Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (593 page)

A wooden or metal pole with a point at one end, marked up in equal-sized units (usually feet or half-metres) painted in contrasting colours. Essentially a piece of surveying equipment, ranging rods are often used by archaeologists to provide scale in photographs of features and structures.

 
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A form of regional analysis that attempts to determine whether any settlement or defined place varies from a predicted linear pattern of rank in relation to size.

 
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An offensive weapon typical of the European middle Bronze Age with a relatively narrow blade typically 40–50cm long and a simple butt onto which a hilt could be riveted. Essentially an elongated dagger used for thrusting.

 
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See
RINGWORK
.

 
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Ancient city of the Adriatic coast of northern Italy well known for its wealth and position in the late Roman and Byzantine world. In 402 ad the official royal residence of the western exarchate of the Byzantine empire was moved from Milan to Ravenna, the city rising to great importance during the reign of Theodoric (ad 498–526). During this time many new churches and public buildings were constructed, drawing on the architectural styles of the Middle East as well as traditional western Roman forms. Major buildings include the tomb of Galla Placidia of about ad 450, and the basilicas of St Apollinare Nuovo and St Apollinare in Classe. Especially notable are the numerous mosaics on the floors and walls of these buildings.
[Sum.: G. B. Montanari , 1983,
Ravenna e il porto di classe. Venti anni di ricerche archeologiche tra Ravenna e classe.
Bologna: Bologna University Press]

 
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Rawlinson , Lt. Col. Sir Henry Creswicke
(1810–95)
[Bi].

British army officer, diplomat, and amateur archaeologist who was instrumental in deciphering the
CUNEIFORM
languages of western Asia. Born in Oxford, he demonstrated a remarkable command of languages and he was appointed an officer cadet in the East India Company in 1827. In 1833 he was one of a party of British officers sent to help reorganize the shah of Persia's army. Posted to Kurdistan, he set about trying to decipher King Darius's trilingual inscription on the Great Rock of Bisitun. First producing a translation of the Persian text, by 1857 he also had a version of the Babylonian text. In 1843 was appointed British consul in Baghdad and this allowed extra time for his studies, especially work on cuneiform tablets found at Assyrian cities such as Nimrud and Nineveh. Although Rawlinson produced some academic papers detailing his work, in later life he moved into politics, becoming an MP and later a minister to the Iranian court.
[Bio.: G. Rawlinson , 1898,
A memoir of Major-General Sir H. C. Rawlinson
. London: Longman Green]

 
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