Crusader Archaeology

Crusader Archaeology examines what life was like for European settlers in the Latin East and how they were influenced by their new-found neighbours. Incorporating recent excavation results and the latest research, this new edition updates the only detailed study of the material culture of the Frankish settlers in Israel, Cyprus, Syria and Jordan. Adrian Boas provides comprehensive coverage of the key topics connected to crusader archaeology, including an examination of urban and rural settlements, agriculture, industry, the military, the church, public and private architecture, arts and crafts, leisure pursuits, death and burial and building techniques. There are also entirely new chapters on domestic architecture and disease, injury and medical treatment. Drawing on the extensive experience of an established writer in the field, Crusader Archaeology effectively combines a broad body of material to introduce readers to the archaeological research of the region. This well-illustrated volume is a crucial survey for all those interested in the Middle Ages, and in particular the Crusades.

Crusader Archaeology draws together recent excavated material culture in Israel, Cyprus, Syria and Jordan to examine what life was like for the Crusaders in their territory, and how they were influenced by their new-found neighbours. Chapters discuss: * urban and rural settlements * surveying agriculture * industry * the military * the church * public and private architecture * arts and crafts * leisure pusuits * death and burial * building techniques. This highly illustrated volume creates a wonderful portrait of the period, which will make fascinating reading for all those interested in the Middle Ages, and in particular the Crusaders.

Crusader Archaeology examines what life was like for European settlers in the Latin East and how they were influenced by their new-found neighbours. Incorporating recent excavation results and the latest research, this new edition updates the only detailed study of the material culture of the Frankish settlers in Israel, Cyprus, Syria and Jordan. Adrian Boas provides comprehensive coverage of the key topics connected to crusader archaeology, including an examination of urban and rural settlements, agriculture, industry, the military, the church, public and private architecture, arts and crafts, leisure pursuits, death and burial and building techniques. There are also entirely new chapters on domestic architecture and disease, injury and medical treatment. Drawing on the extensive experience of an established writer in the field, Crusader Archaeology effectively combines a broad body of material to introduce readers to the archaeological research of the region. This well-illustrated volume is a crucial survey for all those interested in the Middle Ages, and in particular the Crusades.

Between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, the social and cultural worlds of medieval Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean were transformed by the religious impetus of the crusades. Today we bear witness to these transformations in the material and environmental record revealed by new archaeological excavations and reappraisals of museum collections. This volume highlights new archaeological knowledge being developed by scholars working in the fields of history, archaeology, numismatics, and architecture to demonstrate its potential to change and augment our understanding of the crusades. The 16 chapters in this volume deploy a contemporary scientific approach to archaeology of the crusades to give an up-to-date account into the diverse range of research in this area. They explore five key themes: the implications of scientific methods, new excavations and surveys, architectural analyses, sigillography, and the application of social interpretations. Together these chapters provide a new way of approaching the study of the crusades, and demonstrate the value of taking a holistic view that utilises the full diverse range of evidence available to us.

The capture of Jerusalem by the First Crusade in 1099 signalled the beginning of an armed struggle in Palestine and throughout the Eastern Mediterranean which lasted until the 15th century. It was a war dominated by the building, securing and besieging of castles rather than by pitched battles. Kristian Molin covers the military history of the crusades on a wider geographical scale than previous historians, taking in Armenia, Cyprus and Greece as well as the Holy Land. He also shows the role of castles as administrative, judicial and social centres in times of peace as well as in war. "Unknown Crusader Castles" provides a fresh perspective on the history of the crusades.

Written to celebrate the prestigious career of Professor Denys Pringle, this collection of articles produced by many of the leading archaeologists and historians in the field of crusades studies offers a compilation of pioneering scholarship on recent studies on the Latin East. The geographical breadth of topics discussed in each chapter reflects both Pringle’s international collaborations and research interests, and the wide development of scholarly interest in the subject. With a concentration on the areas corresponding to the crusader states during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the articles also offer research into the neighbouring areas of Cyprus, Anatolia, Greece and the West, and the legacy of the crusader period there, with results from recent archaeological fieldwork in the Middle East.

Publisher Description

This collection is published in the Crusades Subsidia series in honour of Professor Adrian J. Boas, an archaeologist, historian and scholar who has contributed widely and significantly to the study and teaching of the Middle Ages. Professor Boas’ research encompasses the archaeology of the Latin East, military orders with particular emphasis on the Teutonic Order, material culture, architecture and medieval art, historiography, and not least, the Crusades and the Latin East. Exploring Outremer Volume II is a collection of 15 original essays by the leading scholars in the field on the history and archaeology of the Latin East. It covers aspects dealing with the history, archaeology, architecture and function of several castles and fortifications in the Latin Kingdom, and presents new studies on the material, including pottery, numismatics and many other finds. In addition, it includes a chapter dealing with landscape archaeology. This book will appeal to researchers and students alike interested in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Duchies of Edessa and Antioch, as well as the Crusades and Crusading Orders.