Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (772 page)

 
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A programme of research established in 1899 to mark Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee aimed at a historical portrayal of the English counties. Although the originators of the work, G. L. Gomme and H. A. Doubleday , envisaged that the research would be completed and published in 160 volumes by 1905, work on the project continues to this day. Each set of county volumes comprises general volumes covering such matters as archaeology, architecture, and ecclesiastical history; and topographic volumes which describe each city, town, and parish in the county.

 
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Term used to describe the period from about 1837 to 1901. Victorian architecture is characterized by extensive borrowing from and reworking of classical and particularly
GOTHIC
styles.

 
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A variant of the
LEVALLOIS
technique in which the blow to remove the flake is made on the side of the core. Produces short wide flakes, often transformed into flake cleavers in the African
ACHEULIAN
.

 
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vicus
(pl.
vici
)
[MC].

A civilian settlement, urban area, or village which developed near a military establishment, often to provide services for it. It had the lowest legal status accorded to a built-up area in the Roman world and would therefore have been subordinate to a higher (military) authority.

 
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A later prehistoric ritual or religious enclosure found in central and western Europe and characterized by a generally square or rectangular plan, an area of less than 1ha defined by an earthen bank and steep-sided ditch, and a single entrance. Within the enclosure there may be one or more of the following: pit, shaft, well, standing stone, post-built structure, hearth, area of burning. Excavated examples range in date from
URNFIELD
contexts of the 12th century
bc
through to the 1st century
bc
, some being superseded by Roman-style temples. Typical examples include Holzhausen, Germany, and Libenice, the Czech Republic. They are generally regarded as sacred enclosures or sanctuaries, but Matthew Murray has argued that in fact they functioned as feasting places.

 
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