Diving into the Past

Just like the proverbial buses, four new books on underwater archaeology have arrived this month. Three of these are the first installment in a new series of encyclopedias which look at wrecks and their cargoes from different periods, cultures and regions placed within a historical, geographical, commercial, technological and nautical context. We also have a great offer on The British Museum Encyclopaedia of Underwater and Maritime Archaeology which is an all-encompassing dive into the past.

Kate's Top Ten 'Good Deals' for Christmas

Just in time for Christmas, Kate selects her favourite festive finds.

Of all the new books that have passed over the desks of the Oxbow staff this month, these, for whatever reason, are the ones that grabbed their attention.

Meet the Author: Adrian Murdoch

Adrian Murdoch's new book The Last Pagan describes paganism's last stand against Christianity and the Roman Empire's final efforts at supremacy in the East. The efforts of emperor Julian the Apostate ended on the battlefields of modern-day Iraq. The timeliness of his study is not wasted on Adrian who was able to answer our questions before rushing off to Pakistan with his other, journalist hat on. We also asked him why history and archaeology are popular today, why the themes of paganism and decadence appeal so much and why journalism and history get along so well.

Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) 2003
Lampeter (Wales, UK) (Wednesday 17 December, 2003 - Friday 19 December, 2003)
The University of Wales at Lampeter is a renowned centre for archaeological theory so it is appropriate that the 25th annual conference of this leading theoretical conference should be held there. Around 400 delegates are expected and Oxbow will be selling its usual selection of new books and bargains.

New Releases

Antiquity link-up

Have you looked recently at the Antiquity website? The eminent archaeological journal, now over 75 years old, moved almost a year ago to a new base in York. Since early 2003 the new editor, Professor Martin Carver, and his team have been working on giving the journal a new feel, and a sense of the great job that they have done can be gained from the website. Combative and critical book reviewing have always been a hallmark of Antiquity's offering and Oxbow Books has teamed up with the journal to offer immediate access to the, often hard to find, books reviewed in each issue. Not only does this allow almost instant access for readers to the raw materials reviewed, but the Antiquity Charitable Trust also receives a financial contribution for each book sold through the Oxbow-Antiquity Bookshop.