Medieval Archaeology: An Encyclopedia / Археология
Средних веков. Энциклопедия
Год выпуска: 2001 Автор: (под редакцией)
Crabtree P. J. Жанр: Археология / История
Средних веков / Справочное
руководство Издательство: Garland
Publishing ISBN: 0-8153-1286-5 Язык: Английский Формат:
PDF Качество: OCR без ошибок Количество
страниц: 651 Этот справочник
охватывает археологию средневековой
Европы во всей её полноте - и в
географическом плане - от Ирландии до
России и от скандинавии до Италии, и в
историческом - от падения Западной
Римской империи в V в. до конца Высокого
Средневековья в 1500 г. В составе книги
более 150 статей интернационального
коллектива ведущих археологов,
описывающих наиболее важные открытия
в этой области.
CONTENTS
PREFACE ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi
CONTRIBUTORS xiii
SITE ENTRIES BY COUNTRY xxi
SUBJECT GUIDE xxiv
ENTRIES A TO Z 1
INDEX 541
PREFACE
Medieval archaeology is one of the fastest-growing fields in archaeology today. Road construction and urban redevelopment have led to the discovery of new rural sites and to major programs of urban excavation in cities such as Winchester, York, Trondheim, and Lübeck. The rich medieval archaeological database has been used to address a range of important theoretical concerns in contemporary archaeology. Carefully collected faunal and floral data have been used to address problems of human economy and the natural environment in the Middle Ages. Data from medieval excavations, especially when combined with detailed documentary research, are especially well suited to addressing some of the important issues in post-processual archaeological theory, including questions of gender, agency, and power. In addition, the Medieval period in Europe witnesses the origin and growth of cities, the development of long-distance trade and craft specialization, and the formation of political states. These processes of cultural and economic change have been of interest to archaeologists since the days of V.Gordon Childe. As a result, medieval archaeology is playing an increasingly important role in archaeological thinking throughout the world.
While medieval archaeology plays an increasingly important role in contemporary archaeological debate, the discipline itself remains fragmented. Although some medieval archaeologists, especially in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, are housed in standalone departments of archaeology or programs in medieval archaeology, many others find themselves in departments of history, anthropology, and classics. Medieval archaeologists also work in museums, and still others are part of ongoing archaeological units or research programs. In addition, medieval archaeologists are trained in a variety of ways. Many archaeologists who work in the Dark Ages (migration period) are trained as prehistorians, while archaeologists who specialize in the High Middle Ages are often trained as art historians or historians. One of the goals of this encyclopedia is to bring together in one volume the research of a diverse range of scholars who work on a wide variety of archaeological problems.
In order to accomplish this goal, medieval archaeology has been defined as broadly as possible. The Middle Ages begin with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century, and end with the dawn of the Modern Era, ca. A.D. 1500. Several entries also address the Iron Age background to medieval society and the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West. The geographical range is equally broad. This encyclopedia focuses primarily on the Latin west, stretching from Poland to Iceland and from southern Italy to northern Scandinavia. An entry on the important medieval excavations in Novgorod, Russia, has also been included. However, the encyclopedia excludes the archaeology of the Byzantine world and the Balkans.
This volume is designed to provide the interested reader with a guide to contemporary research in medieval archaeology. It includes country and regional surveys for many areas of Europe, entries that focus on major archaeological sites and research programs, and entries that deal with specific technologies and archaeological concepts. For example, the encyclopedia includes entries on dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating as well as entries on medieval cloth-making and jewelry. The entries are followed by detailed bibliographies that include suggestions for further readings. The encyclopedia includes a number of entries on sites and research programs in east-central Europe. Archaeological research by Czech, Slovak, Polish, and Hungarian archaeologists has not been widely available in English until now. These entries should be of especial interest to both archaeological students and established scholars.
In consulting the entries in this encyclopedia, it is important to remember that archaeology is an ongoing process of excavation and analysis. New discoveries are made each year, and new techniques of analysis can be applied to materials that were excavated many years ago. The World Wide Web is an important source for information about new discoveries in medieval archaeology.
Pam J.Crabtree
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The preparation of an encyclopedia of medieval archaeology is a daunting task, especially for an American archaeologist. All of my colleagues conduct their archaeological research in Europe, and many also live and work in Europe. The Internet and the fax machine made this project possible. I would like to begin by thanking all my colleagues who so graciously agreed to contribute to this encyclopedia. Without their generosity and patience, this encyclopedia would never have been completed. I am especially grateful to my colleagues for sharing the details of their ongoing research and for providing the wonderful photographs and drawings that illustrate this encyclopedia.
My colleagues and students at New York University also made this project possible. I am particularly grateful to the students in my medieval archaeology courses in 1994, 1997, and 2000 who provided support and encouragement throughout the long development of this project. My current and past M.A. and Ph.D. students contributed to this project, and I would like to thank all of them. Special thanks go to Dr. Julie Zimmermann Holt, who translated several of the German entries, and to Maura Smale and Thalia Gray, who contributed entries. I am also grateful for the support of my friends and colleagues at the Anthropology Department at New York University.
I would like to thank Richard Steins of Garland Publishing for helping me see this project to completion. I would also like to thank my family—Doug, Mike, Tom, and Robby—for their support, help, and patience. And last, I will be forever grateful to Professor Bernard Wailes, my Ph.D. advisor at the University of Pennsylvania, who introduced me to medieval archaeology and who has supported me throughout my academic career.
