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During the archaeological research conducted in 2019 under the project “The Former Headquarters of the Gestapo and the Communist Provincial Office of Public Security in Anstadt Avenue in Łódź. Interdisciplinary Site Research” under the supervision of Dr Olgierd Ławrynowicz, an object filled with products on a paper base and bookbinding materials was found in one of the excavations. This paper attempts to clarify the chronology of paper products and to identify their type (typescripts, prints of monetary value, books, bookbinding materials, arrangement drawings, other paper products) and the material used. The visible content was identified using basic research methods and digital photographic documentation of it was made to preserve it.

The article is devoted to the problem of attributing monuments of medieval nomads from the Ukrainian steppe in the period of X-XIV centuries on the example of three burials from the Novosilsky Kurgan group located in the North-Western Black Sea coast. The attribution of such burials is problematic for the archaeology of Ukraine. The number of modern studies on this topic is rather small, which is determined by the somewhat biased attitude of scientists towards the monuments of medieval nomads of the 10th-14th centuries as those left by a certain homogeneous community, as evidenced by the still used term „late nomads”. However, such a strong generalization does not reflect reality. During the Middle Ages, the steppe of Ukraine was replaced one after another by waves of multi-ethnic nomads who migrated here from Central Asia. The ethnic diversity of the Pechenegs, Torks, Cumans, and the Central Asian peoples who came with the Mongols, but also their similarities, including the significant similarity of funeral rites, made it difficult to attribute and identify features for certain ethnocultural groups and chronological periods. The purpose of this paper is to trace possible solutions to this problem. Modern technologies can also help with this – namely, 3-D modelling of artefacts from burials, which allows us to learn the detailed parameters of each object and visualize it in high resolution. For this work, three 3-D models were created – one object from each burial site, which will be characterized in the paper. The models also perform an important task of preserving cultural heritage, because unfortunately, since 2014, because of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, nomadic monuments from the medieval steppe of Ukraine have been destroyed.

When Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina, it brought many social and cultural changes. One of them was suppressing the widespread culture of holding and carrying arms that existed in Ottoman Bosnia. Holding arms was still possible but under strict control. Firearm holders were, therefore, a very tiny, privileged group inside society. In this paper, we analyze the ethnic/religious and social structure of this group in the case of the Tuzla Circle in 1904. How large was this group? Were there differences along ethnic and social lines in terms of firearm holding rates? These are the key questions we are seeking answers to in this paper, with an aim to get the first insight into the broader picture of firearm holding in the entire province under the Monarchy’s control.

The Roman earth embankments in Banat are part of the border system called limes Sarmatiae by the Hungarian archaeologists. This paper brings into question their defensive military role and presents also the hypothesis of using this artificial barrier primarily for controlling sheep herds in the context of transhumance, a theory I took over from the late professor Alexandru Diaconescu. There are two major analogies in the space dominated by the Roman Empire: fossatum Africae and the “linear fortification” in Syria. Although the latter is poorly studied and, compared to the African ditch, there are some differences in the Danube area, I believe that the three border systems provided with fossatum (North Africa, Syria and the Carpathian Mts. – Danube River) were conceived by the Romans as a measure of controlling seasonal movement of sheep and represented an important source of tax revenue. Shepherds were taxed according to the number of sheep along their way with their flocks to wintering places. The administrative and legal issues involved in this supposed system of economic control can be discussed, in their complexity, when the functioning of the Sarmatian „limes” will be clarified. For this, archaeological excavations are required in the most delicate areas of the Roman vallum: the crossing points through this border. On the sheep roads, there were probably some gates arranged that were used in our case (Carpathian – Danube area) only for a short time, during the fall, when the flocks were herded on wintering in the plain. On the other hand, even if the relationship of this so-called limes with transhumance will not be confirmed, the areas of intersection of ancient roads with the earthen embankments must be archaeologically investigated, because this border could not be hermetically closed. New cartographic observations, benefiting from access to digitized historical maps and satellite maps, sometimes lead to correction of the routes of some sections of earthen embankments. We proposed a map of the Sarmatian limes (using Google Earth), which is still perfectible. Recent archaeological excavations in Banat have also provided new data about these artificial barriers. Of the three Banat valla, the most investigated remains the main one (median); the eastern one was investigated by archaeological excavations only on one point while the western one was not archaeologically excavated. The importance of the median embankment is given both by the number of ditches it has (three or four) and by the fact that it continues more widely north of Mureş River, where five or six ditches have been documented. One can talk about different phases of digging / functioning of these ditches, as well as about the complementary role of the eastern and western Banat alignments. In fact, these two should be interpreted as phases of the development of this border system. Comparisons can be made of the fossatum Sarmatiae with other linear earthworks, such as the Roman ditches in Bačka or Brazda lui Novac (Novac’s Furrow) in the Romanian Plain. It seems that the same concept was used in the latter as in the “Sarmatian” case. I assume that the two plains located between the Danube and outer embankment lines constituted important agricultural and zootechnical hinterlands of the late Roman empire. The inhabitants of the plains, in addition to agriculture, were mainly engaged in breeding cattle and horses. On the other hand, from the huge potential for sheltering and raising animals during winter, offered by the Danube and Tisza marshes, the shepherds who practiced the great transhumance of sheep also benefited. Although the political and economic context in the Middle and Lower Danube area during the functioning of the Sarmatian fossatum and Brazda lui Novac (most likely in the 4th century AD) seems difficult to reconstruct, it was natural to continue supplying the Roman Empire with rock salt from the former province of Dacia. As in prehistory or the Middle Ages, salt transportation was mainly done along the great rivers of Dacia (Mureş and Olt rivers), which communicated with the Danube. It is imaginable that the military and political-economic supremacy of the Late empire goes far beyond the space bordered by the Sarmatian limes or Novac’s Furrow. Supplying the empire with Dacian salt was reason enough for assiduously pursuing the political-military control over the area of ancient Dacia. From my point of view, also based on technical characteristics of the embankments, assigning a defensive military role to these linear earthworks was a historiographical error. Most probably they were dug and functioned as obstacles in control of the movement of sheep herds within the framework of long-distance transhumance. Finally, developing this paper, we identified on the satellite map the trace of a small fortification (Chesinţ, Arad County, RO), whose operating concept seems to be similar to that of the Hatvan-Gombospuszta camp in northern Hungary. The fortifications were located outside the defensive lines and controlled the access routes (small river valleys) towards the Pannonian Plain. Certainly, the identification of castra and crossing points of the embankments is only the beginning of clarifying this system of economic and fiscal control called limes Sarmatiae, built and used with the help of the Roman army.

(The ancient tradition concerning Pythagoras of Samos’ role as the founder of physiognomy): This paper collects and analyzes ancient sources that refer to Pythagoras of Samos as the founder of physiognomy. Interest in physiognomy, which deals with the relationship between the body and the spirit, has become more popular over the last few years; however, many aspects of research into the topic are still obscure and worthy of further study. Physiognomy was assumed by ancient authors to be the method by which candidates were selected to enter the Pythagorean community, used by the Greek philosopher and his followers. Information about Pythagoras, who – by simply looking at somebody – could recognize their character appears, in the works of Aulus Gellius, Hippolytus, Porphyry, Iamblichos, Proclos and Olympiodorus. Apart from discussing testimonia about Pythagoras and his physiognomic examinations, the text explores the role of physiognomy during the selection process for the Pythagorean community in order to provide a better understanding of elite traditions within society. The paper also supplies further insight with regards to the methodology behind physiognomical surveys, which were popular during antiquity.

Archaeological excavations in the Levant have provided a significant number of marble finds dated to the early Byzantine period (4th – mid-7th century CE). Information on these objects is, however, scattered over numerous publications, hindering synthetic studies of marble imports that reached this part of the Mediterranean world. A way to address this problem was to create a database facilitating access to the dataset of marble finds from the southern Levant. This paper presents the Marmora Bizantina database, describes its content and interface, and discusses the geographic and chronological scope of the dataset. Some uses of the database are discussed, remarking on the limitations that need to be taken into account. The paper also provides information on the analytical tools available on the database website.

The paper presents four fragmentary anthropomorphic vessels discovered ca. 60 years ago on the territory of Botoșani County, at Cervicești – La Morișcă (Mihai Eminescu commune) and Drăgușeni – Ostrov (Drăgușeni commune), left unpublished in the collections of the Botoșani County Museum. Starting from the presentation of these artefacts and integrating similar discoveries from the Gumelnița, Stoicani‑Aldeni and Cucuteni cultural areas, the work analyses the metamorphoses of a particular type of anthropomorphic vessel in the area of the Cucuteni civilization. More precisely, the paper follows typologically the transformation of the base of the vessels from the anthropomorphic silhouette naturalistically figured, with the anatomical profile correctly rendered, with the soles and feet clearly indicated, to the intermediate rhomboidal sole and then to the ovoid or circular base. Confirming the hypothesis of Gumelnița influences penetrating the Cucuteni environment, the analysis of the new materials and the typological connections illustrate and highlight the role of a transmission vector and intermediary between the North and the South that the Stoicani‑Aldeni cultural environment played for contemporary or immediately subsequent Eneolithic communities during the second half of the 5th millennium BC

This paper has been composed as the second in a series on the archaeological research undertaken in 2008 and 2018– 2020 at the large (Reformed) church of Aiud Fortress. The first study of the series has consisted of a brief presentation of the main data collected inside the monument. This second study presents even more briefly the main data collected outside the monument, as they appeared in more convoluted and fragmentary contexts. These excavations have established the main stratigraphic sequence of this area of Aiud Fortress as consisting of Roman age habitation in mortarless structures, followed by a hiatus, then by an early‑second‑millennium settlement, with at least two phases, which similarly made use only of mortarless structures. Despite its long existence, and even though sources infer the existence of local priests in the 13th century, there is no solid ground to contest, based on archaeological data, the traditional ascription of the small church (erected 1333– 1334, demolished and rebuilt 1865– 1866) as the beginning of religious masonry building at Aiud – and likely of the present‑day religious site. Nevertheless, the development of the large church of the fortress remains uncertain. Research conducted inside the current building has revealed that it was preceded by a smaller, yet still Gothic, church. Research conducted outside the building helped establish that the eastern part of the church was build first, in several phases, and only afterward was the body of the church also expanded. However, the western parts of the current structure show obvious signs of rebuilding, and dismantled structures indicate that the tower was not initially part of the extended planimetry. Due to the partial nature of the investigation, archaeology cannot yet establish the succession of the construction phases involved, or what they exactly involved, nor can it help in solving the questions raised by the varied modifications noticeable in the aboveground structure. While most late‑ and post‑medieval results presented below relate to the large church, they also include data about the small one, about a series of built structures identified in the area between the two churches and west of the large one, and about the overall development of the site, severely marked by arson and destruction in the early 18th century. The graveyard and materials are only mentioned, and not discussed, as they’ll be the subject of following papers

In this paper, we discuss bird bones from sixteen sites across Estonia, focusing on the Medieval and Early Modern Period (ca 1200â1800). Zooarchaeology, stable isotope analysis and Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectometry (ZooMS) are used to explore how the exploitation of birds has differed between sites of various functions and locations. The results demonstrate the ubiquity of the chicken as the most abundant avian species in most sites and periods under study. The goose and the duck were the second and third most common species identified in the assemblages. Species diversity was highest at castle sites, where the presence of different wild birds can be associated with higher social status; however, the use of several bird species is unlikely to be food-related. The most frequently discovered wild birds were the black grouse and the western capercaillie, which are also known to have been served at feasts. This paper presents the first comprehensive study of Estonian avian zooarchaeological material from various contexts, giving a better overview of the importance of birds to historical communities.

Radiocarbon dating by AMS accelerated ion mass spectrometry method, used from 2012 at IFIN-HH-Măgurele, offered recently the scientific frame for an interdisciplinary approach, from archaeologic and archaeometric perspectives, applied to wood samples. The first AMS results, issued in 2021 on six samples from Măguricea Branului archaeological site, have suggested a chronology around the 13th century AD, the differences being explained on terms detailed in this paper. The latter four samples, collected in the next archaeological campaign, gave very different dates. The difficulties experienced with these four samples driven us to develop new lab treatment, aiming carbonization of wood. Even so, the samples from 2022 could not be dated in a helpful manner, with parameters as terminus post quem, time-width, apparent ages. The paper could be of interest to archaeologists taking wood samples for AMS dating.

Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom bread moulds belong to the type of vessels on which potmarks appear the most often, which is a phenomenon recorded during works conducted at different sites. Excavations carried out at the Tell el-Murra between 2011 and 2019 produced a significant number of vessels of this type with various marks. This paper is devoted to the 118 pre-firing marks from Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom bread moulds from the settlement layers at the Tell el-Murra. The paper comparatively analyses marks from two subsequent chronological periods, with the aim to test the validity of theories regarding their function and meaning, based on examples from Tell el-Murra. The study concludes that the high frequency of potmarks on bread forms was not accidental, but related to certain economic processes and changes, as also indicated in this paper.

Burials in lead coffins have been sporadically recorded in Viminacium (Moesia Superior). They originate from four necropolises that can be roughly classified into the period from the 2nd to the 4th century. This paper presents twelve lead coffins from recent excavations. They were found directly in a pit without construction, or in a construction of bricks. Lead coffins were often ornamented with different linear-geometric motifs, or figural depiction in one rare instance. A workshop can be expected to have existed in Viminacium for the production of lead objects for various purposes such as coffins and many other finds that have been found in large numbers. In some of the coffins, items have been preserved. These include jewellery made of gold, ceramic vessels, glass bottles, bone finds, etc. In nine of them, the skeletal remains of the deceased were completely or at least partially preserved. Included in the paper is an anthropological analysis of the skeletal remains of those deceased. Based on the anthropological analysis, it can be seen that the deceased were mostly children (six cases), while in three cases they were adults.

The paper presents an extraordinary new find from the site of Velika Humska Čuka near Niš, in south-eastern Serbia. During the 2022 excavation campaign, a set of bronze jewellery was discovered, comprised of a pin, a band, ten saltaleoni, and ten circular pendants. Of particular importance are the finds of circular pendants, which are known throughout the Bronze Age in the territory of Europe. Such pendants are traditionally connected with Central Europe and the Hügelgräber culture, therefore representing an uncommon find for the Central Balkans. The paper provides a stylistic and typological analysis of jewellery, complemented with physical and chemical analyses, and further discusses the scope and effects of interactions between Central Europe and Central Balkans during the Bronze Age.

The paper summarises current knowledge of burial customs in Syro-Palestine in the early Byzantine period (4th–7th centuries CE). It identifies elements that constituted the continuation of burial practices from the Roman period (1st–3rd centuries CE) as well as new customs. It includes the location of burial grounds, forms of graves, the variety of grave goods and body positioning. Quantitative research has demonstrated a gradual departure from chamber tombs and sarcophagi in the early Byzantine period. Burials in monasteries and, to a lesser extent, churches were a completely new trend that appeared during this period, related to the spread of Christianity. The paper also proposes a more widespread use of radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis. The results of such studies would deepen knowledge of burial customs in Syro-Palestine in the final phases of antiquity.

An outstanding personality of the political and cultural life in Banat in the 19th century (region – within the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy – known as the Southern Hungary), Ormós Zsigmond (February 20, 1813, Pecica, Arad county – November 17, 1894, Budapest) was a historian, art critic, collector, numismatist, politician, writer and Patron. While focusing on the public administration as a young man, Ormós worked his way up from the position of vice-notary to that of prefect of Timiş County (1871) and city of Timişoara (1875), his exceptional career of almost six decades ending with his retirement upon request in 1889. In 1861 he was elected the corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Philology and Art section, due to his literary merits. In May 1872, during the visit of emperor Franz Joseph to Timişoara, he was awarded with the small cross of the Order of St. Stephen (as a knighthood), and in 1883, on his 50th anniversary of public activity, he received the middle cross of the Leopold Order. He was the founder, protector and president of numerous scientific and cultural societies. In 1872, from his initiative, and given his support, they founded the Society of History and Archaeology in the Southern Hungary, the first scientific historical society which, by merging with the Museum Association in 1885 (founded in 1879, also at the initiative of Ormós), transformed into the Museum Society of History and Archeology (SMIA), whose museum is the forerunner of the National Museum of Banat in Timișoara (MNaB). The generosity of Ormos towards the museum in Timișoara was proved not only in the material and moral support provided (including the headquarters), but also in the donations he had made starting in the spring of 1889. In May 1893, the donations provided by Ormós consisted in more than 800 objects, 1200 books and magazines and 1500 documents and, considering the 251 paintings and objects in the gallery, more than 200 were donated by him. In the period between 1857 and 1860 he laid the foundations of his collection of paintings and began collecting archaeological objects and coins, thus in a few years he transformed from an amateur collector into a connoisseur. On the list suggesting the members of the Österreichische Numismatische Gesellschaft in Vienna (a society he had been connected to since 1879) one can notice his collection of Roman, Hungarian and South-Slavic coins. The numismatic collection of Ormós, although famous at the time and the most valuable of his collections, is also the least known nowadays. There is neither a published catalog of the collection except for the gold coins (but without illustrations), nor a work or monograph dedicated exclusively to it. Given my personal research in the historical archive of the MNaB and in the funds from the Timiș County Service of the National Archives of Romania (SJTANR), I present the structure of this collection, consisting primarily of monetary finds in the area of Banat but also from purchases from the European companies trading coins. Ormós expressed his preference for firms from Vienna: Brüder Egger Münzen und Antiquitäten Handlung, S. Egger und Compagnie and from German cities: Berlin - Julius Hahlo and Edmund Rappaport, München - Otto Helbing, dr. Eugen Merzbacher and Franz Josef Wesener, Frankfurt am Main - Adolf Hess. He kept in touch with the numismatists of the time: Dobóczky Ignác and Szuk Lipót from Budapest, dr. Franz von Raimann from Vienna, Dimitrie Alexandru Sturdza from Bucharest and others regarding different topics of numismatics, exchanges of coins, purchase prices etc. If in 1870 his numismatic collection included more than 4000 coins, in 1889 it reached over 9600 coins. We find the collection’s structure in a note dated November 3, 1889: 3574 „Roman” (imperial, republican) coins, 2665 Hungarian coins (the 12th - 19th century), 1447 so-called „international” coins, 1567 Friesach coins (from the hoard in Deta, discovered in November 1880), 153 medals (a number that refers exclusively to the medals kept separately from the coins suggesting various laic or religious representations) and 239 golden coins (ancient, Byzantine, medieval), a total of 9645 pieces. Ormós considered his numismatic collection a form of investment, its sale was meant to ensure some financial security after his retirement both for him and the children of his nephew, Ormós Zsigmond jr. In time, he often intended to sell his numismatic collection partially or in full: in 1888 and 1889 to Heinrich Egger, in 1891 to the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. Finally, one year after the death of Ormós (in November 17, 1894), in October 7, 1895, SMIA decided to buy the collection of 9424 coins and the two numismatic cabinets where the collection was preserved at the price of 4500 forints. The most important numismatic collection in Banat at that time was saved from destruction by its complete purchase in November 23, 1895 by the museum from Timișoara, yet it suffered (like the entire numismatic collection of the museum) a high level of irretrievable loss in the first half of the 20th century. In 1904 the first large-scale theft was recorded in the history of the museum; Nagy József jr., the son of the museum’s employee, had stolen 49 golden coins (all these related to the Ormós collection) from the total of 235 exhibited ones and eight other golden coins and several of silver from the museum custodian’s desk drawer. The stolen coins have never been recovered. Other pieces, gold and silver coins and medals, disappeared at the end of the World War I, in the troubled days of autumn 1918. A delegate of the National Inspectorate of Museums and Libraries in Budapest took some small items from the museum’s collection, bought over the years from the annual subsidies received by the museum from the already mentioned Inspectorate, in order to transport them to Budapest. The fate of those pieces is currently unknown. During the World War II, following the bombardments in the centre of Timișoara, and the disruption of the city’s sewage system, two numismatic cabinets with coins from the museum’s collection (placed individually in small paper envelopes displaying the written information), sheltered in the basement of the Cultural Palace (today the Opera and Theatre Building), were flooded. Although the coins were physically recovered, the scientific information was lost forever through the destruction of the paper envelopes. The successive moves determined by the changes regarding the museum’s headquarters (in the Cultural Palace in 1937 and in the Huniade Castle, starting with 1950), the numerous re-organisations of the collection and the re-writing of the inventory registers (sometimes by unprofessional persons), influenced both the heritage and the museum’s records and the information about the provenance of the items in the old collection of the museum was lost. In this context, the preserved numismatic notes of Ormós Zsigmond are particularly precious. On one hand, they can lead to the further identification in the museum collection of some coins from the Ormós collection (with surprising results), on the other hand, they outline the portrait of a numismatic collector in the second half of the 19th century which – although located in a city on the edge of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy – was still connected to the European numismatic reality.

Priests and their functions in Ptolemaic Egypt in light of the archive of the temple in Soknopaiou Nesos): Little is known about priests and how temples functioned in Ptolemaic Egypt. This paper provides an insight into the organisation and hierarchy of temples under the Ptolemies. The main aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the titles and functions of temple personnel by analysing documents from the archive of the temple of Soknopaios and Isis Nepherses in the village of Soknopaiou Nesos (Dimeh).

This paper presents the composition of the city councils in the Vilayet of Bosnia between 1866 and 1875, from the provincial administration reform until the Herzegovinian uprising. An additional reason for choosing the year 1866 as the initial year is the fact that the yearbooks for the Vilayet of Bosnia started to be published in that year.The central questions of the paper are the religious and social affiliation of the city councils members, as well as the rate of implementation of the principle of electoral equality. Additionally, this paper aims to answer whether, and at what rate, the composition of the city councils in the Vilayet of Bosnia was in line with the 1871 law regulations.

In this paper, the author presents the overview of articles corresponding to the Ottoman era of Bosnia-Herzegovina's history, published in the Institute of History's journal Contributions.Given that the main goal was to collect articles from the mentioned period,this paper contains an overview and brief references to the same, not a critical analysis. In order to clarify certain events or contexts, the author used other relevant works.

The paper considers the technology of computer modeling of the general structure of a completely lost architectural complex, implemented on the basis of fragmentary reference information. The author's interpretation of the most reasonable reconstruction of the object under study is presented. The paper considers the technology of computer modeling of a lost unique historical architectural complex, implemented using various sources in their content reflecting only fragmentary background information on the problem under study. Thus, the authors have taken an integrated approach in reproducing the unique appearance of the fortification, which maximally corresponds to the basic concept of construction and the requirements for military fortifications of the period under study. The uniqueness of this work lies in the fact that the use of modern information technologies acts as a tool, which allow not only to restore the lost appearance of the first military-administrative center of the Amur region, but also to promote promising research on the history of the development of the Russian Far East. In the first part of the described study, the authors have already successfully tested the above technology, following which the results of the analysis of topographic data and elementary modeling of the fortress wall of the Albazin fort built in 1686 were presented. Taking into account the general totality of the data obtained, the authors propose a rather original ontological model of the general structure of the prison. This model assumes a comparison with the existing and previously presented by other researchers models of the prison. Russian Russian pioneers and defenders of the Russian land, which in turn allows us to take a fresh look at the historical events of the heroic confrontation of the Russian pioneers and defenders of the Russian land against the enemy who is many times outnumbered and outgunned, to study the strengths and weaknesses of the tactics of the opposing sides.

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the geopolitical status of the Upper Tigris area in antiquity, with a special focus on the period between ca. 401 BCE and the 6th century CE. Despite the popular impression that this area had a distinctly Armenian character, a closer look at its history shows that it was rather a territory with many local geopolitical entities that many neighboring countries periodically fought to possess. This area was strategically significant as a transit region located on the crossroads of important long-distance communication lines. Likewise, its natural resources were undoubtedly crucial to the neighboring countries. Indeed, powerful neighbors around the Upper Tigris area, including Armenia, the Iranian kingdoms of the Parthians and Sasanians, and Rome, sought to control this area, which was often located on the fringes of their states and as such was inevitably doomed to be contested by these empires onmany occasions. This situation can be acutely seen in the conflict between Rome and the Iranian kingdoms of the Parthians and Sasanians, when northern Mesopotamia became a real battleground between the competing empires. In particular, the paper will sketch the development of the geopolitical status of several small geopolitical entities in this region—Sophene, Osrhoene, Gordyene, and Adiabene.

This paper presents a brief overview of fishing in Galicia during Antiquity on the basis of fishing equipment—in particular hooks and weights—recovered from several sites of indigenous origin (castros or hill forts) and newly-established Roman settlements around the basin of the Miño river. Although the topic has often passed unnoticed by archaeological research and suffers from a distinct lack of literature to guide future efforts, the more or less recent publication of papers dealing with this topic in depth has facilitated the study of the Galician record, which is supported by literary and iconographic sources as well as ethnographic documents. The latter have proved relevant in this context, as the world of fishing tends to hold on to traditions. The author sets out to establish a correlation between the remains of fishing implements found and the possible fishing gear they would have been attached to. RESUMEN: Se presenta una síntesis del estado de la cuestión pesquera en Galicia durante la Antigüedad a partir de las evidencias de equipamiento pesquero, esencialmente anzuelos y lastres, registradas en diversos yacimientos de raíz indígena (castros) y de asentamientos romanos ex novo emplazados en la cuenca del río Miño. Pese a la falta generalizada de atención por parte de la investigación arqueológica, ausente de directrices de proyección global, la publicación más o menos reciente de ciertos trabajos que abordan en profundidad esta cuestión facilita el estudio del registro gallego, sustentado por las fuentes literarias, iconográficas y por la documentación etnográfica, la cual revela aquí su relevancia, dado el carácter marcadamente conservador del mundo de la pesca. Se propone un ensayo de correlación entre los restos de instrumental pesquero exhumado y los posibles aparejos y artes de pesca a los que irían adheridos.

This paper analyses and edits two anonymous Latin letters that help to assess the political climate in the aftermath of the Great Schism: a Devil’s letter addressed to Clement VII and a literary polished invective against Urban VI. After a brief investigation of the events that led to the outbreak of the schism, the paper compares the two letters in light of the contemporary political framework, in order to demonstrate why they qualify as propagandistic documents that present each of the two popes as a threat for Christendom and to evaluate how they exploited their literary distinctiveness to increase the strength of their political accusations. In doing so the aim is to assess the outbreak of the Schism from a viewpoint based on some distinctive strategies of political communication employed after the double election.

This paper focused on the first imperial Mausoleum of the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam, Emperor Gia Long (reigned 1802-20), which is one of the components of the World Heritage property [Complex of Hué Monuments]. The paper discussed the relationship between the Gia Long Mausoleum (after this GLM) and its territory from the aspects of "Shan-Shui design", "water management system suitable to tropical monsoon climate" and "symbiosis with local com- munities". This study also revealed that the current protected area is only a tiny part of the area that Gia Long planned by deciphering an old drawing which expresses the ideal worldview of Gia Long and an old map which shows the forbidden area in that era. These research findings contribute to expanding and deepening the OUV of GLM, which was not fully taken into account when the site was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1993 and provide a basis for establishing the appropriate protected area of GLM.

Even though ovens are the most prominent feature in the Vinča culture houses, they have often been neglected in the archaeological publications. Usually, only the information about their location or number of floors is provided, but more detailed descriptions are missing. This is also influenced by their poor preservation in the archaeological record, as parts of their upper structure are often missing. But, although fully preserved ovens represent quite a rarity, contexts surrounding them are usually filled with different categories of artefacts and architectural features. These complex contexts that include ovens, offer plethora of information about different socio-economic phenomena in the Late Neolithic of the Central Balkans. Therefore, ovens should be perceived as more than just fire installations for food processing and house heating, as they can offer insight into household organization and symbolic aspects of the Neolithic life. Additionally, ovens located in the outdoor spaces can provide information about settlement organization and social dynamics on a larger scale. In this paper, different contexts around ovens are presented and interpreted – from functional, economic, social, and symbolic perspective.

The present paper deals with a whole series of ceramics from a private collection belonging first to Vasile Cosma and then sold in 1976 and in 2009 to the National Museum of History and Archaeology of Bucharest (MNIR). These objects, essentially amphora, come from late sixties-early seventies underwater discoveries, in the Mangalia harbor, 2 May village and Constanța harbor areas.

In this brief paper 34 earrings are presented, all of which are curated in the Archaeological Museum of İznik in south-western Marmara region of Turkey. They are significant, as very few items of jewellery from Bithynia have been published.

The Roman Aqaba Project seeks to reconstruct diachronically the economic history of the ancient port of Aila on the Red Sea (now modern Aqaba in southern Jordan). Excavations of Aila between 1994 and 2003 yielded an enormous quantity of stratified ceramic evidence. This paper focuses on coarse ware cooking vessels recovered from Aila dating to the 1st to early 5th centuries. Although the potters of Aila were influenced by the ceramic traditions of the Nabataean capital at Petra, they also developed an independent ceramic tradition. Further, the Roman annexation of Nabataea in 106 CE, including Aila, seems to have had little impact on the local ceramic industry, which continued with little change until the mid-3rd century, which seems to mark an important transition characterized by the disappearance of many long established types and the appearance of new types, including cooking vessels. Although most of these were produced locally, a significant minority was imported to Aila, mostly from the Petra region about 100 km away. This paper presents a typology of these cooking vessels and offers some explanation for the differing quantities of various types of imported cooking vessels over these centuries, with implications for the regional economy in this period.

An unusual iconographic motif—a fringed piece of linen—depicted in the Chapel of Hatshepsut, part of the queen’s temple at Deir el-Bahari, is examined in this paper as an illustration of the interest, well attested in Hatshepsut’s reign, in past artistic models/sources. The Chapel of Hatshepsut was intended for the mortuary cult of the female pharaoh, while the motif under discussion appears to have been inspired by decoration earlier by 500 years, found inside a burial chamber cut into the rock cliff of North Asasif, which is a natural continuation of the Deir el-Bahari amphitheater. The tomb (TT 311) belonged to Khety, a courtier of the Eleventh Dynasty pharaoh Mentuhotep II Nebhepetra. Assuming the validity of this iconographic link, the question arises concerning the accessibility of decorated burial chambers from the Eleventh-Dynasty in this area and their possible role as “pattern books” in the design of the early Eighteenth Dynasty private and royal mortuary monuments. In addition, the paper addresses the issue of the Chapel of Hatshepsut serving as a monumental “pattern book” for the Late Period Theban tombs.

The early Upper Palaeolithic marks the introduction at a continental scale of a fully-fledged laminar industry, and it is associated with the presence of Homo sapiens in the Near East and in Europe. For this period there are three commonly recognised early Upper Palaeolithic technocomplexes : the Early Aurignacian and the Protoaurignacian, in Europe, and the Early Ahmarian, in the Levant. They have been used to illustrate different dispersal routes and behavioural adaptations to climate change, different regional settings or to infer different land-use and mobility strategies. Still, there is no consensus on the criteria for assigning one lithic assemblage to a particular early Upper Palaeolithic technocomplex. The early Upper Palaeolithic assemblages from Banat are among those showing ambiguous results when observed through the current taxonomical lens. This paper evaluates the taxonomical stances comparing technological raw data from extensively published early Upper Palaeolithic sites in Europe and the Levant. The comparison of assemblages attributed to different technocomplexes reveals a much more homogenous picture than expected. Various behaviours that are ascribed to a particular technocomplex are widespread in others too, but they are overlooked because of unclear and non-standardised terminology. The present paper shows that trying to fit the archaeological record in abstract, short definitions leads to misunderstandings, with clear implications on the further conclusions made on human past behaviours. It further advocates for creating new shared criteria for analysing lithic assemblages and thus overcoming the taxonomical impasse

El análisis arqueométrico de un hacha de color verde recuperada en los años 20 del pasado siglo en el entorno de Monte Aberto-Elviña (A Coruña), que probablemente habría formado parte del ajuar de uno de los tres túmulos que componían la necrópolis homónima, ha permitido determinar que se trata de un hacha tipo Durrington “goutte d’eau”, fabricada en jadeíta de origen alpino proveniente posiblemente de las formaciones existentes en San Front (Cuneo, Piamonte). Esta circunstancia la convierte –tras el hacha de Vilapedre (Lugo)– en la segunda pieza de procedencia alpina documentada en territorio gallego. En este artículo se intenta determinar el origen arqueológico del hacha de Monte Aberto-Elviña con la mayor exactitud posible, al tiempo que se ofrecen los resultados del análisis arqueométrico y se reflexiona sobre el cómo y el cuándo esta pieza habría llegado al Noroeste Ibérico. ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the results of the archaeometric analysis of a green stone axe recovered in the 1920s around Monte Aberto-Elviña, on the outskirts of the city of A Coruña (Galicia, northwestern Spain). The review of the work carried out by a Galician archaeologist –Luis Monteagudo– in the 30s and 40s of the last century has allowed us to establish, with a high degree of certainty, that the axe analyzed in this paper was part of the grave goods from one of the three burial mounds comprising the necropolis of Monte Aberto-Elviña, which was destroyed at some point in the second half of the twentieth century. The analysis of this artefact through X-Ray Diffraction and SEM-EDX and its subsequent comparison with geological samples from several points of the Alps has allowed us to determine that the Monte Aberto-Elviña is –in fact– a Durrington “goutte d’eau” type axe made of Alpine jadeite, showing a compositional similarity with the geological samples coming from San Front (Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy). In addition to trying to determine –as accurately as possible– the archaeological and geological origin of the Monte Aberto-Elviña axe, this article reflects on its possible way to the Iberian Peninsula (proposing a route through the Bay of Biscay, without ruling out the arrival along the Mediterranean coast, perhaps through the Catalan territory, which may have acted as a redistribution center of Alpine pieces for the rest of the Peninsula). Finally, comparing the chronology of the Durrington “goutte d’eau” axes in other European regions and the chronological dates available for the Galician burial mounds, we suggest an arrival of this artefact in the Iberian northwest sometime in the second half of the 5th millennium BC or, more likely, in the early 4th millennium BC.

The finds from the ancient city of Gerasa brought in 1930’two inscriptions dated to the second half of the 1st century CE which mention the deity called Pakeidas. The aim of this paper is to discuss Pakeidas and his relation to another god labelled Theos Arabikos worshipped in the same city. The authors make a broad Semitic overview on the etymology of the name Pakeidas looking at the West and East (Akkadian) Semitic evidence. The authors discuss the possible location of the temple dedicated to this god beneath the Cathedral. They also reexamine in the light of epigraphic sources in comparison to the Aramaic material from the Near East the function of archibomistai, cultic agents who served to this local god. FINANCING This paper is an outcome of a cooperation between the authors during a 10-month WiRe fellowship, Women in Research at the University of Münster, between October 2020 and July 2021. The improvements for this research are funded by National Science Centre (Poland) UMO-2021/42/A/HS3/00421 “Epigraphic culture in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East in antiquity: status, display, democracy, identity.” For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC-BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) version arising from this submission.

En este trabajo presentamos los materiales recuperados en la excavación del abrigo de la Font d’Horta (Vilafranca, Castelló). Las características de estos materiales, entre las que destacan las armaduras geométricas (entre ellas un segmento de doble bisel) y la datación obtenida sobre hueso, nos remiten a los momentos de transición entre las últimas poblaciones cazadoras y recolectoras y la llegada de las primeras comunidades neolíticas. La valoración de los datos en el contexto de la zona del Maestrat/Maestrazgo y sus vínculos con el litoral mediterráneo y el valle del Ebro nos permiten discutir su posible vinculación con unas u otras poblaciones, concluyendo que nos encontramos ante una ocupación de las últimas poblaciones mesolíticas de este territorio. ABSTRACT: In this paper we present the materials recovered in the excavation of the Font d’Horta rockshelter (Vilafranca, Castelló). This is a small shelter, about 3 meters long by 2 meters deep, in which an interesting ensemble of materials has been recovered that allow us to discuss the presence of either the last hunter-gatherer populations or the first farmer-herder populations. Among the recovered materials, the geometric projectiles stands out (including a double bevel segment, which is the center of the cultural and chronological debate in this paper) and the absence of pottery must be highlighted. Furthermore, few fauna remains and 3 personal ornaments on marine gastropods have been recovered. To confirm its ascription, we have obtained a bone dating with a result of 7570-7441 cal BP (5621-5492 cal BC). This dating, far from confirming its ascription, shows us that we are front a transitional context between the last Mesolithic and the arrival of the first Neolithic populations in this area. The assessment of the data in the context of the Maestrat / Maestrazgo area and its links with the Mediterranean coast and the Ebro valley allow us to discuss its possible connection with one of these populations. The analysis of the archaeological context show us the existence of several Mesolithic sites with dates close to that obtained in the Font d’Horta and the possibility that we are in a territory with an effective neolithization a bit later than the date obtained. These data, together with the lack of pottery in this site, allow us to conclude that we are facing an occupation of the last Mesolithic populations of this territory.

This paper examines some political-institutional, cultural, and religious dynamics in the border areas of Roman Tripolitania. The site of Ghirza, in particular, offers insights into the forms and content of intercultural exchange between the native groups and the Romano-Byzantines. The settlement was also crucial for the territorial political control of the Roman administration in those marginal areas. Some of the reliefs on the local mausolea show ceremonial scenes concerning the investiture of certain chiefs. Scholars have suggested that the depiction may refer to a Roman magistrate, such as praefectus or princeps gentis. This paper aims to better define the powers related to the tribal chief of Ghirza. It also attempts to distinguish the earliest legal-institutional basis on which this office may have been rooted. The Roman government in the borderlands acted as a guarantee of political legitimacy in the management of the confederations of tribes that gravitated on the Roman limes. In this sense, this research is supposed to identify the residual “fossils” of the Etruscan-Italic magistracies which in frontier contexts were much more suitable than the Roman magistracies for indirect political management.

Hans Seybolt was a monastery scribe from Lower Bavaria who lived in the second half of the 15th century. In 1476, he attended the wedding between the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus and the Neapolitan princess Beatrix as an envoy of the count of the Palatinate. He left a detailed report about that event, which is preserved as a transcript in the only copy that is in the State Library of Bavaria under the signature Cgm 331. Seybolt's report also contains brief information about the Bosnian king Nicholas of Ilok and his son Lawrence, which are the subject of this paper's analysis.

During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992-1995, the special library of the Oriental Institute was destroyed. A significant contribution in the process of restoration and replenishment of the library fund in the post-war period was made by the Hamid Hadžibegić’s personal library, which arrived as a gift at the Oriental Institute in 2001. The library has over 1,000 publications that belonged to this established scientist and researcher of the past of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose basic research had a strong influence in the scientific universe of Ottoman history researchers. This paper presents the dedications of colleagues and friends in his books and journals as cultural reminders and documentary records that, with their structure, text, dating and signature, represent a source of significant information about the life and work of this scientist.

This paper makes the case for developing ongoing research on Roman Cyprus’s metal profile by integrating object-centred approaches. It does so by focusing on the British Museum’s Cypriot collection as it contains a significant number of metal artefacts. The paper opens with a brief overview of key ancient evidence and the impact of recent, multidisciplinary approaches before introducing the collection and the data assembled for this case study. Assessment of this body of evidence highlights the benefits of undertaking systematic study of metalware related to Cyprus. A museological approach that focuses on the materiality of objects will also demonstrate how lines of enquiry can be developed to enhance current investigations of mining, metallurgy, and metal consumption across the island as well as shed further light on the role and cultural value of metals. This has huge implications for the study of Roman Cyprus and the wider Roman Mediterranean.

En este trabajo se estudia y analiza un conjunto lítico y un canto compresor-percutor localizado en el embalse de Urrúnaga (Álava). El compresor, un canto calizo, presenta, en una de sus caras, el gabado de una línea cérvico-dorsal. El canto fue recuperado en superficie junto con un nutrido número de artefactos líticos tallados sobre sílex cuyo estudio tecno-tipológico, también presentado en este trabajo, lo encuadra, mayoritariamente, en momentos finales del Paleolítico superior. ABSTRACT: In this paper we study and analyse the lithic assemblage and a stone hammer located in the Urrúnaga reservoir (Álava). The hammerstone, a limestone pebble, features an engraving of a cervico-dorsal line on one of its faces. The stone was recovered in a surface scatter along with a large number of lithic artifacts made of flint, its technotypological study places it, alongside graphic comparisons with other decorated supports, in the late Upper Paleolithic period.

This paper presents the wall paintings decorating a number of Hellenistic and Roman tombs, of various architectural types, in Paphos and the region. The paper gathers together for the first time all the known published and unpublished painted tombs of the city, which are studied on the basis of observations made on the actual decoration preserved either in situ or in the laboratory of the Paphos District Museum, and with the use of all pertinent publications. A catalogue of these tombs has been created and this is accompanied by a map with the geographic location of each example. The various themes represented on wall paintings have been divided into groups and are discussed accordingly, while the manufacturing technology of a sample of the wall paintings is examined using both non-contact and analytical tools.

The paper is concerned with a detailed consideration of one of the most well-known and frequently mentioned Slavic pagan deities: Dazhbog (or Daž(d)bog). Historiographic stereotypes full of contradictions and problems have been fixed in research concerned with the deity, for example, defining Dazhbog as the deity of the sun; its proximity to another solar deity (Chors) and vagueness, why are there two solar deities; Dazhbog’s relation to the deity Svarog/Svarozhich; Dazhbog’s belonging only to the East Slavic area; the etymology of his name as a “giving deity”. An alternative view on Dazhbog (overlooked rather than new) that can solve these problems is given in this paper.

DaktariÅ¡kÄ 5 is a hunter­gatherer site with organic preservation in western Lithuania. It is located on a former island of Lake Biržulis, where most finds were obtained in the lacustrine environment. The excavations revealed various osseous tools, such as axes and adzes, projectile points, barbed points, gouges and chisels, dating from the 6th to the 3rd millennium cal BC. Despite the abundance of finds in the vicinity of Lake Biržulis, including those at the DaktariÅ¡kÄ 5 site, many remain unexplored in terms of presenting their typological diversity, technology and direct AMS 14C dating. In this paper, we focus on a single case and present a study of a fully preserved socketed toggle harpoon head manufactured from antler. We provide the latest data on its technological assessments, direct AMS 14C dating, species identification by ZooMS, and archaeological and ethnographic parallels. The latter suggest that such type of implement in northern latitudes was designed for hunting large aquatic mammals. Archaeozoological evidence of large freshwater fish, beavers and otters from Lake Biržulis suggests that this tool could have been adapted to the local environment. Consequently, we discuss the origin and possible use of the toggle harpoon head in the Lake Biržulis environment.

This paper announces the launch of a research project of high scientific impact in the main field of humanities, which aims to shed new light on the process of Roman municipalization in an extended part of North Africa through the study of a rich dossier of historical sources thanks to the cooperation of scholars of different backgrounds.

La arquitectura vernácula vasca ofrece una amplia variedad de tipologías y variantes regionales. Ejemplo prominente de ello son las casas de seroras, construidas durante la Edad Moderna en las inmediaciones de iglesias y ermitas para albergar a las mujeres encargadas de mantener la iglesia y asistir en el culto. En este artículo se aborda el desarrollo geográfico y cronológico de este fenómeno mediante la combinación de fuentes documentales y orales, microtoponimia y el análisis de las arquitecturas conservadas. Se analizan, en especial, dos conjuntos tipológicos. El primero incluye varios edificios de la costa vasca oriental, formando casas aisladas de pequeñas dimensiones con muros laterales en piedra y estructura en entramado de madera. El segundo incluye varios casos del valle del Baztan, con volúmenes elevados, adosados a su correspondiente templo, con un espacio porticado bajo ellos. Ambos grupos forman conjuntos tipológicos bien definidos estrechamente ligados a su función original; pero, al mismo tiempo, pueden relacionarse con las tendencias vigentes en la arquitectura vernácula de sus respectivas regiones. ABSTRACT: Basque vernacular architecture is characterised by a wide variety of typologies and regional variants. Early Modern serora houses, built close to the parish churches as the habitation of the women charged with keeping the church and assisting the offices, are prominent examples of this. By combining documentary and oral sources, micro-toponymy, and the analysis of preserved architectural structures, this paper explores the geographic and chronological development of serora houses, focusing on two specific typological ensembles. The first group includes four examples from the eastern Basque coast, consisting of small buildings with stone side walls and timber-framed structures. The second group includes four examples from the Baztan valley, consisting of raised architectural volumes attached to the corresponding churches, with a porticoed space beneath them. Both groups form distinctive typological ensembles related to their original function, but can equally be related to more general trends in the vernacular architecture of each region.

The present paper deals with the dedications made by the soldiers from Germania Inferior to Celtic deities. The most frequently worshipped deities by soldiers of all ranks are Hercules Magusanus and Rhenus. Differences in the preference of Celtic to Germanic or Mediterranean divine names cannot be postulated. Since most of the inscriptions can be dated to the end of the 2nd or the 1st half of the 3rd century CE, it is not possible to speak of a Celtic worship of gods of any kind.

Each unit of the Roman army constituted a major logistic operation that cannot be reduced to the fighting men who formed their core and purpose. While camp followers are depicted in literary sources especially as an hindrance to war operations, inscriptions provide a different picture of the world that gravitated around the military forts and fortresses. In the military settlements that guarded the limes, the presence of paramilitary and non-military personnel did not represent a burden, but an important part of the military economy, which in some cases even led to the emergence of a new business class. In this paper, we provide an anthology of verse inscriptions dedicated by, or to, camp followers, with a view to showcase how their everyday interactions with the army were conceptualised and verbalised, ultimately contributing to a richer picture of the limes social ecosystem.

This article aims to explore the uses of material culture and their relevance to identity formation. The premise is applied specifically to the moving auxilia, in order to observe the effects of movement and transfers on the selection and consumption of material culture within the military environment. It is common knowledge that pottery supply and use within the Roman military were to an extent governed by specific state-controlled supply routes and contracts, meaning that the same pottery styles could have been observed at different forts from different regions. Nonetheless, the cultural side of demand should not be overlooked as it may have tailored supply differently to various regions depending on the preferences in the area. Similarly, auxiliary units transferred from home may have preserved some of their familiar pottery styles and reproduce them upon arrival to the new territory. This article will explore the ways pottery was employed at locations associated with Batavian auxilia in order to capture their image construction between home and abroad. Once removed from their core territory and placed in a new environment with new norms in terms of material culture and even dressing and addressing one another, how did their consumption adapt to the area and to which extent did it keep a unique character? The main case-study explored in this paper is Războieni in order to assess the pottery consumption patterns of Batavian auxilia abroad in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.

In his paper the author deals with a funerary verse epitaph from Scarbantia (Sopron) published by him earlier (TRHR 38). Based on his new restoration, the gravestone (stela) was erected to a veteran by his wife who served earlier as fleet soldier. He was most probably called Britto. Several vulgar Latin phenomena can be observed in the inscription that was erected in the second half of the third century or at the very beginning of fourth c. The type of the metrical formula resiste viator et lege can be found in several Pannonian verse inscriptions. Based on the pieces of information given in the problematical parts of lines 2 and 3 that concern the wife, at least one line is missing at the beginning of the text and she erected the grave monument and the funerary epitaph to herself as well.

This paper presents graffiti discovered on a few plates discovered in a barrack from the fort of ala I Batavorum milliaria in Dacia. Typical for the Batavian troops, the onomastics is Latin and Greek. The instrumenta prove that the soldiers scribbled their names on every-day use vessels and offer us a glimpse of the very men that lived there together.

This paper focuses on the military personnel epigraphically attested at Callatis and Odessus up to the 3rd century AD. Considering the status of the two cities as civitates peregrinae, the presence of soldiers is exceptional, and mostly temporary, consequently, it is interesting to see what are the epigraphic traces that soldiers leave here, and in what context.

Palermo during late antiquity and the early Byzantine period is largely unknown. Many reasons contribute to this gap. What remains yet to be uncovered is continuity of life that has not seen any systematic investigation, hampered also by a critical delay in the publishing of previous excavations. Despite these issues, our knowledge of the town in the above period has improved slightly in recent years thanks to chance discoveries. Among them, the excavations conducted inside the former Montevergini monastery where archaeologists have found a complex sequence of archaeological levels from the 3rd century B.C. to the present day. This paper will focus on a single layer that has yielded a rich pottery assemblage comprising late African imports and other presumed locally manufactured objects. These findings enhance our knowledge of the local economy and daily life in one of the major port cities of western Sicily.