The Excavation of the Prehistoric Burial Tumulus at Lofkend, Albania


Book Description

The burial tumulus of Lofkend lies in one of the richest archaeological areas of Albania (ancient "Illyria"), home to a number of burial tumuli spanning the Bronze and Iron Ages of later prehistory. Some were robbed long ago, others were reused for modern burials; few were excavated under scientific conditions. Modern understanding of the pre- and protohistory of Illyria has largely been shaped by the contents of such burial mounds. What inspired the systematic exploration of Lofkend by UCLA was more than the promise of an unplundered necropolis; it was also a chance to revisit the significance of this tumulus and its fellows for the emergence of urbanism and complexity in ancient Illyria. In addition to artifacts, the recovery of surviving plant remains, bones, and other organic material contribute insights into the environmental and ecological history of the region.







Archaeological Investigations in a Northern Albanian Province: Results of the Projekti Arkeologjik I Shkodrës (PASH)


Book Description

To date, very few northern Albanian archaeological sites have been surveyed and excavated. Situated beyond the reach, and allure, of the Classical Greek colonies of south-central Albania, the region has drawn less scholarly attention. But in various ways, northern Albania is just as important to the ongoing archaeological debates regarding the origins of inequality and the rise of social complexity. Some of the earliest and largest hill forts and tumuli (burial mounds) in Albania, dating to the Bronze and Iron Age, are located in Shkodër. Shkodër (Rozafa) Castle became the capital of the so-called Illyrian Kingdom, which was conquered by Rome in the early 3rd century BC. This research report, focused on the province of Shkodër, is based on five years of field and laboratory work and is the first synthetic archaeological treatment of this region. The results of the Projekti Arkeologjik i Shkodrës (or PASH) are presented here in two volumes. Volume 1 includes geological context, a literature review, historical background, and reports on the regional survey and test excavations at three settlements and three tumuli. In Volume 2, the authors describe the artifacts recovered through survey and excavation, including chipped stone, small finds, and pottery from the prehistoric, Classical, Roman, medieval, and post-medieval periods. They also present results of faunal, petrographic, chemical, carpological, and strontium isotope analyses of the artifacts. Extensive supporting data is available on the University of Michigan's Deep Blue data repository: https: //doi.org/10.7302/xnpy-0e60 These two volumes place northern Albania--and the Shkodër Province in particular--at the forefront of archaeological research in the Balkans.




The Excavation of the Prehistoric Burial Tumulus at Lofkënd, Albania: Text. Part I. The excavation of the tumulus


Book Description

The burial tumulus of Lofkënd lies in one of the richest archaeological areas of Albania (ancient "Illyria"), home to a number of burial tumuli spanning the Bronze and Iron Ages of later prehistory. Some were robbed long ago, others were reused for modern burials; few were excavated under scientific conditions. Modern understanding of the pre- and protohistory of Illyria has largely been shaped by the contents of such burial mounds. What inspired the systematic exploration of Lofkënd by UCLA was more than the promise of an unplundered necropolis; it was also a chance to revisit the significance of this tumulus and its fellows for the emergence of urbanism and complexity in ancient Illyria. In addition to artifacts, the recovery of surviving plant remains, bones, and other organic material contribute insights into the environmental and ecological history of the region.




The Excavation of the Prehistoric Burial Tumulus at Lofkënd, Albania: Illustrations


Book Description

What inspired the systematic exploration of Lofkënd by UCLA was more than the promise of an unplundered necropolis; it was also a chance to revisit the significance of this tumulus and its fellows for the emergence of urbanism and complexity in ancient Illyria.




New Directions in Albanian Archaeology


Book Description

This book is a celebration of the 70th birthday of Muzafer Korkuti, one of Albania's most eminent archaeologists. Korkuti's work has focused on European prehistory, with particular emphasis on Albanian archaeology. This book presents the first major overview of Albanian archaeology for many years, and looks at all periods from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Ottoman era.




Ancient Gordion


Book Description

Explores the formation of power during secondary polity formation by integrating multifaceted ceramic and material analyses of Gordion.




Recent Developments in Archaeometry and Archaeological Methodology in South-Eastern Europe


Book Description

This volume presents papers given at the 3rd and 4th scientific editions of the conference “Methodology and Archaeometry” held in 2015 and 2016 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, Croatia. It covers topics in archaeometry and archaeological methodology, which represent an essential part of collecting and processing data, which defines the validity of archaeological interpretation. Contributions explore non-destructive archaeology (geophysics and field survey), different aspects of artifact analysis, and experimental archaeology. The text brings together new research from scientists from various disciplines based on a range of methodological, analytical and theoretical perspectives, thus providing new insights and approaches, as well as new theoretical and methodological frameworks in contemporary archaeological science.




The Illyrians


Book Description




The Finest Peaks - Prominence and Other Mountain Measures


Book Description

This book challenges the precedent that a mountain's worth scales with height. It is a rational synthesis of new concepts that compel one to reassess the popular "heightist mindset". The concept of prominence, loosely defined as a mountain's vertical relief, is a stiff competitor to summit height for assessing a mountain's stature and relative worth for innumerable purposes. The community of prominence theoreticians, list builders, and climbers has reached critical mass - suggesting publication of a book dedicated exclusively to prominence. Revolutions are not overnight. The heightist mindset has minimally a 100 year head start. Eventually the climbing community will embrace prominence. For the mountaineer a prominence-based peak list provides fresh goals guaranteed to satisfy. A prominence-based peak list, regardless of geographic region, incorporates the most awe inspiring and diverse mountains. Chapter I introduces prominence, being defined and contrasted with altitude as peak list generator. Chapters II and III concern peak list production. Chapter IV reviews the history of prominence, including a compendium of prominence list builders and their lists. Chapter V is about prominence oriented peakbaggers and their accomplishments. Chapter VI entails prominence-derived mountain measures - submarine prominence, inverse prominence, proportional prominence, and dominance. Chapter VII concerns the advanced, prominence-derived concepts of parentage, divide trees, lineage cells, and more. Chapter VIII concerns alternative, objective mountain measures: isolation measure; peakedness and prominence density; and height / steepness combination measures - drop measure, cliff measure, spire measure, and ruggedness measure. Spire measure quantifies a mountain's subjective impressiveness due to great angularity. Chapter IX is a search for the largest prominence unclimbed mountain - grand goal of a future, summit-discovering expedition. Appendices A to G cover various subtopics, the glossary defines over 300 terms. 48 pages of illustrations are included, with full-color versions on-line at http://www.cohp.org/prominence/publication_2005_illustrations/main.html A beautiful, hardcover edition with color illustrations is available, and is highly recommended by book reviewers. ? E-mail the author for pricing and purchase information.