The excavation of a 17th-century pit at the Black Gate,Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1975

Abstract

A stone-lined pit beneath the roadway into the castle was found to be part of the new defences constructed at the time of the Civil War. Artifacts found in the pit show that it had been filled up with largely domestic rubbish between c. 1645 and 1675. The finds include pottery, particularly redwares and tin-glazed wares, a variety of glass vessels including chemical apparatus, clay tobacco-pipes and some Scottish coins. The majority of the objects were imports, both from southern England and the continent.     

Educating the Workers of Sheffield in the 18th and 19th Centuries: St Luke's National School,Garden Street,Sheffield

This article describes the archaeological recording of a Sunday school which was constructed in 1873, on the site of an earlier building, to provide educational needs for the working-class families which surrounded Garden Street. A brief historical background to the provision of education both nationally and in Sheffield is provided, along with the results of the recording of the standing building, and reference to below-ground remains of the residential accommodation which surrounded it is given. The recording concluded that the original form of the school was intact, with little in the way of modifications, apart from the addition of 20th-century industrial structures and an air raid shelter. The site provides a valuable insight into educational provision in one of the poorer areas of 19th-century Sheffield.     

贵州省贞丰县孔明河遗址发掘的主要收获与意义

孔明河遗址位于贵州省贞丰县境内的北盘江畔.发掘证实,该遗址的文化遗存分属新石器时代早期、新石器时代中期、战国秦汉等不同时期.其中,新石器时代中期遗存内涵丰富,存在大型石器制造场,是北盘江流域同类遗存的典型代表.该遗址的发掘,为深入研究北盘江流域史前时期的石器加工技术及过程提供了较为全面的第一手资料,同时对于深入认识北盘江流域的古文化面貌、构建该地区古文化的年代序列也具有重要的意义.     

洛阳市西工区几座春秋墓的清理

20 0 1年 1 1月至 2 0 0 2年 3月 ,我队在配合航空工业部 61 3研究所、洛阳得天置业有限公司两个单位基建考古工作中 ,发掘清理出东周时期的墓葬 5 0余座。这两处墓葬区位于西工区凯旋中路南侧 30 0米 ,涧东路南头西侧 60米 ,原东周王城遗址区内 (图一 )。其中 C1 M72 2 6、 70 39、 72 5 8、72 5 6、 72 5 7五座墓葬较为重要 ,现报告如下 :图一　墓葬位置示意图一、墓葬形制均为长方形竖穴土坑墓 ,墓壁光滑 ,口、底等大 ,墓内填土均经夯打 ,夯层清楚 ,每层厚 6-1 0厘米。除 C1 M72 2 6为东西方向 90°(以头向为准 ) ,其余均为南北方向 0…     

The Leamington Scow: the excavation of historic structures and canal vessel at Leamington Wharf,Union Canal,Edinburgh

Abstract

Archaeological investigations were carried out at Leamington Wharf on the Union Canal in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh. The remains of a stone quay, wooden platforms and staging, a rope walk and a canal vessel were investigated prior to redevelopment of the site for housing. The combination of archaeological excavation and historical research has illuminated the development of this former canal basin at the terminus of the Union Canal, and provided a rare opportunity to study the remains of a canal vessel likely to date from the early to mid 19th century. A scaled model of the vessel was commissioned as part of the project and will be submitted to the local museum service as a record.     

The role of research and education in site management at the Lemba Experimental Village,Cyprus

Abstract

The project developed at the Lemba Experimental Village in Cyprus seeks to explain some aspects of the workings of archaeology through the medium of an ongoing and dynamic research project. The Lemba Experimental Village was established in 1988 with a view to understanding site formation processes through the construction of full-scale experimental buildings of the Chalcolithic period (3500–2800 BC). Experiments have been carried out with mud construction, lime plaster making and building construction. Monitoring and recording of construction and erosion processes provides a long-term history of events on the site which can be related to the deposits and features encountered when excavation is undertaken. Comparative information has been obtained from the structural analysis and excavation of buildings abandoned 25–30 years ago in the village of Souskiou, where similar deposits are encountered. The results of the work at Lemba and Souskiou are used as a comparative database for understanding deposits on prehistoric archaeological sites. The juxtaposition of the experimental building constructions with completed excavations at Lemba has led to the emergence of a policy of site presentation in which the methods of a particular form of archaeological research – experimental archaeology – constitute the main focus of interest on the site. This has been encouraged in the development of the site as a visitor centre, with an annually changing programme of new buildings being constructed and older ones being destroyed.     

The 4th-century B.C. shipwreck at Mazotos,Cyprus: New techniques and methodologies in the 3D mapping of shipwreck excavations

Abstract

Well preserved ancient shipwrecks are rare in the archaeological record, but when discovered, they can provide valuable information on a wide range of research issues if analyzed and documented properly. In this paper we discuss the significance, potential, and constraints of mapping methods applied during the underwater excavation of shipwreck sites with special emphasis on stratigraphy, documentation of finds, and reconstruction of site formation processes. As a case study, we present the digital photogrammetry and computer vision software programs used in the excavation of the 4th-century b.c. shipwreck at Mazotos, Cyprus. Our goal is to develop a targeted documentation and mapping method of ongoing shipwreck excavations so that others can address complex research questions concerning this unique discipline of archaeology.     

The avifauna of the early Epipalaeolithic site of Ohalo II (19 400 years BP), Israel: species diversity,habitat and seasonality

The early Epipalaeolithic site of Ohalo II offers evidence that, some 19 400 years BP, prehistoric people on the shore of the Sea of Galilee exploited birds in large numbers as a food source and for the decorative value of their feathers and claws. The superb preservation of even the most delicate fauna at this site enabled an extensive analysis of a type rarely possible with avian remains of this antiquity. Certain types of birds were obtained preferentially, although a broad variety of avifauna was taken; preliminary analysis of some 488 identifiable bone fragments indicates that 16 families, 40 genera, and 68 different species are represented in the archaeological assemblage. As might be expected from a lakeshore site, the remains of waterfowl abound. The most diversity within a family occurs among the Anatidae, with ten genera and 22 species; however, the most frequently occurring birds are those of the family Podicipidae, or grebes, which account for approximately one-third of the assemblage. Species common to a variety of other environments are found in significant numbers as well (namely the Accipitridae). Large birds dominate the assemblage and the number of species represented by each family is disproportionate to the numerical frequency of those species at present, with passeriformes relatively poorly represented. The regular migration pattern of birds today broadly indicates that the site was occupied during the months of September–November and February–April. There are, however, a number of species that appear in this region today only from December through to March, which might indicate a longer, semi-permanent encampment. A biseasonal, or perhaps extended winter occupation pattern at Ohalo II seems to support a shift away from the generalized foraging economy of hunter–gatherers and to indicate the onset of planned intensive collecting, thus foreshadowing the initial steps toward sedentism. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Terramare and the surrounding hydraulic structures: a geophysical survey of the Santa Rosa site at Poviglio (Bronze Age,northern Italy)

The Terramara Santa Rosa is a Middle and Late Bronze Age archaeological site located in the Po alluvial plain, northern Italy. It is constituted of two moated villages delimited by earthen ramparts. The peripheral structures of the site are sealed by fine-textured flood plain deposits and they have not been fully explored through excavation due to their large extent. Because the shape of the villages and their relation to moats and the fluvial network are of paramount importance to understanding the landscape management and the use of water resources in the Terramare civilisation, a geophysical survey was planned to extend the results of the existing archaeological excavations to the site scale. A frequency-domain electro-magnetic sounding (FDEM) and electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) covered an area of approximately 26 ha; ERI was conducted for a total length >9000 m. Despite the predominance of electrically conductive fine-textured sediments, electrical resistivity anomalies were observed and they were attributed to subtle lithological differences in the sedimentary context of the alluvial plain. The geophysical interpretation, after the calibration with the excavation data, revealed the structures of the Terramara and of the surrounding hydraulic network, which are not visible at the surface due to flood plain deposits. The Santa Rosa site was founded in a favourable geomorphological position, on the top of a crevasse splay lobe of the adjoining Po palaeo-channel, rising above the surrounding alluvial plain. The Terramara and their surroundings were delineated through an artificial modification of this pre-existing crevasse splay lobe and a well-targeted urban design, with the objective of diverting water, most likely from a palaeo-channel of the Po River, through the digging of peripheral moats used to collect water around the site and to distribute it to the surrounding fields for irrigation. The water management documented by this study in the Terramara Santa Rosa can be considered as paradigmatic for the whole Terramare civilisation, which is therefore responsible of the introduction of the irrigated agriculture into western Europe for the first time.     

The Archaeological Investigation of Two Battles and an Engagement in North Germany from the 19th Century: A Summary of Work Carried Out at Idstedt,Grossbeeren and Lauenburg

Abstract

During the last decade, several sub-areas of the two North German battlefields of Großbeeren (1813) and Idstedt (1850) as well as of the site of the Engagement of Lauenburg (1813) have been examined archaeologically using metal-detectors. In each case, metal artefacts that definitely derive from the historical events were recovered in varying numbers. By interpreting the distributions of the finds on the surveyed sub-areas and comparing the results obtained thereby with the information provided by the respective historical sources, it was possible to verify the latter archaeologically. To some extent, the results of the examinations also offered new details e.g. regarding the course of the fighting or locations of main combatareas that had been forgotten in the time after the fighting had ended.