Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (780 page)

BOOK: Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
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wall-walk
[Co].
Level platform for use by sentries or pedestrians along the top of a fortification.
ward
[Co].
An open courtyard or bailey within a medieval castle, usually heavily defended with curtain walls, palisades, and/or earthworks. Some larger castles may have more than one ward, each being given over to slightly different uses and increasingly heavily defended the deeper into the castle it is situated.
ware
[De].
Distinctive ceramic products made of the same materials from a single production site or area, e.g.
NEW FOREST WARE
, or vessels having the same basic characteristics or technique of manufacture, e.g.
COLOUR-COATED WARE
.
Wari empire
[CP].
Communities occupying the central Andean highlands of Peru in the period ad 750 to ad 1000 that were bound together by extensive networks of political and economic control. At the centre of the system was the site of Wari itself in the Ayacucho Valley which was an urban centre that started as the capital of its region and rose to control surrounding areas. Provincial centres are known at Pikillaqta, Jincamocco, Cajamarca, and the unfinished site of Viracochapampa. Archaeologically, the most distinctive features of the Wari are its architecture and urban planning: great rectangular structures set out on a rigid grid plan that was subdivided into square or rectangular plots called ‘patio groups’. Each patio comprised an open central area edged by long narrow rooms, sometimes two or three deep and up to three storeys high. Few doors allow access between patio groups, and it has been suggested that the intention of Wari architecture is in part to restrict movements within each enclosure. The Wari empire emerged during the
EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
as Huarpa cultures interacted with the nearby
NASCA
Culture at a time of intense interregional exchanges and widespread disruption to existing cultural traditions.
warming-house
[Co].
Building or room in a monastic range in which there was a fire.
warp-weighted loom
[Ar].
An apparatus on which textiles are manufactured that is arranged in such a way that the warp threads running lengthwise through the material are tensioned by means of weights (usually clay or stone) attached to one end while the other ends are secured to the loom itself. See also
UPRIGHT LOOM
.

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