Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Archaeology and Heritage Studies

Faculty/School

Faculty of Arts

First Advisor

Gerald Schaus

Advisor Role

Thesis Supervisor

Abstract

The construction of shelter is one of the basic activities that allows humans to survive. It is, moreover, one of the principal means by which we identify the occupation of a place by peoples who came before us. In the world of the ancient Mediterranean, methods and techniques flowed among populations as readily as any other commodity, and their manifestations bear witness to cultural contact as much as any transported religious, commercial, or military object. Moreover, since the construction of shelter is an activity common to all, functional techniques were a universally sharable knowledge. A collection and comparison of the material remains of these techniques provides clues about the contact between populations, and might contribute support to other evidence for contact. Questions of the cultural significance of the subject material are also posed and, as much as possible with the material gathered, answered. This study presents evidence for technique sharing among ancient peoples in the form of surviving metal structural fixtures of similar types from different geographic regions and timeframes in order to demonstrate that finding commonalities among these geographically and temporally disparate objects is potentially profitable to the understanding of inter-cultural ties across the Mediterranean basin. Owing to the slow rate of change in the subject material over time, and the wide geographic area involved, the scope of the project is relatively large; it includes remains from throughout the Mediterranean sphere and from the Greek Classical through Early Byzantine periods.

Convocation Year

2011

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