THIS PAPER ADDRESSES THE QUESTION, who were the people who were buried at the early medievalNorth Sea emporia? Conclusions about the mercantile character of the North Sea emporia are often based on... Show moreTHIS PAPER ADDRESSES THE QUESTION, who were the people who were buried at the early medievalNorth Sea emporia? Conclusions about the mercantile character of the North Sea emporia are often based on portablematerial culture. In recognition of the fact that it is difficult to draw conclusions about the identities of people basedon finds assemblages, two pilot projects have been completed that involved bioarchaeological analyses of cemetery pop-ulations associated with these sites. The first of these, the Investigating the Dead in Early Medieval Domburg project,undertook multi-disciplinary analyses of the (very small) surviving burial population from the mostly destroyed sitesin the Domburg area (Netherlands), combining isotope analysis, radiocarbon dating, biological anthropology, dendro-chronology, and provenancing and study of previous use of coffin wood. The second, the Medieval Migrants of theNorth Sea World project, inventoried available isotopic evidence for human remains from emporia sites in England,the Netherlands and Scandinavia, alongside contextual archaeological information. This paper presents both projects,providing the detailed information from Domburg in its wider, international context, and highlighting the need for acomprehensive research agenda to fill current gaps in our understanding of early medieval emporia populations. Show less
We live in the digital era, and archaeologists are increasingly engaging with 'big' data. A recent project at Oxford sought new answers about the landscapes of early medieval England from the... Show moreWe live in the digital era, and archaeologists are increasingly engaging with 'big' data. A recent project at Oxford sought new answers about the landscapes of early medieval England from the longue durée. Show less
The archaeology and heritage of South Sinai is rich and varied. Most research to date has focused on the High Mountains, specifically the area around the famous St Catherine’s Monastery, placed on... Show moreThe archaeology and heritage of South Sinai is rich and varied. Most research to date has focused on the High Mountains, specifically the area around the famous St Catherine’s Monastery, placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2002 (Saint Catherine Area, World Heritage Site 954). Recently, the Sinai Peninsula Research and the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa projects have focused on the landscape surrounding the St Catherine’s Monastery. These projects highlighted the wealth of archaeological and heritage sites spanning the prehistoric to modern periods, including sites that are still in use by local communities today, as well as the environmental and anthropogenic factors that threaten their survival, such as climate change, tourism, and the impact of infrastructure developments. By contrast, the archaeology and heritage of the coastal areas was never surveyed systematically until the research presented in this paper. Remote sensing work by the Maritime Endangered Archaeology project revealed a coastal landscape that is likewise rich in archaeological and heritage sites. As in the High Mountains, many of the coastal sites are under significant threat, but they do not enjoy the same level of recognition and protection. This paper compares the coastal sites to those in the High Mountains, including their disturbances and threats, and demonstrates the need for a locally specific heritage management and protection strategy for different parts of South Sinai. Show less
