The messages in the imagery on Byzantine coins, although often neglected by scholars, were a key means of projecting imperial power. Emperors could project power via dress, ceremonial, and displays, but these methods would not have reached all subjects. Byzantine coins had the advantage of reaching all subjects, as the Byzantine economy was fundamentally monetized. Military symbols (figures, dress, and weapons), whose study has been rather overlooked, formed an important part of this imagery. Whilst military symbols disappeared from Byzantine coins in the early eighth century, and were absent for some three centuries, they were reintroduced in the mid-eleventh century and appeared until 1394/5. Their importance is indicated by the fact that military types comprised over half the overall total of types for some emperors. This study examines military symbols on Byzantine coins from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries, and notes also imperial representations in other media. The numismatic sources for this study are the collections in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, and Dumbarton Oaks. The general conclusions are that military symbols were used most frequently from 1204 to 1261, less frequently from 1261 to 1394/5, and least frequently from 1042 to 1204. The variety of military saints portrayed increased at first, but declined in the fourteenth century, until only St Demetrios remained, but in the highest status: riding with the emperor.

Sociological theories relating to collective forms of memory and forgetting have received little attention in Egyptological studies thus far with the work of Jan Assmann providing the primary source. Understanding these two processes, however, can support important insights into the lives and cultures of ancient communities; they should not, therefore, be viewed as peripheral theories but as central in developing understanding of societies below the elite. Consequently, this study looks at collective forms of memory and forgetting in the Egyptian Eighteenth Dynasty, focusing on commemoration of deceased kings and queens (‘royal ancestors’). The first three chapters use case studies to highlight different memory stores; written, pictorial and active. The final chapter focuses on forgetting. The evidence is analysed using both Egyptological and sociological theory to facilitate discussion on the subjects of community, identity and legitimation, and to develop understanding of material culture as a site of memory. The study argues that collective forms of remembering, particularly cultural memory, played a key role in the construction of individual and group identity and the legitimation of the ruler. Furthermore, it concludes that existing studies of memory provide good frameworks to understanding Egyptian society, although they should not be used without careful consideration of context.

This thesis demonstrates the significance of Food Vessel pottery and burial in Northern England during the Early Bronze Age (c.2200 to 1800 cal BC). It represents the first original and sustained study of this burial tradition for several decades. It is argued that the interwoven relationships between Food Vessels, other ceramic types, and trade and exchange networks are both a reason why the tradition has posed interpretative problems for prehistorians, and a central component of its significance during the Early Bronze Age. The chronological relationships between British Food Vessels and other ceramic and funerary traditions are reviewed using the first comprehensive and critically assessed dataset of radiocarbon determinations. Previous approaches to Food Vessel typology are critically reviewed and a new approach based on the ‘potter’s perspective’ and contextual studies is proposed. A contextual approach is applied to Food Vessels from three regions of Northern England: the Northern Counties; North-East Yorkshire, the central lowlands and North-West England; and South-East Yorkshire. Each study reveals significant inter- and intra-regional similarities and differences in how Food Vessels were used and understood. The significance of Food Vessel pottery and burial is then discussed at a national scale.

The thesis deals with the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the city of Thessalonikê in the 14th and 15th centuries. One of the main aims is to address certain methodological issues linked to the period of transition from the Byzantine to the Ottoman Empire. In this effort, we have employed as an analytical tool the economic theory of New Institutional Economics, which lays significant importance in the study of the institutional framework of societies. The main strands of the thesis are two: firstly, the exploration of the ideological concerns, internal conflicts and response of the Thessalonian society to the changing political environment until the final subjection of the city to the Ottoman Turks in 1430. Secondly, the behaviour of the Thessalonian elite in terms of social and economic practice through an examination of its relationship with the Athonite monasteries and the Late Byzantine state. Our ultimate goal is to shed light on the way provincial elite of Thessalonikê adapted to the political and economic conditions that prevailed in the Late Byzantine period.

This thesis is concerned with how the Greek peoples, of primarily the classical period, collectively commemorated the Persian Wars. The data studied within this project are public monuments, which include both physical and behavioural commemorations. A quantitative methodology is employed within this thesis and is a novel approach by which to study Persian War public monuments. This method of analysis allows for a more holistic approach to the data. Through analysing commemorative monuments quantitatively this project, figuratively, re-joins object and context. Studies on Persian War commemoration tend to focus on singular monument types, individual commemorative places, a particular commemorating group, or a specific battle. To think plurally about the ancient Greek commemorative tradition is to refocus attention on the whole incorporating all known commemorative monuments, places, and groups. What emerges from this study is a varied commemorative tradition expressed over space and time. Commemoration of conflict is presented here as a process of exchange, a dialogue between the past and the present. This thesis challenges the idea that a unified pan-Hellenic memory of the Persian Wars existed from the culmination of the conflict and illustrates the varied collective memories and narratives that could be created about the past.

This dissertation presents a discussion on the Late Antique (fifth to eighth centuries AD) landscapes of Cyprus based on the archaeological, environmental and historical records. This dissertation argues that apart from being an economically well-integrated province, Cyprus was also well-integrated into the large social and strategic trajectories of the Late Antique east Mediterranean. This study also uses archaeological data generated by the Sotira Archaeological Project (SAP) to examine the Late Antique landscapes in the south coast urban settlement of Kouion's hinterland. Interestingly, the majority of the loci recorded by the SAP are interpretable as either estate centres or farmsteads. Analysis of these loci revealed the existence of a comparatively complex Late Antique landscape that embodied aspects of the manifold relationships between the productive, commemorative, and authoritative landscapes of Kourion's hinterland during this period.

This work discusses change and continuities taking place in the transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Ages in Greece. The geographical range will cover the eastern mainland (including Euboea), Naxos and Knossos, in a period starting from the final palatial culture of LH IIIB2/13th century and ending with the Proto-Geometric/10th century burial evidence. In order to collect and observe the archaeological evidence several tombs assemblages have been researched from both original reports and visits to relevant Greek museums. Finds have been tabulated, and continuities, innovations and losses have been identified. The major categories of material evidence analysed included pottery, metalwork and jewellery but also the form of the tombs and the manner of the burials were considered. The final analysis of these categories of evidence refutes theories of major and or abrupt change, whether caused by invasion or natural phenomena. It rather indicates social modifications following the loss of the palatial centres and their administration and culminating in their gradual replacement by new forms of social structure. Although not directly demonstrable from the existing evidence, a possible scenario is proposed to explain the frequent indications of influence from SE and Central Europe during this transition.

This thesis explores the mechanisms of relations between the Aegean (focusing on Crete and Aegean islands such as Thera) and Egypt (including the Hyksos) from 1900 to 1400 BC. A fundamental tool has been the creation of a searchable database of the portable finds (at the moment, a unique resource) classified as Aegean, Egyptian, Aegeanising, Egyptianising, etc. In addition, the Avaris frescoes and the Aegean processional scenes in Thebes were examined in detail. Two approaches were applied to this evidence of Aegean-Egyptian interactions: World Systems Theory, applied here consistently and in depth (as opposed to earlier, broader discussions of Eastern Mediterranean interactions) and, for the first time in this field, Game Theory. The principles of this approach have been tested and found valid for this data. In contrast to World Systems Theory, Game Theory highlights the role of individuals in Aegean-Egyptian interactions, and not solely the roles of states. It has also enabled the exploration of the causes behind historical events and the mutual benefits of contact, as well as emphasising the factors that promoted mutual stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. As a result it has been possible to show that the Aegeans were key players in Eastern Mediterranean relations.

The present study synthesiszes archaeological and historical evidence concerning Attica (Greece), the hinterland of Athens, in the Early and Middle Byzantine periods (4th-12th c.). Although the Byzantine monuments of Attica have been thoroughly studied, no coherent picture of how these relate to broader patterns of occupation and land usage has thus far been presented. In the main, the period under discussion is generally interpreted in three ways: Regarding Late Antiquity, research has often focused on the transition from paganism to Christianity, and to the characterisation of Attica as a ‘stronghold of paganism’. During the so-called ‘Dark-Ages’, Attica is most often presented as being ‘desolate’. Regarding the Middle Byzantine period, archaeological research is dominated by architectural and art-historical study of churches. The present study presents Attica within wider trends which took place in the Byzantine Empire, and which caused its transformation in terms of demography, settlement pattern, administration, road networks, economy, defense and ecclesiastical institutions. After a detailed catalogue and interpretation of all available archaeological material, Attica appears less ‘exceptional’ in Late Antiquity, less ‘desolate’ in the ‘Dark-Ages’, while in the Middle Byzantine period, emergence of a strong local elite matches the erection of monuments of high artistic quality.

When an ancient Near Eastern city was besieged and looted the statues and cultic appurtenances of the gods were often confiscated by the conquerors. Their loss was more than a heavy blow to the defeated people: the statue was the god‘s representation on earth and watched over and protected the city so his abandonment of his city was thought to have a lasting devastating effect. From the point of view of the conqueror the statue could be used not only as a tool of intimidation but for bribery and a crude form of diplomacy and as propaganda for his might and glory. In this thesis the history of the phenomenon of godnap is explored for the first time and there is also an investigation of related problems in religion and cultural history. At the outset a detailed investigation of the numinous character of an ancient Mesopotamian statue is given including an account of the ritual that imbued it with this divine quality. Special attention is given to Marduk of Babylon and the episodes in which even he found himself the victim of theft. The thesis includes an excursus on evocatio and parallels between Hittite and ancient Roman practices are drawn.