Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (799 page)
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Authors: Timothy Darvill
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Wright , Thomas
(1810–77)
[Bi].
(1810–77)
[Bi].
English antiquary, who spent his life editing medieval manuscripts. While an undergraduate at Cambridge he published
A history of Essex
(1831–6), incorporating archive and archaeological material. Some of his work has since proved to be hasty and careless, but the range is impressive, including papers and volumes on medieval literature, song, and language, as well as major contributions to Anglo-Saxon studies.
[Bio.:
Dictionary of National Biography
, 21, 1045–48]
A history of Essex
(1831–6), incorporating archive and archaeological material. Some of his work has since proved to be hasty and careless, but the range is impressive, including papers and volumes on medieval literature, song, and language, as well as major contributions to Anglo-Saxon studies.
[Bio.:
Dictionary of National Biography
, 21, 1045–48]
wrist clasp
[Ar].
[Ar].
Flattened piece of bronze, rectangular or triangular in shape, frequently gilded or inlaid with silver and decorated with animal ornaments. Mainly found in pairs in pagan Saxon graves in eastern England and adjacent areas of the continent. Dating to the 6th to 8th centuries
ad
, their purpose was to fasten the cuffs on tunics.
ad
, their purpose was to fasten the cuffs on tunics.
wristguard
[Ar].
[Ar].
A thin stone plaque which strapped on to the inner forearm of an archer to prevent the arm from being grazed when the bowstring was released. Also known as a bracer. The stone used in making wristguards is generally of fine quality and they have one, two, or three holes at either end for attachment to what was presumed to be a leather strap. Well represented in the
BEAKER CULTURE
of early Bronze Age Europe.
BEAKER CULTURE
of early Bronze Age Europe.
writing
[Ge].
[Ge].
The arrangement of letters or symbols in groups or sequences to express defined and recognized meanings, developed independently in three parts of the world at different times, usually in connection with the elaboration of administrative systems or the recording of ritual/ceremonial matters. Although some early
ROCK ART
might have employed combinations of symbols to represent meaning, the earliest writing as such is generally taken to be
SUMERIAN CUNEIFORM
which used an increasing range of phonetic syllable signs during the early 3rd millennium
bc
. This system developed over the succeeding centuries to form Akkadian, Eblaite, Elamite, Hititte, Hurrian, and Old Persian.Egyptian hieroglyphic script developed about 3100 bc and changed little down to the Christian era. In India writing was developed in the Indus Valley from about 2500 bc. Finally, in Greece an indigenous hieroglyphic script was initiated in Crete in about 2200 bc, later to develop into Linear A around 1650 bc and Linear B around 1300 bc. The first true alphabet, with signs for individual letters/ sounds, seems to have been developed in the Levant soon after 2000 bc, one of the earliest alphabetic inscriptions being from Serabit al-Khadim in Sinai which can be dated to about 1700 bc. The Ugaritic alphabet started with a script of 32 letters, but over succeeding centuries this was modified to a set of 22 letters. Proto-Canaanite script is generally held to be the direct antecedent of the three main alphabetic families: Arabic, Phoenician, and Greek.A second cradle for the development of writing was in China where there is an uninterrupted literary tradition that can be traced back 3500 years to the pictography of the late
SHANG DYNASTY
around 1500 bc. The third independent development of writing was in the New World, where during the Late Formative Period of Mesoamerica logosyllabic scripts emerged around 300 bc to form four systems: epi-Olmec, Mayan, Oaxacan, and Izapan.
ROCK ART
might have employed combinations of symbols to represent meaning, the earliest writing as such is generally taken to be
SUMERIAN CUNEIFORM
which used an increasing range of phonetic syllable signs during the early 3rd millennium
bc
. This system developed over the succeeding centuries to form Akkadian, Eblaite, Elamite, Hititte, Hurrian, and Old Persian.Egyptian hieroglyphic script developed about 3100 bc and changed little down to the Christian era. In India writing was developed in the Indus Valley from about 2500 bc. Finally, in Greece an indigenous hieroglyphic script was initiated in Crete in about 2200 bc, later to develop into Linear A around 1650 bc and Linear B around 1300 bc. The first true alphabet, with signs for individual letters/ sounds, seems to have been developed in the Levant soon after 2000 bc, one of the earliest alphabetic inscriptions being from Serabit al-Khadim in Sinai which can be dated to about 1700 bc. The Ugaritic alphabet started with a script of 32 letters, but over succeeding centuries this was modified to a set of 22 letters. Proto-Canaanite script is generally held to be the direct antecedent of the three main alphabetic families: Arabic, Phoenician, and Greek.A second cradle for the development of writing was in China where there is an uninterrupted literary tradition that can be traced back 3500 years to the pictography of the late
SHANG DYNASTY
around 1500 bc. The third independent development of writing was in the New World, where during the Late Formative Period of Mesoamerica logosyllabic scripts emerged around 300 bc to form four systems: epi-Olmec, Mayan, Oaxacan, and Izapan.
wrought iron
[Ge].
[Ge].
A tough but malleable form of iron that has been beaten out or shaped by hammering rather than cast.
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