Roman sarcophagi at the lower terrace of Amman Citadel

ABSTRACT

A rock-hewn cave cut out of limestone was accidentally discovered in 2012 during road repairs and maintenance work conducted by Great Amman Municipality on the corner of the street leading to the Amman Citadel. The recommendations were to conduct a salvage excavation at the above-mentioned cave. Therefore, an immediate physical inspection was conducted in order to assess the needs of excavating and to avoid further collateral damage. The campaign for the excavation of the cave took place between 22 February and 10 March 2012. Two limestone sarcophagi from the Roman period were found in the cave. The stone coffin is one of several types of the burial customs known to the Romans whether in the Near East or in their original homeland. The social and economic conditions of the people during the Roman Period determined the quality of their tombs, the funerary rites to be held and the funerary tools accompanying them in the other life. Consequently, people belonging to poor families are deprived of the same quality of services in comparison to their rich counterparts.     

Reburial in the context of development: Approaches to reburial in the English planning process

Abstract

Rescue archaeology in England is now firmly embedded in the planning process, following the introduction by the UK government of Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 in 1990 (PPG 16; Departmentof the Environment. Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 — Archaeology and Planning. HMSO, London (1990)). The basic premise of PPG 16 is a strong preference for in situ preservation of nationally important archaeological remains. This often includes reburial of archaeology prior to construction activity, once it has been exposed in test-pitting (‘evaluations’) or full excavation. Reburial strategies are often prepared by civil engineers and there appears to be an overemphasis on consideration of the potential physical impacts on the archaeology. These strategies usually include the use of geotextiles and sand, or other graded material, chosen for its particular particle size/shape characteristics. A greater awareness of the chemical and physical characteristics of a burial environment is now required to ensure that reburial is effective. Archaeologists and conservators are beginning to consider both the natural and, increasingly, the ‘man-made’ (industrial, domestic and agricultural) changes to the soil chemistry of an archaeological site. More use needs to be made of the potential information ‘locked up’ in the artefactual material retrieved from evaluations and excavation nearby. An assessment of the degree of preservation of material should be an integral component for the design of a reburial strategy.     

Towards a benign reburial context: the chemistry of the burial environment

Abstract

The successful reburial of exposed archaeological remains depends on the ability to recreate a benign preserving environment, especially for the desiccated and waterlogged environments that preserve organic and other valuable archaeological material. An introduction to the chemistry of soil and the burial environment is provided, covering the key variables: water, oxygen, cations and anions, pH, organic matter, clay and redox potential. The problems of monitoring these variables and their variation are highlighted. Recent work in monitoring the long-term effects of burial and the steps taken towards modelling actual burial environment chemistry are outlined. Factors to be considered when adding material for reburial are proposed. These include: the avoidance of soluble or potentially soluble minerals; the beneficial buffering effect of clays and organic matter; the minimization of changes in water level, redox potential and pH; and the desirability of retaining the porosity of the burial medium. This can often be achieved by re-using the soil in which the objects/structures were originally buried.     

The reburial of mosaics: an overview of materials and practice

Abstract

A significant proportion of the literature on the reburial of archaeological sites concerns mosaics. These publications reveal that a variety of materials have been used for mosaic reburial, including specialized fill and separation layers, from the early 1980s onwards. Although reburial practice often demonstrates an ad hoc and indiscriminate use of fill and separation materials, or the following of trends and anecdotal information favouring certain materials, knowledge of their characteristics is very important in developing an appropriate technical design for reburial of mosaics. The materials most commonly employed in mosaic reburial practice, including geotextiles, are reviewed and an assessment of their positive and negative characteristics within a reburial design is provided. Recent but limited laboratory and field testing, monitoring and evaluation of reburial interventions have begun to provide preliminary evidence about the behaviour of these materials, indicating which ones are most appropriate and how they should be utilized to best advantage. However, their selection and use remains uneven, and positive results continue to be as much a function of adequate maintenance as proper design and execution.     

Conservation of archaeological mosaic pavements by means of reburial

Abstract

In a burial environment ancient mosaic pavements are subject to a variety of mechanisms of deterioration, both physical and chemical. However, many pavements have survived, sometimes in exceptional condition. Additionally, some mosaics that have been discovered in recent times and reburied as a means of protection have also been well preserved. This indicates that reburial can be an effective means of preventive conservation and a viable response to the need for conservation of exposed mosaics on many archaeological sites. For reburial to be successful, risks to the mosaic must be accurately appraised and the design of the reburial must be well specified, following a rigorous conservation methodology.     

Tempo and mode of formation of the Late Epigravettian necropolis of Arene Candide cave (Italy): direct radiocarbon evidence

Existing ¹⁴C dates of charcoal and bone samples from different layers of the Late Epigravettian sequence at Arene Candide (Liguria, Italy) place the formation of the deposit between 12,000 and 10,000 (uncal.) BP, but it is unclear how long this cave was used for funerary purposes. Clarifying this point has important archaeological and anthropological implications, given number and variety of inhumations. These include single and double burials of richly ornamented adults, adolescents and children and disarticulated accumulations of bones. Six new direct ¹⁴C AMS dates obtained from human skeletons place more precisely the necropolis at the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene boundary, and appear distributed in two distinct groups that indicate two phases of funerary utilisation of the cave. Although separated by many centuries, the two phases of interment show recurring formal elements. Both groups include skeletons in anatomical connection exhibiting similar grave goods as well as chaotic accumulations of bones and, more importantly, the double burial of an adult with a child lying to its left. The reappearance of similar funerary patterns in the same site at two widely separated points in time suggests that the cave held a symbolic significance over several centuries. This, and the additional evidence of funerary use of the cave during the preceding Gravettian, points to the endurance of Upper Palaeolithic cultural traditions.     

‘Tangled up in Blue’: The Death,Dress and Identity of an Early Viking-Age Female Settler from Ketilsstaðir,Iceland

IN 1938, a woman’s burial was uncovered by road builders at Ketilsstaðir in north-eastern Iceland. Recently, her physical remains and associated funerary goods were re-examined by an international, interdisciplinary team and formed the basis for an exhibition at the National Museum of Iceland in 2015. This paper focuses on the items of dress that accompanied the woman — born in the British Isles, but who migrated to Iceland at a very young age — to gain insights into the ways her cultural identity was expressed at the time of her death. Here we explore the roles played by material culture in signaling her identity, and the technologies and trade networks through which she was connected, visually, to Scandinavia, the British Isles, and the Viking world at large.     

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Palestine Exploration Fund, 11 June 2009

Abstract

A total of 119 rock-cut burial caves of the Roman and Byzantine periods were surveyed in the study area, all of which had been subjected to robbing at some point in the recent past. This tomb raiding in the Saffa region has resulted in severe damage to a large number of rock-cut tombs, the desecration of several hundred ancient burials, and in the extraction of thousands of funerary objects from their original context. This study depends mainly on interviews with several of the raiders of these tombs and on a field survey carried out by the author in February and March 2011. The main aim of this study is to address three questions: What are the present and future challenges facing the tombs of the Roman and Byzantine periods in the study area? Could an ethnographical study help us to expand our understanding of the looting history of these burial caves and the kinds of looted objects that were found there? What can such an ethnographical study add to our understanding of the past?     

Chaco Canyon reburial programme

Abstract

Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico contains a wealth of archaeological resources, including 150 large earth and masonry structures under active management and preservation. In response to loss of original fabric from exposure over the last 100 years and more, as well as from continuous cycles of maintenance and repair, an extensive and long-term reburial programme was embarked upon in the late 1980s. The overall context of the site and the decision to undertake reburial as a principal conservation strategy is described in Part I of this paper. Part II provides a summary of the results of partial reburial at Chetro Ked, one of the ‘great houses’ of the canyon, in which protection of original timber was the main objective. Most of the wood at Chetro Ked could be covered only by a shallow overburden of soil, necessitating a specialized reburial design and materials to exclude moisture. Recent evaluation of the efficacy of the wood reburial was undertaken. Problems and shortcomings that were identified have led to re-design of part of the reburial and more careful attention to quality control during the intervention, as well as to selection of more appropriate geosynthetic materials. Additional monitoring techniques have been developed to allow direct withdrawal of samples of wood for assessment of deterioration.     

New Bioarchaeological Evidence and Radiocarbon Dates from the Lambayeque/Sicán Culture Camelids from the El Brujo Complex (Northern Coast of Peru): Implications for Funerary and Herd Management Practices

ABSTRACT

Pastoralism and camelid management have been essential to all aspects of pre-Hispanic Andean societies. Here, we present zooarchaeological and isotopic data on domestic camelid remains from Huaca Cao Viejo (El Brujo archaeological complex) on the northern coast of Peru, and dated to the Lambayeque/Sicán period—to characterise their biological age, diet, life history, possible geographic origin and ritual use. Domestic camelids, representing a wide range of biological ages and a high rate of polydactyly, were found as burial offerings in direct association with human funerary bundles (fardos). Direct AMS dates indicated that camelids were buried over a short period of time (AD 1022–1176) confirming the Lambayeque presence in the Chicama Valley during the first half of the Late Intermediate Period. Stable isotopic analyses were carried out on both bone collagen and hair keratin, including incremental analysis. A considerable variability in δ¹³C values at both the intra-individual and the intra-group level and a large contribution of C₄ resources to diet are shown. This clearly supports local management and camelids originating from various herds. Zooarchaeological and isotopic evidences suggest diversity in herding practices and suggest the importance of the herds in fulfilling the transportation demands for trade in goods.     

Folded wheel-made oil lamps,standing pit burial caves and Judaean ethnic identity in the Hasmonean period

ABSTRACT

Two distinct archaeological phenomena appeared between the middle of the second century BCE and the middle of the first century: the Hasmonean folded wheel-made lamp and the standing pit burial cave. Following an examination of their dating, distribution, and social significance we suggest that this material culture was characteristic of the Jews in Judaea during this time and that it reflects the creation of an ethnic identity. The fact that the Hasmonean folded wheel-made lamp and the standing pit burial cave were typical of Jews in Judea indicates that they were ethnic features of Jewish society. By these means the Jews emphasized their dissimilarity from the rest of the population. The archaic appearance of the lamps and the burial caves, which replicates the cultural characteristics of the Kingdom of Judah during the monarchic/first Temple period, indicates that Jewish society in the Hasmonean period sought to legitimize its existence through the use of its former culture and memory.     

In Situ Preservation and Monitoring of the James Matthews Shipwreck Site

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the archaeological community has been moving away from the more traditional methods of excavation and recovery of underwater cultural heritage towards a less intrusive management approach, essentially involving the preservation of sites in situ. This trend has been politically galvanized in Article 2, point 5 of the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (), which states that ‘The preservation in-situ of underwater cultural heritage shall be considered as the ?rst option before allowing or engaging in any activities directed at this heritage’. Over the years, a number of different remediation strategies have been utilized in order to protect underwater cultural heritage sites in situ, and most of the techniques or combinations thereof involve reburial of sites. Reburial may be an appropriate means of stabilizing and decreasing the deterioration rate of a site, however, there needs to be a holistic approach to the study of the environment, before and after reburial, to gain a full understanding of the changes that are occurring on the site and determine the effectiveness of the technique.

In early 2000, the James Matthews, a copper-sheathed, wooden-hulled vessel wrecked in 1841 south of Fremantle, Western Australia, was identi?ed as being under considerable threat from increased site exposure due to a combination of natural near-shore sedimentary processes and industrial activity in the immediate area. An extensive on-site conservation survey was carried out to establish the state of preservation of the wreck and provide information regarding the physico-chemical and biological nature of the environment prior to the implementation of any mitigation strategy. In 2003 it was con?rmed that further exposure of the site was occurring and devising a management plan was of paramount importance.

Since this time a number of different reburial techniques have been trialled on the site and these include sand bags of differing material composition, polymeric shade cloth, arti?cial sea grass mats made from polyvinyl chloride bunting, and the use of interlocking medium density polyethylene ‘crash barrier’ units in a cofferdam arrangement to con?ne deposited sand. The geological, physico-chemical, and microbiological changes in the burial environments have been monitored over this time. Furthermore, the broader scale, near-shore sedimentary processes affecting the site are being assessed in order to establish the reasons behind the continuing sediment loss. In situ preservation of the iron ?ttings by cathodic protection has also been included in these ?eld trials. In this paper the results from these experiments will be summarized. This information will be used to ?nalize the design of the full-scale in situ preservation strategy for the site and assist in establishing a post-reburial monitoring programme that will measure the success of the adopted remediation technique.     

A Taphonomic Approach to Late Classic Maya Mortuary Practices at Xuenkal,Yucatán,Mexico

Abstract

Following a brief introduction to mortuary practices in Prehispanic Maya society, we outline the analytical procedures followed during the excavation and laboratory investigation of five burial assemblages from the Late Classic period site of Xuenkal, Yucatán, Mexico. A detailed account of a sequence of primary and secondary interments is provided with a focus on taphonomic and biovital information, emphasizing the importance of an interdisciplinary approach, especially human taphonomy, for the reconstruction of complex Maya mortuary treatments. Our results show that bodies of the dead or their parts followed surprisingly long and complex funerary paths.     

Early Christian Grave Monuments and Ecclesiastical Developments in 11th-Century Sweden

THE EMERGENCE of churchyards is one of the most significant transformations of the landscape during the conversion to Christianity. This article examines changes in burial and commemorative practices during the 11th century, based on early Christian grave monuments. These are the first examples of churchyard memorials in central Sweden, yet at the same time they also form an integral part of the late Viking-Age runestone tradition. This article presents an analysis of their temporal, regional and contextual backgrounds, tracing developments in the early ecclesiastical landscape. It is concluded that different regional designs of rune-carved funerary monuments are related to substantial differences in the Christianisation process, reflecting variation in early ecclesiastical organisation and providing insight into how the conversion process was related to social and political structures.     

Caring for the dead? An alternative perspective on Sámi reburial

This article is an effort to critically discuss Sámi repatriation and reburial practice based on the analysis of five repatriation cases. Since the seminal repatriation (and burial) of the skulls of Somby and Hætta in Gávvuonna/Kåfjord in 1997, and the more recent reburial of 94 skeletons in Njauddâm/Neiden in 2011, a precedent seems established in Norway that allows the unconditional reburial of all Sámi human remains from collections and excavations. This inevitably poses a serious challenge to research on Sámi human remains and the Sámi past. It is argued that what is important is not research, but that Sámi are allowed to decide for themselves how they wish to care for the dead. Rather than argue according to the adversarial pro-research or pro-reburial viewpoints, this article will take a closer look at how the dead, and their associated material remains, are cared for during Sámi reburial. As will be argued, the care for the material side tends to be neglected and therefore raises an ethical question regarding this practice.     

The use of geosynthetics for archaeological site reburial

Abstract

Applications of geosynthetic materials in reburial practice include geotextiles for separation, filtration and protection (cushioning); geomembranes and geosynthetic clay liners for infiltration control; geonets and geocomposites for sub-surface drainage; and geocells for erosion control. Mechanically stabilized earth reinforcement using geocells, geogrids and geotextiles can also provide substantial benefits for reburial projects by reducing lateral earth pressure against backfilled structures. Other aspects of modern geotechnology that may be useful for reburial projects include micro-piles and soil nailing for foundation and excavation support and evapotranspirative capping technology to establish the depth of soil cover required to isolate a structure or artefact from moisture and temperature fluctuations. Optimal application of these geotechnologies requires an understanding of the basic engineering principles associated with their implementation, as well as knowledge of the factors influencing archaeological site preservation.     

The Shay Culture of Ethiopia (Tenth to Fourteenth Century <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">ad</Emphasis>): “Pagans” in the Time of Christians and Muslims

A new medieval culture called the “Shay culture” has recently been described in Ethiopia: it is characterised by hypogean and megalithic funerary structures, collective burial practices and a highly distinctive material culture including funerary potteries. These characteristics indisputably define a “Pagan” culture, in a region and at a time (tenth to fourteenth century ad) where Pagans could only face the expansion of Christianity and the development of neighbouring Muslim polities. While documenting some aspects of this cultural entity on archaeological grounds, this article re-envisions the Ethiopian Pagans no longer as “pre-Christians” and/or “pre-Muslims” but as historical competitors with, and economic partners of, their neighbours.     

The RAAR Project — Heritage Management Aspects on Reburial After Ten Years of Work

Abstract

The general purpose of the international reburial project, Reburial and Analyses of Archaeological Remains (RAAR), is to evaluate reburial as a method for the long-term storage and preservation of waterlogged archaeological remains. Since 2001 material samples have been buried, retrieved, analysed systematically, and the results reported.

RAAR has mainly focused on the degradation of materials commonly encountered on archaeological sites, and on environmental monitoring techniques in order to determine what type of material can be reburied and for how long. The project has concluded that a heritage institution could provide short- or long-term curation for its archaeological archive by using reburial depots provided they are set up according to guidelines and restrictions stipulated by the RAAR project.

However, there are management and legal aspects that need to be discussed and resolved before each reburial project. Actual reburials that have been carried out so far are often a solution to emergency situations and lack collection and management policies. The questions ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘for how long’ have been forgotten and need to be addressed. The legal protection of a reburial site is also important. This paper discusses these aspects and their consequences and highlights possible differences in approaches between the countries involved in the RAAR project.