Journal of Urban Archaeology 14 (2026)

Urban societies world-wide have created a remarkable and immense archaeological record, and the material yielded from urban sites, ranging from remote sensing to micromorphology, can tell us much about cultural constructions, environmental issues, and social evolution. Up to now, however, this material has often been discussed within the framework of different regional and topical approaches, despite the fact that scholars working in urban areas often face similar questions about societies, and draw on common theories, methods, and benchmark studies. The Journal of Urban Archaeology is the first dedicated scholarly journal to recognize urban archaeology as a field within its own right, and is intended to provide an intellectual forum for researchers working on the archaeology of urban societies and networks in all parts of the world and across all periods of time. This double-blind peer-reviewed journal welcomes contributions covering a range of subjects, from major new fieldwork at urban sites to discussions of theory and methodology, or wider studies exploring the culture, conditions, and connectivities of urban societies in the past.

This new issue of the Journal of Urban Archaeology is comprised of two special thematic issues, both loosely tied to matters of ancient urbanism: city walls and glass recycling. Although each part deals with a very different topic, together they engage with important aspects related to the materialities of urban life, from monumental constructions to small fragments. The two sections also highlight the dynamic and vibrant nature of material culture, exploring for example the reuse and recycling both of glass and of city walls for later constructions. The special issue on city walls includes nine articles derived from a workshop held in 2024 in Leuven, which explored fortifications in Chinese and European contexts. The contributions here are influenced by the so-called ‘infrastructural’ and ‘material turns’, with case studies ranging from urban walls in medieval Britain to Qing-dynasty garrison towns in China. The special issue on glass recycling in urban contexts comprises eight articles based on a 2025 workshop in Copenhagen. These papers explore glass reuse and recycling in multiple contexts, from the Iron Age Balkans to medieval Sicily. While technological aspects represent an important focus, the articles also address how production, reuse, and recycling were linked to the social fabric of urban communities.

List of Illustrations

Editorial
Manuel Fernández-Götz and Rubina Raja

Special Issue:
Mapping Urban Landscapes: Spatial and Visual Perspectives on the Materiality of City Walls in Chinese and European History
Edited by Iva Stojević and Hannibal Taubes

Introduction
Iva Stojević and Hannibal Taubes

Boundaries Reconsidered: Fresh Perspectives on Town and City Walls in Medieval Britain
Oliver Creighton

Notes Towards the Study of Fortified Villages in Early-Modern North China
Hannibal Taubes

Building Central Control through Decentralized Production: Local Participation in the Construction of Nanjing City Wall Bricks during the Ming Dynasty
Jin Lianyu

Life Under the Wall: Impact of Fortification on Urban Space in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period in Central Europe
Paweł Cembrzyński, Maria Legut-Pintal, and Till Kühl

Spatial Patterns and Mechanisms of Wall Demolition in Qing Garrison Towns in Xinjiang
Hao Yuanlin

Mountain Fortresses in the Song-Yuan (Mongol) War: Architectural Archaeology and Climatological Insights from Diaoyu Fortress
 Liu Jie, Ding Yu, Sun Hui, and Cai Yuqing

The Walls of Pula (Croatia)
Đeni Gobić-Bravar

Materiality and Construction: Exploring the Extraordinary and the Mundane in the Layers of Yangzhou City Walls
Iva Stojević

Special Issue II
Glass Recycling and Complex Urban Networks from the Iron Age to the Middle Ages: A View from the Mediterranean and Beyond
Edited by Cristina Boschetti and Rubina Raja

Glass Recycling and Complex Urban Networks
Cristina Boschetti and Rubina Raja

Glass Recycling: The Role of Isotope Geochemistry
Patrick Degryse

Reassessing Early Glassblowing through the Lens of Circular Economy: New Evidence from Italy (Early First Century BC)
Cristina Boschetti

Customised Customs: Exploring Evidence of Glass Reuse and Recycling in the Iron Age
Ana Franjic, Ian C. Freestone, and Patrick Degryse

True Colours: The Innovative Use and Re-use of Coloured Glass by Different Communities in First-century Britain
Sarah Paynter and Caroline Jackson

Recycling in Late Antiquity in Cyprus: Evidence from the Amathus Glass Workshop
Artemios Oikonomou and Thilo Rehren

Glass Reflections: Production and Distribution in Early Medieval Iberian Rural Areas
Silvia Berrica

Glass Recycling and Urban Networks in Medieval Sicily
Francesca Colangeli