In 2020 and 2021 the Research Group on Storage in Ancient Egypt and Sudan organised two online workshops focusing on earthen storage buildings in ancient Egypt and Nubia. Following these two meetings, the nine contributions of this volume present often unpublished case studies (from the IVth millennium BCE to the Greco-Roman Period), as well as issues and perspectives of current research. They are authored by archaeologists working in Egypt, Sudan and Western Africa as well as architects spec...

As central places of human interaction, cities influence the reality of our lives like no other phenomenon. They are in a highly complex, reciprocal relationship with changing environmental, social, political, economic and religious constellations. Accordingly, the demands placed on cities and the ideas associated with them are often subject to highly dynamic change. Especially against the backdrop of increasingly rapid urbanisation, shaping this change is one of today’s central challenges ...

Between Foraging and Farming is liber amicorum for prof. Leendert Louwe Kooijmans, former dean of the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University. Neolithisation has been Louwe Kooijmans' research field since the nineteen-sixties and that is the reason why the topic of this book is the Meso-Neo transition.

Twenty-three researchers contributed to this volume, among them colleagues from the Faculty like Corrie Bakels, Annelou van Gijn , Pieter van de Velde and Harry Fokkens, but also from other ...

Salt is an invisible object for research in archaeology. However, ancient writings, ethnographic studies and the evidence of archaeological exploitation highlight it as an essential reference for humanity. Both an edible product and a crucial element for food preservation, it has been used by the first human settlements as soon as food storage appeared (Neolithic).As far as the history of food habits (both nutrition and preservation) is concerned, the identification and the use of that resour...

The focus of Archaeological Open-Air Museums (AOAMs) is to present both the tangible and intangible past to the public. The tangible parts of AOAMs are the archaeological remains and the reconstructions. The intangible and, in some respects the most interesting part of an AOAM, is the story of the people the museum represents. This volume explores the research and visitor agendas of structures and their life cycles as they are experienced by experimental archaeology projects and AOAMs. The pa...

Ancient Lives provides new perspectives on object, people and place in early Scotland and beyond. The 19 papers cover topics ranging from the Neolithic to the Medieval period, and from modern museum practice to ancient craft skills. The material culture of ancient lives is centre stage - how it was created and used, how it was rediscovered and thought about, and how it is displayed.Dedicated to Professor David V Clarke, former Keeper of Archaeology in National Museums Scotland, on his 70th bi...

The Early Iron Age Hallstatt C period in Northwest and Central Europe is marked by the emergence of monumental tumuli with lavish burials, some of which are known as chieftain's or princely graves. This new burial rite reflects one of the most noteworthy developments in Early Iron Age Europe: the rise of a new and elaborate way of elite representation north of the Alps.These sumptuous burials contain beautiful weaponry, bronze vessels and extravagantly decorated wagons and horse-gear. They re...

For many past and present societies, pottery forms an integral part of material culture and everyday practice. This makes it a promising case example to address human-thing-relations on a more general level, as well as social life itself. Humans organise their lives not only by engaging with materials and things but also by oscillating between movement and stasis. In these various rhythms of mobility - from daily subsistence-based movements to long-term migrations - things like ceramic vessel...

'Ritual Failure' is a new concept in archaeology adopted from the discipline of anthropology. Resilient religious systems disappearing, strict believers and faithful practitioners not performing their rites, entire societies changing their customs: how does a religious ritual system transform, change or disappear, leaving only traces of its past glory? Do societies change and then their ritual? Or do customs change first, in turn provoking wider cultural shifts in society? Archaeology possess...

Many are no larger than a fingertip. They are engraved with symbols, magic spells and images of gods, animals and emperors. These stones were used for various purposes. The earliest ones served as seals for making impressions in soft materials. Later engraved gems were worn or carried as personal ornaments - usually rings, but sometimes talismans or amulets. The exquisite engraved designs were thought to imbue the gems with special powers. For example, the gods and rituals depicted on cylinde...