Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (47 page)

Groups of people who called themselves Arya, and who spoke the Indo-European
SANSKRIT
language, are known from the
Rigveda
and other early Indian historical sources. They probably invaded India from the northwest during the 2nd millennium
bc
, spreading east and south over the succeeding centuries. By about 500 bc the Aryan language was probably common over most of the Indian subcontinent, the area in which Indo-Aryan is now spoken. Archaeologically, Aryan peoples are more or less invisible, despite much searching. Some authorities link them to cultures using
PAINTED GREY WARES
, and as such the spread of the Aryans may have contributed to the downfall of the
HARAPPAN
civilization.

 
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A kind of jar with a conical base, tall narrow neck, and flaring rim. Used to carry liquids. Found in
INCA
assemblages of Peru.

 
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Roman brass or copper coin worth one sixteenth of a
DENARIUS
.

 
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Latin term for the sloping ramp giving access to the walkway along the top of a rampart.

 
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Masonry comprising square-finished or square-hewn stone laid in regular courses with fine joints, and an even face.

 
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Ashmole , Elias
(1617–92)
[Bi].

Antiquarian, solicitor, alchemist, and creator of the first public museum in Britain. Born in Lichfield he became a solicitor in 1638 before embracing the Royalist cause in the Civil War. In 1644 he was appointed by the king as commissioner of excise in Lichfield, which led to him to Oxford where the Royalist parliament sat. He entered Brasenose College to study physics and mathematics, but further changes of employment took him to Worcester and London. Following the Restoration he was appointed Windsor herald and from that time he developed his antiquarian interests alongside increasing influence at court. In a life full of twists and turns he inherited from John Tradescant (Keeper of the Botanic Garden at Chelsea) a collection of antiquities and in 1677 he determined to give the collection, plus his own additions, to the University of Oxford on condition that they find a suitable building for it. This was agreed and the building opened in 1682, Dr Plot being appointed its curator. At least twelve wagon-loads of material were taken to the museum. In 1690 the university conferred on Ashmole the degree of MD and in turn he bequeathed his library to them. The Ashmolean Museum, though really formed by Tradescant , has secured its donor a celebrity that remains today.
[Bio.:
Dictionary of British biography: earliest times to 1900
, 644–6]

 
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