Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (201 page)

An extensive tract of land enclosed by a substantial pale, which is set aside and equipped for the management and hunting of deer and other wild animals to provide a constant and sustainable supply of foods throughout the year and sport for the owners. Deer parks also provided a protected area for woodland management and grazing. They were first constructed by the Norman aristocracy in France and Britain in the 11th century
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, but they became increasingly popular in many parts of northern Europe during the succeeding centuries, reaching a peak in the 13th and 14th centuries. Many were later replaced by ornamental parks and landscaped estates as wealthy owners moved their residences into the parks, but some continued to be used in the traditional way down to the 18th century
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A Latin term for prayers or curses inscribed on lead sheets and other material and deposited at a shrine.

 
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The theory of the ‘fall of man’ from some original divine or innocent state; also called degradation.

 
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Situated on the banks of the Yamuna River at the western end of the Ganga Valley the modern capital of India has under and around it much of the ancient past. The earliest occupation appears to be the town of Indrapratha, home of the
Mahabharata
hero King Yudhishthira in the early 1st millennium
bc
, now under the Purana Qila (the Old Fort). By the 3rd century
bc
it was an important point on the trade routes between China and the west. The Tomara Rajputs made it their capital in ad 736, calling the town Dhillika. It was captured by Moslem forces in ad 1193 and Qutb-ud-din Aybak established his sultanate there in ad 1206. With the advent of the Mughal empire in ad 1526 Delhi alternated with Agra as the capital, each successive ruler asserting himself with new architectural designs. The Qal'a-i-Kuhna-Masjid mosque was built in ad 1541 and is one of the oldest buildings of the Mughal period.
[Sum.: R. E. Frykenberg (ed.), 1993,
Delhi through the ages: essays in urban history, culture and society
. Oxford and Delhi: OUP]

 
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Situated on the steep slopes of Mount Parnassus in the centre of Greece, Delphi was home to the famous oracle and the principal shrine of
APOLLO
. The site seems to have acted as a religious focus for the different Greek city-states who organized games and festivals there. The Pythian Games in particular became a great national festival and over the years a series of twenty elaborate temple-like structures were built along the sacred way to house valuable offerings. Above, on a terrace cut into the mountainside and supported by an unusual masonry wall, stood the temple of Apollo with, at its centre, the omphalos stone symbolically marking the centre of the earth. A rock fissure in the temple emanated sounds that were supposed to inspire the Pythian priestess to give answers to questions posed to her. Damaged by an earthquake in
c.
350 bc the site was rebuilt and a theatre and stadium added. After about 300 bc interest in the oracle waned, and in Roman times there was further deterioration. Nero plundered the site, and finally Theodosius closed it down as being anti-Christian in 390 ad.
[Sum.: V. Pendazos and M. Sarla , 1984,
Delphi
. Athens: Yiannikos-Kaldis]

 
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The manorial home farm, land usually retained by the lord for his own use, on which tenants were expected to work in part-return for their tenancies.

 
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