{"title":"Studies In Funerary Archaeology","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"engaging-with-the-dead-book-jennie-bradbury-9781785706639","title":"Engaging with the Dead","description":"Engaging with the Dead adopts a cross-disciplinary, archaeologically focused, approach to explore a variety of themes linked to the interpretation of mortuary traditions, death and the ways of disposing of the dead. Nineteen papers highlight the current vitality of 'death studies' and the potential of future research and discoveries. Contributors explore changing beliefs and practices over time, considering how modern archaeology, ethnography and historical records can aid our interpretations of the past, as well as considering how past practices may have influenced understandings of death and dying within the modern world. It is clear that there are very significant variations in the quantity of dead that appear in the archaeological record over time, and the contributions to this volume attempt to understand why that might be the case. By bringing together papers from a variety of specialists working within Europe and the Near East, we investigate the pivotal role of death studies in the 21st century, providing a case for the retention of human remains in archaeological collections. Engaging with the Dead aims to set period specific contributions within a broader perspective and integrates papers from bioarchaeologists, theologists, textual specialists, as well as archaeologists. It provides an in-depth introduction to the multitude of ways in which the mortuary record can be interrogated and interpreted and explores the role of archaeology and theology within contemporary social studies. This volume challenges our current understanding and conceptualisation of mortuary practices in the ancient and contemporary world.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49530733134097,"sku":"GOR010096652","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785706632.jpg?v=1751345745"},{"product_id":"death-embodied-book-emmajayne-graham-9781782979432","title":"Death Embodied","description":"In April 1485, a marble sarcophagus was found on the outskirts of Rome. It contained the remains of a young Roman woman so well-preserved that she appeared to have only just died and the sarcophagus was placed on public view, attracting great crowds. Such a find reminds us of the power of the dead body to evoke in the minds of living people, be they contemporary (survivors or mourners) or distanced from the remains by time, a range of emotions and physical responses, ranging from fascination to fear, and from curiosity to disgust. Archaeological interpretations of burial remains can often suggest that the skeletons which we uncover, and therefore usually associate with past funerary practices, were what was actually deposited in graves, rather than articulated corpses. The choices made by past communities or individuals about how to cope with a dead body in all of its dynamic and constituent forms, and whether there was reason to treat it in a manner that singled it out (positively or negatively) as different from other human corpses, provide the stimulus for this volume. The nine papers provide a series of theoretically informed, but not constrained, case studies which focus predominantly on the corporeal body in death. The aims are to take account of the active presence of dynamic material bodies at the heart of funerary events and to explore the questions that might be asked about their treatment; to explore ways of putting fleshed bodies back into our discussions of burials and mortuary treatment, as well as interpreting the meaning of these activities in relation to the bodies of both deceased and survivors; and to combine the insights that body-centred analysis can produce to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the role of the body, living and dead, in past cultures.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49619088408849,"sku":"GOR013757662","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1782979433.jpg?v=1768471038"},{"product_id":"death-as-a-process-book-j-pearce-9781785703232","title":"Death as a Process","description":"This volume draws on large-scale fieldwork from across Europe, methodological advances and conceptual innovations to explore new insights from analysis of the Roman dead, concerning both the rituals which saw them to their tombs and the communities who buried them.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50174908301585,"sku":"GOR013881099","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785703234.jpg?v=1751248617"},{"product_id":"archaeology-of-cremation-book-tim-thompson-9781782978480","title":"The Archaeology of Cremation","description":"Human societies have disposed of their dead in a variety of ways. However, while considerable attention has been paid to bodies that were buried, comparatively little work has been devoted to understanding the nature of cremated remains, despite their visibility through time. It has been argued that this is the result of decades of misunderstanding regarding the potential information that this material holds, combined with properties that make burned bone inherently difficult to analyse. As such, there is a considerable body of knowledge on the concepts and practices of inhumation yet our understanding of cremation ritual and practice is by comparison, woefully inadequate.This timely volume therefore draws together the inventive methodology that has been developed for this material and combines it with a fuller interpretation of the archaeological funerary context. It demonstrates how an innovative methodology, when applied to a challenging material, can produce new and exciting interpretations of archaeological sites and funerary contexts.The reader is introduced to the nature of burned human remains and the destructive effect that fire can have on the body. Subsequent chapters describe important cremation practices and sites from around the world and from the Neolithic period to the modern day. By emphasising the need for a robust methodology combined with a nuanced interpretation, it is possible to begin to appreciate the significance and wide-spread adoption of this practice of dealing with the dead.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50445367836945,"sku":"GOR012975940","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50522497876241,"sku":"GOR013984184","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1782978488.jpg?v=1751026496"},{"product_id":"life-and-death-in-asia-minor-in-hellenistic-roman-and-byzantine-times-book-j-rasmus-brandt-9781785703591","title":"Life and Death in Asia Minor in Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Times","description":"Life and Death in Asia Minor combines contributions in both archaeology and bioarchaeology in Asia Minor in the period ca. 200 BC – AD 1300 for the first time. The archaeology topics are wide-ranging including death and territory, death and landscape perception, death and urban transformations from pagan to Christian topography, changing tomb typologies, funerary costs, family organization, funerary rights, rituals and practices among pagans, Jews, and Christians, inhumation and Early Byzantine cremations and use and reuse of tombs. The bioarchaeology chapters use DNA, isotope and osteological analyses to discuss, both among children and adults, questions such as demography and death rates, pathology and nutrition, body actions, genetics, osteobiography, and mobility patterns and diet. The areas covered in Asia Minor include the sites of Hierapolis, Laodikeia, Aphrodisias, Tlos, Ephesos, Priene, Kyme, Pergamon, Amorion, Gordion, Boğazkale, and Arslantepe.  The theoretical and methodological approaches used make it highly relevant for people working in other geographical areas and time periods. Many of the articles could be used as case studies in teaching at schools and universities. An important objective of the publication has been to see how the different types of results emerging from archaeological and natural science studies respectively could be integrated with each other and pose new questions on ancient societies, which were far more complex than historical and social studies of the past often manage to transmit.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50516942717201,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50516942913809,"sku":"GOR010127360","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51928572395793,"sku":"NGR9781785703591","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785703595.jpg?v=1750832761"},{"product_id":"deviant-burial-in-the-archaeological-record-book-eileen-m-murphy-9781842173381","title":"Deviant Burial in the Archaeological Record","description":"This edited volume contains twelve papers that present evidence  on non-normative burial practices from the Neolithic through to Post-Medieval periods and includes case studies from some ten  countries. It has long been recognised by archaeologists that  certain individuals in a variety of archaeological cultures from  diverse periods and locations have been accorded differential  treatment in burial relative to other members of their society.  These individuals can include criminals, women who died during  childbirth, unbaptised infants, people with disabilities, and  supposed revenants, to name but a few. Such burials can be identifiable in the archaeological record from an examination of  the location and external characteristics of the grave site.  Furthermore, the position of the body in addition to its  association with unusual grave goods can be a further feature of  atypical burials. The motivation behind such non-normative burial  practices is also diverse and can be related to a wide variety of  social and religious beliefs. It is envisaged that the volume  will make a significant contribution towards our understanding of the complexities involved when dealing with non-normative burials  in the archaeological record.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50614891282705,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50614891512081,"sku":"GOR006701220","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51765482782993,"sku":"CIN1842173383G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1842173383.jpg?v=1751378866"},{"product_id":"burial-and-social-change-in-first-millennium-bc-italy-book-elisa-perego-9781785701849","title":"Burial and social change in first millennium BC Italy","description":"In the first millennium BC, communities in Italy underwent crucial transformations which scholars have often subsumed under the heading of ‘state formation’, namely increased social stratification, the centralisation of political power and, in some cases, urbanisation. Most research has tended to approach the phenomenon of state formation and social change in relation to specific territorial dynamics of growth and expansion, changing modes of exploitation of food and other resources over time, and the adoption of selected socio-ritual practices by the ruling élites in order to construct and negotiate authority. In contrast, comparatively little attention has been paid to the question of how these key developments resonated across the broader social transect, and how social groups other than ruling élites both promoted these changes and experienced their effects. The chief aim of this collection of 14 papers is to harness innovative approaches to the exceptionally rich mortuary evidence of first millennium BC Italy, in order to investigate the roles and identities of social actors who either struggled for power and social recognition, or were manipulated and exploited by superior authorities in a phase of tumultuous socio-political change throughout the entire Mediterranean basin. Contributors provide a diverse range of approaches in order to examijne how power operated in society, how it was exercised and resisted, and how this can be studied through mortuary evidence.  Section 1 addresses the construction of identity by focusing mainly on the manipulation of age, ethnic and gender categories in society in regions and sites that reached notable power and splendour in first millennium BC Italy. These include Etruria, Latium, Campania and the rich settlement of Verucchio, in Emilia Romagna.  Section 2 offers a counterpoint to Section 1 by focusing on the concepts of ‘periphery’, marginality and the frailty of élite (or sub-élite) power in phases of dramatic socio-political change. Moreover, this Section approaches the idea of identity construction in ‘fringe’ geographical areas that are sometimes overlooked in Anglophone scholarship, such as the Veneto, Samnium, western Emilia and Trentino–South Tyrol. With its overall emphasis on scholarly multivocality, this volume is one of the first ever to strongly advocate for a study of social exclusion and extreme social marginality in late prehistoric and proto-historic Italy.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50684152447249,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50684153364753,"sku":"GOR014035271","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53223808270609,"sku":"NIN9781785701849","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785701843.jpg?v=1750930275"},{"product_id":"social-archaeology-of-funerary-remains-book-rebecca-gowland-9781842173657","title":"The Social Archaeology of Funerary Remains","description":"Human bones form the most direct link to understanding how  people lived in the past, who they were and where they came from.  The interpretative value of human skeletal remains (within their  burial context) in terms of past social identity and organisation  is awesome, but was, for many years, underexploited by  archaeologists. The nineteen papers in this edited volume are an  attempt to redress this by marrying the cultural aspects of  burial with the anthropology of the deceased.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50817637974289,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50817638039825,"sku":"GOR012232290","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1842173650.jpg?v=1751027557"},{"product_id":"death-and-changing-rituals-book-j-rasmus-brandt-9781789253818","title":"Death and Changing Rituals","description":"Examines key themes about belief and ritual, body and deposition, place, performance and commemoration.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50936995610897,"sku":"GOR014132765","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1789253810.jpg?v=1750962642"},{"product_id":"archaeology-of-the-dead-book-henri-duday-9781842173565","title":"The Archaeology of the Dead","description":"Henri Duday is Director of Research for CNRS at the University  of Bordeaux.  The Archaeology of the Dead  is based on an intensive specialist course in burial archaeology given by Duday in  Rome in November 2004. The primary aim of the project was to  contribute to the development of common procedures for  excavation, data collection and study of Roman cemeteries of the  imperial period. Translated into English by Anna Maria Cipriani  and John Pearce, this book looks at the way in which the analysis  of skeletons can allow us to re-discover the lives of people who  came before us and inform us of their view of death. Duday throughly examines the means at our disposal to allow the dead to  speak, as well as identifying the pitfalls that may deceive us.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52101078679825,"sku":"NGR9781842173565","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781842173565.jpg?v=1757091946"},{"product_id":"and-so-the-tomb-remained-book-nick-bellantoni-9781789255027","title":"And So the Tomb Remained","description":"Stone and brick tombs were repositories for the physical remains of many of Connecticut’s wealthiest and influential families.  The desire was to be interred within burial vaults rather than have their wooden coffins laid into the earth in direct contact with crushing soil burden led many prominent families to construct large above-ground and semi-subterranean tombs, usually burrowed into the sides of hills as places of interment for their dead.      \"And So The Tomb Remains\" tells the stories of the Connecticut State Archaeologist’s investigations into five 18th\/19th century family tombs: the sepulchers of Squire Elisha Pitkin, Center Cemetery, East Hartford; Gershom Bulkeley, Ancient Burying Ground, Colchester; Samuel and Martha Huntington, Norwichtown Cemetery, Norwich; Henry Chauncey, Indian Hill Cemetery, Middletown; and Edwin D. 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