RADIOCARBON-DATED DESTRUCTION LAYERS: A SKELETON FOR IRON AGE CHRONOLOGY IN THE LEVANT

We present a full-sequence radiocarbon-based chronological system for the Iron Age in the Levant, anchored on the dating of ten destruction layers for the years 1130–730 BC. We establish the sequence using two methods – the 'uncalibrated weighted average' and the Bayesian modelling. Utilizing four dating tools in combination – radiocarbon measurements, field stratigraphy, pottery typology and ancient Near Eastern historical records – facilitates solutions to chronological problems that are far beyond the resolving power of ¹⁴C dating alone. The results shed light on disputed issues related to biblical and ancient Near Eastern history, such as the expansion of the early Israelite polity from the highlands to the lowlands; the nature of the Shoshenq I campaign to Canaan; and the evolution of the conflict between northern Israel and Aram Damascus.     

SOTIRA KAMINOUDHIA AND THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE EARLY BRONZE AGE IN CYPRUS

Summary. The Early Bronze Age (EBA) of Cyprus is a key phase of transformation in the prehistory of the island. Major developments are observed in the economic, social and artistic arenas, but owing to the lack of excavated settlements no firm chronology has ever existed for this period. Excavations in southern Cyprus at Sotira Kaminoudhia, a site with an assemblage belonging in broad terms to the Early Cypriot (EBA) Red Polished ceramic tradition, have helped to fill the lacuna. This paper presents the analyses of a series of radiocarbon determinations from well stratified organic samples in the settlement. These both confirm the EBA status of the site and provide the first firm absolute chronology for the Cypriot EBA. In addition, the new data from Sotira Kaminoudhia provide an opportunity to examine the beginning of this period on Cyprus — specifically the much debated issue of the so-called Philia Phase — both in chronological and socio-economic terms.     

THE EARLY IRON AGE IN THE PARIS BASIN: A STUDY IN CULTURE CHANGE

Summary. The archaeological evidence for Iron Age cultures in the Paris Basin is outlined. The data are heavily weighted to burials, there being little evidence available of settlements, but regional patterns of variation can be recognized. The broader contacts of the region are discussed and the effects of external trade and internally generated pressures on socio-economic systems are considered.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN METALWORK, COPPER SOURCES AND THE EVIDENCE FOR SETTLEMENT IN THE GREEK LATE NEOLITHIC AND EARLY BRONZE AGE

Summary. This paper discusses the evidence for copper- and bronze-working in later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Greece and seeks to define the relationship between these industries and the copper ore sources which were potentially available. It compares the distribution of metalwork with that of contemporary settlement, and lists the occurrence of copper sources in each region. A contrast is also drawn between the later Neolithic industries, which resemble those of the Balkans, and those of EB II and III, which have essentially a Near Eastern Background. Although the same ore sources may have been used in both periods, the scope and organisation of the industries was markedly different. It is concluded that even though there were enough local and widespread copper sources to meet demand, there is no evidence that any one copper source was systematically exploited in EBA. The extent to which the Laurion copper source influenced the organisation of copper acquisition in MBA is discussed.     

青藏高原旧石器时代晚期至新石器时代初期的考古学文化及经济形态

目次一绪言二旧石器时代晚期的随机性食物搜寻经济三中石器时代的季节性食物搜寻经济四结语一绪言史前的概念在不同的民族和地区有着不同的时间界定〔1〕。就本文所涉及的青藏高原而言,传统上将其界定在从距今三万年左右旧石器时代晚期出现的人类遗迹开始,直到公元7世纪中叶,即松赞干布建立的吐蕃王朝这段时期〔2〕。从时间上看,这是一个     

THE OLIVE IN THE PREHISTORIC AEGEAN: THE EVIDENCE FOR DOMESTICATION IN THE EARLY BRONZE AGE

Summary. In 1972 Colin Renfrew suggested that the rise of Mycenaean civilization may have been made possible by the development of a polycultural triad of wheat, vine and olive in the Early Bronze Age. A careful examination of the botanical and archaeological evidence for the domestication of the olive lends little support to this aspect of the thesis. The palynological evidence from various points in Greece is inconclusive, but for most areas it would seem to suggest that the intensive cultivation of olive began in the Late Bronze Age or even later.
No conclusive archaeological evidence for processing or storage of olive oil exists for any period in the Bronze Age. The question of when olive domestication took place must remain unanswered until more data are available from Early and Middle Bronze Age contexts and more conclusive botanical data have been collected.     

WOAD, TATTOOING AND IDENTITY IN LATER IRON AGE AND EARLY ROMAN BRITAIN

Summary. This paper explores the archaeological evidence for the practice of facial and corporeal dyeing, painting and tattooing in the later Iron Age and early Roman period. The aim is to construct a hypothesis which explains how, why, when and by whom such pigments were worn. Although this hypothesis discusses woad-derived indigo, this is used mainly, although not exclusively, as an experimental tool, as no conclusive archaeological evidence exists which reveals the identity of the 'real' pigment(s). Woad has also long held a place in the popular imagination as the source of the dye which the ancient Britons used to paint themselves.
This paper explores the possibility that the cosmetic grinder was the focal artefact used in body painting or tattooing, and was used for grinding and mixing body and face paint. It is suggested that, rather than being a 'Roman'-style tool for cosmetic application from the start, it may have begun life as an artefact first used by the later Iron Age Britons for body painting and expressing indigenous identities.     

USING AND ABANDONING ROUNDHOUSES: A REINTERPRETATION OF THE EVIDENCE FROM LATE BRONZE AGE–EARLY IRON AGE SOUTHERN ENGLAND

Summary.   It has recently been demonstrated that a number of roundhouses of the early first millennium BC in southern England show a concentration of finds in the southern half of the building. It has thus been argued that this area was used for domestic activities such as food preparation, an idea which has formed the basis for discussion of later prehistoric 'cosmologies'. However, reconsideration of the evidence suggests that this finds patterning does not relate to the everyday use of the buildings, being more likely to derive from a particular set of house abandonment practices. Furthermore, evidence can be identified for the location of domestic activities within contemporary roundhouses that appears to contradict the established model.     

POTS AND PITS: DRINKING AND DEPOSITION IN LATE IRON AGE SOUTH-EAST BRITAIN

Summary. This paper considers the role of pottery in the Late Iron Age to Roman transition in south-east Britain. Traditional concern with the significance of Continental imports is rejected in favour of a more holistic and bottom-up approach giving equal emphasis to locally made forms and imports in complete assemblages. Several stages of inter-site correspondence analysis are conducted on a range of sites and assemblages in the region. Patterning pertaining to the use and deposition of both imported and local pottery vessels can be seen to contradict simplistic models for 'Romanization before conquest'. The main conclusions include evidence for the selective disposal of drinking vessels and table wares in pits, the likely widespread consumption of beer as opposed to wine, and the implied importance of indigenous social practices such as feasting and communal drinking.     

THE RADIOCARBON CHRONOLOGY OF KOPIA,AN EARLY GLASS MANUFACTURING CENTRE IN INDIA

Right from the time of the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture, dating to c. 1200–600 bce , more than 210 archaeological sites in India have provided evidence of glass, but there has been no attempt to date the glass‐yielding layers by radiometric techniques. This has hampered the establishment of a chronology for the beginning and evolution of glass‐making in India. The site of Kopia was excavated by the first author for three seasons from 2004 to 2006 to understand the history, development and technology of glass production in India. The excavation produced evidence of a long period of occupation, covering the Fine Grey Ware (FGW), Northern Black Polished Ware (NBP), Sunga–Kushana and Gupta periods. Twenty accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and radiocarbon dates, all derived from charcoal samples and processed independently by three laboratories, are available from the site. The dates range in their calibrated form on average from the ninth to the second century bce in locality I and from the second century bce to the second century ad in locality II.     

PITS, PRECONCEPTIONS and PROPITIATION IN the BRITISH IRON AGE

Summary: Large pits have long been known to be a characteristic of the British Iron Age. Originally they were thought to be habitations but since the 1930s they have been assumed to have served as grain silos. This paper reviews our changing conceptions and then considers a range of new data for special burials within the pits. A model is developed which sees the storage of seed grain in pits as a deliberate act designed to place the grain in the protection of the chthonic deities. the chronological and spatial implications of pit storage in Britain are briefly considered.     

THE COMPOSITION OF IRON AGE STRUCK 'BRONZE'COINAGE IN EASTERN ENGLAND

EDXRF was used to analyse the composition of 88 Iron Age copper and copper alloy coins excavated from the site of a pre-Roman shrine and Roman temple at Harlow, Essex. Most of the coins are local to the Essex-Hertfordshire region, with a few of Kentish origin. The earliest struck base metal issues were struck from almost pure copper, but from the late first century BC, their composition shows more variety. Particularly interesting are a group of types belonging to the Romanizing phase of Tasciovanus'coinage, which were struck in brass and possibly represent a distinct denomination. Roman coinage and other metalwork imports from the Roman world presumably provided the initial impetus, and the ultimate source of the brass. However, this experiment was relatively short lived. Cunobelinus, who ruled eastern England during the earlier first century AD, mainly employed bronze to strike his abundant base metal coinage. The products of his Colchester mint reveal a consistently different composition from those struck at his unlocated second mint in the Hertfordshire area, although the precise alloy does vary, sometimes within the same type. This suggests that unlike gold and silver issues, the source and purity of the metal used for minting base metal coinage was not always critical.     

LONGBRIDGE DEVERILL COW DOWN, WILTSHIRE, HOUSE 3: A MAJOR ROUND HOUSE OF THE EARLY IRON AGE

Summary. The settlement complex on Longbridge Deverill Cow Down in west Wiltshire comprises two major farmsteads, with their associated trackways and field systems, which were in use from the 8th to the 2nd century BC. The excavations, between 1956 and 1960, could only sample Enclosures II and III, whose ditches turned out to be relatively late features belonging to the larger and longer lived of the two farms. However, by good fortune, the interior areas excavated contained the very well-preserved post-holes of no less than four successive great round houses, the largest up to 60 feet (18.30 m.) in diameter, with masses of surviving structural evidence, pottery and other finds. This article describes and discusses the latest and best preserved of the great houses, House 3 of the end of the 6th century, and it attempts to throw new light not just on the construction and internal lay-out of these huge structures, but also the manner in which they may have been used, domestically and ceremonially, by their inhabitants at the end of the Late Bronze and beginning of the Iron Age in Wessex.     

HOUSES FOR THE DEAD AND CAIRNS FOR THE LIVING; A RECONSIDERATION OF THE EARLY TO MIDDLE BRONZE AGE TRANSITION IN SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND

Summary.   The Early to Middle Bronze Age transition period has often been interpreted as involving a move to 'rational' food-producing societies. More recently, models have been advanced which have highlighted the presence of ritualized practices within Middle Bronze Age society. However, many of these interpretations have largely been based upon evidence from excavated settlements in central southern England. This paper examines the need to consider the transition period at a more localized level and presents the evidence from south-west England.     

SEALED SILVER IN IRON AGE CISJORDAN AND THE 'INVENTION' OF COINAGE

Summary. Recent finds of hoarded silver in Cisjordan present new material for the consideration of the conceptual history of coined metals. When the fundamental concepts associated with coinage are abstracted from the various objects that express them, it is possible to see that a kind of coined metal existed in Cisjordan and other parts of the Near East prior to the traditional 'invention' of coinage by the Lydians and Greeks c. 600 BC. ¹ Both hoards and written sources indicate that seals affixed to precious metals at times qualified them in a numismatic sense by guaranteeing weights set to standards as well as controlled composition. What has been characterized as the 'invention' of coinage was rather an adaptation of these same principal concepts. The frequency and size of silver hoards from Cisjordan point to a proliferation in the 'monetary' use of silver in that region during the Iron Age and suggest a relationship to the overwhelming preference for silver coinages among the Greeks.