The aim of the thesis is to summarize historical development of glassmaking in Bohemia and Moravia since the end of the eighteenth century until the beginning of the First World War and it contains detailed interpretation of microrelief of the deserted post medieval glassworks in Milovy (District of Žďár nad Sázavou). The thesis is focused on changes of technology of production and refining of glass, effects of glassmaking on land ecology and social development in pursued period. Geodetic-topographical plan of the deserted site, which served as main source material for functional interpretation of microrelief of the deserted glassworks in Milovy, is the inseparable part of the thesis.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the pins from Bunge church, in order to investigate how what they can tell us about the burials inside the church. During the post medieval and early modern period pins were used to fasten the burial shrouds, and to stabilize the fabric on the inside of the coffin lids. Therefore these pins appear in grave contexts, and thus offer possibilities for interpretation of burials. The pins have been ordered according to the shape of the needlehead. A total of 697 pins have been analysed, amongst which four main pin types have been detected. The next step in the study was a chorological study where the pins positions were analysed in comparison to other finds such as craniums and coffin handles. Comparisons were also made with the placement of wall paintings, furnishings and the natural light intake in the church. The spatiality and dating of the pins have been used for the interpretation of the graves temporal and physical placement.

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a spondyloarthropathy traditionally defined as having spinal and extra-spinal manifestations. However its diagnostic criteria only allow the identification of advanced DISH and there is little consensus regarding the extra-spinal enthesopathies. In this project, individuals with DISH from the WM Bass Donated Skeletal Collection were analysed to investigate the pathogenesis of DISH and archaeological English and Catalan samples (3rd–18th century AD) were studied to investigate how diet might have influenced the development of DISH. From the individuals from the Bass Collection, isolated vertical lesions representing the early stages of DISH (‘early DISH’) were identified. Both sample sets showed that the presence of extra-spinal manifestations varies significantly between individuals and that discarthrosis and DISH can co-exist in the same individual. In all archaeological samples, the prevalence of DISH was significantly higher in males and older individuals showed a higher prevalence of DISH. In both regions, the prevalence of DISH was the lowest in the Roman samples, the highest in the early medieval ones and intermediate in the late medieval samples. While when using documentary resources and archaeological data, it was hypothesised that the prevalence of DISH in the English and Catalan samples might have been different, the results show no significant differences even if English samples tend to show higher prevalence of DISH than the Catalan samples. This possibly suggests that the development of DISH depends on a combination of dietary habits and, possibly, genetic predisposition might influence the development of DISH. The individuals from the Bass Collection showed high prevalence of metabolic and cardiovascular conditions. In contrast, no association was found between DISH and rich-diet associated conditions (e.g. carious lesions and gout) or deficiency-related conditions (e.g. scurvy, healed rickets). / Institute of Life Sciences Research from the University of Bradford

Humans, like all animal species, are subject to Bergmann's (1847) and Allen's (1877) environmental rules which summarize physical adaptations to the natural environment. However, humans are in addition cultural animals and other bio-cultural factors such as social, economic and political status, general health, and nutrition, have a noticeable influence on stature and body proportions. Importantly, socio-economic status has a powerful influence on stature, which has been used to elucidate status differences in past societies (Bogin and Loucky, 1997; Floud et al., 1990; Schutkowski, 2000a). Furthermore, bio-cultural factors influence all dimensions of the human body, including weight, relative limb length, and relative length of the different limb segments. Given minimal migration and shared natural environments, all populations in this study, coming as they do from the last 2000 years of English history, should demonstrate similar morphology (c. f Ruff, 1994) if climatic variables were the only influence on stature and body proportions. In order to assess such bio-cultural factors in individuals from archaeological populations, skeletal populations from sites such as known leprosaria and medieval hospitals, rural and urban parish cemeteries, victims from the battle of Towton in A. D. 1461, and individuals from monastic cemeteries were analysed. The osteometric data from these populations were assessedfo r within and between population variability and indicate effects of bio-cultural factors on attained body proportions and stature. The results indicate a strong relationship between bio-cultural factors and body proportions, body mass index, prevalence of pathologies, sexual dimorphism, secular trend, and general stature from Roman times to the post-medieval period. The usefulness of stature, weight, and physical indices as markers of the bio-cultural environment is demonstrated. The main findings include: a greater sensitivity to external stressors in the males rather than the females of the analysed populations, rendering male statures more susceptible to varying bio-cultural conditions; a potential for very tall stature has existed in the analysed populations but was only realised. in very high status individuals in medieval times, and from the beginning 20'h century with better socio-economic conditions for the population at large; a less stratified socio-political environment, as in the late Anglo-Saxon period resulted in taller average male statures that a more stratified one, such as the medieval Nation-States; and medieval monastic institutions could have high status, e.g., the Gilbertines, or lower status, such as the mendicant orders, while leprosaria had the lowest status of all. / Ministere de la Culture, de l'Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche, Luxembourg; Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford; Andy Jagger Fund; Francis Raymond Hudson Memorial Fund

Auswertung von 1300 Messern aus deutschen, niederländischen, skandinavischen, baltischen; nordrussischen und polnischen archäologischen Ausgrabungen, die über ein eigens dafür entwickeltes Klassifizierungsmodell von Klingen- und Griffformen erfolgte. Ausgewertet wurden Maße, Formen, Verzierungen und Marken. Die Ergebnisse werden zunächst in Diagrammen dargestellt und im beschreibenden Teil der Arbeit ausführlicher diskutiert. Die Entwicklung der Griffkonstruktionen und ihrer damit einhergehenden Formen werden exemplarisch dargestellt. Dabei wird besonders auf das Auftreten und die Verbreitung der Griffzungenkonstruktionen eingegangen, als Beispiel einer technischen Innovation mit römisch-kaiserzeitlichen Wurzeln, die im späten Mittelalter ihre Hochblüte erreichte. Verzierungselemente an Griffangel- und Griffzungenkonstruktionen werden als Übersichten getrennt nach Materialien sowie in besonders aussagekräftigen Einzelbeispielen näher spezifiziert dargestellt. Mittelalterliche Personendarstellungen auf beinernen Vollgriffen (Hilzen) oder die zeitgleiche Griffplättchentechnik als Beispiel einer auf Metall basierenden Verzierungsart werden in ihrem historischen Kontext behandelt. An Messerklingen werden Verzierungselemente und Marken separat diskutiert. Die Verteilung verschiedener Gruppen von Klingenformen innerhalb unterschiedlicher Fundorte ist ein Versuch, soziologische Bedingungen in offenen und geschlossenen bzw. befestigten Siedlungen unterschiedlicher Regionen an Beispielen der materiellen Kultur nachzuzeichnen. Nach Exkursen zu völkerwanderungszeitlichen Messern und Falt- oder -Klappmessern wird abschließend zu den Themen Herstellungsverfahren und Funktionszuweisung Stellung genommen, wobei das Messer als archäologische Quelle in naturwissenschaftlichen /(metallurgischen) Analysen ebenso dargestellt wird wie im Vergleich mit kunsthistorischen / (bildlichen) Quellen bzgl. einer Annäherung an Aussagen zu Funktion und Gebrauch im Untersuchungsraum.