Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (357 page)

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Originally one of the Elamite tribes living in the Zagros mountainous district east of Babylon. In the early 2nd millennia
bc
they infiltrated part of Babylonia, founding a dynasty based on Babylon after the
HITTITE
raid of 1595 bc. This empire lasted for nearly 500 years but has been studied very little. During that time Kassites became integrated with the Babylonian population, their kings taking on Semitic names. Some Kassite deities were introduced into the Babylonian pantheon, and it is probable that their sacred animal, the horse, was introduced into Mesopotamia. Horse-breeding and riding were established skills among the Kassites. The Kassite rule ended in
c.
1157 bc with the conquest of Babylonia by
ASSYRIA
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Regional variant of the
ANASAZI TRADITION
which flourished in northwest Arizona. Mainly recognized through distinctive ceramics and architectural styles.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Central stronghold of a medieval castle.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Keiller , Alexander
(1890–1955)
[Bi].

British archaeologist best known for his excavations at Windmill and Avebury and his pioneer flights recording the archaeology of Wessex from the air. Born in Dundee, Scotland, he was a member of the wealthy Keiller family, well known amongst other things for their marmalade and preserves. Educated at Eton, at the age of nine he became sole heir to the company and his family's fortune, and devoted the rest of his life to spending it. He became interested in aircraft and went flying intermittently from 1909 onwards, becoming a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service in WW1. After meeting and becoming firm friends with O. G. S. Crawford , the two undertook what have become historic flights across the Wessex landscape recording archaeological sites using a captured German Service Type F.KI camera purchased from the Disposals Board and a De Havilland Company DH9 aeroplane. The work was published in 1924 as
Wessex from the air
(Oxford: OUP).
One of the sites they photographed was Windmill Hill in Wiltshire, and in 1925, after it was threatened by the construction of radio masts, Keiller bought it and began excavating it. He subsequently bought further land in the area, including much of Avebury and the adjoining West Kennet Avenue. Though much of the work was done in conjunction with the Office of Works, the whole cost of undertaking it was met by Keiller . To provide a base for operations he established the Morvan Institute of Archaeological Research (named after the Keiller estate in Aberdeenshire) in a small building near Avebury Manor which is now the site museum. The excavations took place between 1925 and 1939, with restoration works thereafter to open the site for public viewing. In 1943 he transferred the whole Avebury Estate to the National Trust.
Keiller was not only interested in archaeology, however. Before WW1 he owned a car manufacturing company which in 1919 went bankrupt, but he was passionately interested in motorcars and owned a string of rather fast ones. He was an expert skier and was president of the British Ski Jumping Club in 1932. During his life he had four wives, a string of mistresses, but no heirs. Keiller was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1927 and of the Geological Society in 1928.
[Bio.: L. J. Murray , 1999,
A zest for life. The story of Alexander Keiller
. Wootton Bassett: Morven Books]

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Keith , Sir Arthur
(1866–1955)
[Bi].

British anatomist and anthropologist, best known in archaeology for his numerous reports on human skeletons mainly from excavations of prehistoric sites. Born in Aberdeen, he studied medicine at Aberdeen University, where he took first-class honours in 1888. He then studied at Leipzig and University College, London. In 1894 he was admitted MD of the University of Aberdeen. In the same year he was appointed Senior Demonstrator of Anatomy at the London Hospital Medical College, a post he held for twelve years. In 1908 he was appointed Conservator and Arnott Demonstrator at the Royal College of Surgeons, and in 1917 he became Fullerton Professor of Physiology at the Royal Institution. Throughout, his main interest lay in applying his knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pathology to anthropological material. His work in this field was so conspicuous that he was selected President of the Anthropological Institute in 1912. In 1913 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and in 1921 his services to science were recognized with a knighthood.
[Obit.:
The Times
, 8 January 1955]