The study of landscape as social construction implies considering its economic and territorial dimensions, as much as its symbolic ones. A major topic in such kinds of studies is the reconstruction of the ways in which natural and social space was perceived by past societies. We ought to approach the project of building an archaeology of perception. One of the aims of such a research programme would be the evaluation of the effects of natural and artificial landscape features on past human observers. This paper will argue that a possible strategy for studying these dimensions of past landscapes could be based on the systematic analysis of the visual features of prehistoric monuments and in the characterization of the scenic effects and vistas related to them. A detailed analysis of the pattern of location of megalithic monuments and of their visibility and intervisibility allows us to recognize certain regularities which display an intention to take account of monuments by provoking dramatic artificial effects. In such a way, we could approach a phenomenology of prehistoric perception without falling into merely subjective solutions. This study is based on a systematic review of the megalithic monuments from Sierra de Barbanza (north-west Iberia). Its main aims are: (1) the proposal for a theoretical and methodological study of these phenomena, combined with; (2) a case-study to reconstruct those monumental strategies used to shape cultural landscapes in Neolithic Europe, and; (3) the explanation of continuities and changes of these traditions.

Viking Haithabu and its successor, the medieval town of Schleswig, were important international trade centres. Human skeletal finds spanning a period of approximately 400 years represent the bodily relics of the former inhabitants, who witnessed the rise and fall of these trade centres. Analysis of δ13C and δ15N from bone collagen was performed to reconstruct and detect changes in dietary preferences over time. A comparison with the respective isotopic data obtained from a large archaeofaunal sample resulted in a classic ‘mixing muddle’ that could only be deciphered using isotope mass balance mixing models applied on an individual basis. It was found that the overall subsistence economy shifted over time from a focus on fishing to one based predominantly on farming. The move to utilizing a new main source of protein did not impair overall protein supply. In addition, changing living conditions experienced by the inhabitants of Schleswig may have led to a change in infant nursing strategy.

Collyrium stamps, objects used to mark eye medicines, are more commonly found in Gaul than any other Roman province. Since they appear after Roman occupation, it is believed they evince a spread of Roman medicine, but this idea is not well-supported. Through a detailed study of the collyrium stamps it is apparent that the stamps took on other functions beyond marking remedies. They were used as amulets and votive offerings, signified by the fact that most are made of steatite and schist, almost all are green – a colour associated with eye care, and a number are decorated with magical symbols, and also by their context. Ultimately, the manner in which they were used demonstrates an adaptation of Roman material culture to fit the practices and beliefs based on earlier Iron Age traditions in the region.

The association of Tomb II at Vergina, Greece, with Philip II initiated a debate concerning the use of barrel-vaults in Macedonian tombs. The accepted theory at the time held that, since no Macedonian tomb was dated prior to the last quarter of the 4th century BC, Macedonians copied the barrel-vault from the Persians after the military campaign of Alexander the Great in Asia, and therefore Tomb II should be dated to a later period. After an intense dispute, fresh archaeological evidence proved that this theory was false. This article examines the ways we structure knowledge in archaeology from hypothesis to theory that can develop to consensus, and how later consensus exercises a conservative influence on the production of new knowledge. New evidence that contradicts consensual theories is approached with stronger hostility and is confronted with higher demands of confirmation. I suggest that the same amount of scrutiny should be applied to the established theories, which are not unchangeable representations of reality, but conventionally shared property of archaeologists.

In this paper, I discuss the importance of fossil fields and traces of ancient agriculture as archaeological source material. Examples from excavations in the Väderstad area in Östergötland, Sweden are given. In the article, I describe and contrast two different methods of excavation: (A) The digging of long trenches through visible features, a method here used as a means of trial excavation but previously often the only method used in the excavation of ancient fields. This method gives at the best a framework for interpretation. Though it does enable dating, the intensity, extent and content of different phases cannot be established with any degree of certainty. (B) The removal of the ancient plough soil over the full extent of the ancient field, a method here used for final excavations. With this method, enough information was acquired for the derivation of a detailed interpretation. The results will be detailed enough to allow comparison of the excavated fields with other categories of excavated monuments and thus give a new perspective on general archaeological problems. The RAÄ 166 site at Hogstads socken is given as an example of this approach.

The importance of archaeological heritage management in a united Europe has increased in recent years, and the archaeological scene is changing drastically. Causes of this development are, among others, the end of the political division of Europe and the ‘green debate’ with its effects on the way in which the archaeological heritage is being treated. Equally important are the effects of the. Malta Convention and the influence of lawmaking within the EU. This paper discusses recent developments and the need for cooperation at a European level, as well as the various opportunities, tasks and challenges of heritage management in the immediate future.

Thirty-six shipwrecks dated to the fifth to tenth centuries AD have been discovered in the Theodosian (Byzantine) harbour of Istanbul, in the district of Yenikapı. Under the auspices of the ‘Istanbul University Yenikapı Shipwrecks Project’, carried out by Istanbul University's Department of Conservation of Marine Archaeological Objects, our team has undertaken the recording and dismantling of twenty-seven shipwrecks as well as conservation/restoration and reconstruction projects of thirty-one shipwrecks in total. Shipwrecks of various types and sizes have been exposed since 2005; the majority are still under study.

The goal of this study was to identify cognitive processes in a particular technical subsystem – flint blade debitage in the Linear Pottery Culture (Linearbandkeramik or LBK, dating to the second half of the sixth millennium BC). The study was based on new archaeological data from pits with debitage waste on a site at Verlaine, near Liège in Belgian Hesbaye. The project mainly involved refitting and analysis of a concentration of blade debitage waste, which had been almost completely preserved; an exceptional situation for this period. This detailed analysis has produced new data for the early Neolithic on the mental conception and technical procedures involved in debitage of large blocks of flint and suggests that the evidence from Verlaine reflects a system of ‘surplus’ production. The objective of Neolithic knappers at Verlaine was clearly to surpass the needs of the local communities, with a view to long-distance distribution well outside the region.