MA Dissertation abstracts
The following abstracts relate to final year archaeology dissertations completed in 1998. Copies are held in the Department and may be consulted by arrangement. (Copyright is retained by the authors.)
A Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction at Lyles Hill, Clyde Muirshiel Park, Renfrewshire
This dissertation describes the environmental analyses made at Lyles Hill, Clyde Muirshiel Park, Renfrewshire to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment of the surrounding upland area.
Following the extraction of bulk samples from the exposed stratigraphy at the sampling site, a series of sampling and subsampling techniques were employed to investigate the vegetational and sedimentological history of the site, in relation to the surrounding geomorphological and archaeological landscape. A multi- faceted approach was adopted to investigate fully the environment in which the site was located and the taphonomic regimes that had led to the depositional sequence.
The results suggest that the site had undergone a series of significant changes; during milder climatic phases open grassland predominated accompanied by stands of Betula and Alnus, deciduous taxa such as Quercus and Ulnus remain subdued throughout. During climatic declines excess ground surface moisture resulted in minor erosional events and the accumulation of preserved wood fragments within a matrix of poorly humified peat.
The impacts of anthropogenic activity accompanied, in all probability, by grazing pressure become increasingly noticeable in the upper sequences. Indications are that farming practice was essentially pastoral except during climatic optima. The region parallels other northern British upland areas, although marine influences may have caused greater vegetational sensitivity.
Based on the preliminary findings of this study a number of additional research questions have been formulated. These include a more precise chronology both for the site itself and the local archaeology. Questions relating to the spatial extent, quantification and duration of agricultural practices also need addressing, this will result in a deeper understanding of the history surrounding upland settlement in southwest Scotland and add to understanding of upland prehistoric settlement generally.
Are Formation Processes the Key to the Archaeological Record?
The following dissertation uses statistical analysis of the small, portable find, register from Kissonerga Mosphilia, Cyprus to asses the formation processes which have transformed the site. The specific aim was to consider why an inordinate number of small finds were located both in the fill of and overlying the excavated buildings.
The study was carried out in terms of assessing the condition of artefacts, fragmented or complete: the constituent material of artefacts, bone, stone, shell or pottery; the curate/discard properties of artefacts and typological associations. The study also considered spatial patterning, site wide as well as building specific.
The conclusions of the study showed how we may use the distribution of artefacts, based on the factors above, to identify planned/un-planned abandonment, the secondary use of building ruins as rubbish dumps and as an indicator of building fill integrity.
The Middle Ages in the Hebrides: A critique of the Historical Approach and the Formulation of a New Methodology with Specific Reference to the Isle of Lewis
In spite of the lack of excavation for the medieval period in the Western Isles it would seem that a considerable amount is known about a region which is mentioned seldom and sporadically in contemporary historical accounts. This dissertation puts forward the argument that this apparent knowledge is in fact based around a misapplication of historical accounts relating to the post-medieval period using a framework which views the Outer Isles as a peripheral and archaic region. This practice has resulted in, at best, a disregard of the archaeological evidence and at worst its distortion through interpretation based around this model of historical explanation.
This study comprises two parts; firstly, the use of theoretical and methodological approaches to offer a critique of the historical interpretation and the formulation of a new methodology in response to this dissatisfaction with conventional approaches. The author advocates an approach which while assessing each set of evidence independently of the other allows the integration of the historical and archaeological evidence in a complementary manner rather than one which gives priority to one set of evidence.
The second part of this study justifies this methodology by utilising it to study the archaeological evidence and settlement patterns to generate an alternative view of the period to compare with the conventional historical model. As opposed to the view of Hebridean society as static and unchanging this study demonstrates the dynamic character of society and its changing social relations. In particular the appearance of monumental architecture and changes in settlement distribution patterns are interpreted as the result of the appearance of a new social order in response to the wider political concerns of the sixteenth century.
In offering these results the author argues that the problems associated with the integration of historical and archaeological data lies not so much with the evidence itself but rather with the differing methodologies associated with the two disciplines, in particular a seeming reluctance of medieval archaeologists to become fully integrated with archaeological (prehistoric ?) methodology. A willingness to assess each set of data on more impartial grounds allows a greater appreciation of the period under consideration, the evidence is no longer contradictory or competing but rather can be seen to contain the potential for problems to be addressed which hitherto have remained unanswered.
Illuminating The Dark Ages: The Use of Light and Space in a Carolingian Monastery
Illuminating The Dark Ages is concerned primarily with the site of San Vincenzo Al Volturno, in the Molise region of Italy. I have used this site as my case study for this project because I have carried out two seasons of fieldwork there, and did an amount of research in the field. I begin with an introductory chapter which establishes the archaeological context of this monastery site. I include a general summary of the settlement sequence at the end of this chapter.
I begin the core of my thesis with a large chapter devoted to the material evidence. I deal with the ninth century glass remains first, and the complex of collective workshops which had a boom of activity in this century. The second half of this chapter deals with the glass lamps and lampchain fragments, recovered from all over the monastery and its territory. I have used the Appendix to accommodate my catalogues, which may prove useful as a reference to my theories discussed in later chapters. I also include a number of illustrations of lampchain fragments, and drawings of fresco work in the annular crypt of San Vincenzo Maggiore. These have not yet been published, but look set to appear in the third volume of the San Vincenzo reports.
The project moves on with a chapter on the phenomenon of a cult of relics at San Vincenzo. This chapter calls for some anthropological references, and calls upon the effect of ancient Pagan religions and cults on the expression of Christian worship. I pay particular attention to the annular crypt in the basilica of San Vincenzo Maggiore, and the concept of St.Vincent’s actual remains being enshrined there. I discuss the use of architectural space, natural and artificial light to enhance the ethereal aura of this pilgrim’s mecca.
I follow this chapter with one on the spirituality of light. I focus on the use of glass as a liturgical medium in itself, and the experimentation of mixing coloured light, with other artistic media, such as fresco work and the literary heritage of ninth century San Vincenzo.
I conclude the project with a comment on Abbot Joshua’s Urban Ideal. I discuss the use of architecture to create order, discipline and a hierarchy. I argue that Joshua used space and light as tools to achieve a microcosm of the ideal Carolingian society.
A Study of the Spatial Distribution of Non-Ceramic Artefacts within the Broch of Loch Na Berie, Isle of Lewis
The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the use of space within the Loch na Berie broch, through a study of the distribution of its non-ceramic artefacts. The primary goal was to identify the function for areas of, or the whole of, the site. The aim is to give some interpretation of social meaning to the site, so that it may be used to try and develop a greater understanding of definition for the brochs. The penmap programme was used to reconstruct Berie phase by phase, thus allowing a visual assessment of the artefact distributions. The study reveals significant patterns throughout the use of the site, including a distinct divide in function of the North and South of the site. The interpretation of use of space within the site will become of greater significance if it can be incorporated into a database of similar studies from other broch excavation. The unique nature of Berie's preservation make it a prime candidate for such a study.
A Preliminary Investigation of the Environmental History of the Zirahuén Lake Basin situated in the Highland of Central Mexico
This study details the preliminary environmental analyses of Lake Zirahuén to investigate the palaeoenvironment of the Zirahuén Basin in the neo volcanic belt of Mexico.
The extraction of the core from Lake Zirahuén was undertaken by Dr Sarah O'Hara, Nottingham University, and delivered to Edinburgh University Geography Department for analysis. The objectives of the analysis were to investigate the detailed vegetation and sedimentological features and correlate the pollen and diatom palaeoenvironment evidence. A broad-based approach was undertaken to help fully understand the environment in which the lake had existed and the taphonomic regimes that lead to the pollen assemblage.
The results suggest that the site had been dominated by Pinus, Quercus and Alnus tree species for the entire record of the core. Vegetation changes indicated within the percentage pollen diagrams have shown slight variations and it has therefore proved difficult to interpret large scale climatic changes. Three phases were identified, wet leading to drier conditions, then a return to slightly moist conditions. It was possible, however, to indicate agricultural activity being practised in the surrounding area due to the increases in Gramineae, Cereal Type, Composite and Chenopodiaceae.
The regional picture created parallels documented historical events and palaeoecological evidence from Lake Pátzcuaro in the adjacent basin although the vegetation changes within Lake Zirahuén basin were not as extreme as have been observed in the Pátzcuaro basin.
Due to the findings of this study a number of further research questions have been proposed, for example, acquiring a more detailed environmental analysis of the Lake Zirahuén basin by taking a series of new cores within the lake. This was to be studied using a multi-disciplinary approach towards the palaeoenvironmental research and intersite comparisons across the whole of the Neo Volcanic Axis (N.V.A.). This will lead to a deeper understanding of the climate and vegetative changes within this area through time.
The Mesolithic Around Morecambe Bay
The Mesolithic in the north of Britain is largely well recorded and understood in some detail, particularly in the Southern Pennines and along the West Cumberland and Scottish coasts. Around Morecambe Bay the Mesolithic is noted but not fully appreciated in the local or wider context.
This study comprehensively surveys and discusses all the available data; both old and new, and explores its potential meaning both socially and chronologically. The contemporary Mesolithic environment is also considered especially in terms of how it might impact on early settlers and also suggest aspects of their hunting and gathering strategies.
A consideration of pre-Mesolithic inhabitation of the area shows that the accepted view - that Mesolithic people were the earliest visitors to the area - does not hold. There is a good tradition of continuation; Mesolithic people were no doubt treading well-known paths.
Relative dating, by typological comparison, is carried out so that some sort of chronology can be established and the extent of activity is estimated based on the functional groups represented by different artefact types.
The overall picture of the area suggests relatively intense inhabitation during the Late Upper Palaeolithic followed by a significant decrease in the Early Mesolithic. Only in the Late Mesolithic does activity intensify as bands of hunters presumed to be moving into the lowland over winter, following the deer herds, made good use of the coastal resource and also of the limestone caves used by their ancestors. The pattern of upland-lowland migration seen in the Pennines is represented here in reverse, the focus presumably returning to gathering before the next summer hunt, although hunting did continue. A model for this sub-system of activity is proposed dealing with the proposed behaviour of a ‘winter’ season.
Finally, the importance of more work in the future is stresses with a particular emphasis on the lack of good quality archaeology carried out so far. Some ways in which the situation might be rectified are suggested as a means to increase the levels of information and thus perhaps test the hypotheses already put forward.
Mortuary Practices Through Periods of Transition: Hala Sultan Tekke, Kition and Palaepaphos. Funerary variability on Cyprus from the end of the Bronze Age to the earliest Iron Age
This dissertation aims to investigate mortuary variability at the end of the Late Bronze Age. Cypriote culture, always eclectic in nature, appears to have slowly and quietly faded away during LC IIIA, and especially LC IIIB. The purpose of this study is to judge the extent to which the burial record of Cyprus had changed by the earliest phases of the Iron Age and thereby see how the ethnicity of the island had been altered during this time of upheaval on the island. Were there still elements of typical Late Cypriote burial practices in the mortuary record? Or had the indigenous Cypriote burial record been unquestionably altered?
This study is not concerned with looking at the belief systems of Late Bronze Age Cyprus, although they might be briefly touched upon. This study will look closely at the well published Late Cypriote tombs of both Hala Sultan Tekke and Kition, as well as the earliest Iron Age tombs of Skales. The Late Cypriote tombs of Palaepaphos also offer an insight into this period of transition, the various cemeteries in the region overlap, so providing continuation through all the crucial phases. Although none of these Late Cypriote cemeteries have yet been fully published, this study aims to amalgamate the various sources that deal with the region including preliminary site reports made available in RDAC.
The conclusion will summarise any changes noted as well as any apparent continuations in the mortuary record. There will also be an attempt to explain possible reasons behind changes in burial practices. O'Shea writes that there is a 'common intuitive feeling among all archaeologists that they are somehow very close to the essence of a past culture when working with burial remains' (O'Shea 1984, 1). It is a widely accepted premise that a particular culture will use particular practices in the disposing of its dead. Thus any alteration within the mortuary record might reflect a change within the living population and its culture, whether caused by internal or external influence.
A Dynamic Approach to Lithic Analysis
Seven thousand, three hundred and twenty two flaked lithics are analysed in this dissertation. This material comes from two sites in Lanarkshire. The first assemblage was a lithic scatter, of Mesolithic date, from Cornhill Farm, Coulter. The second was an assemblage of lithics, of Neolithic date, from ploughzone contexts at Melbourne, near Dolphinton.
Over the last two decades lithic analysis has changed from being based solely on form and function, to adopting a more behavioural approach. The identification of lithic technology through debitage analysis has highlighted the potential for reduced dependency upon finished artefact forms. The results of the analysis here show that behavioural inferences can be drawn from lithic debitage in the absence of quantifiable ‘tool’ assemblages.
The theoretical approach of this study is derived from evolutionary theory. It proposes that competitive human adaptive strategies would result in the achievement of the highest possible return on the energy expended in completing a task. It also suggests that humans will seek out the most efficient way of dealing with problems in their environment. By studying the technological aspects of lithic remains it was possible to construct behavioural models which held with these theories. It was also demonstrated that a close study of the technological characteristics of the lithics could differentiate between human groups who had existed in technologically distinct periods - one relying on wild resources, the other on domesticates.
Infant Archaeology: Activities and attitudes related to children in Cyprus from the Aceramic Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age
The aim of this dissertation is to prove that the study of children in prehistoric contexts is possible, specifically in Cyprus. An approach is suggested for studying the relevant Cypriot material from the Aceramic Neolithic to the Late Cypriot Bronze Age. Focus is on activities and attitudes related to children as attested in the representational (figurines), skeletal and mortuary material.
After exploring various reasons for the dearth of information on children and the problems involved in investigating such a topic, a specific kind of approach towards the analysis of reproduction, nurture and care of children, and especially infants in Cyprus is suggested. This is not defined by a singular theoretical or methodological framework nor by the use of a particular category of evidence, but by a comparative analysis of varied data: integrating what may initially appear to be disparate elements of the archaeological record relating to different spheres of activity, is perhaps the crux of archaeological explanation. Various theoretical considerations relating to representational evidence and points arising from cognitive and mortuary archaeology are employed towards this end.
Some of the results obtained emphasise the intricate relationships between the specific treatments and depiction afforded to children and infants and their socio-cultural environment. The explicit emphasis on biological birth and reproduction in the Chalcolithic depictions transforms into the Early and Middle Cypriot concern with nurture. The latter is combined with the depiction of the covered human body, and followed by the Late Cypriot standardised and regularised depiction of sexuality and nudity in connection to nurture and care of infants. This succession can be correlated with, and at least partly explained by socio-political developments. Also, the infant emerges as the child par excellence in the depictions of all the periods: it is the adult concerns, not the child’s, that lie behind these depictions.
Intentional cultural modifications of the human body in the form of head shaping emerge by the Late Cypriot. The particular practice of post-bregmatic flattening may be explicable specifically in the context of rising complexity and urbanism. Mortuary evidence again shows fluctuations of interest towards the young: there is a move from the relative lack of interest in the Neolithic to a heightened concern with the burial of the young in the Chalcolithic. By the end of the Bronze Age differential treatment of infants vs. older children, as well as children vs. adults in general, becomes visible in the archaeological record.
Change and Continuity in the South Levant between the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze I
During the fourth millennium BC the archaeological record of the south Levant altered greatly. This marks the transition from the Late Chalcolithic "Ghassul-Beersheba" tradition to the Early Bronze I. It was proposed by Kenyon and others that this change occurred abruptly and was due to waves of immigrants moving in from neighbouring regions at the close of the Chalcolithic. This is supported by a change in the settlement record, in addition to the sudden appearance of what these scholars identified as new forms of pottery and burial practices in the Early Bronze I. More recent excavation has recovered curvilinear architecture. This has been found mainly in the north. This seems to replace the traditional rectilinear architecture and has therefore been used to suggest that newcomers from the north settled in the south Levant at the close of the Chalcolithic. Yadin has proposed a more extreme view. He claims that Egypt conquered the south Levant at the end of the Chalcolithic and then occupied it in the Early Bronze I to maintain their control over the region.
However when the evidence is examined it should be seen that there was continuity between the two periods. This indicates that there was no mass population movement into the south Levant during the fourth millennium. There was no change in the burial practices between the periods and the curvilinear architecture originated in the Late Chalcolithic. The Early Bronze I pottery forms were also not new to the south Levant but developed from those of the Late Chalcolithic. This is revealed by the sequence at Umm Hammad where the lengthy sequence has shown that these developments in the pottery occurred over a long time. This indicates that the developments that occurred during the fourth millennium were internal and not as a result of newcomers moving into the south Levant.
Evidence of Social Stratification in Bronze Age Denmark
This dissertation intends to examine Denmark during the Bronze Age (1600 BC to 500 BC), so as to further investigate the social interpretations that can be made. Denmark was chosen because of its exceptional wealth of bronze goods, and the analysis that has been carried out so far, mainly by K. Kristiansen. There has been much interest recently in the proof of social stratification in Bronze Age Denmark, partly due to the inherent problems of intensification of farming in the area since the 18th century.
The study will begin with a geographical and environmental background of Denmark, followed by a definition of chronology. A summary of the bronze wares under study will then be given, and concepts used in the later chapters explained.
The hoarding and funerary practices of the societies present before and during the Bronze Age Denmark will then be investigated, detailing typology, distributions and grave goods. The social implications of these will be discussed in context with other models and theories, in an attempt to clarify the presence of social stratification. The social stratification has been investigated on various levels, from Fried or Service’s large-scale systems to differentiation by gender and age.
Warfare will also be discussed, a subject that has not gained great attention to date, to add another dimension to the investigation.
Finally, all discussions will be summarised, and any further work outlined.
Oakbank Crannog: the Nature of Evidence, Environment & Economy
Oakbank Crannog is a lake dwelling located in Loch Tay, Scotland. The site has been dated with an occupation period lasting for roughly two hundred years, from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age. This paper will attempt to explore themes of landscape and economy, supported with evidence from the site and other resources. In the past twenty years the excavation of Oakbank Crannog has revealed excellently preserved deposits that may offer insights into the economy of a loch landscape and the interactions of community and resources within this landscape.
Of particular relevance are questions of spatiality. How were Crannogs organised within the landscape? How, in turn was agriculture organised and structured around a Crannog and does the evidence reflect this? If at all possible, this paper will attempt to apply a ‘model’, or ideas of spatial pattern and organisation to this landscape, particularly concerning agriculture and the prehistoric community.
A Study of Promontory and Stack Enclosures on the Isle of Lewis
Coastal promontory and stack enclosures are structural forms that have been neglected throughout Atlantic Scotland. My work was based upon a Coastal Erosion Assessment of Lewis carried out in 1996 by Burgess and Church for Historic Scotland. One of the major findings of this survey was an increase in the number of recorded promontory enclosures from 13 to over 70. These were defined by the presence of a wall enclosing a promontory on the landward side and are linked at least, topographically to blockhouses and promontory semi-brochs. Stack enclosures were included in my dissertation as they are simply promontories that have eroded away from the shore.
The aims of this dissertation were to construct a gazetteer, to investigate whether a classification could be formulated and to look at future research of the sites. Fieldwork was undertaken in the summer and winter of 1997 and consisted of visiting almost every recorded promontory and stack site on Lewis. A recurring feature was the diversity of form amongst the monuments. I have considered previous morphological methods of sub-dividing the sites including architecture, form, size and location. It was considered futile to construct a strict typology from these characteristics, although they indicate similarities between individual sites.
Dating evidence is sparse due to the paltry number of excavations of these sites along the Atlantic seaboard. The limited information suggests a broad chronology, from the Neolithic to post-medieval periods. Likewise, the function of the enclosures was probably extremely diverse. The sites on Lewis may range from stock enclosures to cellular settlements. The natural topography and enclosing walls often give the sites a physical and symbolic separation from the rest of the landscape. This may have reflected social processes such as prestige, hierarchy and ritual.
Promontory and stack enclosures have been largely ignored by archaeologists because of their associated problems of classification and definition. Due to their functional, chronological and morphological diversity, only future excavation will be able to increase the little knowledge we have concerning the sites.
The Interaction between Humans & Large Carnivores in Scottish Prehistory, a zooarchaeological case study from the Assynt area of Sutherland
It is a curious reflection to think of the Scottish landscape as once having- provided a habitat for many species of carnivore, including- wolves (Canis lupus), brown bear (Ursus arctos) and northern lynx (Lynx lynx); animals which are now extinct in this country. This dissertation sought to examine the nature of the relationship between humans and large carnivores in Scottish prehistory. An undertone of human dominancy becomes increasingly visible within both the archaeological and historical records. Ecological and behavioural links between humans and carnivores have ancient origins, existing as a diverse set of interactions, the history of which needs to be studied.
This dissertation examined several sources of information including zoological, historical, archaeological and palaeontological evidence; hopefully highlighting the importance of such multidisciplinary approaches. The research involved in the preparation of this dissertation should help to fill some information into the abyss which exists in our knowledge concerning the presence of carnivores within Scottish archaeological sites.
A case study was used to consider Upper Palaeolithic or Devensian populations, in an attempt to identify patterns of behaviour which may suggest a degree of human ascendancy; behaviour which may lie at the root of events or actions, which ultimately led to the demise of Scottish carnivores. The Creag nan Uamh caves located in Sutherland yielded 456 carnivore bones providing a unique opportunity to study Devensian fauna. This site was selected as a suitable case study as archaeological and skeletal remains indicative of human activity were also recovered from the caves. This case study hopes to reveal evidence which will help to question the idea that Scotland was not occupied by humans during the Lateglacial. It hopes to prove that this is just a symptom of poor bone preservation and the significant absence of field work in the upland areas of Scotland.
Palaeoenvironmental Evidence for Late Holocene Climatic Change in the Outer Hebrides: Humification and Tephra Studies on Blanket Mire from the Isle of Lewis
This dissertation details a study made at Guinnerso East Moor, on the West Coast of The Isle of Lewis, to establish palaeoenvironmental evidence for Late Holocene climatic change in the Outer Hebrides.
Peat samples were extracted from the Moor, and subjected to a number of sampling and sub-sampling techniques, to allow humification and tephra studies to be carried out. The degree of humification was calculated and correlated with other humification studies to provide proxy evidence for climate change. Tephra analysis was carried out in order to observe possible isochrones, which were then used to form a relative chronology.
The results suggest that Late Holocene climate change is recorded within the peat stratigraphy, in terms of humification, due to similar changes being noted at different sites. The results of the tephra analysis showed numerous tephra layers to be present within the peat, and through correlation with previously studied isochrones, relative dating was possible. Both the humification results and the tephra analysis results were compiled to form an overall interpretation of Late Holocene climatic change along with a relative chronology.
Following this detailed study, a number of futher research questions have evolved. These are based around furher study in the Guinnerso area, in the hope of building up a greater knowledge of the area in terms of its climatic, vegetation, and anthropogenic history.
Taxonomic Determination in Antler and its application to artefact analysis
Bone and antler artefacts are common finds on archaeological sites, making their first appearance in the Upper Paleolithic circa 35000 years ago (McGregor, 1985). In most cases it is assumed that the antler is derived from red or roe deer, as these are the only cervid which are native to the British Isles. Reindeer were present within British fauna until the end of the last glaciation but there is no confirmed record of them after 6000BC (Clutton-Brock and McGregor, 1988). During the Norse period trade links developed between Scandinavia and Northern Scotland. This trade may have included reindeer antler or reindeer antler artefacts. The earliest confirmed contact between Scandinavia and Northern Scotland occurred in the late eighth century A.D. (Ritchie, 1993). Recent analysis of preNorse antler combs from sites in Orkney has indicated that these may be made of reindeer antler (Weber, 1991/92). This has generated heated debate in the archaeoological literature since it suggests that contact may have occurred several centuries earlier. The method of identification used in this analysis is rather subjective, and the details remain unpublished. Therefore this dissertation is concerned with determining whether it is possible to distinguish between red deer and reindeer antlers. This will be done by studying the cut surface of the antlers, by eye and under low power microscope in order to establish whether the two species can be distinguished on the basis of structural morphology. It also includes examination of what is already known about this period, and an evaluation on the likelihood of Weber's argument. By this method, I found that there is a slight difference in the stratigraphy of the two samples, as there is a dark line present at the interface between the hard tissue and the spongy tissue on the reindeer, but not on the red deer. However, as discolouration is likely to occur as a comb ages, this could not be used to differentiate the two species. Therefore I believe Weber's article to be inaccurate, and that there was not a trade in reindeer antlers between Norway and Orkney.
The Revival of Antique "opus sectile" in the Carolingian Period
In this body of work I have attempted to give a general contextual background to the changing phenomena of "opus sectile" floor decoration. The pattern it demonstrates through its use in both Roman and Medieval architecture is therefore significant in reflecting certain aspects of the cultures which created them. It is this which I have attempted to portray in this dissertation by focusing on a mid way point in terms of the history of "opus sectile" namely the Carolingian period, which offers an example of how a Roman form of artistic expression was revived and developed in the Medieval.
Ceramic Fabric Analysis as a means of determining socio-economic complexity in `Chalcolithic Cyprus. An investigation into the development of craft specialisation through petrographic analysis of material from the site of Kissonerga-Mosphilia, Cyprus.
This study uses thin section petrology to investigate the fabric composition of pottery wares from the Middle and Late Chalcolithic periods at Kissonerga-Mosphilia, Western Cyprus. Past work indicated that pottery shape, decoration and fabric were standardised in the later period, and proposed that this indicates a changed mode of production. The analysis tests this theory by quantifying, the natural and artificial constituents in the fabrics of Red-on-White Lattice, Red Monochrome Painted-B and Red-and-Black Stroke Burnished ware. The results indicate that the composition of Red-and-Black Stroke Burnished ware is not standardised at an intra-site level, but that there is more intra-household homogeneity in ceramic fabric in the Middle Chalcolithic. This indicates unspecialised household production in the earlier period, and a number of regionally based, specialised potters in the later period.
By adding these results to the indications of social complexity at Kissonerga-Mosphilia and the rest of the island, substantial social development was found to occur at the transition between the periods. Society in the fourth Millennium BC (Middle Chalcolithic) appears to be insular and slightly hierarchical. By the Late Chalcolithic the intra-village solidarity of the earlier period has broken down, and the inhabitants are much more involved in the network of communities in the surrounding region. There are fewer indications of hierarchy, but the insufficiency of detailed excavations in Western Cyprus may explain this. The information provided by petrographic analysis of ceramic fabrics has provided data on inter-settlement relations which excavations have been unable to produce.
The Sacred Mortuary Precinct at Tell el-Dab’a: An Analysis of the Burial Assemblages
The site of Tell el-Dab'a in the eastern Nile Delta provides an excellent stratigraphic sequence from which to study the mortuary culture of its inhabitants in the Second Intermediate Period of Egyptian chronology and the corresponding Middle Bronze Age IIB-C culture of the Levant. Situated at the cross-roads between these two worlds, the site has been identified as Avaris, the ancient capital of the hk3h3swt, the "rulers of foreign lands". These "rulers of foreign lands" are more commonly known in the archaeological literature as the 'Hyksos'.
Van den Brink (1982) has distinguished seven tomb types in strata G to D/2 at Tell el-Dab'a, these range from simple pit graves to vaulted tomb-chambers with brick built shafts leading down to the entrance. Consanguinity with the Middle Bronze Age IIB-C culture can be demonstrated in the similarity of the burial customs and assemblages between Tell el-Dab'a and contemporary sites in Syria-Palestine, e.g. Tell Beit Mirsim, Hazor and Jericho.
The aim of this study was to seek clarification on a number of questions arising from the mortuary culture of the inhabitants of Tell el-Dab'a during the Middle Bronze Age, through the analysis of the assemblages of burial goods found in the tombs of the 'Sacred Mortuary Precinct' (Area A/II), from the end of the Twelfth Dynasty to the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty. A number of techniques of analysis were employed which culminated in the use of 'Corresondence Analysis' to look for patterns in the burial assemblages.
Four aspects of the mortuary record received particular attention: patterns evident in the burial assemblages and the social and economic implications of these patterns; the degree of "Egyptianisation" witnessed in the tombs at Tell el-Dab'a in relation to contemporary tombs in Syria-Palestine and the degree of "internationalism" evident in the tombs. Egypt's historical relationship with it's eastern neighbours received attention, in order to clarify possible reasons or motivations for the influx of Asiatics into the Delta before and during the Second Intermediate Period.