Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (441 page)

 
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The penultimate Chinese imperial dynasty dating to the period ad 1368 through to ad 1644. It was established after the expulsion of the Mongols by Chu Yüan-Chang , an illiterate mercenary who had begun life as a refugee from famine, then became a Buddhist monk, a bandit, and a rebel leader. The Ming first had a century of effective power and strong government, but declined in the 16th century and succumbed to an internal rebellion and subsequent Manchu invasion in the middle of the 17th century
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. Celebrated for the development of porcelain, and in literature for the rise of the Chinese novel, they also produced memorable and impressive architecture of which the Ming tombs and the Imperial Palace at Peking are superb examples.

 
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A generic term for a range of small ceramic vessels accompanying Bronze Age cremation burials in the British Isles during the 2nd millennium
bc
. See
ALDBOURNE CUP
,
PYGMY CUPS
,
GRAPE CUP
,
INCENSE CUP
.

 
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See
SPRINGFIELD STYLE ENCLOSURE
.

 
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Type of small Roman coin of low value that first appeared in the 3rd century
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and continued to be minted through into the 4th century
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. The word is simply a Latinized equivalent of ‘the smallest’; it is not known what the coins were called in Roman times.

 
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Type of extremely small Roman coin of low value, generally about 4mm across, issued in the 3rd and 4th centuries
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. The word is simply a Latinized equivalent of ‘the very smallest’; it is not known what the coins were called in Roman times.

 
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