Fieldwork revealed details of a wide landscape of Roman fields and enclosures laid out around the junction of two droveways and probably spanning the entire Roman period. An early Iron Age roundhouse radiocarbon dated to 653-542 cal BC had previously occupied the same area that was to be close to the heart of the Roman enclosures. However, the chief interest of the site lies in the late Roman period (later 3rd to 4th century) when a rectangular villa was constructed on the terrace edge overlooking the river Cam. Initially of just three rooms it was soon expanded to six and the southern end was then subdivided to form a bath suite. Although of very simple plan form, the building was of some sophistication with very substantial deep stone foundations carrying stone walls, an elaborate hypocaust, decoratively painted wall plaster, stone roof, and furniture including some with decorative stone tops. Other signs of obvious wealth, however, are lacking. The villa seems to have been demolished by the end of the 4th century, possibly earlier. The faunal component of the economy comprised a typical dominance of cattle followed by sheep/goat and pig with few exotic species, and the proportions of which changed little through the life of the settlement. Evidence for arable production was again typically modest, with no structures such as corn driers present, though millstones imply large scale production of flour.

Norway and Sweden are among the biggest consumers of energy per capita, yet the Nordic nations also lead the world in clean power production and have ambitious goals of decarbonizing their energy systems by 2050. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland vary drastically in geography and the availability of natural resources, but each consistently generates electricity from renewable sources at multiple times the average rate of other high-income countries. Mogens Rüdiger and Anna Åberg present a concise and timely history of energy production, trade, and consumption in Norden, starting with a review of the regional energy mix—from wind, solar, tide and wave, geothermal, biomass, nuclear, coal, and gas sources. Brief chapters describe the diversity of Nordic energy markets, assess how far the green transition has come, and explore what comes next as global crises, domestic politics, and technological developments present novel challenges and opportunities. Energy infrastructures and economic activities, Rüdiger and Åberg argue, serve as unique cultural focal points in the region. The coauthors summarise the national policy frameworks for the sector as well as the key energy and economic indicators used in infrastructure planning, regulation, and the opening of the electricity and gas markets to free competition. Energy in the Nordic World is the essential primer to the power markets at the heart of Europe’s energy transition.

This book, written in German, presents an interdisciplinary study of the south-eastern part of Denmark – South Zealand and the islands Lolland, Falster and Møn – as a border area between Danes, Saxons and Slavs from the 9th to the 13th century. In the archaeological evidence it is evident that the Slavic-inspired Baltic ware completely displaces the local ceramic tradition on the islands. In the period concerned, there is evidence of dynastic connections between Slavs and Danes at the same time as violent conflicts were taking place across the Baltic Sea. On Lolland, Falster and Møn there are Slavic place names, and in written sources the contours of Slavic noble families on Lolland and Falster can be traced through several hundred years, but otherwise the Slavs who lived on the Danish islands into the 13th century were completely assimilated within a short time.

Pilgrims in Place, Pilgrims in Motion: Sacred Travel in the Ancient Mediterranean brings together exciting interdisciplinary scholarship on the connected poles of pilgrimage: the sanctuaries being visited, and the journeys to get there. Contributions investigate different concepts of place, community, social tensions and expectations of pilgrim behaviour; long-term meanings of place as embodied in memory and topography; mobility, migration and place-making; connectivity and its relationship to pilgrimage. Individual chapters discuss shrines, sanctuaries and sacred places as well as journeys and mobility across Greek, Roman and late antique contexts, framed as part of a key debate within the study of pilgrimage, the central tension between place and motion.

This book is the first of three planned volumes from the project Gokstad Revitalised, which is an archaeological revisit at the famous Viking Age ship grave originally excavated in 1880. The volume collect experiences from other archaeological revisits over the last decades, including the ship grave sites from Hedeby, Ladby and Sutton Hoo, as well as the royal monument at Jelling. It also reports on the research history of the Gokstad find and on a number of methodological feasibility studies carried out as preparation of the project. These include iron provenancing, aDNA, isotope analyses, osteology and new dendrochronological results. The final part of the volume discusses the paradox of planning a multi-year, frontrunner project in a field where methodological development is rapid and uncertainty abound, and share the project's experiences so far.

Six years of excavations in Tell F3 have uncovered several occupation phases belonging to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, Failaka period 3B (c. 1600 BC). Though the material culture of Dilmun was heavily influenced by South Mesopotamia, this was a period where Dilmun regained its former importance after the economic and political collapse around 1700 BC, perhaps leading up to a final conquest by the Sealand Dynasty. The end stages of the development of Dilmun stamp seals are documented, e.g. the first find of a Style III Dilmun seal in a safe period 3B context. The renaissance in stamp seal Style III is paralleled in stone vessels decorated in the Failaka Figurative Style.

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.

The sanctuary at Kavos on Keros was discovered in 1963 in the aftermath of looting in the region of the sanctuary now designated the Special Deposit North. From 2006-2008, excavations in the Special Deposit South (now fully published in Volumes II and III of the present series), clarified the nature of the deposits and the materials found there. This volume publishes the sculptural fragments from the Special Deposit North, recovered in excavations in 1963 and 1967, in a campaign of surface survey and excavation in 1987, and collected by archaeologists over the past six decades, or discovered by locals. The material is better preserved than most of the material from the Special Deposit South, and offers important insights into earlier phases of Cycladic sculpture, monumental sculptures, and sculptures of special type, such as seated or standing figures, including musicians and groups. The present volume completes the publication of the entire sculptural assemblage recovered in approved excavations from the sanctuary at Kavos, and a number of conclusions are offered on the basis of the complete assemblage.

Ancient Nubia played key political, social, and economic roles in the ancient world, yet knowledge of Nubian societies remains regrettably narrow, with Nubia often disregarded as derivative of Egypt. This volume provides a timely corrective to this outlook, centering Nubian history and archaeology and presenting research from postcolonial and anti-racist perspectives. In addition to demonstrating Nubiology’s potential impact on Egyptological, classical, and biblical scholarship, this volume offers a new window into African achievements and dominance in the ancient world.

The end of the 3rd millennium was a time of significant transformation in Southeast Arabia (the United Arab Emirates and Northern Oman). The cultural homogeneity of the preceding Early Bronze Age, Umm an-Nar period (c. 2700–2000 BC) came to an end and gave way to the Middle Bronze Age, Wadi Suq period (2000–1600 BC). Settlements changed, and possibly began to decline in size and number; the economy changed for many; and the important trade in copper ore seems to have declined. In addition, there was a marked change in funerary practices as new types of tombs appeared – both collective and individual burials. All of this took place within the context of a climatic shift that led to a decline in rainfall across many parts of the region. Much of the countryside of Southeastern Iran was abandoned and the urban period of the Indus Valley was weakening. In the midst of this turmoil, the limited agricultural plains of Northern Ras al-Khaimah appear to have developed into an island where there was greater continuity than elsewhere. This book reports on the excavation of a number of monumental collective tombs that were built there and used through the early part of the 2nd millennium. The way that they were constructed and used as well as the burial goods that they contain throw light on the population of this area, and give some indication of how and why it was that life continued in this small pocket in a way that was different way to surrounding regions.

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 and 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, 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 décor 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 neighbourhood levels, the social relations between homeowners occasioned by water installations, and the understanding and application of environmental design in antiquity.

This volume presents the results of archaeological investigations at the site of the former Kirkstall Forge in Leeds, UK. It provides a window into the evolution of iron- and steel-working and engineering in Leeds over a period of 400 years, as the site expanded from a water-powered iron forge to a major industrial works, manufacturing products that aided in the development and expansion of the textile, railway, coal and engineering industries in Leeds and further afield.A ‘bloom-smithy’ was present on the site by the end of the 16th century, and in the 17th century the forge and a new slitting mill became part of the Spencer Syndicate’s extensive network of ironworking sites across Yorkshire. In 1779, the forge was taken over by the partnership of Beecroft and Butler, which ran the works for nearly 100 years. This partnership introduced iron puddling for the production of high quality wrought iron and a substantial engineering business was developed. The Forge finally closed in 2003 and the site was cleared of the majority of buildings in 2007.The origin, growth and development of the works and business fortunes are charted through research, standing building recording and extensive archaeological excavations. This has revealed information on the development of puddling technologies, power sources and the changes in the engineering and axle production industries.

Between 2013 and 2018, the construction of a new industrial park afforded Oxford Archaeology the opportunity to investigate 19ha of land on the western edge of Raunds, Northamptonshire. The archaeological works revealed evidence for human activity spanning the early Neolithic to middle Saxon periods. From at least the early 18th century, the area has been under cultivation and has conse-quently suffered the effects of a substantial period of ploughing. Key to the development of the site was an early Neolithic monumental ditched enclosure, recorded in the Northamptonshire Historic Environment Record (NHER) as Cotton ‘Henge’. Its excavation provided important new evidence for its date and its influence on the surrounding landscape. Nearby lay middle and late Neolithic pits containing pottery and struck flint. Positioned at the centre of the ‘Henge’ was an early Bronze Age barrow, which was subsequently incorporated into a Middle Bronze Age field system.Dense settlement remains dating to the early to middle Iron Age transition extended across much of the site, including structures, numerous storage pits or silos, cobbled trackways and a pit alignment. Large assemblages of pottery, animal bone and other finds came from these features, alongside rich environmental remains.Romano-British activity was significant, with non-settlement, craft and agrarian-related remains extending across the area. Features included a pottery kiln and corn dryer, various burials and six stone-lined wells. The latter yielded important finds and environmental assemblages, preserved in their waterlogged fills. The most impressive item was a near life-sized carved wooden arm, believed to be a votive offering. This is an extremely rare find and perhaps the only item of its type from Roman Britain.Anglo-Saxon settlement took the form of numerous sunken-featured buildings. By the post-medieval period, the development site lay beneath strip fields associated with the village of Raunds to the east; by this time, the adjacent medieval village of Mallows Cotton (located to the immediate west) had been abandoned.The archaeological evidence uncovered at Warth Park has demonstrated that this area has been a widely exploited and managed landscape for approximately five millennia. The remains reflect an agricultural site, with associated craft and funerary activity, linked to known settlement areas in the wider environs.

This book sketches the first archaeological history of the lower Sirwan/upper Diyala river valley of north-east Iraq and adjacent landscapes over a period of c. 12,000 years, from the earliest signs of human presence until the mid-first millennium BCE, based on data gathered between 2013 and 2023 by the Sirwan Regional Project (SRP).The central research objective of the SRP is to move beyond traditional historical topoi and their predominantly external and state-centric perspectives that have dominated narratives of the region thus far. Instead, we develop an in-depth, archaeological understanding of the nature of the region’s past communities, their cultural and economic practices, the modes of socio-political organisation they developed, adopted, and rejected, and their long-term developments.In order to reconstruct past Sirwan lifeways, the book interweaves regional-scale datasets with the results of ongoing and completed excavations at the Late Chalcolithic site of Shakhi Kora and the Late Bronze to Early Iron Age site of Kani Masi, as well as the results of a wide range of archaeological, Assyriological, art historical, and archaeometric analyses.

The essays in this book focus on archaeological approaches to the utilization of highland regions in southwestern and central Asia, examining the interplay between human communities and highland landscapes from the Paleolithic era to the present.Contributions combine case studies with theoretical considerations to explore adaptive strategies of movement. They discuss the significance of mobility within archaeological and anthropological discourse. Contributors engage with critical questions: How can archaeologists discern traces of movement and unravel material footprints of diverse mobility? How can they track shifts in mobility through time or regions? By systematizing observations on human spatial behavior across epochs and settings, these essays seek to test and refine traditional archaeological methodologies. They present nuanced frameworks and shed light on the adaptability and resilience of these communities.“Appropriating Height” aims to understand the human experience in highland environments. It is essential for those fascinated by the entanglement between people, place, and time, providing a comprehensive perspective on the legacy of human movement.This book is the second volume of a series published by the German-Iranian research cooperation “The Iranian Highlands: Resiliences and Integration in Premodern Societies”. The goal of the research project is to shine a new light on communities and societies that populated the Iranian highlands and their more or less successful strategies to cope with the many vagaries, the constant changes and risks of their natural and humanly shaped environments.

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.