Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (405 page)

 
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Roman emperor. A Spanish soldier who commanded the army in Britain and who led his troops into Gaul where he overthrew the Emperor Gratian . Theodosius the Great recognized his claim to Gaul, Spain, and Britain, but resisted Maximus' attempt to control Italy, and led an army which defeated him; Maximus was executed in ad 388. Thinly disguised as ‘Prince Macsen’, his memory remained a potent force in Welsh court circles until the 13th century
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.

 
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A obsolete term formerly applied to stone industries found in eastern and southern Africa, dated to the period 10000 bc down to 6000 bc, and named after the type-site of Magosi in Uganda. Characteristic tools include small points, microliths, and small blades. An advanced Levallois technique was employed for the production of flakes for the manufacture of other tools, together with a punch technique for the production of microlithic artefacts. Projectile points were produced by pressure flaking. However, the assemblage from the type-site has been shown to be mixed and so can no longer be regarded as representative.

 
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Barbarian people, perhaps Finnish in origin, who migrated into southern Europe, and in the early 10th century
ad
occupied Hungary, from where their horsemen raided into France, Italy, Germany, and even Spain. Defeated at the battle of Lechfeld in ad 955, they settled down in Hungary and established a civilized Christian kingdom which survived into modern times.

 
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One of the largest Iron Age hillforts in Britain, situated on the chalk downlands south of Dorchester in southern England. Excavated by Sir Mortimer
WHEELER
in 1934–7 and more recently by Niall Sharples in 1985–6, the hilltop has a long and complicated history starting in the middle Neolithic with the construction of a causewayed enclosure around 4000 bc. This was followed around 3400 bc by the building of a long mound partly over the infilled ditches of the earlier camp. The site was not heavily used during Bronze Age times, but occupation resumed around 500 bc with the construction of a hillfort. This fort was remodelled several times by the 3rd century, extending to 20ha with three or four concentric ramparts and ditches and massive heavily defended entrances to the east and west. Maiden Castle was at that time a permanent settlement with stone and wooden houses linked by surfaced trackways. During the Roman conquest, the fort was sacked by Vespasian's legions. The Romans established a new centre for the Durotriges at Durnovaria (Dorchester), and the hillfort was abandoned until the 4th century
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when a Romano–Celtic temple was built there.
[Rep.: N. Sharples , 1991,
Maiden Castle excavations 1985–86
. London: English Heritage]

 
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Exceptionally rich kurgan grave of the early Kuban Culture dating to the mid 3rd millennium
bc
situated in the Kuban Valley of the northern Caucasus. The barrow, which is 10m high and over 200m in circumference, was excavated in 1897 and found to contain a timber mortuary house over a stone pavement, divided into three sections. The central section contained the burial of an adult male sprinkled with ochre and laid under a canopy with gold and silver supports. In each of the two flanking compartments was the burial of a woman. Overall, the burial is interpreted as that of a king, prince, or very important person accompanied by his wife or wives. Grave goods included tools and weapons of copper, gold ornaments, gold vessels, and silver vases engraved with animal scenes. The metalwork shows links with Mesopotamia and southwest Asia. Two of the vessels are decorated with engraved figures of mountains, streams, animals, and birds which Professor Farmakovsky has interpreted as a view of the landscape of the king's realm.
[Sum.: A. M. Tallgren , 1933, The Dolmens of north Caucasia.
Antiquity
, 7, 190–202]