Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (467 page)
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Authors: Timothy Darvill
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The principle that the organisms which are best adapted to their environments will live to reproduce the most viable offspring. The primary mechanism of evolutionary change.
natural type
[De].
[De].
An archaeological type coinciding with an actual category recognized by the original toolmaker.
Navan, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland
[Si].
[Si].
A hilltop enclosure west of Armagh city, the ancient Emain Macha, and the first capital of Ulster. Excavations carried out by Dudley Waterman between 1961 and 1971 show that the site has a long history stretching back to the Neolithic. The main use of the hill begins in the 3rd century
bc
with the construction of a massive enclosure 230m across and with a ditch 4.5m deep. Inside were a series of circular structures and monuments of which the most substantial was an earthen mound 50m in diameter and 6m high (site B). In its early life this comprised a ditched enclosure in which a series of periodically renewed figure-of-eight timber post-built structures were built. Finds from the site included the skull of a Barbary ape which is taken to illustrate the wide trading links that the site had by the middle Iron Age. The figure-of-eight structures were replaced by a single massive timber structure with concentric rings of postholes about 95 bc, the whole thing being rapidly filled with stones and then burnt before being encased in its mound of earth and stone.
The Navan fort passes into history as the ancient seat of the kings of Ulster and perhaps the setting for the epic tales of Cu Chulainn. When Emain Macha was finally abandoned is uncertain, but it seems likely to coincide with the establishment of a very early church nearby at Armagh, where St Patrick established the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland.
[Rep.: D. Waterman (ed. C. Lynn), 1997,
Excavations at Navan Fort 1961–71
. Belfast: Stationery Office]
bc
with the construction of a massive enclosure 230m across and with a ditch 4.5m deep. Inside were a series of circular structures and monuments of which the most substantial was an earthen mound 50m in diameter and 6m high (site B). In its early life this comprised a ditched enclosure in which a series of periodically renewed figure-of-eight timber post-built structures were built. Finds from the site included the skull of a Barbary ape which is taken to illustrate the wide trading links that the site had by the middle Iron Age. The figure-of-eight structures were replaced by a single massive timber structure with concentric rings of postholes about 95 bc, the whole thing being rapidly filled with stones and then burnt before being encased in its mound of earth and stone.
The Navan fort passes into history as the ancient seat of the kings of Ulster and perhaps the setting for the epic tales of Cu Chulainn. When Emain Macha was finally abandoned is uncertain, but it seems likely to coincide with the establishment of a very early church nearby at Armagh, where St Patrick established the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland.
[Rep.: D. Waterman (ed. C. Lynn), 1997,
Excavations at Navan Fort 1961–71
. Belfast: Stationery Office]
nave
[Co].
[Co].
The western part of a Christian church, extending westwards from the
CHANCEL
whose maintenance was traditionally the responsibility of the parishioners.
CHANCEL
whose maintenance was traditionally the responsibility of the parishioners.
nave band
[Ar].
[Ar].
A circular frame or disc arranged to revolve on an axle and used to facilitate the motion of a vehicle.
naveta
[MC].
[MC].
A type of chambered tomb found on the Balearic Islands and dating to the period 1500 bc through to 800 bc. The tombs are characterized by their elongated U-shaped plan, a corbelled roof, and a flat or slightly concave façade. The gallery-shaped burial chamber is approached by a corridor through the thickness of the wall, and there is occasionally a porthole slab partially blocking it.
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