This study considers the detailed archaeological and documentary records of Cyprus and Ugarit (Syria) to gain new insights into the long-term relations between two of the best known, well-connected polities in the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean.I engage with concepts such as maritime space and spheres of interaction, merchants and mercantilism, actors and agents. Some background on both Ugarit and Cyprus is presented, followed by examination of the common material features of both (e. g., ashlar masonry, urban mortuary practices, composite anchors, the Cypro-Minoan script). The study then zeroes in more specifically to present the Cypriot material uncovered in Ugarit (especially seals, metals and pottery), followed by some of the Levantine materials found on Cyprus.All known documentary evidence related to these two polities is presented and discussed with respect to three factors: people, politics and professions. The discussion section that follows takes a broader look at material and mercantile connectivity in the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean, considering in turn the merchants of Ugarit and Cyprus, maritime spheres of interaction, and the actors and agents involved in these mercantile worlds. Although Ugarit and Cyprus were two very different kinds of society, they shared a vital, commercial link, one that — over time — had a transformative impact on Cyprus.

This work deals with topics related to mobility, contacts and transmission of knowledge. The study of these topics regarding the past can promote an understanding of the social implications of migration, communication and learning today through long-term perspectives of change. This volume focuses on these topics in the Mesolithic by analysing a specialised lithic concept known previously from Scandinavia and Northern Germany. The implementation of the Handle Core Pressure Concept (HCPC) is based on a pressure technique to produce small regular blades from single-fronted cores, often utilised in slotted bone points. The use of pressure technique means that the HCPC requires social learning for maintenance and diffusion of the tradition.The research questions focus on three aspects of the HCPC: technology, chronology and the transmission of knowledge that are involved in the diffusion process. Materials from across Northern Europe have been studied and analysed. The results show that the morphology of the materials is similar across Europe, but that there are differences in the technological choices made by knappers in different parts of the area. These variations relate to the core preparation. The technological differences are also connected to two different chronologies that are centred east and west of the Baltic Sea, which would indicate two separate technological and social traditions.The cores east of the Baltic Sea still require more research in order to understand how they relate to other concepts in and around Northern Europe. The cores from Scandinavia, however, exhibit strong technological similarities to an older pressure-based blade concept that was already used in Scandinavia in the Early Mesolithic. The long-term use and the rapid diffusion of the HCPC indicate that knowledge and know-how must have diffused via both vertical and horizontal directionalities. These results exemplify the complex ways that mobility, social learning, material availability, tradition and many other aspects played a role in the transmission of knowledge in Mesolithic societies.

The first ever large-scale synthesis on identity and social dynamics across archaic Macedonia (600-400 BC), Christos Giamakis’s book provides a detailed narrative exploring the role of power as displayed through material culture in the formation of group identities across the region. Giamakis focuses on data from nine cemeteries in the region combining multiple datasets including grave goods, osteological evidence, burial rites, tomb types and the organisation of the cemetery space in order to explore both inter- and intra-site competition that led to the emergence of different group identities across the region. By doing so, he proposes a new theoretical framework for the study of the region as an alternative to past, ethnicity-based, approaches. Identity, Power and Group Formation in Archaic Macedonia (600-400 BC) encourages the reader to explore the ways in which social inequalities, power dynamics and social interactions all affect the potency of specific identities at the expense of others. The present monograph will be of great interest to researchers working on ancient Macedonia and the wider ancient Greek world but also to scholars interested in power dynamics and identity formation in other parts of the ancient Mediterranean.

This volume presents a cutting-edge perspective on figurine studies in the Neolithic Aegean, sparking renewed interest and innovative ideas. It celebrates two significant milestones in the field: the 50th anniversary of Giorgos Hourmouziadis’ Ph.D. thesis (submitted in 1973 and published in 1974) and the 30th anniversary of Lauren Talalay’s Ph.

Obsidian, a shiny volcanic glass, was first used to make vessels in the mid-sixth millennium BC in the Near East, although other stone had been exploited for vessel manufacture since the thirteenth millennium BC. Unlike the stone used to make the earliest vessels, which was acquired from local and regional sources, obsidian had to be obtained from volcanoes located hundreds of kilometers from where vessels were made and used. The obsidian from these sources had long been exploited for making tools and by the tenth millennium BC obsidian artifacts can be found in communities located far distant from the sources. Nevertheless, it was not until the mid-sixth millennium BC that it was used to make vessels and even then they are rare: less than 200 have been found spread over four millennia (c. 5400–1500 BC). This is perhaps in part due to obsidian’s exotic origins but also because its comparative hardness and brittle nature made it difficult to work.To obtain a wider perspective on the use of obsidian for making vessels this book looks briefly at the properties of obsidian and the characteristics of the relevant sources and gives an overview of how obsidian has been understood and used by various communities around the world. The main part of the book examines the obsidian vessels found in the Near East. Previous studies have tended to take a site-specific viewpoint but here the opportunity has been taken to adopt a more holistic and integrated approach. This approach brings together different aspects of the vessels, including the provenance of the obsidian from which they were made, their morphologies, evidence for techniques of manufacture and the socioeconomic contexts in which they were produced and used, and attempts to determine whether the use of obsidian was of itself meaningful or significant.

For ambitious late antique homeowners seeking to demonstrate their status and taste, water and its display offered almost infinite possibilities. Water Displays in Domestic Spaces across the Late Roman West: Cultivating Living Buildings presents the first synthesis of the archaeological evidence for late antique water features in both urban houses and extra-urban villas across the western Empire. Ginny Wheeler examines a wide and varied range of examples: from decorative basins and pools to fountains of all forms to water-equipped dining couches. Through careful analysis and evocative reconstruction of the water displays in their diverse contexts, this book explores how they were incorporated into late antique residences, the different ways that they enhanced domestic spaces, and the potential motives behind their insertion. To assess the great efforts to which homeowners, particularly in urban settings, went to ensure their installation and continued operation, one case study focuses on the best-preserved cityscape of Ostia. While the roles of water features ranged from practical to aesthetic, to social and symbolic, this book highlights their previously under-considered contributions to thermal comfort and sensory experience through in-depth analyses of two Iberian villas. Wheeler identifies broad patterns and regional distinctions in form and decor before reflecting on the multifaceted significance of water in the domestic sphere, informed by literary, epigraphic, and iconographic sources. Beyond contributing to the ongoing debate over fountains’ utility versus aesthetics, this research offers new insights into the organization of life at household and neighborhood levels, the social relations between homeowners occasioned by water installations, and the understanding and application of environmental design in Antiquity.

Fenster sind multifunktionale Bauteile, die sich sowohl nach Innen als auch nach Außen richten. Sie geben uns durch ihre Zahl, Größe und Art ihrer Verschlüsse wichtige Hinweise auf die Benutzungsarten und -zeiten der jeweiligen Räume, in denen sie angebracht sind. Darüber hinaus sind sie in der Lage zusammen mit dem decor eines Raumes eine Atmosphäre zu schaffen, in manchen Fällen sogar eine von der realen Welt entkoppelte Heterotopie. Zwar waren die Häuser und Thermen der Römer schon lange Gegenstand archäologischer Untersuchungen, doch blieb eine grundlegende Beschäftigung mit ihren Fenstern bisher aus oder sie erfolgte nur in einzelnen Aufsätzen. Das vorliegende Buch bündelt das Desiderat der Forschung und schließt bestehende Forschungslücken in Bezug auf deren Konstruktionen, Verschlüsse und Ausstattungselemente. Es zeichnet die Entwicklungsgeschichte dieses Bauteils über mehr als 500 Jahre Architekturgeschichte nach und berücksichtigt dabei nicht nur dessen pragmatische Funktionen, sondern auch seine kognitiv-sensualistischen.English abstractWindows are multifunctional elements within roman architecture. Their number, size, and type of shutters help us understand the use of architectural spaces within their time. Windows, together with the décor of such spaces, are able to create certain atmospheres, sometimes even heterotopias, which are dissociated from the real world. Whereas houses and baths have been studied for a long time, the analysis of windows and their functions was often neglected and has been the subject of only a few articles.This book aims to summarize research results and close the gap of research regarding methods of window and shutter construction and their features. It traces the evolution of windows over more than 500 years of architectural history, taking into account not only their pragmatic functions but their cognitive-sensualistic effects as well.

Land was the ideal store of wealth in the ancient Mediterranean world. It brought social respectability, and its possession allowed participation in the politics of the cities governed by landowning elites. Crucial defense of the interests of a given polity through armed services often involved the distribution of lands to laborers still not integrated in these societies. Mediterranean urban dynamics also involved paid labor and were always in need of short-contract manpower, including skilled soldiers and warriors. For short-time military services, lands were not always available so soldiers and warriors were paid with coins and riches.Because of their superior development, urban economies in the Mediterranean were able to attract migrant paid labor. When returning home, the migrant warriors carried coins and riches that would enable them to maximize the return that a homecoming entailed. Although difficult to prove whether these men were paid in advance or when discharged, it is an important issue as it shows the strength of one contractor over another and helps to better understand the construction of statehood in ancient and early medieval times.This collection of papers sheds light on how coins, riches, and lands were gained and distributed among soldiers, warriors, and mercenaries. Contributions cover a wide chronological span from Late Pharaonic to early medieval times, linking a well-defined core area, the Mediterranean basin, with its peripheries: Central Europe and Scandinavia to the north and the margins of the Sahara Desert and the Fertile Crescent to the south and the east.

For over 60 years, spectacular discoveries have been made on a wooded hillside at Snettisham, overlooking the northwest Norfolk coast, close to Hunstanton. The location of the discoveries, at Ken Hill, is known as the ‘gold field’ because of the large number of gold and silver alloy neck-rings (‘torcs’) and coins recovered from the site. Known as the ‘Snettisham Treasure’, these objects represent one of the largest collections of prehistoric precious metal objects ever discovered, and one of the largest concentrations of Celtic art. The objects were found in at least 14 separate hoards buried between 150 BC and AD 100 – spanning the late Iron Age and early Roman periods, but with a peak of activity during the late Iron Age. The objects from Snettisham are widely known, but the site has never been fully published. This book is the first comprehensive account of the discoveries and excavations at the site and presents a full catalogue of the finds. The majority are in the British Museum, with a significant collection also held by Norwich Castle Museum. The book also presents the results of extensive scientific analysis, revealing new and exciting details about how torcs were manufactured. The final section places Snettisham in its wider social and landscape context. The authors argue that each hoard represents different collection and depositional histories. The repeated, yet varied, acts of deposition at the site were part of creating, negotiating and reinforcing social structures, as well as performing and creating social change.

Water may separate islands and the mainland, but the sea also offers a vital link. This volume is one of three major outputs of the research and public engagement project ‘Being an Islander’: Art and Identity of the Large Mediterranean Islands, implemented between 2019 and 2024 at the University of Cambridge. This project aimed to elucidate what defines island identity in the Mediterranean. It explored how insularity affects and shapes cultural identity by integrating transdisciplinary research methodologies, for example, by producing an awarded documentary on insularity and island identity, drawing on the principles of visual anthropology, social anthropology and environment studies. This volume is the culmination of the project’s research strands, undertaken by our key research teams in Cambridge, Cyprus, Greece and Italy. It disseminates our research across our main project themes: insularity, connectivity, mobility, migration, island art and material culture production, hybridity and diachronicity, and provides cross-disciplinary arguments and suggestions on the future of island archaeology and associated disciplines. Contributions included suggest that the relationship between people, place and material culture is what reveals important aspects of island identity and reframe the concept of the islands as a dynamic interplay shaped by social and historical episodes, connectivity and mobility, rather than geography or political boundaries. The volume advocates that the complex histories of the Mediterranean islands can also be a story of connections.

5,000 years ago, a migration shaped Europe’s future. Migrating communities spread across Europe within two centuries, leaving lasting changes in interconnectivity, language, and ancestry. Yet these migrating communities did not enter an empty continent. Across Europe, they encountered indigenous communities with millennia-old roots. What interactions between migrating and indigenous communities gave rise to those lasting changes?This study sheds new light on this question with an innovative approach to ceramics. Ceramics bear traces of the production techniques which potters learned and applied to create them. The approach developed here combines a chaîne opératoire analysis of these traces with network analysis and probability theory to provide a quantitative estimate of the amount of shared knowledge between the prehistoric potters who made these ceramics.This approach is applied to ceramics from migrating Corded Ware communities and indigenous Funnel Beaker West communities in the Netherlands. The aim is to detect whether potters in these communities interacted and shared knowledge. The outcomes offer a unique perspective on this period and prehistoric migrations in general. Migrating and indigenous communities are shown to co-exist for several centuries at the start of the third millennium BCE with evidence for migrant potters learning repeatedly from indigenous potters and incorporating this knowledge into the production of Corded Ware vessels.

This facsimile reissue of the 1975 second edition of Iversen’s Canon and Proportion brings back into print a seminal work originally published in 1955. Iversen describes a canon – that is, a set of rules of proportions – advanced and used by the artists of Egypt. In order to interpret the stylistic message of the Egyptian system of proportion he undertakes a study of the principles of its construction, an analysis of its modules and presents an unambiguous numerical definition of the ratios governing its units and parts, demonstrating its use with illustrated examples. He contends that much of the art, especially tomb art, was never intended to be seen by mortal eyes and, as such, was designed to follow a set of rules governed by the requirements of religious and cultic traditions rather than purely aesthetic considerations. Painting and sculpture were largely not primarily things of beauty but magical entities fraught with fateful significance. The development and use of a grid for practical application of the system can still be seen in tomb paintings and is demonstrated in the proportional correctness of statues. The system was based on an accurate standardization of the natural relations of the various parts of human anatomy, such as the relation of palm to forearm and forearm to height, expressed in simple numerical terms geometrically reflected in grids based on the fist. Iversen’s treatise was not without controversy but this fascinating study remains a hugely important contribution to the interpretation of Egyptian art.

This facsimile reissue of Anthea Page’s catalog of the stone and wooden statuary in the Petrie Museum makes available again a major corpus of material. The bulk of statuary in the museum was purchased since the finest sculpture from Petrie’s own excavations rightly went to Cairo and other museums. While the sculpture in his own collection covers the whole length of Egyptian dynastic history illustrating many different schools and qualities of workmanship, it does not provide a comprehensive view of the art of the Egyptian sculptor. Nevertheless, the 174 items described and discussed cover a wide range of subjects and forms. Statues of gods and animals and types loosely classifiable as ‘figurines’ or ‘models’ are deliberately excluded and the corpus focuses on representations of royalty, priests, officials and unknown individuals (men and women), of varying status and possible ethnicity in a variety of poses. Statues of multiple individuals are represented as well as a statuette of a man and a monkey. The catalogue is preceded by an introduction by H. S. Smith outlining the history of Egyptian portrait sculpture, the religious ideas behind it and nature of patronage, and is accompanied by detailed drawings and translations of associated inscriptions. All pieces are illustrated by photographs.

This is a facsimile reissue of part I of H.M. Stewart’s three part complete catalogue of the inscribed stelae, reliefs and paintings acquired by Flinders Petrie from his many Egyptian excavations and intended as a teaching collection. Over 200 monuments of the New Kingdom are described, translated and illustrated with comments on techniques and materials, and details of provenance, date and bibliographical references. The first section deals with royal monuments, mainly from the Theban mortuary temples and the Memphite temple of Ptah. This is followed by a section on relief sculptures for Amarna. Funerary stelae are divided into Osirian and Solar types and are followed by the votive stelae of private individuals. Many of the finest reliefs come from private tombs. The descriptions are accompanied by 53 plates of detailed scale line drawings. More than two-thirds of the monuments had never been published before this catalogue appeared and it was hailed, and remains, a major resource for scholars into this spectacular period.

This is a facsimile reissue of part III of H.M Stewart’s three part complete catalogue of the inscribed stelae, reliefs and paintings acquired by Flinders Petrie from his many Egyptian excavations and intended as a teaching collection. Over 140 monuments, primarily of the Late Period are described, translated and illustrated with comments on techniques and materials, and details of provenance, date and bibliographical references. Royal and official monuments are more sparsely represented than for the earlier periods but include several items of particular interest, including a stela with a long hymn to Osiris and another recording a work of restoration at Abydos under Osorkon I. the continuing development of private stelae includes a common type showing owner at worship with many examples displaying scenes and inscriptions painted rather than carved on wood or limestone. Small votive stelae are dedicated to, for example, Thoth, Min, Ptah and Isis and include magical stelae intended to cure snake bites, scorpion stings etc. The catalogue also includes miscellaneous statute fragments, some being more recently identified pieces from earlier periods, including those identified as representing prince Khaemwesat, son of Ramesses III and Rekhmire, vizier of Tutmoseis III. The descriptions are accompanied by 48 plates of detailed scale line drawings.

Volumes 15,4 (134 pages) and 15,5 (247 pages, 259 ill., 45 A3 plates) are conceived as a single volume (III.1–2) comprised of two fascicules. III.1: The Harbour Fortifications of the Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours – Architecture and Topography.The primary objective of this fascicule is to present the results of the Zea Harbour Project’s investigations of the harbour fortifications at Mounichia in 2005 and the period 2007 to 2012 and to re-examine what can be known about the fortifications of Kantharos, which continues to serve as the Piraeus’ principal harbour to the present day. Chapter 1 (Introduction) considers the objectives, textual sources, archaeological evidence, terminology, and methodology involved, introducing two new terms: “fortified mole” and “fortified breakwater.” Chapter 2 presents the textual evidence relating to the fortifications of the Piraeus, contextualising these structures within the history of the Piraeus from the late 6th century BC until their destruction by Sulla’s forces in 86 BC. Chapter 3 offers an overview of the documentation created by travellers since 1589, topographers since 1686, and scholars since 1881, focusing on their descriptions of the structural remains of the harbours in the Piraeus, but also bringing relevant cartographic, photographic, and artistic documents into consideration. Chapter 4 explores the topography of the fortifications at Kantharos Harbour based on published data. Chapter 5 does likewise for Mounichia, drawing on the findings of the Project’s fieldwork there to provide a detailed analysis of the harbour fortifications’ architecture, supported by feature catalogues of the northern and southern fortified moles. These monumental structures were probably initially constructed in the early 5th century BC. Two later building phases belonging to the 5th century BC (in all probability 429/28 BC or shortly thereafter) and the 4th to 3rd centuries BC have been identified.III.2: The Themistoclean Shipsheds in Group 1 at Mounichia Harbour – Architecture, Topography and Finds.This fascicule presents the findings of the Project’s 2010–2012 investigations on the northern side of Mounichia Harbour to discuss the architecture and topography of Shipsheds 1–7 in Group 1. Chapter 1 is devoted to the survey and excavation of this set of shipsheds. Shipshed 1(α), dated to terminus post quem 500–480 BC, represents the Zea Harbour Project’s most important discovery: of all the Classical-period structures in the Piraeus, only Shipshed 1(α) has a compelling claim to be linked to Themistocles’ building programme. Chapter 2 offers a survey and catalogue of the ceramics and other small finds discovered during the excavation of Shipshed 1(α) and of the northern fortified mole at Mounichia. Appendices, Figures, and Plates complete the volume.