Oxford University School of Archaeology Monographs

Following his research on the hillfort Barry Cunliffe has led a massive campaign to explore the surroundings of the site, and this has resulted in a further series of volumes, the first set on the Prehistoric evidence and the second set on the Roman Period evidence. This volume is the Introduction and overview to the Prehistoric set; to an extent it summarises the findings reported from the seven separate sites that make up Vol 2.

A detailed study of the Iron Age coinage from the area of the Atrebates and Regni has been made. Coin deposition has been studied and distinctions made between 'hoards' from religious and non-religious sites. The first coins to circulate in the area, imported Gallo- Belgic gold, have been examined. The traditional Gallic war date for Gallo-Belgic E is questioned, and an earlier, longer chronology is proposed. During the currency of Gallo-Belgic C the first indigenous local staters, British A2 and C, appeared. Later, around the time of the Gallic War, these were succeeded by British Q. In this period the first local silver types were produced alongside a short-lived bronze issue. These were usually struck on broad thin flans with designs based on Gaulish coins. British Q was succeeded by several smaller localised stater issues. The contemporary quarter staters and silver were generally struck on thick flans with more insular designs. A picture of fragmented minting is apparent. The staters inscribed COMMIOS and several related denominations develop from these types. Close examination of the numismatic evidence suggests that these were produced by a Commios who was the 'son' of the Commius of Caesar. The minting of these and later inscribed coins appears to have been centralised. The succeeding coins of Tincommius bear Roman inspired designs and the metallurgy of the silver units suggests that they were produced from recycled Roman denarii. Numismatic evidence now suggests two mints, one in the Chichester-Selsey area, controlled by Tincommius, and another, at Calleva, held by Eppillus. A rare series of coins from Kent record these two leaders acting together with a further partner, Verica. Coins in Verica's name later appeared from both the southern and Calleva mints, although Calleva was eventually lost to a north Thames leader, Epaticcus.

This volume builds upon the copious and varied research on villa mosaics in Roman Britain and evaluates it within the context of elite social life in the 4th century AD. It argues that the mosaics were an integral part of the rich lifestyle of the elite in this period and played an important role in defining their status. Yet these symbols of power were apparently no longer valued to the same degree by the end of the 4th century. In a priod of increasing social and economic instability, the mosaics were one element in an elite lifestyle which was ultimately to prove socially diversive. In this wide-ranging study, Scott considers the significance and long-term impact of the artistic choices made by villa owners.

Glyptics had a long history in Cyprus; from at least the fourteenth century BC, the island produced seals in significant quantities in a variety of shapes and styles. The cylinders from the Late Bronze Age are well documented, but the stamp-seals which came after them, and preceded the gem industry of classical times, have previously been neglected. This study examines these in order to discover what they reveal about society at the end of the Late Bronze Age when they first appear and the subsequent Iron Age when they proliferated and moved into common use within the island. Reyes discusses the different designs and styles of stamp-seals and their development, local tradition and foreign influence, including a detailed discussion of evidence for Phoenician influence. Also examined are materials and manufacture and the different uses they were put to - inscriptions, sealings, votive practices and personal adornment. There are several appendices and a glossary of terms.

The settlements made by Greeks in archaic Italy have largely been seen in terms of colonies duplicated from, and heavily dependant on, mainland Greece. The scarcity of the literary sources for this period makes the archaeological record crucial. Franco De Angelis makes use of both the archaeological and what literary evidence there is in reconstructing a history of Megara Hyblaia and Selinous, two settlements established by the Greeks during the late eighth and mid-seventh century BC. He looks at the existing environment and political setting the Greeks found when they arrived, the development of the settlements, including the extent of their territory and influence; society and politics, and environment and economy. Throughout, an emphasis is placed on the individual nature of the settlements and their development, based on the particular circumstances that existed in Sicily, rather than seeing them as copies of city-states on mainland Greece

Report on the excavation of an Early Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Worthy Park, Kingsworthy in Hampshire. The excavations uncovered ninety-four inhumation graves and forty-six cremations, but many others remained inaccessible to the excavators and the cemetery may have contained twice this number of burials in total. The cemetery was excavated in 1961--62 by Sonia Chadwick Hawkes, but her report remained unpublished at the time of her death in 1999. The editors have drawn together all the chapters and drawings left substantially complete by Mrs Hawkes, including an introduction to the site, a detailed catalogue of burials, a report on the human bone, a gazetteer of fifth- to seventh-century Anglo-Saxon sites in Hampshire, and a small number of specialist reports covering the inhumations and cremations; structural features associated with the graves; textile remains; analysis of copper alloy and silver objects from the inhumations; and mineral preserved organic material associated with metalwork. Includes French and German summaries.