As part of the research of the joint Anglo-Maltese project on the island of Gozo, a Zebbug period rock-cut tomb was discovered in the south-east corner of the Brochtorff Circle. The integrity of this tomb and the interdisciplinary approach applied to its study make it a unique find from the Maltese islands and rare within the southern central Mediterranean.The article presents the stratigraphy, pottery, stone, shell and bone artefacts, skeletal remains, animal bone, molluscan samples, and radiocarbon dates from the tomb. At the same time the significance of the tomb for the formative phases of collective burial, exchange and symbolic processes in the central Mediterranean and the origins of Maltese insularity is explained.

Carnivore damage on Neanderthal fossils is a much more common taphonomic modification than previously thought. Its presence could have different explanations, including predatory attacks or scavenging scenarios, which are both situations with important implications concerning Neanderthal behaviour. In the present paper, we analyse several Neanderthal hominin fossils from a taphonomic and forensic perspective in order to infer the nature of the modifications observed on the bone surfaces. Fossils displaying carnivore modifications from Spain, Germany, Belgium and Greece are evaluated from a taphonomic perspective for the first time in a significant sample of hominin specimens. Our results show that the materials analysed have been modified by small to large carnivores and that both attacks and strictly carnivore scavenging events can be inferred. This study also points out the importance of developing taphonomic approaches to the analysis of hominin bone surfaces, which can contribute significantly to knowledge of several aspects of Neanderthal behaviour.

Inclusion of osteological material in primatological research has a long history, and use of skeletal remains continues to be important in anatomical and anthropological research. Here we report a set of proven methods, including equipment, protocol, and procedure, which enable relatively simple acquisition of skeletal material from naturally deceased animals in field sites and sanctuaries. Such skeletal material, often with extensive accompanying life-history data, is a unique and valuable source of data for both academic and conservation-based research.

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The National Museums of Scotland is engaged in producing an up-to-date archaeological and sub-surface geophysical map of an interesting and little explored area of the necropolis of Memphis at Saqqara. The area concerned comprises the Gisr el-Mudir (also known as the ‘Great Enclosure’) at the southern boundary, the open valley between the Sekhemkhet complex and the Gisr el-Mudir stretching north to the Serapeum and containing the L-shaped enclosure at the Old Kingdom tombs around the mastaba of Ptahhotep, the area of the Serapeum and its dependencies and the valley to the north-west of the Sacred Animal complex down to the edge of the remnant lake at Abusir in the north. Structural details, ceramics, archaeological contexts, human and animal skeletal remains from sondage trenches excavated to confirm geophysical anomalies are described and discussed.