The Neolithic and late Iron Age pottery from the settlement site of Pool, Sanday, Orkney, was studied on two levels. Firstly, a morphological and technological study was carried out to establish a sequence for the site. Secondly an assessment was made of the usefulness of X-ray Fluorescence Analysis, Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry and Petrological analysis to coarse ware studies, using the Pool assemblage as a case study. Recording of technological and typological attributes allowed three phases of Neolithic pottery to be identified. The earliest phase included sherds of Unstan Ware. This phase was followed by an assemblage characterised by pottery with incised decoration, which was stratified below a traditional Grooved Ware assemblage. The change in pottery styles and manufacturing methods with the Grooved Ware indicated that it evolved elsewhere. Grass tempered and burnished pottery characterised the Iron Age assemblage. Pottery samples from all phases of the site were analysed by XRF and ICPS. In addition, pottery from late Iron Age sites in the area was analysed for comparison with the Pool Iron Age pottery. XRF and ICPS analyses did not distinguish between either different phases at Pool or different Orcadian sites. This was attributed to the similarities in geological deposits over much of Orkney and the variations which can occur within a clay source. A clay survey was carried out in the vicinity of the site, and samples taken for comparison with the Pool pottery. Identification of rocks and minerals in thin section, and grain-size analysis, indicated that the Pool pottery was made locally to the site, and that both primary and secondary clays were used. It was concluded that petrological analysis is more suitable than elemental analysis in the study of coarse wares.

This study reviews the evidence for the period spanning from Late Hallstatt to Late La Tène - the 6th to 1st C BC - in the circonscription of Rhône-Alpes, a region of 44 000 km² centred around Grenoble and Lyon. This evidence is presented in a gazetteer of 416 sites, comprising settlements, burials and isolated finds. Since Rhône-Alpes was a contact zone between Massalia and the northern 'barbarian' cultures, the understanding of trade was a research priority. The Rhône corridor was re-assessed in terms of 17 classes of imported artefacts and the indigenous natural and human resources of Central-Eastern France. It is concluded that this well known late Hallstatt trade route continued to develop after its supposed decline in the 5th C BC. It became a rhodanian cultural zone whose form anticipated that of the Provincia Transalpina founded by the Romans in 121 BC. Whealthy fringe settlements show how the boundary of this rhodanian cultural zone gradually moved northwards. Fortified settlements are mainly represented by the stone-built hillforts of the South and West. Generally, their interiors are not yet well documented, but certain characteristic structures - for example granaries and sanctuaries - were noticed. Amongst lowland settlements, a few began in the Middle La Tène as market centres. They then figured prominently in the Italian wine trade and were later still to become roman towns. Burial sites fall into 14 regional burial groups with varied funerary rites. In the rich and idiosyncratic alpine sector there is an opportunity to observe not only external contacts but also the movement of indigenous artefacts from valley to valley. Among general recommendations for further research are the definition of regional pottery groups, the characterisation of the 3rd C BC and the scientific investigation of a middle-Rhône hillfort. A case is made for independent dating evidence and less reliance on historical models.

Palestine has one of the longest histories of archaeological exploration in the Near East "because the recovery of its material remains has "been of great value in interpreting biblical literature, which in turn has shed much light on the ancient history of the Levant in general. In order to establish the chronological setting, Sir Flinders Petrie was the first Near Eastern archaeologist to devise a system of sequence dating based upon the scientific study of pottery in its stratigraphical position within a mound. As a result of his researches in Palestine, the first systematic attempt was made to record a corpus of pottery representing all periods of occupation during which pottery occurred. The result was the publication by Duncan of the Corpus of Palestinian Pottery (London, 1930). Since 1930, the study of pottery types has been greatly refined and enlarged so that at least the general periods of Palestine's history can now be defined in some detail by known pottery types. The best modern compilation of the pottery from its beginnings in the Neolithic period to the end of the Iron Age is Amiran's Ancient Pottery of the Holy Land (Jerusalem, 1969). Many special studies of pottery, the latest being Franken's In Search of the Jericho Potters (Leiden, 1975), employ both old and new methods of typology in ceramic studies in an effort to understand more completely the cultural and chronological changes within the various periods of Palestinian history ... [see pdf file for full abstract].

The thesis has considered what foods were available to the populations of the Late Iron Age and Roman Britain and the levels of nutrition possible. Evidence for (or the absence of) nutritional deficiency diseases was used to reach conclusions about the standard of health, and knowledge of modern nutritional food models enabled the author to assess the state of health of ancient individuals from a study of the foods to which they had access. To provide a benchmark for what can be ascertained about the Roman’s choices in food production, selection, cooking, consumption and storage, an examination was made of the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, where archaeological investigations have revealed aspects of daily life, trade, living and cooking arrangements, food utensils and human remains. A study of the literary sources determined the attitude of the Romans towards food; it was clear that Romans in the ancient world knew how to source their food, and were aware that, if not properly handled, some food could be detrimental to their health. Sites in Britain from the pre-Roman Iron Age were then considered in regards to food production, selection, cooking and storage, in order to be able to assess the situation after the Roman invasion. For the Roman period, different types of sites were considered: small and larger civilian centres and cemeteries, and military bases. To discover if there were regional differences in diet or nutrition, sites were selected from the North, Midlands, East Anglia, the South and South East and the South West. Also discussed was the role that external influences, features and facilities and occupation of each site had on developing the level of health of their inhabitants. It was found that the native and introduced populations throughout Britain during the Romano-British era did have access to a nutritionally sound food supply, and thus it was possible for them to maintain a healthy diet. Despite the introduction of new foods with the advent of the Romans, there was no discernable difference in the state of health and nutrition from the Iron Age to the Roman, with the exception of dental health, where there was a distinct deterioration as the result of sugar-rich foods being added to the diet. Those cases where the nutritional levels of the people fell below what might be considered conducive to good health were probably due to other factors: it was the physical features or facilities of a settlement (or lack of them) and the occupations and economic status of individuals that actually dictated standards of health.

The thesis has considered what foods were available to the populations of the Late Iron Age and Roman Britain and the levels of nutrition possible. Evidence for (or the absence of) nutritional deficiency diseases was used to reach conclusions about the standard of health, and knowledge of modern nutritional food models enabled the author to assess the state of health of ancient individuals from a study of the foods to which they had access. To provide a benchmark for what can be ascertained about the Roman’s choices in food production, selection, cooking, consumption and storage, an examination was made of the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, where archaeological investigations have revealed aspects of daily life, trade, living and cooking arrangements, food utensils and human remains. A study of the literary sources determined the attitude of the Romans towards food; it was clear that Romans in the ancient world knew how to source their food, and were aware that, if not properly handled, some food could be detrimental to their health. Sites in Britain from the pre-Roman Iron Age were then considered in regards to food production, selection, cooking and storage, in order to be able to assess the situation after the Roman invasion. For the Roman period, different types of sites were considered: small and larger civilian centres and cemeteries, and military bases. To discover if there were regional differences in diet or nutrition, sites were selected from the North, Midlands, East Anglia, the South and South East and the South West. Also discussed was the role that external influences, features and facilities and occupation of each site had on developing the level of health of their inhabitants. It was found that the native and introduced populations throughout Britain during the Romano-British era did have access to a nutritionally sound food supply, and thus it was possible for them to maintain a healthy diet. Despite the introduction of new foods with the advent of the Romans, there was no discernable difference in the state of health and nutrition from the Iron Age to the Roman, with the exception of dental health, where there was a distinct deterioration as the result of sugar-rich foods being added to the diet. Those cases where the nutritional levels of the people fell below what might be considered conducive to good health were probably due to other factors: it was the physical features or facilities of a settlement (or lack of them) and the occupations and economic status of individuals that actually dictated standards of health.

The thesis has considered what foods were available to the populations of the Late Iron Age and Roman Britain and the levels of nutrition possible. Evidence for (or the absence of) nutritional deficiency diseases was used to reach conclusions about the standard of health, and knowledge of modern nutritional food models enabled the author to assess the state of health of ancient individuals from a study of the foods to which they had access. To provide a benchmark for what can be ascertained about the Roman’s choices in food production, selection, cooking, consumption and storage, an examination was made of the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, where archaeological investigations have revealed aspects of daily life, trade, living and cooking arrangements, food utensils and human remains. A study of the literary sources determined the attitude of the Romans towards food; it was clear that Romans in the ancient world knew how to source their food, and were aware that, if not properly handled, some food could be detrimental to their health. Sites in Britain from the pre-Roman Iron Age were then considered in regards to food production, selection, cooking and storage, in order to be able to assess the situation after the Roman invasion. For the Roman period, different types of sites were considered: small and larger civilian centres and cemeteries, and military bases. To discover if there were regional differences in diet or nutrition, sites were selected from the North, Midlands, East Anglia, the South and South East and the South West. Also discussed was the role that external influences, features and facilities and occupation of each site had on developing the level of health of their inhabitants. It was found that the native and introduced populations throughout Britain during the Romano-British era did have access to a nutritionally sound food supply, and thus it was possible for them to maintain a healthy diet. Despite the introduction of new foods with the advent of the Romans, there was no discernable difference in the state of health and nutrition from the Iron Age to the Roman, with the exception of dental health, where there was a distinct deterioration as the result of sugar-rich foods being added to the diet. Those cases where the nutritional levels of the people fell below what might be considered conducive to good health were probably due to other factors: it was the physical features or facilities of a settlement (or lack of them) and the occupations and economic status of individuals that actually dictated standards of health.

The thesis has considered what foods were available to the populations of the Late Iron Age and Roman Britain and the levels of nutrition possible. Evidence for (or the absence of) nutritional deficiency diseases was used to reach conclusions about the standard of health, and knowledge of modern nutritional food models enabled the author to assess the state of health of ancient individuals from a study of the foods to which they had access. To provide a benchmark for what can be ascertained about the Roman’s choices in food production, selection, cooking, consumption and storage, an examination was made of the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, where archaeological investigations have revealed aspects of daily life, trade, living and cooking arrangements, food utensils and human remains. A study of the literary sources determined the attitude of the Romans towards food; it was clear that Romans in the ancient world knew how to source their food, and were aware that, if not properly handled, some food could be detrimental to their health. Sites in Britain from the pre-Roman Iron Age were then considered in regards to food production, selection, cooking and storage, in order to be able to assess the situation after the Roman invasion. For the Roman period, different types of sites were considered: small and larger civilian centres and cemeteries, and military bases. To discover if there were regional differences in diet or nutrition, sites were selected from the North, Midlands, East Anglia, the South and South East and the South West. Also discussed was the role that external influences, features and facilities and occupation of each site had on developing the level of health of their inhabitants. It was found that the native and introduced populations throughout Britain during the Romano-British era did have access to a nutritionally sound food supply, and thus it was possible for them to maintain a healthy diet. Despite the introduction of new foods with the advent of the Romans, there was no discernable difference in the state of health and nutrition from the Iron Age to the Roman, with the exception of dental health, where there was a distinct deterioration as the result of sugar-rich foods being added to the diet. Those cases where the nutritional levels of the people fell below what might be considered conducive to good health were probably due to other factors: it was the physical features or facilities of a settlement (or lack of them) and the occupations and economic status of individuals that actually dictated standards of health.

Diss. Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2006.

Zugl.: Hamburg, Univ., Diss., 2006. - Zsfassung in engl. Sprache

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Universiṭat Bar-Ilan, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.