunting. This volume argues not only that the worship of Gallic deities continued, but also that Gallic religion already used man-made sanctuaries and anthropomorphic images before the Roman Conquest, that the disappearance of human sacrifice was wrongly attributed to the Romans and that the Romans never suppressed headhunting. In chapter one some conceptual problems, including those regarding terminology, presuppositions and errors are looked at. In the second chapter the archaeological and literary sources of information about Gallic religion and their reliability are examined. Using these sources, in the third chapter, Gallic deities are identified and the enigma of the pantheon set out by Caesar is decoded. In the fourth chapter the use of formal structures of worship and ritual by the Gauls is confirmed and the essential elements of such structures are analysed, with the argument being supported by a comparison of pre-Roman Celtic sanctuaries from both inside and outside the Roman Empire. In the fifth chapter the concept of sacrifice is examined from an anthropological perspective and this approach is applied to all Gallic sacrifices; the Gallic rituals of divination and circumambulation are also examined. The basis for the magico-religious significance and popularity of headhunting is established in the sixth chapter. Finally, in the seventh chapter, the Celtic belief in an Afterlife is defined and its attraction is demonstrated. In each chapter, the number of these Gallic beliefs and customs, which continued after the Roman Conquest, is examined and it is demonstrated that Gallic religion was not abandoned, that the Celtic sanctuary design was the basis for Gallo-Roman temple design and that Gallo-Roman religion continued to be Gallic as well as Roman.

This study of the area around St Saviour's Abbey (Alto Lazio/Tuscia, Viterbo, southern Etruria, Italy) is based on multidisciplinary research methods which employ analyses of documents, surveys, aerial archaeology, and modern computer technologies to determine the connection between archaeological and documentary data. The abbey, according to tradition, was founded by the Lombard King Ratchis. The main objective of this volume is to determine archaeological evidence that may be linked to the many settlements reported in the abbey's extant literary and MSS resources.

Excavations on the border between Greece (sector Promachon) and Bulgaria (sector Topolni¿a) in the basin of the river Strymonas, in Macedonia northern Greece, have revealed a 'flat-extended' settlement dating to the Late Neolithic. In addition to the rich array of material culture evidence, the excavation yielded a substantial quantity of animal bones, thus offering an unparalleled opportunity to study the human-animal relationships. This book focuses on the study of the faunal assemblage from the Greek sector of Promachon, and examines the role and the contribution of domestic and wild animals in subsistence. This information is especially valuable considering the scarcity of faunal data from contemporary settlements across the basin of the Strymonas during a time period (the 5th millennium BC) that is considered one of the most dynamic eras in the prehistory of southeastern Europe. This study also clarifies trends in animal management at both the micro and the macro scales, through a detailed comparison of faunal data between Promachon and other contemporary sites from northern Greece and the Balkan regions.

As integrated and varied ritual contexts, how do changing patterns of pre-Columbian cave use inform the complex of historical, social, political, economic and related ideological processes in action during the inception, florescence, and collapse of Tipan Chen Uitz and other ancient Maya centres in Central Belize? This book aims to highlight and, within a specific regional context, to address, the tendency of the speleoarchaeology of the Maya area to isolate itself from broader topics of discourse. To this end, it explicitly contextualizes primary research in several caves along a chain of related concepts and datasets, extending from the broad body of literature on ritual and religion, through discussion of the conceptual cave context drawn from epigraphic and iconographic sources, and its invocation as recorded in contemporary (or, at least, relatively recent) ethnographic contexts and earlier post-Columbian indigenous historic sources, to the well-travelled paths of the archaeological study of caves.

Durante la expansión de los reinos cristianos por la Península Ibérica en la Edad Media se produjo un cambio en las normas y costumbres sociales devenidas de un doble proceso de conquista y colonización. La arquitectura será una manifestación donde expresar los deseos y necesidades de la nueva sociedad cristiana. En este libro se aborda la cuestión de la forma, la estructura y construcción de la arquitectura eclesiástica tomando como caso de estudio el territorio de la Sierra de Aracena, una región del Reino de Sevilla conquistado durante el siglo XIII, a través de tres cuestiones: ¿Qué condicionantes históricos y materiales plantean la configuración de las iglesias? ¿Cuál era la forma de construir? y finalmente ¿Qué respuesta técnico constructiva tuvo?Para tratar de responder estas cuestiones se recurre al estudio de la técnica constructiva a través de diferentes fuentes, principalmente las materiales a partir de los estudios arqueológicos y de diseño de los edificios como el estudio geométrico de la planta, presentando un levantamiento completo así como de modelos 3D que muestran la información de las iglesias siendo cotejadas y caracterizadas mediante textos consultados en diferentes archivos.The expansion of the Christian kingdoms through the Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Ages prompted a change in social norms and customs, resulting from the double process of conquest and colonisation. Architecture was one manifestation of the desires and needs of the new Christian society. This book examines the form, structure and construction of ecclesiastical architecture, taking as a case study the territory of the Sierra de Aracena, a region of the Kingdom of Seville conquered during the thirteenth century, by posing three questions: What historical and material constraints shaped the configuration of the churches? What was the approach to building them? And finally, what construction techniques resulted? To try to answer these questions the author embarks on a study of construction technique, drawing mainly on archaeological approaches such as geometric study of their floorplans, and here presents a complete survey, including 3D models that display the resulting information on the churches, which has been collated with reference to texts from a variety of archives.

Esta obra se centra en el estudio de la delimitación de los espacios públicos dentro de las murallas de Pompeya. Esta ciudad nos brinda la posibilidad de realizar un estudio de esta índole, ya que es considerada una cápsula del tiempo y podemos ver en ella el ejemplo más claro de cómo se organizaba urbanísticamente una urbe romana en el siglo I d.C. Para analizar la delimitación de todos estos espacios se ha llevado a cabo un estudio de los bloques irregulares de piedra (termini) que los delimitan. Estos termini estaban fuertemente protegidos por la legislación, por un derecho consuetudinario y por preceptos religiosos. Por ello, a todo aquel que osara mover o sobrepasar dichos termini con la construcción de edificios se le impondría una sanción por parte de la ciudad e incluso en algunos casos por parte del emperador.This book focuses on the delimitation of public spaces within the city wall of ancient Pompeii. Because the original pattern and architectural structures of this city are so well preserved, it provides valuable insight into the urbanism of a Roman city of the 1st century AD. The delimitation of public spaces in the city has here been examined through a study of the boundary stones known as termini. These stones were strongly controlled by municipal legislation, but they were also protected by customary law and religious precepts. Those who damaged or moved the termini, or built their house or any other structure in such a way as to violate the delimiting line marked by the termini, had to pay a penalty, which was imposed by the municipal council or, in some cases, by the emperor.

Hypogean Archaeology No 11Censire e studiare le cavità artificiali vuol dire documentare le architetture sotterranee. Questi sono gli Atti del IV Congresso di Archeologia del Sottosuolo e i quattordici lavori trattano le opere idrauliche realizzate dall'antichità al XX secolo, seguendo le tipologie e sottotipologie già messe in evidenza nei precedenti volumi di Hypogean Archaeology e soprattutto negli antecedenti testi che hanno inaugurato la nuova disciplina. I lavori contenuti in questi Atti offrono un panorama sulle indagini condotte nelle opere idrauliche presenti in contesti differenti, così da offrire un incentivo e uno stimolo ai futuri ricercatori. Difatti, per quanto fino ad oggi sia stato fatto, si è ancora ben lungi dall'avere documentato tutte le opere idrauliche sotterranee più importanti dell'Italia e delle Nazioni vicine e lontane. Si ricordi che lo studio delle "opere ipogee" o "cavità artificiali" necessita di un addestramento di base che solo la tecnica e la pratica speleologica possono fornire.The study and recording of artificial cavities consists in the documentation of underground structures. This volume presents the Acts of the Fourth Congress of Hypogean Archaeology, collecting 14 papers devoted to hydraulic works carried out from antiquity through the twentieth century. They follow the typologies and subtypes highlighted in the previous volumes of the Hypogean Archeology subseries, particularly those that inaugurated this new discipline. The works presented here provide an overview of surveys conducted in hydraulic works from a variety contexts, so as to offer an incentive and a stimulus to future researchers, as researchers are still far from having documented all the most important underground hydraulic works in Italy, let alone neighbouring and distant regions, and the study of underground structures and artificial cavities requires the basic training that only proper technique and speleological practice can provide.

The settlement site of Sion-Avenue Ritz, located in central Valais (Switzerland), was occupied during the middle Neolithic (Cortaillod). The analyzed faunal remains come mainly from dump pits and they are mostly consumption or butchery wastes, belonging to domestic animals. One exceptional pit contained the skeletons of at least 15 sheep in partial anatomical connection. The zooarchaeological analysis of these special remains show that the animals, ranging from very young to sub-adult individuals, were very likely to have been thrown complete in the pit, simultaneously and probably following the bodies' cremation. Although several hypothetical interpretations of this context are essayed, one is considered the most tenable by the author: the stock may have died from an epizootic which hit the flock during spring, and were buried in a pit specially dug for them after they were partially burnt. The zooarchaeological analysis of this site, particularly of the '15 sheep pit', yields data of an exceptional quality in the context of Neolithic settlements in the middle and high Rhone valley where faunal remains are usually poorly preserved. It allows, among other things. An attempt to extrapolate interpretations on the stock's assessment and to understand the breeding conditions of these animals.

This work examines the evolution of astronomical thought, as well as the various astronomical and cosmovisional ideas in pharaonic Egypt (c. 2800 -1200 BCE), after the most important religious texts (primarily Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts, and secondarily Book of the Dead). More specifically, the author examines the astronomical conceptions of the ancient Egyptians concerning the stars, the Sun, the Moon and the Planets, as they are revealed in these funerary texts; a statistical analysis and a global comparative study of the corpora of PT and CT are presented here for the first time. The textual study of the Orphic Hymns and the funerary texts of the Egyptians is conducted within the interdisciplinary framework of both Egyptology and Archæoastronomy. The contents of this volume include: Chapter I, develops the theme and the scope of study, and the methodology, and the tools used to analyze the textual material in our comparative study. Chapter II is intended to be viewed as a concise introduction to the modern concepts of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology. Chapter III is the nucleus of the study, where conceptions of ancient Egyptians in relation to the celestial bodies -as they are revealed in their funerary texts- are examined. Chapter IV is dedicated to the Hellenic Orphic Hymns, the textual archæoastronomical dating of their astronomical and cosmovisional notions from c. 1300 BCE (an era coinciding with the NK, viz the early Ramesside period), and the study of the astronomical conceptions that the Orphics had about the celestial bodies (stars, Sun, Moon and Planets). Chapter V is a concise comparative study between the ancient Egyptian and the modern astronomical ideas on the celestial bodies. Chapter VI is the focal point of convergence of the main conclusions and ideas of the work, with a review of the conclusions. The work ends with a series of Tables and the Indexes, presenting readers with a review of various modern and ancient astronomical conceptions, as well as with egyptological notions dealt with in the study (classified and categorized in appropriate sections). Written in French with extensive summaries in French, English, Greek and German.

A detailed study of the important silver hoard from Hildesheim, Germany.

This book presents an analysis of medieval pottery remains found during archaeological excavations carried out at a series of sites within the Spanish city of León and in its immediate surroundings. For all of the pottery collections the various pots were inventoried using a series of variables, such as the raw materials from which they were made, the type of firing process used in their production, and their morphology and finish. These data, together with a visual analysis, were systematically compiled into a database, which enabled a subsequent quantitative and qualitative analysis. The study also includes the results of an archaeometric analysis of various pottery fragments carried out at the Archaeometric Unit at the University of Santiago de Compostela.

An investigation of the propagandic methods employed by the Severan dynasty. In this thesis, a wide variety of evidence is examined, much of it relating to portraiture.

This book, about the application of selected geophysical methods, their processing and interpretation on PC in archaeological prospection, sums up, generalises and comprehensively evaluates results achieved by authorities active in this field across a time-span greater than twenty years. Particular evidence is taken from archaeological localities in the Czech Republic.

This book includes papers from the annual meeting of SEAC (European Society for Astronomy in Culture) held in Kecskemét in Hungary in 2004.

This study investigates the origins and consolidation of Latin Christianity and consequent way of life in the Maltese Islands, up to around 1530 AD. It is the outcome of several years of research on the written and unwritten sources, the partial, and at times conflicting, results of several independent aspects of which have been reported and discussed. The volume is, therefore, an analysis and interpretation of conclusions and hypotheses that have been circulating over the last decade.