Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (438 page)

BOOK: Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
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milecastle
(milefort)
[MC].
A small Roman fort site at intervals of approximately one Roman mile along one of the major defended frontiers of the empire. On
HADRIAN'S WALL
the milecastles are typically rectangular in plan with a gateway through the wall and a watchtower overlooking it. Small barrack blocks provided accommodation for about 30 soldiers. A second gate provided access into the land south of the wall.
milestone
[MC].
Blocks or pillars of stone set up beside major roads to show distances from that point to major settlements along the road. In the Greco-Roman world such stones began to be erected from about 250 bc.
mill
[MC].
An industrial-scale structure purpose-built for grinding corn. Examples are known from the Roman period onwards and are generally classified according to the main power source used:
WINDMILLS
,
WATERMILLS
, and
TIDEMILLS
.
millefiori glass
[De].
Decorative glass formed by cutting slices from bundles of thin multi-coloured glass rods, fused together (the word literally means ‘a thousand flowers’). The slices were then set into a background mount of metal or enamel. The technique seems to have been developed by Anglo-Saxon craftspeople.
millenarianism
[Ge].
Beliefs held by the members of certain types of religious movement, according to which cataclysmic changes will occur in the near future, heralding the arrival of a new epoch.
Miller Culture
[CP].
Southward expansion of the
HOPEWELLIAN CULTURE
of North America into the Mississippi.

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