Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (242 page)

BOOK: Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
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Eugenius
[Na].
A teacher of rhetoric in Rome who was befriended by Arbogastes , a commander-in-chief of Frankish origin who was suspected of having murdered Valentinian II. Eugenius was proclaimed western emperor by Arbogastes in ad 392 but was defeated and killed by Theodosius the Great in ad 394.
European Association of Archaeologists
(EAA)
[Or].
A membership-based association recognized by the Council of Europe that is open to all archaeologists and others with related interests. Established in 1994, the aims are to promote the development of archaeological research and the exchange of archaeological information, the management and interpretation of the European archaeological heritage, proper ethical and scientific standards for archaeological work and the interests of professional archaeologists in Europe. The association publishes the
European Journal of Archaeology
.
European Foundation for Heritage Skills
[Or].
A non-profit-making non-governmental organization set up in 1996 as an initiative by the Council of Europe to help improve ways of preserving the existing heritage of Europe. This covers not only the great monuments, but also major rural and industrial buildings and sites, as well as the less tangible heritage of popular traditions. It works in three areas: in-service training, information exchange and networking, and development.
eustatic adjustment
(eustasy)
[Pr].
World-wide alterations in sea level, independent of any
ISOSTATIC ADJUSTMENT
of the land. The main implications for archaeology come in the
PLEISTOCENE
and
HOLOCENE
when water released from melting ice-sheets caused sea levels to rise during interglacials and the post-glacial.
evaluation
(evaluation excavation/field evaluation)
[Te].
The process of determining the nature, extent, quality of survival, and preservational characteristics of a known or suspected archaeological site. This is usually achieved by one or more of a variety of field techniques such as sampling with test-pits or trenches, geophysical surveys, geochemical prospection, and fieldwalking. It may also involve desk-based research using aerial photographs, historic maps, place-name evidence, and so on. Such studies typically follow from an archaeological
ASSESSMENT
of some kind. They might be undertaken in the context of preparing for the investigation of the site for purely research purposes (when they are sometimes referred to as trial-trenching), but increasingly such evaluations are undertaken in the context of
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
. Here such work is done in advance of development, sometimes as part of an
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
in order to provide a local planning authority with relevant information to assist in determining a planning application. In the UK the need for evaluation is set out in the planning guidance issued by central government (See
PLANNING POLICY GUIDANCE
). Also known as archaeological evaluation or field evaluation.
Evans , Arthur John
(1851–1941)
[Bi].
British archaeologist, son of
JOHN EVANS
, and best known for his work on Crete. Born at Nash Mills, he was educated at Harrow and Brasenose College, Oxford. After leaving university in 1875 he spent some time travelling in the Balkans as a journalist. In 1884, however, he returned to Oxford and took up the post of Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. His first interests were in coins and seals, and it was the early Greek seals that led him to Knossos, on Crete, which he purchased in 1896. In 1899 he began excavations there at his own expense and for 35 years thoroughly researched not only the site but the whole
MINOAN
civilization that it related to. He termed what he found ‘Minoan’ after the legendary King Minos. He then used the family fortune to reconstruct much of the two-storey royal palace and the frescoes on its walls.
[Bio.: J. Evans , 1943,
Time and chance: the story of Arthur Evans and his forebears
. London: Longmans]

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