Quarry Blank

Memphis

The capital of Egypt in the Archaic Period and Old Kingdom (c 2575-c. 2130 BC), and thereafter one of the most important cities of the Near East. Located in Lower Egypt, it stood near the key point where the Nile begins to divide its waters at the head of the delta, 15 miles south of Cairo. The o...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Memphis

Filitosa

A fortified promontory settlement in Corsica, France, dating to the Chalcolithic or Early Bronze Age c 2500-2000 BC. There is a tower (torre) - a dry-stone tower fortified by a wall of Cylopean masonry; inside are three buildings. The walls incorporate statue-menhirs, which show warriors armed wi...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Filitosa

Abu Sir

An ancient site between Giza and Saqqara where several 5th Dynasty (c. 2494-2345 BC) kings built their pyramids, a sun temple, a number of mastaba tombs, and Late Period (747-332 BC) shaft tombs. The pyramids were poorly constructed; those of King Userkaf and King Neuserre have been excavated.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Abu Sir

Soil Conductivity Meter

A geophysical instrument used in electromagnetic surveying for the detection of metal, but also for the location of archaeological features such as shallow pits, which have a different conductivity from the surrounding soil. The instrument has a transmitter coil which is fed with a continuous sin...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Soil Conductivity Meter

Biomass

The total weight of the plant and animal life (organic substances and organisms) existing at a given time in a given area.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Biomass

Celadon Ware

A type of Chinese pottery with a pale green glaze - either porcelain or stoneware. It was the earliest tinted Chinese pottery, dating from the Sung Dynasty of 960-1279 AD. The main kilns were in Yao-chou in Shensi province, Lin-ju in Honan province, Li-shui, and Lung-ch'uan in Chekiang province.

archaeologsEnglishAncient Pottery

Celadon Ware

Malvernian Ware

A pottery industry based around the Malvern Hills in west central England. The earliest production dates to the middle Bronze Age, but from the mid 1st millennium BC onwards the industry produced a range of very coarse, handmade, simple jars. They were distributed over considerable distances, par...

archaeologsEnglishAncient Pottery

Malvernian Ware

Sling

A weapon consisting of two thongs attached to a pouch, one of the first missile weapons in warfare. The weapon was whirled and a thong released, hurling a stone from the pouch with considerable velocity. Except in desert areas, such as the Peruvian coast, the sling itself does not survive but sli...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Sling

Material

Substance of which an artifact is made, such as bone, obsidian, jade, etc.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Material

Boatstone

A boat-shaped stone atlatl - a throwing-stick weight - put on the shaft to give great propulsion to a thrown dart. Unlike the bannerstone, it was apparently lashed to the stick shaft.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Boatstone

An

The supreme Sumerian god of life and fertility. An was later replaced by Enlil and Marduk, but was always considered the ultimate source of authority. Identified with the city of Warka, his Akkadian equivalent was Anu.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

An

Relief

Any sculpture in which the figures project from a supporting background or flat surface. Reliefs are classified according to the height of the figures' projection or detachment from the background. In a low relief, or bas-relief (basso-relievo), the design projects only slightly. In a high relief...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Relief

Wick

A twisted fiber which is immersed in wax, grease or oil except for one end which is lit.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Wick

Pontic Ware

Black-figured pottery made in Etruria during the Archaic period, possibly influenced by techniques of Attica, Corinth, and Ionia.

archaeologsEnglishAncient Pottery

Pontic Ware

Hattusas

The ancient name for Boghaz Köy, the capital of the Hittites, who established a powerful empire in Anatolia and northern Syria in the 2nd millennium BC.

archaeologsEnglishAncient Cities, Place Names

Hattusas

Chaining

A problem found in hierarchical clustering methods whereby items in the same group may have no attribute values in common but are still grouped together because other members of the group share attribute values with one or both of them.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Chaining

Paleometallurgy

The study of ancient metallurgy from its beginnings up to industrial age, examining and interpreting the remains of old metal-working equipment and sites. Paleometallurgists look at the areas where metal was extracted, where ore was treated, and the workshops of goldsmiths, silversmiths, bronze- ...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Paleometallurgy

Kleroterion

An ancient machine used to decide who would serve on a jury in courts of law. There are surviving examples, such as the one from the Agora at Athens. Different colored balls would drop when tickets were inserted; the color determined acceptance or rejection.

archaeologsEnglishTools

Kleroterion

Class

A general group of artifacts, like hand axes which can be broken down into specific types like ovates, etc.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Class

Cavetto Rim

A rim, found especially on black-burnished cooking pots, which curves outwards from the vessel to form a concave, quarter-round profile.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Cavetto Rim

Closestool

A stool or chair containing a chamber pot

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Closestool

Alapraia

The site of a group of Copper Age rock-cut tombs near Lisbon, Portugal. It consists of simple chambers entered through smaller vestibles and includes ritual objects such as clay sandals, clay lunulae, so-called pine-cones, and Beaker pottery.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Alapraia

Groitzsch

A series of Upper Palaeolithic sites in eastern Germany, dating to around the end of the Pleistocene. Burins and endscrapers are assigned to the Magdalenian.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Groitzsch

Stopper

A plug for sealing a hole, especially in the neck of a bottle

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Stopper

Flake Scar

A mark or trace on a stone showing the point of attachment of a flake that has been removed; the point where a flake has been chipped off in the making of a tool.

archaeologsEnglishOthers