Absolute chronology. The assigning of calendar dates, fixed points in time. The opposite of relative chronology.
Acropolis. “High city,” in Greek; a fortified hilltop in an ancient Greek city.
Acroterion. A stone or terracotta decoration or statue placed on a small platform on top of the pediment, in Greek, Etruscan, and Roman architecture; pl. acroteria. In Etruscan architecture, could also be placed along the roof pole and atop the descending line of the pediment.
Agora. The civic center of a Greek city, containing civic, commercial, and religious buildings; pl. agoras.
Amphitheater. In Roman architecture, a round or oval open-air building used for spectacles.
Amphora. In Greek and Roman ceramics, a tall jar with two vertical handles and a narrow neck; pl. amphoras, amphorae. Typically used to transport wine and olive oil.
Anatolia. The western Asian peninsula bordered by the Black Sea, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean, with the eastern border variously defined; today the western part of Turkey. Also called Asia Minor, especially when referring to the Greek and Roman periods.
Arch. In architecture, a curved form that spans an opening. In antiquity, two technically different types of arches are: corbelled (on each side of the space to be covered, each successive course of horizontally-laid stones projects further inward until the two sides meet at the top) and true (wedge-shaped stones fit against each other to make a smooth curve). The true arch was a hallmark of Roman architecture.
Archaeological survey. Recording remains visible on the surface, without recourse to excavation. Useful for examining rural areas, where small sites might not justify the expense of excavation.
Aryballos. In ancient Greek ceramics, a small vase typically used for perfumed oil; pl. aryballoi.
Asia Minor. The western Asian peninsula bordered by the Black Sea, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean, with the eastern border variously defined; today the western part of Turkey. See Anatolia.
Ashlar masonry. Stonework in wall construction that consists of rectangular blocks with square edges and smooth faces.
Atrium. In Roman domestic architecture, a centrally-placed room with an opening to the sky and a basin below; pl. atria. The tetrastyle atrium has four columns around the basin; the Tuscan atrium has none. In early Christian architecture, the portico-lined forecourt of a church.
Attic. The upper storey, above the entablature in a classical façade. In this book, used notably for triumphal arches: the highest storey, above the arched section below.
Attica. The city-state of Athens, its urban and rural territory together. Attic: (adj.) pertaining to Attica.
Attribute. In pictorial imagery, a feature that serves to identify a person, being, or building, such as items of clothing, objects held, or distinctive architectural forms (a gate, or towers, e.g.).
Basilica. A rectangular building with a taller central area lit by a clerestory. During the Roman Republic and Empire, typically used for civic purposes; from the fourth century on, a Christian church.
Black-figure. A technique of pottery decoration, best known from Athens in the Archaic and Classical periods; the images are black, while the background is left in the natural orange-red color of the clay of Athens. The opposite of red-figure.
Bouleuterion. In a Greek city, the building where the council (Gk. boule) met.
Carbon 14 dating. A method of assigning absolute dates to organic materials (plants, seeds, etc.) based on the predictably changing ratio between stable carbon 12 and carbon 14, a radioactive isotope. Carbon 14 begins to disintegrate when a plant dies; after ca. 5,730 years (its “half-life”), only half the original quantity remains.
Cardo. The main north-south street in a Roman city; crosses the decumanus at a right angle.
Caryatid. A column-like architectural support carved in the form of a clothed woman.
Casemate wall. A fortification wall whose foundations consist of stone-walled compartments filled not with stones but with earth; a design used in Bronze Age Anatolia.
Cataract. In Egypt and Sudan, a place where the Nile River is obstructed by boulders, rocks, and islets, blocking or impeded navigation. The First Cataract, located at Aswan, marked the southern boundary of ancient Egypt. The five additional major cataracts are located further south, in modern Sudan.
Cella. The main room of a Greek or Roman temple, where the statue of the god has its home. Also called the “naos.”
Choregic monument. A monument set up by a choregos (pl. choregoi), a wealthy Athenian citizen who financed the training and other expenses of the chorus in a dramatic performance, to commemorate a prize won in a dramatic competition.
Civitas. A Latin word used by the Romans to denote local government; city (included the Greek polis); state (or tribe, for non-Roman peoples); citizenship; and citizenry. English “city” derives from it, via French “cité.”
Clerestory. The upper level of a building or room, rising above the roofs of the other parts, and containing windows to let in light and air.
Colonia. A Roman town founded by the government to assure military control or political domination in a conquered region; in later times, a colonia would be established to relieve population pressure in large cities or to reward veterans with free land. Differs from a Greek colony, a regular settlement autonomous from its mother city.
Corbelled arch. See Arch.
Corbelled vault. See Vault.
Cryptoporticus. A covered, vaulted passageway, often underground, and often serving as the substructure for a portico or other building; lighting and ventilation are provided by openings either in the vaulted ceiling or in the side walls.
Cuneiform script. A writing system in which signs are made from combinations of wedge-shaped marks, used in the Ancient Near East from the Protoliterate period to the first century AD. Cuneiform writing survives on clay tablets and stone inscriptions. The term, coined in the late seventeenth century, is derived from “cuneus,” Latin for “wedge.”
Cyclopean masonry. Stone masonry consisting of crudely fitted huge blocks, with tiny stones filling the interstices; used notably in Mycenaean Greece and the Hittite capital, Hattusa. So named by later Greeks, who believed that only giants such as the Cyclopes could manipulate such large stones.
Cylinder seal. A small cylinder usually of stone, carved on the outside with a design or image, typically pierced longitudinally for a string to pass through. The design would be rolled onto moist clay, a sign of ownership or authority. The cylinder seal, popular in Mesopotamia from the Protoliterate period through the Iron Age, contrasts with the stamp seal (design on the flat underside only) used elsewhere.
Decumanus. The main east-west street in a Roman city; perpendicular to the cardo.
Ethnoarchaeology. Ethnographical research directed toward understanding how current behavior might explain the making and use of material objects by ancient peoples.
Ethnos. In ancient Greece, a political organization consisting of a loose association of villages; prevalent in western and northern areas of the Greek peninsula.
Exedra. In Roman architecture, a semicircular recess, set into a building’s façade, or a curved break in a colonnade; pl. exedras. Also applied to an extra room, a retreat, as in the House of the Faun, Pompeii.
Forum. The civic center of a Roman city, with open space, markets, and buildings for civic and religious functions; pl. fora. The equivalent of the Greek agora.
Fresco. A term of Italian origin that denotes painting on a plastered wall or ceiling; pl. frescos or frescoes. The two main techniques are true fresco and dry fresco. True fresco is painting on freshly prepared wet lime plaster; as it dries, the plaster absorbs the paint pigment. Dry fresco is painting on dry plaster; the pigment must be mixed with an additional element to fix the paint to the surface.
Frieze. In Greek and Roman architecture, the upper of two horizontal bands that rest on top of the colonnade. In the Doric order, the frieze is decorated with trigylyphs and metopes. The Ionic frieze is either plain or decorated with relief sculpture.
Glacis. A sloping rampart, used in the outer foundations of fortifications in order to widen and strengthen the base and to expose attackers attempting to scale the wall.
Grid plan. A type of urban layout characterized by streets that cross at right angles; an orthogonal plan.
Gymnasium. From the Greek word for “naked,” a building typically consisting of a court surrounded by a portico, often with additional rooms, used for physical exercise and training in sports; side rooms could be used as schoolrooms for boys. In form and function, very much like a palaestra.
Herm. A plain, rectangular stone shaft with a portrait head on top. In the Classical world, the bearded god Hermes was typically represented in such a form, with male genitalia carved half-way down; such herms were used as boundary markers and protective images, and were considered to bring good luck.
Herodotus. A major Greek historian, ca. 484-425 BC, his Histories recount the invasion of mainland Greece by the Achaemenid Persians (the Persian Wars, 490-479 BC). In presenting the background to the conflict, he explores the cultures of the larger region, from the Black Sea steppes to Egypt.
Heroon. In ancient Greece, a monument or tomb dedicated to a hero, a man with larger-than-life qualities, either mortal or legendary (pronounced with three syllables: he-ro-on).
Hieroglyphic script. From Greek, “sacred carving.” Writing systems developed by the ancient Egyptians, the Hittites (to write Luvian), and others that use hieroglyphs, stylized pictures that can represent sounds, words, and concepts (such as determinatives, the class to which a word belongs).
Hippodrome. A stadium for horse or chariot races; in Latin, circus.
Höyük. See Tell.
Hypostyle hall. A large room whose roof is supported by rows of columns or piers.
Inscription. A piece of writing on a stone, a coin, or a monument; usually carved (especially if on stone), but can be painted, formed in a mold, etc.
Insula. Latin for “island,” used to denote a city block in the ancient Mediterranean region; also a multi-storeyed apartment building in Roman cities; pl. insulae.
Ka. In ancient Egyptian belief, one of the souls with which a person was born. At physical death this spiritual essence left the body, but could continue to be nourished with food and drink.
Kore. Greek for “young woman.” In Archaic Greek sculpture, a free-standing statue of a young woman, typically clothed, smiling, feet together; pl. korai.
Kouros. Greek for “young man.” In Archaic Greek sculpture, a free-standing statue of a young man, typically nude, smiling, one foot placed in front of the other; pl. kouroi.
Krater. In Greek ceramics, a large, wide-mouthed bowl, typically used to mix wine and water.
Lamassu. A human-headed, winged bull or lion; colossal statues of lamassus often guarded doorways in Neo-Assyrian palaces.
Linear B script. A writing system used to write Mycenaean Greek. Descended from the Linear A script, used by the Minoans to write their as yet undeciphered language. Unlike the later Greek alphabet, this script is a syllabary.
Light well. A mini-courtyard; a frequent design element in Minoan architecture.
Lost-wax. A technique of bronze casting using a clay core and a wax coating placed in a mould. The wax is melted in the mould and drained out; liquid bronze is poured into the space left. When the bronze cools and solidifies, the core is removed, leaving a hollow bronze object.
Lower and Upper Egypt. The two main divisions of ancient Egypt. The terms refer to their geographical positions along the north-flowing Nile River. Lower Egypt, lying downstream, is in the north, the area of the Nile delta. Upper Egypt is located upstream, south of Lower Egypt, stretching from modern Cairo south to Aswan.
Lustral basin. In Minoan architecture, a small, sunken rectangular room, often lined with gypsum slabs, reached by an L-shaped staircase. Used for religious functions.
Martyrium. In Christian architecture, a building that marks the site of an event in the life of Jesus or that commemorates a martyr: the site of martyrdom or a martyr’s tomb. Typically round or octagonal in form, the martyrium derives from Roman imperial tomb architecture.
Mastaba tomb. From Arabic, “bench.” In ancient Egypt, a low, flat-roofed rectangular structure typically made of sun-dried mud brick that protected a burial in the ground below.
Mausoleum. Thanks to the luxurious tomb building of Mausolus, ruler of Caria, erected in Halikarnassos in the mid fourth century BC, this word now denotes any elaborate above-ground building containing a tomb or tombs.
Megaron. A rectangular room with a central hearth, typically surrounded by four columns to support the ceiling and preceded by a shallow porch and possibly a small anteroom as well. This plan is used for free-standing buildings in Neolithic Greece and Early Bronze Age western Anatolia, and later as the central unit of the Mycenaean palace. The word is ancient, used by Homer; pl. megarons, or megara.
Neolithic Revolution. A phrase coined by V.G. Childe that indicates the dramatic nature of changes in subsistence techniques that occurred during the long-lasting Neolithic period: agriculture (cultivation) and animal husbandry; also includes such other skills developed at this time as pottery making, metallurgy, and recording systems (before writing).
Numismatics. The study of coins, medals, and banknotes.
Nymphaeum. A fountain building, supplying water; originally conceived as a shrine to water nymphs; pl. nymphaea.
Obelisk. A tall stone pillar, square in section with a pyramidal top. In ancient Egypt, obelisks had religious significance, symbolizing the sun.
Obsidian. A dark glass-like volcanic stone; especially before the development of metallurgy, used for making tools valued for their sharp cutting edges.
Odeon. A Greek word; also odeion, Latin odeum; pl. odeons, odea. In Greek and Roman architecture, a covered theater or concert hall, usually small, for musical performances, poetry recitals, etc.
Order. In Greek and Roman architecture, a system of design containing well-defined formal elements organized in a narrow range of proportional relationships. The two main orders are Doric and Ionic.
Orthostat. A large stone slab set upright against the base of a wall; could be decorated with relief sculpture. Popular in Assyria, North Syria, and Anatolia.
Ostrakon (also ostracon). A potsherd or stone chip on which something is written; pl. ostraka, ostraca.
Oxhide ingot. A flat, rectangular ingot with two or normally all four corners pulled out, for easy handling. Copper and tin ore were transported in this form during the Late Bronze age. The modern name comes from a (coincidental) resemblance to an animal skin nailed in the corners for drying.
Palaestra. From a Greek word for wrestling; a building with a court surrounded by a portico and often rooms, used for training for wrestling and other sports. Similar in form and function to a gymnasium.
Pediment. The triangular area above the colonnade and entablature on the short ends of a Greek or Roman temple, or above a columned porch in Classical architecture.
Peristyle. Surrounded by columns. A peristyle court is a courtyard surrounded by columned porticoes.
Pier-and-door partition. A feature of Minoan architecture. A wall of multiple doorways, created by a row of piers with niches in their sides into which wooden door flaps could be folded in warm months, when the circulation of air was desired.
Pithos. A large ceramic storage jar; pl. pithoi.
Polis. In ancient Greece, a city-state, a city; pl. poleis.
Portico. A structure consisting of a roof supported by a line or lines of regularly spaced columns; often one side is attached to another building.
Postern. A small, secondary entrance, especially in a fortification; often in a concealed location.
Propylon. In Greek architecture, a gateway.
Punic. In general, pertaining to Phoenicians of the central and western Mediterrean from the sixth to the second centuries BC, when Phoenician-founded Carthage was dominant. The word can also mean specifically Carthaginian, or pertaining to ancient Carthage. From Latin words for Phoenician (poenus, punicus, poenicus).
Pylon. In ancient Egyptian architecture, a wedge-shaped wall cut by an open-air passageway. In temples, the pylon represented the distant mountains between which the sun rose and set.
Quadriga. A chariot pulled by four horses.
Red-figure. A technique of pottery decoration, best known from Athens in the Archaic and Classical periods; the images are left in the natural orange-red color of the clay of Athens, while the background is black. The opposite of black-figure.
Refinements. In Greek architecture, the slight deviations from the true horizontal and vertical lines, deliberately done – according to Vitruvius, a Roman architect and writer on architecture – to compensate for anticipated optical illusions. Modern scholars have offered other explanations.
Relative chronology. Ordering objects or events in a sequence, earlier and later, without reference to calendar (absolute) dates. The opposite of absolute chronology.
Relief sculpture. Sculpture in which the carved images stand out from the surface, while still remaining connected with the background. The opposite of “sculpture in the round,” an sculpture independent of any background that the viewer can walk around.
Relieving triangle. In Mycenaean architecture, a triangular space left above the lintel that frames a doorway, in order to lighten the weight of masonry on the lintel. The space might be covered with a thin slab of stone, bearing decorations.
Revetment. In Roman architecture especially, a facing of thin stone slabs, especially marble, used to cover walls of less distinguished materials.
Rhyton. An ancient drinking or ceremonial vessel, usually ceramic or metal (including gold and silver); typically either long and pointed, or in the form of an animal’s head; pl. rhytons, or rhyta.
Sanctuary. In Egyptian temples, the small dark room in which the statue of the deity resided. In contrast, in ancient Greece, the term normally refers to the entire sacred area (the temenos), which includes temples, outlying buildings, and open-air space.
Sarcophagus. A coffin, typically of stone, although other materials such as terracotta, metal, or wood could be used.
Seriation. A method of relative chronology, based on the ordering of objects in an assumed sequence of manufacture according to stylistic changes.
Stele. An upright stone slab usually bearing a design or inscription. A word of Greek origin; pl. stelai.
Stoa. In Greek architecture, a free-standing portico (roofed space, with columns on one side, wall at the rear); pl. stoas. Typically used to line spaces in a city center or in a religious area.
Stratigraphy. The study of layers of deposits at an archaeological site, their nature and their relationship to each other.
Tell. An Arabic and Hebrew word for “hill.” In archaeology, an artificial hill composed of the debris of habitation (ancient, medieval, early modern). In the Near East, decomposed sun-dried mud brick, a favored building material, constitutes the main element of such mounds. Tepe and höyük are Persian and Turkish words also used in the Near East to designate tells.
Temenos. A sacred precinct or enclosure; see the discussion of sanctuary, above.
Tepe. See Tell.
Terracotta. Fired clay; in Near Eastern and Mediterranean antiquity, typically used to denote figurines and other objects made of clay, shaped either by hand or in a mould, then fired.
Tetrapylon. In Roman architecture, a monumental gateway with two intersecting passageways and four façades, often (but not always) arched; normally erected at a crossroads.
Tholos. A Greek word that denotes a round building; pl. tholoi. In the Aegean Bronze Age, tholos designates a tomb of round ground plan, both the Minoan type on Crete and the later monumental versions of Mycenaean Greece. In the later Greek period, a tholos is not a tomb, but a round building of either secular or religious function.
Tophet. Especially in the Punic world, a burial ground for children offered as ritual sacrifices.
Triumph. The entry into ancient Rome of a victorious military commander, celebrated with a parade and ending with religious rites.
Tumulus. An ancient burial mound; pl. tumuli.
Vault. Arched roofing that covers a room or other three-dimensional space. Vaults popular in Roman architecture are the barrel vault, the groin vault, and the dome. Earlier techniques include the corbelled vault (based on the corbelled arch; see above under “arch”) and the pitched-brick vault (laying bricks at a tilted angle in order to create a curved form).
Votive. An object offered or dedicated to a god or goddess.
Wattle and daub. A manner of making walls and fences by using stakes or rods interlaced with twigs or branches (wattle), covered with mud or clay (daub).
Ziggurat. A monumental stepped platform with, according to the Greek historian Herodotus, a small temple on the top. Made of sun-dried bricks, the ziggurat was an architectural form popular in Mesopotamia and western Iran in the Bronze and Iron Ages.