War, Grain and Olives in Ancient Greece

Three new books on Ancient Greece look at the links between warfare, agriculture and the economy. We take a look...

Top Ten Bestsellers for Christmas

If you're in need of ideas for Christmas then look no further. These are the ten books that have proved most popular with Oxbow customers in 2007, and in the run-up to Christmas we're offering them all at a special price.

More Damaged Books

Butter Fingers! Here's a few more books that have seen better days.

New Bargains

A first look at our most recent bargain books.

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.

New Releases

The Land of Assur and the Yoke of Assur: Studies on Assyria 1971-2005
edited by J Nicholas Postgate

This book brings together a selection of twenty-eight previously disparate articles by Nicholas Postgate that represent some thirty years of engagement with the nature of Assyrian society and government. Most are broadly synthetic and deal with general issues; they are a tremendous body of work, and this will be an invaluable collection for everyone interested in Assyria.

Calendars and Years: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient Near East
edited by John M Steele
Paperback. GB £25.00

Dates form the backbone of written history. But where do these dates come from? Many different calendars were used in the ancient world. Some of these calendars were based upon observations or calculations of regular astronomical phenomena, such as the first sighting of the new moon crescent that defined the beginning of the month in many calendars, while others incorporated schematic simplifications of these phenomena, such as the 360-day year used in early Mesopotamian administrative practices in order to simplify accounting procedures. Historians frequently use handbooks and tables for converting dates in ancient calendars into the familiar BC/AD calendar that we use today. But very few historians understand how these tables have come about, or what assumptions have been made in their construction. The seven papers in this volume provide an answer to the question what do we know about the operation of calendars in the ancient world, and just as importantly how do we know it? Topics covered include the ancient and modern history of the Egyptian 365-day calendar, astronomical and administrative calendars in ancient Mesopotamia, and the development of astronomical calendars in ancient Greece. This book will be of interest to ancient historians, historians of science, astronomers who use early astronomical records, and anyone with an interest in calendars and their development.

Neolithic Archaeology in the Intertidal Zone
edited by E J Sidell and F Haughey
Paperback. GB £30.00, GB £10.00

This volume is based upon a conference which took place in 1999, reflecting the developing interest in intertidal archaeology and concentrating on the Neolithic period, as well as elements of associated Mesolithic and Bronze Age archaeology. Since then, the papers have been revised to include new discoveries and reflect the increasing interest and importance attached to the intertidal zone. All papers have supporting environmental data and radiocarbon dates. The volume has a wide geographical spread, starting in the Solway Firth (Michael Cressey) with description and interpretation of several new sites and environmental data including relative sea level change. This is followed by a paper drawing together information from Liverpool Bay (Silvia Gonzalez and R Cowell), including archival research, antiquarian data and recent fieldwork, including the remarkable Formby Point footprints. Continuing southwards, a highly detailed paper on the Severn Estuary (Martin Bell) summarises the relationship between the intertidal and dryland zone, on both sides of the estuary in both the Neolithic and Mesolithic. Rounding the coast, the next paper examines the landscape at Wootton Quarry on the Isle of Wight (Rebecca Loader), and outlines the results of an intertidal zone survey, including well preserved intertidal deposits here, including a buried forest, trackways and flint scatters. This is followed by a paper on the intertidal deposits within Langstone Harbour (Michael Allen and Julie Gardiner), which included subtidal archaeological work in combination with intertidal survey and analysis. Once again, the theme of buried forests is examined and the importance of this previously poorly studied phenomenon is demonstrated. Moving around to the river Thames, two papers (Wilkinson & Sidell and Haughey) provide examinations of the development of the river and the Neolithic development along the estuary, closely tied to environmental change and also the difficulties of working in an estuarine and urban zone simultaneously. The work of archaeologists working in fragile and rapidly eroding environments is evaluated: the papers demonstrate the high quality research being undertaken around the British coast to salvage archaeology by record and undertake detailed research to place it in its proper context.

William of Newburgh: The History of English Affairs Book 2
edited, with an introduction, translation, and commentary by P.G. Walsh and M.J. Kennedy
Paperback. GB £18.00
Hardback. GB £40.00, GB £9.95

The History of English Affairs, covering the years 1066-1197, was written at the close of the twelfth century and has been described as being "both in substance and in form ... the finest historical work left to us by an Englishman of the twelfth century" (The Dictionary of National Biography). The author's critical ability, gifts of acute observation, clear judgment and tolerant impartiality justify his high reputation as an original authority. Book Two covers the years 1154-75, and incorporates the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, the capture of the King of Scots at Alnwick, and the first subjugation of Ireland by the English. It also documents the career of Nicholas Breakspear, the only Englishman to become Pope.

Metallurgy in the Aegean Early Bronze Age
edited by Peter M Day and Roger C P Doonan

Recently, our understanding of metals and metallurgy in the Early Bronze Age Aegean has been dominated by studies which focus on the circulation and provenance of metals. Over the last decade the study of early metallurgy in the Aegean has witnessed dramatic developments with ever earlier and more detailed evidence for metal production being discovered in the field. Paralleling these field studies are a wealth of new laboratory analyses relating to the material aspects of metal production. This diverse new data when coupled with recent theoretical approaches now allow for significant shifts in our understanding of this important aspect of Aegean prehistory. Since few studies of metallurgy have extended beyond typological analysis of artefacts, the circulation of raw materials and the detailing of technical processes, metallurgy in the Aegean Early Bronze Age was made a subject of discussion at the Sheffield Centre for Aegean Archaeology's Round Table. This volume contains fifteen papers which address aspects of mining smelting and artefact production from a range of theoretical perspectives. It represents the first publication of many of the key details from numerous newly discovered sites.

Cult in Context: Reconsidering Ritual in Archaeology
edited by David A Barrowclough and Caroline Malone
Paperback. GB £40.00

Gods, deities, symbolism, deposition, cosmology and intentionality are all features of the study of early ritual and cult. Archaeology has great difficulties in providing satisfactory interpretation or recognition of these elusive but important parts of ancient society, and methodologies are often poorly equipped to explore the evidence. This collection of papers explores a wide range of prehistoric and early historic archaeological contexts from Britain, Europe and beyond, where monuments, architectural structures, megaliths, art, caves, ritual activity and symbolic remains offer exciting glimpses into ancient belief systems and cult behaviour. Different theoretical and practical approaches are demonstrated, offering both new directions and considered conclusions to the many problems of studying the archaeology of cult and ritual. Central to the volume is an exploration of early Malta and its intriguing Temple Culture, set in a broad perspective by the discussion and theoretical approaches presented in different geographical and chronological contexts.

Roman Manchester: The University of Manchester's Excavations within the Vicus 2001-5
by Richard A Gregory
Hardback. GB £50.00, GB £10.00

As a consequence of extensive urban redevelopment a series of large archaeological excavations were undertaken in the Castlefield area close to Manchester city centre, which uncovered important new evidence relating to Manchester's Roman military settlement. This monograph presents the findings of this significant phase of archaeological work, which unearthed evidence of Roman military, commercial and industrial activity, remains relating to ritual/cult activity, and an extensive collection of Roman artefacts. Taken together these remains hold the utmost significance for disentangling the pre-industrial origins of Manchester, and also sheds light on Roman settlement at the frontiers of the Roman Empire.

Breaking and Shaping Beastly Bodies: Animals as Material Culture in the Middle Ages
edited by Aleksander Pluskowski
Paperback. GB £30.00, GB £9.95

An important human trait is our inclination to develop complex relationships with numerous other species. In the great majority of cases however, these mutualistic relationships involve a pair of species, whose co-evolution has been achieved through behavioural adaptation driving positive selection pressures. Humans go a step further, opportunistically and, it sometimes seems, almost arbitrarily elaborating relationships with many other species, whether through domestication, pet-keeping, taming for menageries, deifying, pest-control, conserving iconic species, or recruiting as mascots. When we consider medieval attitudes to animals we are tackling a fundamentally human, and distinctly idiosyncratic, behavioural trait. The sixteen papers presented here investigate animals from zoological, anthropological, artistic and economic perspectives, within the context of the medieval world.

Environmental Archaeology in Ireland
edited by Eileen M Murphy and Nicki J Whitehouse
Paperback. GB £40.00

This edited volume of 16 papers provides an introduction to the techniques and methodologies, approaches and potential of environmental archaeology within Ireland. Each of the 16 invited contributions focuses on a particular aspect of environmental archaeology and include such specialist areas as radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology, palaeoentomology, human osteoarchaeology, palynology and geoarchaeology, thereby providing a comprehensive overview of environmental archaeology within an Irish context. The inclusion of pertinent case studies within each chapter will heighten awareness of the profusion of high standard environmental archaeological research that is currently being undertaken on Irish material. The book will provide a key text for students and practitioners of archaeology, archaeological science and palaeoecology.