Galilee Blooming: First palynological and archaeological data from an Early Byzantine Cistern at Horvat Kur

Abstract

Preliminary archaeological and palynological results are presented from an early Byzantine cistern of the village Horvat Kur in eastern Lower Galilee/Israel. The rural site was settled from the Hellenistic until the Early Arab period, its synagogue was constructed shortly after 425 AD and renovated sometimes during the 2nd half of the 6th century AD. It was abandoned probably as a consequence of the earthquake of 749 AD. The intact and properly sealed cistern contained complete or fully restorable pottery. Two cooking pots from the early 5th century AD comprised sediments which was sampled for palynological purposes. Both samples, as well as a sample from the soil beneath one of the pots and a modern surface sample from the site, revealed well preserved palynomorphs in comparably high concentration showing a great potential of the cistern as a pollen archive. The pollen content points to an open, grassy semiarid landscape with an apparent scarcity of cultivars and trees in the vicinity of the site and an abundance of herbs, especially Asteraceae, which are still commonly found in modern regional vegetation.     

Byzantine–Early Islamic agricultural systems in the Negev Highlands: Stages of development as interpreted through OSL dating

Abstract

An extensive survey followed by OSL (optically stimulated luminescence) dating of loess accumulation in agricultural terraces at six Byzantine and Early Islamic sites in the Negev Highlands revealed clear stratigraphic and chronological sequences. Traditionally dated to the 1st–7th centuries a.d., results from the present study demonstrate that the construction and use of largescale agricultural systems took place in the 4th–11th centuries a.d. This new chronology provides the framework for a more precise interpretation of the circumstances of construction and demise of largescale agriculture in the Negev Highlands. The agricultural fields were exploited continuously, yet ancient farmers had to confront the environmental hazards of occasional intensive floods, successive years of drought, and a constant process of loess accumulation and erosion. The constant maintenance and repair of fields necessitated an investment of labor. However, it seems that the expansion of ancient agriculture was part of the natural growth and development of Byzantine settlements in the Negev, and not the outcome of planned government enterprise. The agricultural systems were abandoned in the course of the 11th century a.d. and sporadically reused by pastoral nomads.     

拜占庭的“展示”研究

本文是2006年伦敦第21届世界拜占庭大会开幕式上的主题发言。从公开、自觉的夸示,世俗生活模式的展示和教俗势力所禁止的习俗表现等3个方面阐释了拜占庭帝国在历史上和现实中“展示”（display）自己的方式,并指出,21世纪拜占庭研究者的任务就是探寻拜占庭文明对其周边世界的影响,将其“展示”于天下。     

Evidence for glass ‘recycling’ using Pb and Sr isotopic ratios and Sr-mixing lines: the case of early Byzantine Sagalassos

The secondary production (working) of glass from imperial to early Byzantine times has been proven at the ancient city of Sagalassos (SW Turkey) by the existence of glass chunks, fuel ash slag and kiln fragments related to glass processing. It had been previously suggested that local green glass might have been recycled from two other locally found glass types (blue glass vessels and chunks and HIMT glass chunks). This paper provides analytical evidence for the recycling of glass next to the use of imported raw glass. The heterogeneous lead isotopic composition of the green and HIMT vessel glass at Sagalassos, with as end members on the one hand the isotopic composition of local blue glass vessels and chunks and on the other hand that of the HIMT glass chunks, could indicate the production of ‘recycled’ glass, although heterogeneous raw materials could have been used. However, the use of Sr-mixing lines confirms local recycling. It is clear that the Sr in the green and HIMT vessels is a mixture of the Sr in the aforementioned end members. It cannot be proved whether the green ‘recycled’ glass was produced from a mixture of chunks alone, or from a mixture of cullet and chunks. Suggestions are made towards the possible origin of the raw materials for the blue and HIMT glass on the basis of Sr isotopic signatures and absolute Sr contents in the glass.     

Chemical characterisation and manufacturing technology of late Roman to early Byzantine glass from Beit Ras/Capitolias,Northern Jordan

The finding of considerable collections of glass artefacts, together with considerable lumps of glass chunks, fuel ash slag and kiln fragments related to glass processing strongly suggests a local secondary production (working) of glass at the Beit Ras/Capitolias archaeological site in northern Jordan from the late Roman to the early Byzantine period. The chemical analysis of ancient glasses can provide important information regarding the manufacturing technology of the glass made during a specific period. The aim of this study is to characterise the chemical and technological aspects of late Roman to early Byzantine glasses excavated from this main archaeological site. Furthermore, the present paper aims to provide incontrovertible evidence that this site must be considered as a major centre for the secondary production of glass during a period between the 3rd and the 6th centuries. For this purpose, a considerable group of raw glass chunks and vessel fragments of different colours and typologies were collected. The results of chemical analyses indicated that the glass did not show a clear difference in chemical composition between late Roman and early Byzantine times. All the glasses (artefacts and chunks) are of the soda-lime-silica type and correspond to the previously defined Levantine I glass group. The chemical composition of the glass chunks, identical to that of contemporary glass of the same colour, strongly suggests that these chunks were used for the manufacture of late Roman to early Byzantine glass at Beit Ras. The observation of technological features indicates that glass chunks were produced in massive tank furnaces in other primary production centres elsewhere, and were meant for local reworking. According to the microscopic examination, it can also be observed that mould-blowing was the main technique used for forming glass.     

Palaeopathology at the Khan-el-Ahmar site: Health and disease in a Byzantine monastery in the Judean Desert,Israel

The present study describes the skeletal material that was uncovered at the crypt of the monastery of St Euthymius at Khan-el-Ahmar, in the Judean Desert, near Jerusalem. Comparative morphometric analysis with contemporaneous populations and the palaeodemographic and palaeopathological data disprove many historians' well accepted notions regarding early Christians in the Judean Desert. In the present paper we suggest that the majority of people who were buried at the Khan-el-Ahmar monastery derived mainly from the autochthonous population of the region and were not migrants or fugitives from surrounding countries. It appears that this community of monks lived in a rather protected environment despite their desert surroundings. In the monastery, they maintained a high level of personal hygiene, had adequate food supplies and were not subjected to repeated acts of violence from their neighbours.     

A Byzantine Shipwreck from Cape Stoba,Mljet, Croatia: an interim report

The Cape Stoba shipwreck is located on the seabed off the island of Mljet in Croatia at a depth of 21–28 m. Following initial investigation in 1975, four seasons of excavation have been carried between 2010 and 2014 by the Department for Underwater Archaeology of the Croatian Conservation Institute, joined by the Department of Studi Umanistici of the Università Ca' Foscari of Venice from 2012. The wreck‐site is evidenced by a cargo of nine amphora types dated to the 10th‐11th century AD, produced in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea area, and glassware of Levantine production. The only direct evidence of the ship itself to date, is one iron anchor.     

Archaeologies of Aspiration: Historical Archaeology in Rural Central Sicily

Using material from a survey and excavation project in central Sicily, this paper discusses the complexities of understanding the material effects and archival data related primarily to nineteenth- and twentieth-century rural landscapes. Although it is possible to frame the relevant processes in terms of resistance and capitalist relations, the authors suggest that to understand this material within its historical context, it is necessary to identify aspirations and values related to the various overlapping as well as competing social groups with interests in the countryside, including large land-owners and institutions, leaseholders and their associates, small landholders and landless peasants.     

What can we make of these fragments? Excavation at ‘Mamilla’ Cave,Byzantine period,Jerusalem

This paper reports on the pathology and discrete traits of 1388 vertebrae uncovered from a mass burial site at ‘Mamilla’ cave, Jerusalem, dated to the Byzantine period. Observations of the vertebrae were aimed at reconstructing an anthropological profile of the population, by describing such factors as the frequency of pathology and discrete traits, and age at death of the population. The results show that most of the victims were relatively young, and that they differed significantly in their epigenetic traits from Jews and nomadic Arabs. The results reinforce earlier assumptions that the skeletal material excavated at Mamilla cave represents the Christian population of the city, massacred by the Persians in 614 ad . Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fishing Gear from a 7th-Century Shipwreck off Dor, Israel

The ancient anchorage of Dor, Israel, contains wreck-sites from several periods. Underwater exploration of one Byzantine wreck discovered the remains of a medium-size boat constructed with iron nails. Coin-finds dated it to c .665 AD, after the Muslim conquest. The wreck was probably caused by natural agents, but an event in the Byzantine-Muslim conflict can not be discounted. The artefacts include a group of objects testifying to the practice of light-fishing. Literary sources indicate a prevalence of light-fishing, but archaeological finds are very rare. This discovery clearly indicates light-fishing in late antiquity. A sounding-lead and steelyard can be seen as auxiliary to the fishing.
© 2007 The Authors     

Poets and Teachers in the Underworld: From the Lucianic katabasis to the Timarion

Building on the classical tradition, which was strongly emulated in the Second Sophistic, Lucian used the katabasis motif (as we know it from, e.g., the Odyssey’s book 11) and staged various meetings in Hades. These Lucianic encounters were later rewritten by Byzantine authors who adapted them in order to express comical, critical, or subversive approaches towards power structures. In the present article, special focus will be placed on twelfth-century Byzantium and the anonymous dialogue Timarion. It is argued that the author of the Timarion used the Second Sophistic tradition of Lucian in order to discuss contemporary questions of the Greek literary and rhetorical heritage. He created a fictional space that displayed ancient learning and allowed discussions of contemporary culture in a textual parody with satirical functions.     

Agriculture in sixth‐century Petra and its hinterland,the evidence from the Petra papyri

Since their discovery in 1993 the Petra papyri have drawn the attention of both historians and archaeologists because of the amount of information they contain. They deal with the property of Theodoros, son of Obodianus, and his family in Petra and its vicinity in the period between AD 537 and 593. This paper focuses on agriculture and its importance in Petra and the surrounding area in the sixth century AD, according to the information derived from the scrolls. It appears that agriculture played a major role in the economy of Petra and its hinterland at the time these documents were written. The papyri repeatedly mention agricultural lands throughout the region and in many cases specify their locations and toponyms. Some of the latter are significantly still in use. There is also information about springs, some of which are still active and contribute to local agriculture. Some papyri even contain information about the type of plants grown in the area. Finally, the authors present the current state of agriculture at selected places and compare it with the state of agriculture in the sixth century AD in the study area.     

The New Post Office Site in Istanbul and the North-Eastern Harbour of Byzantine Constantinople

An unpublished letter of 1906 describes a wall discovered at the New Post Office site in Istanbul. This may have been an Early Byzantine (5th–7th century) quay and, along with geological evidence, suggests that the north-east harbour of Early Byzantine Constantinople (probably the Neorion/Neorium harbour) was much larger than hitherto supposed. The harbour probably silted in the 7th century.
© 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society