Series: Oxbow Monographs in Archaeology

The result of research that included the use of infra red spectrometry to provenance material, much of which originated in the Baltic area. Divided into eleven sections, the first forms an introduction to the corpus of material involved and its finds record (11-14). Section two deals with `Fossil resins of the British Isles' (15-27), section three reports `The provenience analysis of British amber artefacts' (29-37) including material in collections from around the country, and section four covers `Typology and technology of the amber artifacts' (51-64). The next four sections deal with `Amber in the Mesolithic and Neolithic' (65-9), `Amber in the British Early Bronze Age' (71-98), `Amber in the Middle and Late Bronze Age' (99-104) and `Amber in the Iron Age' (105-7). Section nine looks at `British amber in its European context' (109-31) and section ten considers `Exchange and the social context of amber in Europe' (133-42). The final section presents a corpus of the British material (143-218).

The papers are presented in three separate sections, the first comprising four case studies, the second introducing four new techniques or novel aplications of established techniques, and the last including two papers arrising out of a discussion forum which was intended to `sell' geoprospection to mainstream archaeologists. Following a short overview, entitled `Beyond wall-following, introduction to parts 1 and 2' by Paul Spoerry (1--6), `Part I: geoprospection in the archaeological landscape' begins with a recent study of `Trace metal accumulations in soils on and around ancient settlements in Greece' by J L Bintliff, B Davies, C Gaffney, A Snodgrass & A Waters (9--24). Concentrations of certain metals were identified by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) around sites known from artefact scatters and it is possible to determine site function or morphology in some cases. The extensive use of resistivity and magnetic susceptibility techniques to determine prehistoric land use on the Tofts Ness peninsula, Sanday, Orkney is described by S J Dockrill & J A Gater (25--31) in `Tofts Ness: exploration and interpretation in a prehistoric landscape'. In `Field magnetic susceptibility measurement for prospection and excavation', Adrian Challands (33--41) compares the potential of both magnetometry and magnetic susceptibility on two sites, one a Neolithic settlement at Barnhouse on Orkney, the other a barrow at Etton, Cambridgeshire. He also compares the results of magnetic susceptibility and phosphate analysis at the Orkney site. Mark G Macklin, David G Passmore, David C Cowley, Tony C Stevenson & Colm F O'Brien (43--58) consider `Geoarchaeological enhancement of river valley archaeology in north east England'. Preliminary results from studies of Holocene alluvial and colluvial sedimentary sequences in two areas, one near Callaly Moor, Northumberland and the other in the lower Tyne valley, are presented. Rick Walker (61--73) begins `Part II: new techniques and applications in geoprospection' with his paper `Phosphate survey: method and meaning'. It is suggested that phosphate anomalies at the surface reflect the presence of buried features containing organic matter despite superficial application of phosphates (eg fertiliser). Bayesian statistical techniques are applied to the results of phosphate analysis in an attempt to enhance the interpretation of these results by C E Buck, W G Cavanagh & C D Litton (75--87) in `Tools for the interpretation of soil phosphate data from archaeological surveys'. By exploring `Multielectrode resistivity tomography for imaging archaeology' Mark Noel (89--99) aims to develop a method for mapping changes in soil resistivity at different depths, thus adding a third dimension to conventional geophysical surveys. `Recent developments in thermal archaeological prospection', in which surface probing is used to measure ground temperature, are described as a cheaper alternative to aerial infra-red thermography by T J Bellerby, M Noel & K Brannigan (sic) (101--11). `Part III: the archaeologist and geoprospection' is opened with `The archaeologist and geoprospection: introduction' by Paul Spoerry (115--21). Jenny M Allsop (121--40) then describes a three-phased survey programme combining investigation of both archaeological sites and the general palaeolandscape in `The British Geological Survey: geoprospection techniques applied to the archaeological landscape'. Finally, in a paper not presented at the 1989 conference, Michael Aston (141--54) describes `The Shapwick Project, Somerset: a study in need of remote sensing' showing how geophysical survey will become increasingly important for projects of this type in the future.

The proceedings of a conference held in October 1992 begins with a foreword by Mark Davies (iii) and an introduction by David Gaimster (vii-ix). Ian Longworth (1--18) raises issues such as increasing commercialism, metal detecting, retention of human remains and gender archaeology in `Museums and archaeology: coping with the chimaera'. The legislative framework of the cultural heritage of the European Community and export regulations within the single market are discussed in `The European Community and heritage protection: boom or bust?' by Jeremy Warren (9--14). There follow several papers on museums and their archaeological collections in Europe, with issues relevant to Britain: `Archaeology and the National Museum of Antiquities, the Netherlands' by Jan Verwers (15--18), `Archaeology in Dutch town-museums' by Jan M Baart (19--36), `A facelift for the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels' by Francis Van Noten (37--48), `Museum rescue-archaeology in Duisburg, the Lower Rhineland' by Günter Krause (49--75), `Archaeology and the Museum of National Antiquities, Stockholm' by Hans A Lidén (77--83), `Excavations in the medieval centre of Malmö and in the surrounding area: museum archaeology in practice' by Ingmar Billberg (85--93), `A new archaeological museum on Funen as an example of current trends in Danish archaeology' by Henrik Thrane (95--106) `L'acquisition des objets archéologiques par les musées en France' [The acquisition of archaeological objects by museums in France] by Jean-Yves Marin (107--16), `The new archaeological museum at Neuchâtel, Switzerland' by Bruce Dunning (117--21), `Museum archaeology in Poland: an outline' by Wojciech Brzezinski (123--33), `Archaeology in Kiev History Museum' by Ljudmila Pekars'ka (135--45), `Archaeological museums in Croatia: present and future' by Branko Kirigin (147--54), `Artefact research in the National Museums of Scotland' by Alan Saville (155--66) and `Can we expect museums to cope? Curatorship and the archaeological explosion' by Martin Biddle (167--71). The book concludes with a list of addresses of the contributors (173--4).

Companion volume to Landscape, monuments and society: the prehistory of Cranborne Chase (1991, CUP, 0 521 32128 X) containing papers which review the economic and artefactual evidence from the Cranborne Chase project. John Corney of Iron Age material collected by Martin Green, discussed with reference to Iron Age finds by Pitt Rivers, and includes a list of coins. BOC

Publishes the results of a two year research programme (see also 92/452, 92/1287, 92/1342--3). After a brief introduction, the first chapter outlines the origins and development of the research programme. The objectives and research strategy are described, and the extent to which the aims were achieved is assessed. Chapter two initially considers cave environments and the factors which suit them to certain purposes. Recent evidence for the use of caves is then used to propose several models of cave usage. These models are applied to the interpretation of Romano-British cave sites in chapter three, although it is cautioned that the evidence from such sites is of uneven quality and often complicated by multiplicity of use. Chapter four examines the chronological and spatial distribution of Romano-British cave usage; the date range of forty sites in seven regional areas is summarised in tabular form. The final chapter looks at Romano-British caves in relation to the settlement, market economy and rural economy of Roman Britain in general. Further information is contained in `Appendix 1: a list of caves and museums visited during the research programme' and `Appendix 2: the proposed functional attribution of caves used during the Romano-British period' (64--5), while `Appendix 3: unpublished or poorly published Romano-British finds from various caves' (66--79) contains illustrations and descriptions of bronze brooches and other metal artefacts. There is also `An outline gazetteer of Romano-British caves' (81--113).

A study of the megalithic chambered tombs of the area which represent a local development within a widespread Neolithic tradition. As a group the tombs have been relatively neglected by archaeologists and this study incorporates the first modern reassessment of those monuments within the former counties of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. The introduction documents past antiquarian and archaeological investigation of the sites and considers the deficiencies and limitations of these earlier studies. There is an inventory comprising a review of every site within the two counties which has ever been described as a cromlech or chambered tomb. The descriptive account of each site is drawn from the available antiquarian and archaeological records, together with detail obtained by personal survey. Fresh plans and elevations have been prepared for the majority of the monuments at which chamber-like structures remain. A discussion section reviews present knowledge of the Neolithic in South Wales and the archaeological evidence recovered from the tombs of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. Critical examination of the perceived tomb typologies cast doubts on the validity of imposing systems of classification on such diverse and disturbed sites. In particular the alleged dominance of the portal dolmen within the region can no longer be sustained. The conclusion examines how current archaeological research may modify our understanding of the Neolithic period in South Wales.