Oxbow Books

Oxbow Books is a leading publisher in the fields of archaeology, ancient history and medieval studies, with an international reputation for quality and affordability. Oxbow's archaeology publishing covers all periods from earliest prehistory through classical archaeology, the ancient Near East, Egyptology, the Middle Ages and post-medieval archaeology. They publish a wide variety of books including scholarly monographs, edited collections of papers, and excavation and research reports in related fields such as archaeological practice and theory, archaeozoology, and environmental, landscape and maritime archaeology.

Founded in Oxford in 1983 by academic and museum archaeologist, David Brown, Oxbow Books has evolved and expanded significantly over the years. Now celebrating their 40th anniversary, Oxbow remains dedicated to the quality of their publishing for readers, and the contribution their books bring to the scholarly and professional communities more broadly.

Focus on Fortifications Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 624
ISBN: 9781785701313
Pub Date: 14 Mar 2016
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Fokus Fortifikation Studies
Description:
With a collection of 57 articles in English, French and German, presenting the most recent research on ancient fortifications, this book is the most substantial publication ever to have issued on the topic for many years. While fortifications of the ancient cultures of the middle east and ancient Greek and Roman worlds were noticed by travellers and scholars from the very beginning of research on antiquity from the late 18th century onwards, the architectural, economic, logistical, political, urban and other social aspects of fortifications have been somewhat overlooked and underestimated by scholarship in the 20th century. The book presents the research of a new generation of scholars who have been analysing those aspects of fortifications, many of them with years of experience in field-work on city walls.
TRAC 2015 Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 210
ISBN: 9781785702877
Pub Date: 06 Mar 2016
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: TRAC
Illustrations: b/w
Description:
The 2015 TRAC proceedings feature a selection of 14 papers summing up some of the key sessions presented at the conference held at the University of Leicester in March 2015, which drew over 180 delegates of 17 nationalities from a variety of universities, museums, and research institutions in the UK, Europe, and North America. As this conference marked the 25th anniversary of TRAC, the volume opens with a preface commemorating the last 25 years with an eye toward the future direction of both conference and community. The proceedings begin with Dr Andrew Gardner’s keynote paper on the topic of ‘Debating Roman Imperialism: Critique, Construct, Repeat?
Wild Harvest Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
ISBN: 9781785701238
Pub Date: 29 Feb 2016
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: black/white & colour images
Description:
Plants are fundamental to life; they are used by all human groups and most animals. They provide raw materials, vitamins and essential nutrients and we could not survive without them. Yet access to plant use before the Neolithic can be challenging.
RRP: £32.00
Moving on in Neolithic Studies Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9781785701764
Pub Date: 29 Feb 2016
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Neolithic Studies Group Seminar Papers
Description:
Mobility is a fundamental facet of being human and should be central to archaeology. Yet mobility itself and the role it plays in the production of social life, is rarely considered as a subject in its own right. This is particularly so with discussions of the Neolithic people where mobility is often framed as being somewhere between a sedentary existence and nomadic movements.
The Archaeology of the Lower City and Adjacent Suburbs Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 550
ISBN: 9781782978527
Pub Date: 29 Feb 2016
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Lincoln Archaeology Studies
Illustrations: b/w illustrations
Description:
This volume contains reports on excavations undertaken in the lower walled city at Lincoln, which lies on sloping ground on the northern scarp of the Witham gap, and its adjacent suburbs between 1972 and 1987, and forms a companion volume to LAS volumes 2 and 3 which cover other parts of the historic city. The earliest features encountered were discovered both near to the line of Ermine Street and towards Broadgate. Remains of timber storage buildings were found, probably associated with the Roman legionary occupation in the later 1st century AD.
RRP: £55.00
Creating Material Worlds Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781785701801
Pub Date: 29 Feb 2016
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
Despite a growing literature on identity theory in the last two decades, much of its current use in archaeology is still driven toward locating and dating static categories such as ‘Phoenician’, ‘Christian’ or ‘native’. Previous studies have highlighted the various problems and challenges presented by identity, with the overall effect of deconstructing it to insignificance. As the humanities and social sciences turn to material culture, archaeology provides a unique perspective on the interaction between people and things over the long term.
RRP: £36.00
Decoding Neolithic Atlantic and Mediterranean Island Ritual Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9781785700507
Pub Date: 31 Jan 2016
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: black/white illustrations
Description:
What constitutes an island and the archaeology contained within? Is it the physicality of its boundary (between shoreline and sea)? Does this physical barrier extend further into a watery zone?
RRP: £50.00
Ancient Fortifications Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9781785701399
Pub Date: 22 Jan 2016
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Series: Fokus Fortifikation Studies
Description:
Dedicated to the investigation of fortifications as important and integral elements of ancient built space, the present volume results from the activity of the German based international research network Fokus Fortifikation. Ancient Fortifications in the Eastern Mediterranean and is intended as a guide to research on ancient fortifications and a source of inspiration for new research. Ancient city walls and other fortification structures have long been underestimated.
Down By The River Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 248
ISBN: 9781785701689
Pub Date: 22 Jan 2016
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
East Anglia has long been known for its internationally significant cultural and environmental Palaeolithic archaeology, often overshadowing the potential of its Holocene resource. This volume details the results of 8 years of palaeoenvironmental, archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations focused on the post-glacial history and evolution of the Suffolk river valleys, funded by Historic England and a number of commercial developers. The volume illustrates the largely untapped research potential of the region and provides information concerning the timing, pattern and process of alluvial development, landscape change, and human activity.
RRP: £25.00
Connected by the Sea Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9781785701573
Pub Date: 18 Jan 2016
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
The 10th International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology was held in Roskilde, Denmark in 2003. The theme of the meeting was "Connected by the Sea", and was designed to emphasise the role of the sea, seafaring and watercraft as bridges rather than barriers. Maritime archaeology tends to take place within national borders, with a national focus, yet the very premise of seafaring is the desire to travel beyond the horizon to establish contact with other places and cultures.
Woven Threads Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 264
ISBN: 9781785700583
Pub Date: 31 Dec 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
Woven textiles are produced by nearly all human societies. This volume investigates evidence for patterned textiles (that is, textiles woven with elaborate designs) that were produced by two early Mediterranean civilisations: the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenaeans of mainland Greece, that prospered during the Aegean Bronze Age, c. 3000-1200 BC, contemporary with pharaonic Egypt.
Ways of Being Roman Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781842172926
Pub Date: 31 Dec 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
This book examines the question of identity in the Roman provinces of the western empire. It takes an innovative approach in looking at the wider discourses or ideologies through which an individual sense of self was learnt and expressed. This wide-ranging survey considers ethnic identity, status, gender and age.
The Megalithic Architectures of Europe Cover The Megalithic Architectures of Europe Cover
Format: 
Pages: 248
ISBN: 9781785700149
Pub Date: 31 Dec 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: colour & black /white illustrations
Pages: 248
ISBN: 9781789258097
Pub Date: 05 Jun 2022
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: B/w and colour
Description:
Megalithic monuments are among the most striking remains of the Neolithic period of northern and western Europe and are scattered across landscapes from Pomerania to Portugal. Antiquarians and archaeologists early recognised the family resemblance of the different groups of tombs, attributing them to maritime peoples moving along the western seaways. More recent research sees them rather as the product of established early farming communities in their individual regions.
Seats of Power in Europe during the Hundred Years War Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9781785701030
Pub Date: 31 Dec 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Illustrations: col illus
Description:
The Hundred Years’ War between England and France is a story of an epic conflict between two nations whose destinies became inextricably entwined throughout the later Middle Ages. During that time the balance of architectural power moved from religious to secular domination, the Gothic form continued to grow and the palace-fortress was in the ascendancy. Seats of Power in Europe is a major new study of the residences of the crowned heads and the royal ducal families of the countries involved in the Hundred Years’ War.
On the Fascination of Objects Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781785700064
Pub Date: 31 Dec 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
The Shefton Collection in Newcastle upon Tyne contains a fine array of Greek and Etruscan objects and takes its name from its founder Professor Brian Shefton (1919 – 2012). In spite of the importance of this collection it has not been widely published and remains something of a hidden gem. Brian Shefton was an insightful collector, as well as a distinguished scholar of Greek and Etruscan archaeology, and the 14 papers presented here reflect the broad scope of the collection; ranging across pottery, jewellery, terracottas and metalwork.
RRP: £60.00
Lives in Land – Mucking Excavations Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 640
ISBN: 9781785701481
Pub Date: 31 Dec 2015
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Description:
The excavations led by Margaret and Tom Jones on the Thames gravel terraces at Mucking, Essex, undertaken between 1965 and 1978 are legendary. The largest area excavation ever undertaken in the British Isles, involving around 5000 participants, recorded around 44,000 archaeological features dating from the Beaker to Anglo-Saxon periods and recovered something in the region of 1.7 million finds of Mesolithic to post-medieval date.
RRP: £40.00