Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (540 page)

Tall slender vertical stone, masonry, or wooden structural or decorative component of a building which physically or visually supports some kind of superstructure such as a roof, balcony, floor, or gable. See also
COLUMN
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

A subterranean room in a
MINOAN
house or palace which contains one or two stone pillars. Although the pillars are clearly structural, the fact that some carried sacred symbols led Arthur Evans to wonder whether they were also cult centres or shrines of some kind.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

A Roman-style underfloor heating system in which the floor is supported on
PILAE
so that hot air can circulate under the roof and into the channels provided in the walls.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Style of Roman glass bowl made by casting molten glass in a mould. Early examples are usually brightly coloured, but after the 1st century
ad
most are a bluish-green colour.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Slab or block of stone forming one of the upright components of a
STONE CIRCLE
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Rectangular or circular earthwork, usually flat-topped, with a shallow surrounding ditch constructed as a habitation and breeding place for rabbits or hares. Within the mound there may be stone tunnels and chambers, the tunnels leading to openings in the side of the mound where nets would be placed to catch any animals flushed out by a ferret. One or more pillow mounds may be found within a
WARREN
. Medieval and post-medieval.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search