Mermaids

Women with fish tails are among the oldest and still most popular of mythological creatures, possessing a powerful allure and compelling ambiguity. They dwell right in the uncanniest valley of the sea: so similar to humans, yet profoundly other. Mermaids: Art, Symbolism and Mythology presents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary and beautifully illustrated study of mermaids and their influence on Western culture. The roots of mermaid mythology and its metamorphosis through the centuries are discussed with examples from visual art, literature, music and architecture—from 600 BCE right up to the present day. Our story starts in Mesopotamia, source of the earliest preserved illustrations of half-human, half-fish creatures. The myths and legends of the Mesopotamians were incorporated and adopted by ancient Greek, Etruscan and Roman cultures. Then, during the early medieval period, ancient mythological creatures such as mermaids were confused, transformed and reinterpreted by Christian tradition to begin a new strand in mermaid lore. Along the way, all manner of stunning—and sometimes bizarre or unsettling—depictions of mermaids emerged. Written in an accessible and entertaining style, this book challenges conventional views of mermaid mythology, discusses mermaids in the light of evolutionary theory and aims to inspire future studies of these most curious of imaginary creatures.

A multi-proxy Holocene palaeoenvironmental record of climate change and prehistoric human activity from Lough Cullin, southeast Ireland

A multiproxy (pollen, microcharcoal, loss-on-ignition, magnetic susceptibility and geochemistry) sequence from Lough Cullin, southeast Ireland, supported by a high-resolution radiocarbon chronology, modelled using Bayesian approaches, provides a record of environmental change for much of the Holocene. Following the establishment of mixed deciduous woodland, climatic deterioration was likely responsible for pronounced vegetation change and erosion, 7615–6500 cal. BC to 6245–5575 cal. BC, evidence for the ‘8.2 Kyr’ BP climate event. The so-called ‘elm decline’ is dated to 4220–3980 cal. BC and whilst there are possible indications of an anthropogenic cause, clear evidence of woodland clearance with cereal pollen is recorded at 3900–3700 cal. BC, 3790–3580 cal. BC and 3760–3650 cal. BC, during a period of clearance and farming of 320–450 years duration. A reduction in farming/settlement and woodland regeneration during the Middle Neolithic parallels the archaeological record, with low levels of activity during the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic after 2960–2525 cal. BC, prior to increases during the Bronze Age then woodland clearance and agriculture between 1500–1410 and 1275–1000 cal. BC, corresponding with the archaeological evidence. A subsequent ‘step-wise’ reduction in human activity follows, from the latter date to 815–685 cal. BC, and a brief but pronounced cessation at 690–535 cal. BC. Renewed woodland clearance and agriculture commenced until 415–250 cal. BC. From the latter date until cal. AD 390–540, the Late Iron Age/Early Medieval period, a phase of woodland recovery is attested, followed by renewed landscape disturbance and arable agriculture in particular, continuing to the close of the record at cal. AD 780–1035.

Finger Ring Amulets with the Image of the Holy Rider of the 7th Century from the Crimea

Introduction. The group of jewelry with Christian symbols that existed in the Crimea in the early Middle Ages includes cast bronze rings, on a flat shield of which the image of a holy rider with a cross in his hands is engraved. The rings were found in the South-West Crimea in the burial grounds near the village of Luchistoe, Skalistoe and EskiKermen, as well as in Kerch at the early medieval necropolis of the Bosporus, in the burials of the 7th century. Methods. For the attribution of published products, a circle of analogies is identified, findings from the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire are analyzed. The iconography of the holy rider is compared on various subjects. In the Crimea, three of the published finger rings were found in in situ burials, as part of a closed complex, together with tools with a narrow dating, which makes it possible to clarify the time of existence of this type of products in the region and to determine the method of wearing it. Analysis. The plot depicted on the finger rings has an undeniable resemblance to the scene of the solemn entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, described in all four Gospels and well known from the numerous pictorial monuments of the early medieval period. The iconography of that scene originated in the era of Constantine the Great, under the influence of imperial art and in many ways corresponded to the Triumphal entry of the emperor to Rome or any large city of the empire. The image of Christ the rider on the Crimean finger rings belongs to the iconographic type, which became widespread in the 6th–7th centuries, mainly in Egypt, the Syro-Palestinian region and Asia Minor. The quality of execution of the published rings from the Crimea allows us to speak about their local production. Byzantine products that came to the peninsula thanks to stable trade relations with the empire or were brought by pilgrims from holy places served as models for the Crimean artisans. In the minds of ancient Christians, the image of Christ the rider had a powerful protective power. Placed on the shield of the ring, it endowed the decoration with the properties of an amulet, protecting the person wearing it from all troubles. The rings originating from Crimea belonged to a teenage girl and young women who wore them on their hands – on the right index or ring finger, or in special belt bags, in which, in addition to utilitarian items, various amulets were also put. Results. The study of rings makes it possible not only to expand knowledge about jewelry that existed in the early medieval times, but also to replenish our information about the daily life of the Christian population of the early medieval Crimea.

Grouping Ceramic Variability with pXRF for Pottery Trade and Trends in Early Medieval Southern Tuscany. Preliminary Results from the Vetricella Case Study (Grosseto, Italy)

The characterization of archaeological ceramics according to their chemical composition provides essential information about the production and distribution of specific pottery wares. If a correlation between compositional patterns and local production centers is assumed, pottery manufacturing and trade and, more generally, economic, political, as well as cultural relations between communities and regions can be investigated. In the present paper, the combined application of portable XRF and statistical analysis to the investigation of a large repertory of ceramic fragments allowed us to group the assemblage by identifying geochemical clusters. The results from the chemical and statistical analysis were then compared with reference ceramic samples from the same area, as well as with macroscopic and petrographic observations to confirm, coalesce or sub-divide putative sub-divisions. The study of 141 samples from different sites located within a wide area spanning across the Colline Metallifere and the coast (Monterotondo Marittimo, Roccastrada, Donoratico, and Vetricella) provided new clues for a new interpretive archaeological framework that suggests that there was a well-defined organization of pottery manufacturing and circulation across southern Tuscany during the early medieval period.

Etnesjøen – en førromersk landsby på Vestlandet

In the summer months of 2013, the University Museum of Bergen conducted an archeological excavation of a large prehistoric settlement area at Etnesjøen in Etne parish, Western Norway. By use of mechanized top soil stripping numerous buildings, inhumation burials, cooking pits and kilns were uncovered. The site dates from the Late Bronze Age to Early Medieval Period. The focus of the article is the discovery of a Pre-Roman Iron Age village, formed of up to six farms chronologically spanning up to five generations of continuous occupation. At the time of the excavation, this was only the second pre-historic village of its kind found in Norway, indicating a significant and important discovery.

Shifting perspectives on 1st-millennia Scotland

Underlying much research on Iron Age Scotland is a pervasive regionalism. This has led to the underplaying of cultural traits that are evident across the country. The examination of south-west Scotland, a region that does not have a distinctive later prehistoric character and which is often viewed as somewhat peripheral to understanding Iron Age Scotland, however, reveals underlying patterns of settlement and culture that are embedded across Scotland but markedly different to Iron Age societies to the south. Moreover, cultural traits apparent across Scotland but absent south of the border continued into the early medieval period, suggesting significant cultural divergences between 400 BC and AD 650.

What's Wat's Dyke? Wrexham Comic Heritage Trail

We hope this comic heritage trail for Wrexham helps introduce you to Britain's third-longest ancient monument.Wat's Dyke was built in the early medieval period (most likely between the late 7th and early 9th centuries AD). Today, it is a fragmentary bank and ditch surviving in varied states of preservation. When newly built, it was most likely designed as a continuous construction by the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia to dominate and control its western frontier with Welsh rivals. It runs over c. 64km from Basingwerk (Flintshire) to Maesbury (Shropshire).The map shows you where you can visit the monument today, and the comic panels tell the story of Wat's Dyke at each location. And if you'd like to know even more about Wat's dyke and other similar monuments, there are suggestions for further reading as well as online links to recent research at the end of the booklet.

Brāhmaṇ a Land Donees on Bengal’s Eastern Frontier, 600–1300

The role of Brāhmaṇa land-grantees in extending cultivation during the early medieval period has been noted by several historians. This study examines the evidence preserved in copper plates from sites in Bengal’s eastern ‘frontier’ formed by the present-day districts of Sylhet, Comilla, Neokhali and Chittagong in Bangladesh, issued between 600 and 1300 AD. The study aims at extracting from the evidence of the copper plates whatever can be gained about the composition of the Brāhmaṇa donees, their personal names, areas of origin and possible connexions with other castes that became subsequently prominent in Bengal, chiefly Kāyasthas. The mechanism of issue of land-grants, possible intermediaries and nature of grantees’ rights, so far as these can be legitimately inferred from evidence, are also discussed.

Armenia

A study of medieval Armenian painting, church architecture, bas-relief sculpture, and other media demonstrates close attention to, and reception of, the art and culture of the Byzantine Empire. Historic Armenia (including the present-day Armenian Republic and territories in eastern Anatolia, southern Georgia, northwest Iran, and Azerbaijan) and the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia (1199–1375, southwestern Anatolia) had close relations with neighboring powers throughout the medieval era, and scholars, most prominently Sirarpie Der Nersessian, have long studied the presence of Byzantine ideas in Armenian art and architecture. The early medieval period, the “Age of the Kingdoms” (ninth to eleventh centuries), and twelfth- to fourteenth-century Cilicia demonstrate strong evidence for contact and familiarity with Byzantine culture. An examination of select cases demonstrates the diverse and dynamic nature of such appropriations, reflecting the complex and changing nature of political, social, religious, and cultural relations between empire and locality.