EUR 136,10 €net 129,00 € excl. VAT
Beacons and Military Communication from Antiquity to the Early Modern Period
Reihe: - History of Warfare, Band: 157
From fire-lit beacons to sweeping lines of sight, this book uncovers the hidden infrastructure of pre-modern warfare. It is the first archaeological study to trace how military signalling systems shaped landscapes and societies from antiquity to the early modern period. Spanning ancient Greece, Viking Age Scandinavia, and medieval North Africa, the book investigates how visual communication enabled mobilisation, defence, and control. Through case studies and new interpretations of archaeological and historical data, it reveals a world where ordinary people, not just armies, played a central role in responding to the threat of war. A major contribution to military and landscape archaeology.
Contributors are Jørgen Bakke, Alexandre Ausonius Bertaud, Stuart Brookes, Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, Martin Malcolm Elbl, Andreu Galera Pedrosa, Frode Iversen†, Andrew Johnson, Christian Juel, Thorsten Lemm, Lucas R. McMahon, Mette Stauersbøl Mogensen, Marie Ødegaard, Ainhoa Pancorbo Picó, Mads Ravn, Mads Runge, Andreas Thiel, and Joey L. Williams.
Contributors are Jørgen Bakke, Alexandre Ausonius Bertaud, Stuart Brookes, Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, Martin Malcolm Elbl, Andreu Galera Pedrosa, Frode Iversen†, Andrew Johnson, Christian Juel, Thorsten Lemm, Lucas R. McMahon, Mette Stauersbøl Mogensen, Marie Ødegaard, Ainhoa Pancorbo Picó, Mads Ravn, Mads Runge, Andreas Thiel, and Joey L. Williams.
Marie Ødegaard, Ph.D. (2016), is Associate Professor at the Museum of Archaeology–University of Stavanger. Her research focuses on legal and military landscapes, and settlement archaeology in the Iron Age and Middle Ages. She leads the project Viking Beacons, funded by the Research Council of Norway (no. 324454).
Stuart Brookes, Ph.D. (2003), is Associate Professor at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. His publications on the archaeology of early medieval Europe include Beyond the Burghal Hidage (2013), Peasant Perceptions of Landscape (2021) and Lordship and Landscape in East Anglia (2024).
Thorsten Lemm, Ph.D. (2013), works as a senior researcher at the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie in Mainz/Schleswig. He specialises in settlement and landscape archaeology as well as military and power-political aspects in Central and Northern Europe in the late Iron Age and early medieval period.
Stuart Brookes, Ph.D. (2003), is Associate Professor at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. His publications on the archaeology of early medieval Europe include Beyond the Burghal Hidage (2013), Peasant Perceptions of Landscape (2021) and Lordship and Landscape in East Anglia (2024).
Thorsten Lemm, Ph.D. (2013), works as a senior researcher at the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie in Mainz/Schleswig. He specialises in settlement and landscape archaeology as well as military and power-political aspects in Central and Northern Europe in the late Iron Age and early medieval period.
Preface
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations
Notes on Contributors
1 Signalling Intent: Beacons and Military Communications from Antiquity to Early Modern Times—Introduction
Marie Ødegaard, Stuart Brookes and Thorsten Lemm
2 Towers Built upon the Mountain Peaks: Communicating at the Speed of Light in the Ancient Middle East
Tiffany Earley-Spadoni
3 Military Communication Tools from Iron Age Western Europe
Alexandre Bertaud
4 Topographies of Viewing and Interpretation in Ancient Greece: a Case-Study from the Territory of Ancient Tegea
Jørgen Bakke
5 Signalling and Surveillance Towers in the Western Roman Empire: 1st Century B.C. to 3rd Century A.D.
Joey Williams
6 From Tower to Tower—Signalling along the Roman Frontiers
Andreas Thiel
7 Watching, Guarding or Signalling? Late Roman Coastal Fortlets in Britain
Andrew White
8 A Fire Beacon System in Byzantine Apulia? Visualizing Empire in 11th-Century Capitanata
Lucas McMahon
9 The Defensive Network of Cardona (Barcelona) and Visual and Audible Communication Systems in the Middle Ages
Ainhoa Pancorbo Picó and Andreu Galera Pedrosa
10 Fires over England—Sources for and Functions of Viking Age Signalling
Stuart Brookes
11 Watching the Sea, Guarding the Land—a Discussion of Potential Maritime Defence Systems in Viking Age Denmark
Thorsten Lemm
12 A Fortified Viking Age Settlement at Erritsø, South-Eastern Jutland, Denmark—an Indication for the Defence-in-Depth of a Kingdom in the Early Viking Age
Mads Ravn and Christian Juel
13 Beacons and Ship-Levy Organisation in Western Norway in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages
Marie Ødegaard
14 An Archaeological Experiment on a Large Scale: in Search of the Viking Age Lines of Communication in Central Denmark
Mads Runge and Mette Stauersbøl Mogensen
15 Anxious Sentries or Centuries of Anxiety? How the Landscape Enabled Medieval and Post-Medieval Coastal Security on the Isle of Man
Andrew Johnson
16 Beacons from the Viking Age to the Early Modern Period in Western Norway
Frode Iversen†
17 Lookouts and Beacons in the Strait of Gibraltar Cultural Frontier Area, A.D. c. 1350–c. 1690
Martin Malcolm Elbl
18 Stamping on the Embers: Concluding Thoughts
Marie Ødegaard, Stuart Brookes and Thorsten Lemm
Subjects – Index
Ancient Sources – Index
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations
Notes on Contributors
1 Signalling Intent: Beacons and Military Communications from Antiquity to Early Modern Times—Introduction
Marie Ødegaard, Stuart Brookes and Thorsten Lemm
2 Towers Built upon the Mountain Peaks: Communicating at the Speed of Light in the Ancient Middle East
Tiffany Earley-Spadoni
3 Military Communication Tools from Iron Age Western Europe
Alexandre Bertaud
4 Topographies of Viewing and Interpretation in Ancient Greece: a Case-Study from the Territory of Ancient Tegea
Jørgen Bakke
5 Signalling and Surveillance Towers in the Western Roman Empire: 1st Century B.C. to 3rd Century A.D.
Joey Williams
6 From Tower to Tower—Signalling along the Roman Frontiers
Andreas Thiel
7 Watching, Guarding or Signalling? Late Roman Coastal Fortlets in Britain
Andrew White
8 A Fire Beacon System in Byzantine Apulia? Visualizing Empire in 11th-Century Capitanata
Lucas McMahon
9 The Defensive Network of Cardona (Barcelona) and Visual and Audible Communication Systems in the Middle Ages
Ainhoa Pancorbo Picó and Andreu Galera Pedrosa
10 Fires over England—Sources for and Functions of Viking Age Signalling
Stuart Brookes
11 Watching the Sea, Guarding the Land—a Discussion of Potential Maritime Defence Systems in Viking Age Denmark
Thorsten Lemm
12 A Fortified Viking Age Settlement at Erritsø, South-Eastern Jutland, Denmark—an Indication for the Defence-in-Depth of a Kingdom in the Early Viking Age
Mads Ravn and Christian Juel
13 Beacons and Ship-Levy Organisation in Western Norway in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages
Marie Ødegaard
14 An Archaeological Experiment on a Large Scale: in Search of the Viking Age Lines of Communication in Central Denmark
Mads Runge and Mette Stauersbøl Mogensen
15 Anxious Sentries or Centuries of Anxiety? How the Landscape Enabled Medieval and Post-Medieval Coastal Security on the Isle of Man
Andrew Johnson
16 Beacons from the Viking Age to the Early Modern Period in Western Norway
Frode Iversen†
17 Lookouts and Beacons in the Strait of Gibraltar Cultural Frontier Area, A.D. c. 1350–c. 1690
Martin Malcolm Elbl
18 Stamping on the Embers: Concluding Thoughts
Marie Ødegaard, Stuart Brookes and Thorsten Lemm
Subjects – Index
Ancient Sources – Index
Scholars, researchers, and post-graduate students, institutes, (academic) libraries, specialists.