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Mzab

(Encyclopedia)Mzab əmzäbˈ [key], stony, barren valley, Algeria, in the N Sahara. It was settled c.1000 by members of an austere Muslim sect, the Kharijites. The inhabitants, called Mozabites, dug wells, created ...

kitchen midden

(Encyclopedia)kitchen midden, refuse heap left by a prehistoric settlement; more specifically, a deposit consisting primarily of discarded shell and related cultural material in coastal environments. First studied ...

Sakkara

(Encyclopedia)Sakkara or Saqqara säkäˈrä [key], necropolis (burial place) of ancient Memphis, Egypt, 3 mi (5 km) from the Nile and on the border of the Libyan desert. Djoser (Zoser) had his famous step-pyramid,...

Guido of Siena

(Encyclopedia)Guido of Siena sēĕnˈə [key], fl. 13th cent., Italian painter. All that is known of him is an inscription on a large and almost completely repainted Virgin and Child Enthroned, formerly in San Dome...

hallmark

(Encyclopedia)hallmark, mark impressed on silverwork or goldwork to signify official approval of the standard of purity of the metal, also called plate mark. The hallmark was introduced by statute in England in 130...

Jude, epistle of the New Testament

(Encyclopedia)Jude, epistle of the New Testament, the next to last book of the Bible. The Jude who wrote it has been identified since ancient times with St. Jude the apostle, but most modern scholars deny the ident...

Staffordshire Hoard

(Encyclopedia)Staffordshire Hoard, archaelogical find discovered (2009) near Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, consisting of more than 1,500 gold and silver items dating from Anglo-Saxon times. Several times riche...

Rhyniophyta

(Encyclopedia)Rhyniophyta rīˌnēŏfˈətə [key], division of plants known only from fossils, of which the genus Rhynia was perhaps the most important. These plants date from the Silurian and Devonian age. Relati...

Isna

(Encyclopedia)Isna ĕsˈ– [key], town (1986 pop. 43,055), central Egypt, on the Nile River. It is the center for an agricultural area that is irrigated by the Nile. Isna's manufactures include cotton fabrics and ...

Edison

(Encyclopedia)Edison, township (2020 pop. 107,588), Middlesex co., NE N.J., inc. 1870 as Raritan Township, renamed 1954. Edison's varied manufactures include chemical...