gems, archaeology, archaeogemology, northern Europe, annaba / hippone/bone, Carthage

The essays in this book are about the peoples of North-West Europe in the first millenium AD. They were written by archaeologists from various countries who either reveal the results of their archaeological fieldwork or place the knowledge they have of their particular region in a wider, supraregional context.It is commonly known that archaeologists prefer to devote their time to fieldwork. Considering the limited number of archaeologists, and the multitude of opportunities for fieldwork, this preference is quite understandable, if not even obvious. In addition to this, essay-writitng is a cumbersome and exhausting activity. The warm and enthusiastic response to our request for contributions made it possible ot compose an interesting volume. We hope that this publication may encourage many others to remain active in the field of archaeology, and that the cooperation among colleagues, stimulated by this project, may be continued in the future.