ABSTRACT The Rock Art of southern Africa represents the single most informative surviving artifact of the social and symbolic lives of many hunter-gatherers, herders, farmers and settlers who have lived and marked our land. Unlike many other forms of archaeology, rock art has always been in the public domain and of late has become a defining element of social identity. Farmer settlement engravings based on concentric circles joined by meandering lines are particularly intriguing images in southern African Iron Age rock art tradition. This study focuses on a large engraved Iron Age site on the farm Boomplaats 29 JT in Lydenburg District, Mpumalanga province, republic of South Africa. This site contains a variety of engravings ranging from concentric circles, animal motifs, drilled holes, spread-eagle designs and a Mhele/ Morabaraba game board. Although the general characteristics and overall distribution of this art are known, the issue of authorship of this art is till unknown. This research, therefore, goes deeper into both the historical and archaeological evidence from Mpumalanga province to investigate and ascertain the authors of these engravings. This study hopes to advance our knowledge of this art by focusing on the specific issue of authorship, and examining the relationship between the engravings and settlement ruins in the area.

Animal bones found on archaeological sites can be connected to the economic structures of the society and what activities the humans performed. During the Merovingian Period and the Viking Age on the island of Gotland there are several sites that have been difficult to interpret. One of these sites is Signallottan which has several finds that are connected to iron working but also a lot of cremated animal bones. The proposed study investigates how the animal bones are connected to the site and what purpose they had. The study also compares the site to other archaeological sites to see how they differ. This will be achieved by analyzing the animal remains found at the site. The material consists of roughly 56 kilograms of bones that were excavated during 2018 and is currently stored in the osteological laboratory in Visby, Sweden. This study leaves some questions open but most likely Signallottan has only had one main purpose. What this purpose is, is still unknown and needs further research.

Cremated bones from animals has been recovered in conjunction with a number of hearths in Visby, Gotland. This find has started a controversial discussion in the archeological field regarding usage of bones as a supplement in iron working. Archeological investigations often tend to overlook the information that could be gained from osteological materials. Animal bones can give us insight and contribute with new perspectives on economics, diet, livestock and much more. The aim of this bachelor is therefore to look closer at the relations between bones and iron working and to establish if the bones were used to enhance the phosphorus levels of the iron. This will be achieved by analyzing cremated bones from the archeological site Visby RAÄ 230. The material will also be compared with previous studies regarding iron working.

A Ilíada de Homero é geralmente caracterizada como um poema que trata da Guerra de Tróia, que teria acontecido mais de 500 anos antes da composição de tal poema, e teria sido transmitido através da tradição oral, até o momento em que foi escrito pela primeira vez. Esperava-se, portanto, que os fatos narrados pelo poeta correspondessem aos achados arqueológicos encontrados para o Período Micênico, mas o que se encontra na Ilíada é uma mistura de elementos da sociedade micênica e da sociedade contemporânea a Homero, ou seja, o século VIII a.C. O estudo da relação entre documentos arqueológicos dos períodos Micênico, Proto-Geométrico e Geométrico, compreendidos entre 1550 e o final do século VIII a.C., e a Ilíada de Homero é composto por duas categorias de fontes distintas, a arqueológica e a escrita, esta como resultado de uma tradição oral que a precedeu. A presente dissertação tem como foco apresentar as informações que se podem depreender da Ilíada de Homero que, de alguma forma, contribuíram para a interpretação arqueológica e se, de tal confronto, surgiram controvérsias entre os dois tipos de fontes, levando a uma reflexão sobre a questão da continuidade e da ruptura de elementos culturais próprios da Civilização Micênica e que, de certa maneira, se refletem nos períodos posteriores em pauta. / The Iliad of Homer is generally seen as a poem about the Trojan War, which took place more than 500 years before the composition of such poem, and transmitted by oral tradition down to the moment it was written for the first time. It was hoped, therefore, that the facts narrated by its poet matched the archaeological finds for the Mycenaean Period; instead what is found in the Iliad is an ensemble of the elements of the Mycenaean society and the one contemporary to Homer, which is considered to be the eighth century B.C. The study of the relation between the Mycenaean, Proto-Geometrical, and Geometrical archaeological finds, dating from 1550 to the end of the eighth century B.C., and the Iliad of Homer is based on two different categories of sources, namely the archaeological and the literary ones, the last one being the result of an oral tradition which had preceded it. The present dissertation focuses on showing the information that can be derived from the Iliad of Homer that somehow has contributed to the archaeological interpretation and whether controversies were raised between those two kinds of sources from such a comparison, leading to a reflection about the question of either continuity or rupture of the cultural elements proper to the Mycenaean Civilization and that, in a certain way, are reflected on the later periods concerned.

Cette étude se concentre sur les rites funéraires de la Dardanie durant l’âge de fer, et plus précisément sur les nécropoles tumulaires. L’objectif de ce travail est d’étudier le commencement des tombes tumulaire puis leur évolution, l’architecture funéraire et l’organisation sociale en Dardanie durant l’âge de fer. Cette étude traitera également les nécropoles non tumulaires, mais sans se concentrer largement dessus, puisque ces nécropoles datent de la période transitoire de bronze en fer. La Dardanie antique s’étendait sur tout le territoire de l'actuel Kosovo, le nord-ouest de la Macédoine, le sud de la Serbie et sur la partie nord-est de l’Albanie.Se situant au cœur des Balkans, la Dardanie occupe une position géographique et géostratégique favorable car elle est un carrefour grâce à ses vallées fluviales comme celles du Drin, de l'Ebre, de la Sitnice, du Vardar, et de la Morava, qui sont autant de voies de passage menant vers la mer Égée, l'Adriatique la mer Noire et les régions danubiennes. L’étude sera divisée en deux parties : la première partie est constituée du catalogue et la deuxième partie contient les éléments de synthèse concernant l'architecture funéraire, les rites, l’organisation sociale. Le catalogue présentera toutes les nécropoles en fonction durant l’âge du bronze et du fer, en distinguant les nécropoles tumulaires dans une première partie, et les nécropoles non tumulaires dans une deuxième partie, et les nécropoles non fouillées dans une dernière partie. Pour chaque nécropole seront présentés, quand ils ont été publiés, les mobiliers funéraires qui permettent leur datation et l’identification des rites funéraires qui y sont pratiqués, incinération ou inhumation. Les nécropoles identifiées par les archéologues mais pas encore fouillées, seront décrites plus succinctement, et on ne pourra répertorier que les trouvailles aperçues à la surface. / The study La mort, les morts dans la Dardanie de l'âge du fer, treats the rituals and ceremonies in the territory of Dardania during the Iron age.This study initially treats the problems of borders in Dardania during the Iron age. This problem is treated based in the material culture, ancient authors’ resources, and resources and data of various modern authors that have treated this topic. Chronology of iron age is also reviewed considering that in the territory of Dardania are present few different opinions for the chronology of this period. The chronology is done based on the typology of representative objects found in necropolis. Iron Age is divided into three phases: Phase I, II and III. About each phase are represented cultural events, historical once as well as characteristics of some archeological objects.

Située dans le nord-est de l'Iran, au carrefour du plateau iranien et des steppes d'Asie Centrale, la plaine de Gorgân constitue, de par ses paysages et son climat, une région particulièrement favorable à l'installation humaine. Le site de Tureng Tépé, fouillé dans les années 1960-1970 par une équipe d'archéologues français, a livré une séquence d'occupation de plusieurs millénaires, depuis le chalcolithique jusqu'à l'époque moderne. L'étude stratigraphique et architecturale menée à partir des documents inédits issus des archives de fouille, a permis de reconstruire et de caractériser les occupations les plus anciennes du site, du Chalcolithique à l'Âge du Fer. Les niveaux archéologiques dégagés dans les secteurs du Petit Tépé et du Tépé Sud montrent ainsi une occupation continue depuis la fin du 4ème millénaire jusqu'au début du 2ème millénaire avant notre ère. L'Âge du Bronze Moyen est marqué par la construction d'une haute terrasse monumentales en briques dont une analyse architecturale approfondie a été réalisée. Par ailleurs, l'étude de plusieurs catégories d'artefacts montrent clairement l'existence de contacts et d'échanges longues distances entre d'une part les plaines de Gorgân et de Dâmghân, et d'autre part l'Asie Centrale méridionale, le Khorasan, et dans une moindre mesure les régions du sud-est du plateau iranien et du Baloutchistan. Après plusieurs siècles d'abandon, le site de Tureng Tépé est réoccupé à la fin de l'Âge du Fer II. Ces occupations, qui se distinguent clairement de celles de l'Âge du Bronze, sont représentés par une succession de fortifications reconstruites à plusieurs reprises. / Located in the northeast of Iran, at the crossroads of the Iranian plateau and the steppes of Central Asia, the Gorgân plain is, by the nature of its landscapes and climate, a particularly suitable region for human settlements. The site of Tureng Tépé, excavated in the years 1960-1970 by a team of French archaeologists, revealed an occupational sequence of several millennia since Chalcolithic until the modem time. The stratigraphic and architectural study conducted from unpublished documents from the excavation archives, permit us to reconstruct and characterize the oldest occupations of the site, from Chalcolithic to the Iron Age. The archaeological layers discovered in the areas of the Petit Tépé and the Tépé Sud demonstrate continuous occupation from the end of the 4th millennium to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. The Middle Bronze Age is marked by the construction of a large monumental brick terrace of which an in-depth architectural analysis has been carried out. In addition, the study of several categories of artifacts clearly shows the existence of long-distance contacts and exchanges between on the one band the plains of Gorgan and Damghan, and on the other hand South Central Asia and Khorasan and to a lesser extent the southeastem regions of the Iranian plateau and Baluchistan. After several centuries of abandonment, Tureng Tépé is reoccupied at the end of the Iron Age II. These occupations, which are clearly distinguishable from those of the Bronze Age, are represented by a succession of fortifications rebuilt several times.

Cette recherche doctorale repose sur l’analyse des collections archéologiques de la nécropole de Koban, découvertes par Ernest Chantre, actuellement conservées au musée d'archéologie nationale de Saint-Germain en Laye et au musée des Confluences à Lyon. La nécropole de Koban située dans le Nord Caucase fût découverte par Ernest Chantre en 1881. Le site de Koban a donné son nom à l’une des cultures du Bronze récent et du premier âge du Fer du Nord Caucase. Cette thèse porte sur l’ensemble des objets mis au jour à Koban, publiés et non publiés. Par une analyse systématique innovante, cette recherche a permis d’élaborer une classification typologique. Ces données ont été comparées avec du matériel provenant d’autres régions du Caucase. Cetteanalyse des objets a notamment permis de comprendre l’environnement culturel de la nécropole de Koban soulignant ainsi des influences d’autres régions du Caucase – Colchis and Shida Kartli. L’une des composantes majeures de cette recherche est la reconstruction des assemblages funéraires de Koban, qui montrent des aspects inconnus à ce jour. De nouvelles datations radiocarbones réalisées sur la tombe 9 nous ont également permis de réexaminer de façon extensive la chronologie de la nécropole de Koban / This work examines Ernest Chantre’s archaeological collections from the Koban necropolis, stored at the National Archaeological Museum of France, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the Confluences Museum in Lyon. The Koban necropolis, which was excavated by Chantre in 1881, is located in the North Caucasus. It has given its name to one of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age cultures of the Caucasus.This dissertation brings to light Koban objects, both published and unpublished, and organizes themin a systematic fashion. Typological classification of each group of objects is examined andpresented. These data are then compared with materials from other parts of the Caucasus. The focus of the research determines the cultural environment of the Koban necropolis in the Caucasus region, as objects from this site reflect certain characteristic features of different regions of the Caucasus such as Colchis and Shida Kartli.One of the main components of this dissertation is the reconstruction of Koban funeral assemblages.These are presented differently here than has previously been done. Along with presenting the assemblages, radiocarbon data is also presented from grave no. 9, which enables us to re-examine, to an extent, the chronology of Koban necropolis.

Recentemente e quase simultaneamente, quatro novas instalações de culto da Idade do Ferro (1200-586 a.C.) foram trazidas à luz por escavações arqueológicas em Israel, todas presumivelmente no território do antigo Reino de Judá, apresentando sinais de estarem de alguma forma conectadas ao governo: três são santuários em Khirbet Qeiyafa e uma é um templo em Tel Moza. Juntamente com o templo de Tel Arad, descoberto na década de 1960 dentro de uma fortaleza judaíta, e os dois únicos edifícios de culto legitimados e descritos pelas fontes bíblicas, a saber, o Tabernáculo de Moisés e o Templo de Salomão, essas mais recentes descobertas formam um novo e consideravelmente ampliado corpo de evidências arqueológicas de um culto hipoteticamente endossado ou patrocinado pelo Reino de Judá, e uma valiosa oportunidade para esclarecer questões que têm sido levantadas quanto à história e religião dos antigos israelitas. Nesta tese, os templos judaítas são comparados a praticamente todos os templos da Idade do Ferro do Levante de que se tem conhecimento até a presente data, por meio de um aqui proposto tipo de análise semiótica da forma de disposição do espaço. O estudo encontrou evidências de que, conquanto os templos judaítas compartilhem uma série de traços individuais com muitos templos do Levante, como já tem sido amplamente notado, eles consistentemente adotam um conjunto desses traços de maneira única e em oposição direta aos traços que caracterizam os templos filisteus. As implicações desses achados para a compreensão dos processos de diferenciação cultural e formação da identidade de Judá são consideradas e uma proposta de explicação é oferecida. / Recently and almost simultaneously four new Iron Age (1200-586 BCE) cultic installations were brought to light by archaeological digs in Israel, all presumably in the territory of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, presenting signs of being somehow connected to the government: three are shrines in Khirbet Qeiyafa and one is a temple in Tel Moza. Together with the Tel Arad temple, uncovered in the 1960\'s inside a Judahite fortress, and the only two cultic buildings legitimized and described by the biblical sources, namely the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon, those most recent discoveries form a new and considerably enlarged body of archaeological evidence of an hypothetical cult endorsed or sponsored by the Kingdom of Judah and a valuable opportunity to clarify issues that have been raised regarding ancient Israelite history and religion. In this thesis, the Judahite temples are compared to nearly all Iron Age temples from the Levant known to date by means of a here-proposed type of semiotic analysis of their layout. The study has found evidence that while the Judahite temples share a number of individual traits with many Levantine temples, as it has already been widely noticed, they consistently adopt a set of those traits in a unique way and in direct opposition to the traits that characterize the Philistine temples. The implications of those finds for the understanding of Judah\'s cultural differentiation and identity formation processes and outcome are considered and a tentative explanation is offered.

Following a review of the paradigmatic context of broch towers in 2012, a revised standard model (the RSM) was defined. The then prevailing paradigm supports a view of broch remains as single monuments of highly variable form that continued in use over perhaps a millennium or more, without significant modification of their original tectonics i.e. their people/constructed-space relationships. This thesis challenges the pre-2012 paradigm by testing the hypothesis that brochs were built to the standard canonical form of the RSM and that their apparent diversity results from anthropic and, or natural modification, not design variability. The fieldwork tests could but did not find refutation of these hypotheses in the observable evidence and offered more profound interpretations of several surviving feature-types. The loading on the stone lintels of the entrance passage through the massively built outer wall and the structurally overladen inner wall created a major structural challenge, evoking a complex engineering solution. Its elements were individually noted pre-2012 but the significance of the engineering response to compression management had not been identified. This structural response was necessary for a tall structure with massive loads, and meaningless without one and its elements are therefore, jointly and severally, clear diagnostics of a broch tower. The entrance engineering was probably the inspiration of one individual or of a small group of master mason-types, not vernacular responses, contra the 2012 paradigm. Isolated stacked voids high in the inner wall are relict features indicative of significant modification of the inner wall. Other anomalous features are shown to be relict stacked void fragments. The East/West differences in brochs across Scotland have long been identified and these are generally attributed to their lithologies. Accepting that, this thesis argues that the principal differences are attributable to the social processes that gave rise to centralisation of settlement around, in and over brochs in the east and north, possibly during the first century BC, and the absence of centralisation in the west; perhaps also explaining the differences in the scale and composition of the artefact assemblages between the two zones. The canonical form facilitates calculation of the relative social costs of broch building for hard-rock and sedimentary stone types. This indicates that the costs of building, increase between 16-, and 32- fold over the buildable range of brochs. Constraints of design down-scalability, design weakness in ground loading, and design cost were major constraints on the mind of the broch builders. Canonicity and the limitations of drystone building technologies predicated specific forms of decomposition on the canonical broch, further complicating their autobiographies and their conservation: the main challenge now being that of finding ways to conserve the evidence for a sequence of processes while conserving the products of those processes.

This thesis aims to construct a historical narrative for the region of the north-eastern Aegean (NEA) during the Early Iron Age (1050-700 BCE) and the early Archaic period (7^th century BCE) based primarily on archaeological evidence. Its goals are to investigate the most distinctive material culture elements for the studied period; to explore themes of continuity and connectivity between regions; to trace large- and smaller-scale population movements; to discuss how early communities perceived themselves and each other; and to investigate the social structure and organisation of these communities. Evidence from settlement sites, funerary contexts, and sanctuaries are presented in the first three chapters in that order. Following that, the final chapter presents the primary, overarching conclusions of the thesis, in four sub-chapters. Firstly, it is argued that the NEA was characterised by relative cultural continuity from the Late Bronze Age to well within the Archaic period: when new elements were introduced, they were, generally, integrated into earlier paradigms. Secondly, evidence is provided for an increase in connectivity and maritime traffic peaks during the late 8^th century BCE; shortly afterwards, new population groups from the central and southern Aegean arrived in the NEA, and seem to have cohabited relatively peacefully with earlier populations. Thirdly, it is posited that there is little evidence for overarching NEA regional identities before the 6^th century BCE: communities appear to have developed local identities, through association with specific sites and through references to the communal past in cult practice and funerary contexts. Finally, it is argued that social elites were markedly active in NEA communities of studied period: there is considerable evidence for socially exclusive groups, primarily in funerary and ritual contexts. The thesis concludes with a short chapter containing the author's closing remarks.