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Focused on the Early Helladic III to Late Helladic I period in southern Greece, this volume focuses on the processes of social and economic change in the Bronze Age. The nine essays include studies of Pre-Mycenaean pottery shapes; the dynamics of Bronze Age social structures (explored through feasting and hospitality); and domestic architecture as a means to analyse social change.

This volume deals with the transition of Near East economies from the Late Bronze to the early Iron Age, a period in which some monarchies collapsed while others adapted to a new economic environment of expanded trade networks, private ‘entrepreneurs’ and new forms of currency. Among the 17 essays are studies of urban craftsmen in the Neo-Assyrian state; Phoenician trade; temples, trade and money in first millennium BCE Egypt; and the organization and financing of trade caravans.

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It has long been recognized that Stonehenge was a religious site, but recent intensive research has helped us understand much more about its place within the ancient ritual landscape of Salisbury Plain. In this book one of Britain’s most distinguished archaeologists traces the centuries-long process of construction, explaining how the enigmatic stone circle relates to a wider complex of monuments and what this reveals about the social and ideological system of our prehistoric ancestors during a period of significant change.

In this study, the author of The Stonehenge People (1987) argues that it is possible, by exploring a wider frame of reference for the people who built and used the monument, to recapture something of the prehistoric experience and to understand what the makers of Stonehenge were trying to achieve.

With characters from across the social strata, from high-born ladies to farmers' daughters, archaeologist Allason-Jones recreates the lives, habits and thoughts of women in Britain during Roman occupation through the story of Senovara, the wife of a former legionary. The detailed narrative reveals the nature of their home lives, health, religion, dress and jewellery and this revised edition includes fresh insights provided by the latest archaeological discoveries, including burials, tombstones and curse tablets.

This military history of Rome during the short reign of Caligula (37–41 CE) analyses the Emperor’s campaigns and personal character through the evidence of contemporary writers such as Suetonius, Tacitus and Josephus. Although only 24 when he came to power, he proved a competent military strategist and despite the accusations of madness, cruelty and sexual perversion, managed to set the groundwork of Roman foreign policy for his successor Claudius.

Inscriptions are a fascinating source of information, offering insight into the lives, customs and concerns of ancient people, from kings and emperors to gladiators and restaurant owners. More than 200 examples are illustrated and discussed here, written between the 3rd millennium BCE and the 4th century CE. They include a dedicatory inscription from a Carthaginian street, a Hebrew calendar, Ptolemy V’s Rosetta Stone and the tomb inscription of Cyrus the Great. Previously published as The Ancients in their Own Words.

For more than 3,000 years Egypt was ruled by the pharaohs, whose foremost duty was the maintenance of natural harmony through communication with the gods. Illustrated with their depictions in sculpture and featuring texts from inscriptions and papyri, this guide sets out each dynasty, from early times to the death of Cleopatra. It highlights the achievements of the most significant rulers, including the great pyramid-builder Khufu, the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, ‘heretic’ Akhenaten and boy-king Tutankhamen.

Egypt’s ancient rulers carefully constructed their image as brave, all-powerful military leaders who were pleasing to the gods. This volume, which focuses on highlights from a 2016 exhibition, is an exploration of the different ways in which pharaohs manipulated art to fashion that public persona. The authors reveal how the imagery and symbolism of traditional models were reinvented and how artistic representations of kingship played down court rivalries, civil war and delicate foreign relations.

Most histories of Ancient Greece focus on male protagonists, implying that women were a secluded, excluded part of society. Paul Chrystal questions this assumption, investigating the lives of Ancient Greek women writers, philosophers, artists and scientists, and their experiences of love, marriage, religion and death. Drawing on Homer, Hesiod and others, he demonstrates that women’s roles were far more nuanced and complex than previously portrayed.

Although Jesus’ conversation with Pilate was a moment of enormous political and theological significance, the Roman governor of Judaea is a shadowy figure in the Gospel accounts. Schiavone takes the reader on a ‘journey within early Christian memory’ to investigate what can be learned from those narratives and their intersection with Judaeo-Roman historiography: who was Pilate, what was he thinking during his questioning of Jesus and how did he become a figure of such controversy and ambiguity? American-cut pages.

Covering the period from the pre-Roman Celts to the introduction of Christianity, this well-illustrated study draws on archaeological evidence to explore how people in the Roman province of Britain expressed their religious belief. Off-mint.

From underwater breathing equipment (as described by Aristotle) to star charts (drawn on the walls of the Lescaux caves, 33,000–10,000 years ago), James Russell describes the inventions of ancient times. There are chapters on everyday life, with items as diverse as alarm clocks, make-up, games and chewing gum; mechanical and industrial technology, including the spoked wheel and movable type; military inventions; medical breakthroughs; scientific advances; and mysterious lost inventions such as Greek fire, Maya blue and the Baghdad battery.

Beneath the waters of Abukir Bay, at the edge of the north-western Nile delta, lie the submerged remains of the ancient Egyptian cities Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus. This volume, which accompanied the British Museum exhibition in 2016, describes the technical challenges that faced the underwater archaeologists; presents, with over 270 illustrations, the submerged buildings and artefacts, including jewellery and ceramics, that have been found; and discusses how these discoveries have transformed our understanding of the relationship between ancient Egypt and Greece.

Informed by the author’s long experience of travel in North Africa, this ‘journey into a landscape of ruins’ is structured around the lives of six much-mythologized figures who represent the region’s rich classical culture: the refugee Queen Dido, the generals Hannibal and Masinissa, King Juba II, Septimus Severus and Augustine the intellectual careerist. Rogerson argues that the choices each made about cultural assimilation and resistance to Rome resemble those still faced by their modern descendants.

Examining artefacts such as the fragment of terracotta frieze from the ‘king’s house’ in the Forum and archaic inscriptions and ‘cross-questioning’ Roman authors, Wiseman searches for ‘usable evidence’ about pre-literary Rome and arrives at the Roman republic, ‘Year One’. No jacket.

Cats, birds and crocodiles are among the animals mummified in quantity by the ancient Egyptians and deposited as votive offerings. With contributions from 19 experts, this collection of illustrated essays details animals’ role in Egyptian religion and traces both the British fascination with such artefacts and the recent development of innovative techniques for studying them.

These ten papers examine the forms taken by families in territories conquered by the Romans, with a particular focus on the ways in which local traditions and the process of ‘Romanization’ combined to shape social attitudes in provinces from Lusitania to Judaea. The authors analyse evidence from a wide range of sources, including the speeches of Cicero, Justinian’s law code, archival documents from Egypt and the inscriptions and reliefs carved on funerary monuments.

In 83 CE, following a seven-year campaign against Caledonian tribesmen, the Romans fought a final battle at which 10,000 of the enemy died. But recent investigation of marching camps in northern England and Scotland has suggested that Tacitus’ account, our main source for the battle, may not be accurate. Forder triangulates the ancient sources with the archaeological evidence to suggest a new location for the elusive battle site known as Mons Graupius.

An archaeologist who has been studying Stonehenge for 40 years, Julian Richards clearly explains the development of our greatest prehistoric monument in a richly illustrated and accessible volume. He places the complex structures of Stonehenge in their landscape of burial and ceremony, and examines both practical approaches to and current theories about how and why it was built. Off-mint.

In 376 CE, under attack by the Huns, the Goths took the radical step of crossing the Danube and, with Emperor Valens’ agreement, settling in Thrace, within the protection of Rome, their former enemy. The arrangement was short lived: in 378 CE, the Goths, led by Fritigern, inflicted a stinging defeat on the Roman army, with the emperor himself among the dead. Coombs-Hoar’s history describes in detail the events leading up to this crucial battle, the battle itself and its aftermath.

The Vandals, who are best remembered for their sack of Rome in 455 CE, have become synonymous with wanton and barbaric destruction. But who were these people and do they deserve their reputation? MacDowell follows the Vandals’ great migration across Germany, Gaul, Spain and North Africa as they sought a new homeland; he also analyses the evolution of their armies’ tactics and equipment and emphasizes the centrality of Arian Christian beliefs in the tribe’s identity.

The intelligent, politically astute Cleopatra captivated both Caesar and Antony, two of the most powerful Romans of her age, and continues to fascinate us today. Watterson describes the events of the Egyptian queen’s life, examines how she came to symbolize the danger of female influence to Rome’s safety and traces the development of the Cleopatra legend in art and in drama for stage and screen. The book’s appendices present extensive excerpts from ancient sources.

Beginning with a survey of the period 55 BCE to 122 CE and the decades of Roman government in Britain before the wall was begun, Patricia Southern, a renowned authority on ancient Roman history, gives a closely detailed account of Hadrian himself, how his wall was built and manned by Roman soldiers, what life was like on this northernmost outpost of the Empire, the building of the Antonine Wall, and what happened to Hadrian’s Wall when the Romans left.

The Carthaginian general Hannibal (247–183 BCE) won an enduring place in the popular imagination through his audacious expedition across the Alps with a contingent of elephants. But what were his motivations and why did his long campaign against Rome end in tragic failure? Combining evidence from ancient sources with his own experience of Hannibal-related sites, Prevas analyses the enigmatic personality and unconventional tactics of the commander whom Napoleon considered ‘the most daring of all men’. Felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (c.2030–1650 BCE) brought new developments in religious beliefs, political systems and artistic conventions. This volume comprises essays by an international team of scholars, covering such topics as the court and royal women, Egypt’s expanding relations with foreign lands and the themes of Middle Kingdom literature. Nearly 300 examples of the period’s art are featured; they demonstrate how artists were adapting older forms and iconography in work of great subtlety and originality.

Some ancient Egyptian queens, including Nefertiti, wife of the radical reformer Akhenaten, and Hatshepsut, who rose from the position of a conventional consort to that of female pharaoh, are still renowned today. These women are set alongside lesser-known queens in this collection of biographies, which reveals their uniquely varied roles and their importance across 3,000 years of their country’s history. The book also features timelines, genealogical tables and photographs of sites and artefacts.

The history of ancient Israel is told through the biographies of 83 leaders, from the founder Abraham (c.1450 BCE) and his son Isaac to Herod Agrippa, who died in 44 CE when the region was under Roman occupation. Seeking to reveal the historical figures behind the familiar names and traditional stories, Rogerson discusses debates about the accuracy and interpretation of the biblical accounts and the insights provided by other ancient texts and archaeological discoveries. Off-mint.

What would it have been like to live in Ancient Egypt? In this book one of the world’s most acclaimed Egyptologists imagines a year in the life of a government official and his family. Organized according to the three agricultural seasons that structured Egyptian lives – inundation, planting and harvesting – the family’s story illustrates aspects of their everyday lives and customs, their experience of the educational, medical and legal professions and their preparations for the afterlife.

It was while planning a cycling expedition along the Via Heraklea, the legendary route of Hercules from the western tip of the Iberian Peninsula to the Alps, that Graham Robb discovered a precise pattern of towns and holy places based on astronomical and geometrical measurements: the three-dimensional 'Middle Earth' of the Celts. This volume describes his historical treasure hunt, revealing the lasting influence of the Druids, and looking afresh at the 'protohistory' of Europe.

Described by the TLS as ‘a masterly summary’, this is a classic study of the earliest Greek trading posts and colonies. Boardman explains what archaeology has revealed about the Greeks’ travels as far afield as southern Egypt and northern Spain; he also highlights how much Greek arts and culture owed to foreign influences. This fourth edition features an extra chapter on recently discovered evidence and fresh theoretical approaches to the interpretation of this important period of European history.

The intricate artwork and vibrant mythology of the Celts make their culture a source of particular fascination, which continues to be fuelled by new archaeological discoveries. This overview of ancient Europe discusses the Celts' mysterious origins, their complex society and their vigorous survival even after conquest by the Romans. Previously published as The Ancient World of the Celts (1998).

Roman propaganda helped to create the common perception of Northern Europe’s early warriors as disorganized, uncultured savages. However, as this book shows, there is abundant evidence for the use of innovative technologies and sophisticated strategic thinking in societies across the region. To shed light on the centuries before written records, Wileman analyses such monuments as the Bronze Age hillforts at Maiden Castle in Dorset and Alesia in France together with archaeological finds, from ancient weapons to rock art depicting scenes of battle.

Coins can provide valuable information about social, economic and political life in ancient Greece and this introductory survey focuses on their circulation and use as it traces the development of the Greek coinage from its introduction in the 7th century BCE to the late Hellenistic period. Photographs of over 300 coins illustrate types from across the Greek world. First published in 1988.

Nam C Kim explores the origins of civilization in the Red River Delta of Vietnam and, in particular, the Co Loa settlement which was once the political capital of an ancient culture.

The naval battle at Actium, when the future emperor Augustus defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra, was perhaps the most significant military engagement in Roman history. Yet many details of exactly what happened on that September day continue to elude scholars. This study of the literary and historical sources offers a fresh examination of the evidence, with close analysis of hitherto unconsidered allusions to Actium in the description of an equestrian engagement in Book Eleven of Virgil’s Aeneid.

Ranging from Egypt and the Mediterranean world to South Asia and China, this volume surveys the history and culture of each of the major imperial powers that held sway in the ancient world between 1600 BCE and 500 CE. As well as accessible accounts by a team of eminent scholars, the book features sections quoting texts written by inhabitants of the empires and is illustrated with maps, timelines and images showing such splendid artistic achievements as Sasanian silver and Roman mosaics.

Ancient Greek science and philosophy began in the sixth century BCE in the wealthy city of Miletus in Asia Minor, where Thales and Anaximander proposed theories about the nature of the universe. This sweeping history of the Greek scientific tradition follows the chain of knowledge from these early physicists, through such thinkers as Aristotle and Archimedes, to the twilight of the classical age, the transmission of Greek ideas to the Islamic world and their revival in Europe during the Renaissance.

Even during his lifetime, Julius Caesar was a legendary figure, not least because his own writings were carefully designed to enhance his image. Complementing Southern’s other engaging biographies of late-Republican figures, this new account of Caesar’s life and death sheds light on the man behind the legend through careful examination of contemporary sources. The book reveals how he surmounted each difficulty with ‘a combination of determination, quick thinking, opportunism and, more often than not, a certain amount of luck’.

Ancient Greek myth tells of ferocious female warriors called Amazons who lived near the Black Sea and slaughtered their male children. Could the story reflect a real matriarchal society, or perhaps a women-only religious cult? This book follows the author’s quest for the evidence, not only in ancient texts and artistic depictions but also in archaeological discoveries such as the graves of Iron-Age women buried with arrows, swords and armour.

The first prose history in European civilization, Herodotus’ great work traces the growth of the Persian Empire and its great conflict with the Greeks, up to the defeat of Xerxes in 480–79 BCE. Read by David Timson. Unabridged.

Viriathus – the humble shepherd who became leader of the Lusitanians – inflicted many humiliating reverses on theoretically superior Roman forces. Renowned during his lifetime, he has been unfairly neglected by modern historians, so Silva here presents for Anglophone readers the insights of recent Portuguese research and uses his own military expertise to inform his analysis of Viriathus’ guerrilla tactics. The final chapter traces the ancient leader’s transformation into a Portuguese national hero after his story was rediscovered in the Renaissance.

Sicily’s strategic location at the heart of the Mediterranean enabled Syracuse to become one of the most powerful cities of the ancient world but it also made the island a target for expansionist powers. This second volume of Champion’s narrative history covers the tumultuous political and military events in Sicily from the death of Dionysius the Elder until the Roman siege of Syracuse (213–211 BCE), when even the ingenious defences and inventions of Archimedes could not prevent the city’s capture.

Hadrian’s Wall and the Great Wall of China are world famous, but they are not exceptional phenomena. This impressively researched volume shows how, throughout history and across the globe, societies have built such barriers to reinforce their control over territory. Illustrated with numerous photographs and specially commissioned maps, the book ranges from Mesopotamia to Kievan Rus to examine their construction and strategic function, and identifies a recurrent theme: the separation of nomadic peoples from areas of settled agriculture.

Intended as first introductions for students new to a subject, each of these guidebooks gives an overview of the fundamental principles of a subject area in an accessible format and jargon-free language.

Intended as first introductions for students new to a subject, each of these guidebooks gives an overview of the fundamental principles of a subject area in an accessible format and jargon-free language.

Intended as first introductions for students new to a subject, each of these guidebooks gives an overview of the fundamental principles of a subject area in an accessible format and jargon-free language.

In short essays, each of these volumes focuses on the 50 essential writers, movements, works or themes in disciplines ranging from ancient history to modern media studies.

Classical Athens, a community of just 200,000 citizens, not only gave birth to some of antiquity's greatest geniuses but also created the world's first democracy, raising political issues that remain relevant today. Complementing his account of The Rise of Rome, Everitt surveys the Athenian achievement, from the early centuries of kings and tyrants, through the democratic revolution and the city's intellectual and artistic flowering in the age of Socrates and Pericles, to its decline with the growth of Macedon.

This handsomely produced abridgement of Gibbon's great work features 28 of the original 71 chapters, with a precis of the remainder. Illustrated with Piranesi's engravings of Rome as Gibbon saw it, the volume also includes additional explanatory notes complementing the author's own and translating those 'licentious passages' which he left 'in the obscurity of a learned language'. Gilt-edged pages and silk marker.

Were Egyptian queens ever the equal in authority of their male counterparts? Drawing on written sources, archaeological research, artworks and religious texts, this book examines the roles of a queen - as pharoah's consort, mother of kings, priestess, regent for a minor or, like Hapshetsut, ruler in her own right. It is also a celebration of ancient Egypt's conception of female beauty, with over 250 photographs of artefacts depicting queens from Merineith in the archaic period to Cleopatra VII and the Ptolemaic queens.

Ancient Egyptians believed that the art of embalming, learned from the god Anubis, allowed pharaohs to enter the paradisal Field of Reeds and maintained the cosmic order. This lavishly illustrated book explains the physical procedure and religious rites which prepared the royal corpse and explores the texts which reveal ancient beliefs about its destiny. Janot also describes archaeologists' rediscovery of the mummies and presents information about the monarchs' lives and deaths which recent technology has helped reveal. Foreword by Zahi Hawass.

Britain's leading expert on stone circles here offers a comprehensive introduction to our most enigmatic ancient site. He explains how the stones were transported and their relationship with the surrounding burial sites; he carefully examines the possible astronomical meanings of the stones' alignment; and also debunks many myths and inaccurate mystical notions. Each successive generation has developed its own reading of the stones; Burl offers the most up-to-date assessment.

Situated just south of Avebury, Silbury Hill in Wiltshire is Europe's tallest prehistoric structure; when this book was first published in 1976, recent archaeological investigations had suggested that the hill was not, as had previously been believed, a burial mound. Dames surveys the history of earlier digs at the hill, then uses comparative archaeological evidence, astronomy, ethnography, folklore, mathematics and place-name research to argue that the shape of the site represents the Neolithic Great Goddess.

First published in 1912, Smith's account remains the basic reference on the Egyptian royal mummies found at Deir el-Bahri and the tomb of Amenophis II in 1881 and 1898. Illustrated with over 100 remarkable photographs. Facsimile reprint.

Sex featured prominently in ancient Egyptian religion, mythology and art, while Cleopatra's love affairs with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar continue to fire the imagination. Drawing on the evidence of texts and pictures from inscriptions and papyri, Booth's wide-ranging survey explores the Egyptians' customs relating to love, marriage and childbirth; their attitudes to adultery, prostitution and homosexuality; the place of sex in beliefs about the afterlife; and their doctors' ideas about sexual health, fertility and aphrodisiacs.

Much of our knowledge about ancient Egyptian daily life concerns the highest levels of society, but archaeological excavations are now revealing valuable information about workers and their families. Examining this evidence, together with tomb inscriptions and papyri ranging from laundry lists to legal documents, Booth introduces intriguing characters such as the violent drunkard Paneb, the workmen who staged a strike over delayed payment, and Naunakhte, who disinherited her neglectful children.

Writers' lurid tales of their rulers' sex lives are a familiar part of our image of ancient Rome, but how reliable are these accounts and what can such stories tell us about Roman attitudes to sexual behaviour and morality? Drawing on twelve centuries of evidence from literature, inscriptions, graffiti, medical handbooks, legal texts, magic spells and frequently explicit visual arts, this wide-ranging account explores the Roman view of love, marriage, childbirth, homosexuality, prostitution and infidelity.

The Macedonian army created by Philip II's reforms is widely recognized as representing 'one of the most important leaps in military thinking in the West before Napoleon'. However, Karunanithy's comprehensive analysis shows that modern scholarly research has neglected important sources of information about this hugely successful system. He presents the full range of archaeological and literary evidence, investigating such aspects as the army's training and preparation, soldiers' dress and battle equipment, and the logistical support provided by non-combatant specialists.

Using literary criticism and philosophies of history to formulate a new model for reading history, Cosgrove's re-evaluation of Gibbon's magnum opus queries the illusion of authorial omniscience. Slightly off-mint.

Spanning 1500 to 1960 and using the term 'classicist' broadly this dictionary provides short biographies of over 700 schoolteachers, researchers and administrators, poets, novelists and printers No jackets.

Intended for classroom use, this second volume of the Mercer Commentary on the Bible comprises commentaries on the books of Joshua to Esther (according to the order of the Septuagint) with additional historical articles from the Mercer Dictionary.

Because of his attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic in 63 BCE, the name of Catiline has become a byword for conspiracy, treachery and depravity, but was he really as monstrous as his enemies claimed? Economic historian Francis Galassi presents a defence of Catiline, reassessing his actions and arguing that he felt compelled to stand up for common Romans against the elite at a time when the growing disparity between poor and wealthy was threatening to destabilize society.

Luke Pitcher's very accessible study of 'ancient history-writing in action', merges two approaches of modern historiography: that concerned with reliability and sources; and that focussed on works of history as literary productions. No jacket.