Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (105 page)

The latest era of the earth's geological history from about 2 million years ago back to about 65 million years ago which includes the
TERTIARY
and
QUATERNARY PERIODS
. Preceded by the Mesozoic.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

The late Iron Age tribe living in the far northwest of Scotland at the time of the Roman conquest, but completely unaffected by it. The traditional settlement pattern of
BROCHS
and
DUNS
spanned the later 1st millennium
bc
through to the mid 1st millennium
ad
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Roman general and statesman born
c.
100 bc who came to prominence as a member of the First Triumvirate in 60 bc along with Pompey and Crassus . From 58 bc to 51 bc he was engaged in military campaigns in Gaul, Germany, and Britain. In 49 bc he refused to disband his army and instead crossed the Rubicon and marched on Rome, thereby signalling the outbreak of civil war. Between 49 bc and 44 bc he progressively consolidated his power with campaigns in Egypt, Asia Minor, North Africa, and Spain. He was murdered on the Ides of March 44 bc. His commentaries on the Gallic Wars represent one of the principal literary sources relevant to the later prehistory of Celtic Europe.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

An important coastal settlement situated on the Mediterranean coast between Tel Aviv and Haifa. As a result of extensive campaigns of investigation by Italian and Israeli archaeologists it is known that the predecessor of Caesarea was an anchorage equipped for coastal traffic by the Phoenicians when they captured the Sharon strip of the Palestine coast in the 3rd century
bc
. It was then called Strato's Tower. Herod the Great enlarged the city and rebuilt its harbour in a campaign of works starting in 22 bc, naming it Caesarea in honour of his patron Caesar Augustus when he inaugurated the town in 10 bc. An inscription that refers to Pontius Pilate is one of the best-known finds of this period. After Herod's death it became the Roman provincial capital of Judaea and was used as the headquarters for Vespasian's campaigns against Jewish revolts between ad 66 and ad 70. Over the next two centuries the town flourished and was a centre for both Christianity and Jewish thought and scholarship. The town was also important in the 12th and 13th centuries
ad
when it was used by Crusaders. Frequently changing hands between sides, it was redefended at this time.
[Sum.: R. L. Vann (ed.), 1992,
Caesarea papers: Straton's Tower, Herod's Harbour, and Roman and Byzantine Caesarea
. Ann Arbor MI: Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 5]

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

An extensive Mississippian settlement and ceremonial centre of the period ad 700–1600 situated in an alluvium covered valley. Covering over 16 square kilometres, the site had an estimated population of about 38000 souls at it height in the 11th and 12th centuries
ad
. However, the most striking feature of the site is the group of 45 or so mounds surviving out of an estimated original set of about 120. These mounds are of three types: platform, burial, and ridged. The largest is Monk's Mound, a platform mound built
c.
ad 900–1200: 316m by 241m, it rises in four terraces to a height of 33m. On the top is a large building interpreted as a ceremonial centre and home for the ruler of the area. All around Cahokia there are numerous smaller settlements representing hamlets and farmsteads.
[Sum.: D. Young and M. Fowler , 2000,
Cahokia. The great native American metropolis
. Columbia: University of Illinois Press]

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search