Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (558 page)

Belief in two or more gods.

 
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Protuberant knob on a sword hilt, frequently decorated with inlay or semi-precious stones.

 
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A type of Roman colour-coated pottery made in France and exported to various parts of the Roman world in the late 1st century
bc
and 1st century
ad
. The name derived from the colour, Pompeian red, rather than its source.

 
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Substantial Roman town of 65ha on the Bay of Naples in Campania, southwestern Italy, 7km from Naples. Discovered in 1748 and extensively excavated in the following years and down to the present day. The importance of the site lies in the fact that it was buried beneath volcanic ash and pumice in ad 79, perfectly fossilizing a functioning city. Excavations suggest that Pompeii's origins perhaps lie in a small fishing village established in the 10th century
bc
. It came successively under
ETRUSCAN
and Greek influences, and in
c.
424 bc was occupied by the Samians. From 80 bc the town became a Roman colony in which many wealthy Roman citizens built summer residences. An earthquake in ad 62 caused serious damage, while the eruption of Vesuvius on 24 August ad 79 overwhelmed the whole town. Pompeii was a walled town with an amphitheatre, forum, basilica, several public baths, two theatres, and at least nine temples. Hotels, taverns, gambling houses, brothels, and a wide variety of shops and workshops have been uncovered, as well as private houses. Amongst the most emotive finds are the negative impressions of people and animals buried alive during the eruption. Pliny the Younger gives an eye-witness account of the eruption in
Epistulae
VI.16, 20.
[Sum.: M. Brion , 1960,
Pompeii and Herculaneum: the glory and the grief
. London: Paul Elek]

 
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A class of early Bronze Age burial monument found in southern Britain which comprises a circular depression, very well and regularly formed, the spoil from which has been used to make an embanked rim. Within the enclosed central space there is generally a series of pits and/or a shaft, some of which contain burials. The shafts may be up to 30m deep. Pond barrows range in diameter between 5m and 30m and are often found as components of
ROUND BARROW CEMETERIES
.

 
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A type of pottery produced in Etruria during the
ARCHAIC
period that is characterized by black figures on a red ground. The style appears to imitate techniques used in Attica and other parts of Greece.

 
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