Archaeobotanical evidence for early Dilmun diet at Saar, Bahrain

A flotation machine was used to process large quantities of earth at the Saar excavation in the 1990 and 1991 seasons. Carbonised seeds and charcoal were recovered from a wide range of contexts dating to about 1900 BC. While overall quantities were low, enough contexts were productive to allow quantification. Date stones were the most frequent crop remains, with smaller amounts of free-threshing wheat and hulled six-row barley. This confirms evidence from other sources (textual, dental) for the importance of dates as a staple food in the Early Dilmun period. A survey of ethnographic and archaeological evidence for date husbandry in Bahrain suggests that the date-palms and cereals were grown in irrigated date gardens similar to those found today.     

London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition: 1994 and 1995 excavations at Saar, Bahrain

The long-term aim of the project is to excavate the entire central area of the Dilmun settlement. During the 1994 and 1995 seasons a further twelve buildings were excavated, most of them located along the main arteries of the settlement. A resistivity survey, followed by selective excavation, determined the size and extent of the site. A well excavated on the eastern flank provided valuable information about the level of Bahrain's aquifers in the Early Dilmun period.     

New excavations at the Barbar Temple, Bahrain

In 2004 excavations at the Barbar Temple dating to c. 2000 BC established that the function of the southeastern subterranean channel connected to the temple pool was to supply the pool with water and not to divert water away from the pool. North and west of the temple the oval terrace wall of its third phase was located. In the centre of the Northeast Temple the remains of a shaft-stairway leading down to a well-chamber was uncovered and shown to be furnished with two subterranean channels leading water into the chamber. South of the Northeast Temple a house with late pottery was excavated. Two stamp seals and two seal-impressed tokens were found.     

The decline of Magan and the rise of Dilmun: Umm an-Nar ceramics from the burial mounds of Bahrain, c.2250–2000 BC

This article outlines some general aspects of the Magan and Dilmun trade and goes on to examine the Umm an-Nar pottery discovered in the tombs of the Early Dilmun burial mounds of Bahrain. These ceramics are of particular interest because they indirectly testify to Dilmun's contact with Magan in the late third millennium. In this article, thirty vessels of seven morphological types are singled out. By comparison with the material published from the Oman peninsula the Bahrain collection is tentatively dated to c. 2250–2000 BC. The location of the Umm an-Nar pottery within the distribution of burial mounds reveals that its import was strongly associated with the scattered mounds of Early Type. It is demonstrated that the frequency of Umm an-Nar pottery declined just as the ten compact cemeteries emerged c. 2050 BC. The observed patterns are seen as a response to the decline of Magan and the rise of Dilmun.     

The decline of Magan and the rise of Dilmun: Umm an-Nar ceramics from the burial mounds of Bahrain, c.2250–2000 BC

This article outlines some general aspects of the Magan and Dilmun trade and goes on to examine the Umm an-Nar pottery discovered in the tombs of the Early Dilmun burial mounds of Bahrain. These ceramics are of particular interest because they indirectly testify to Dilmun's contact with Magan in the late third millennium. In this article, thirty vessels of seven morphological types are singled out. By comparison with the material published from the Oman peninsula the Bahrain collection is tentatively dated to c. 2250–2000 BC. The location of the Umm an-Nar pottery within the distribution of burial mounds reveals that its import was strongly associated with the scattered mounds of Early Type. It is demonstrated that the frequency of Umm an-Nar pottery declined just as the ten compact cemeteries emerged c. 2050 BC. The observed patterns are seen as a response to the decline of Magan and the rise of Dilmun.     

Two wooden coffins from the Shakhoura Necropolis, Bahrain

This article presents a detailed analysis of two wooden coffins from the 1^st centuries BC/AD on Bahrain. New C14 dates are published of samples taken from the coffins, and their method of manufacture is reconstructed. The unexpected conservation of wood in a humid environment like Bahrain is explained.     

London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition: 1991–2 excavations at Saar

Preliminary results are presented of the third season of excavations at Saar, Bahrain, by the London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition. Research at this second millennium BC site continued in the temple, as well as in parts of the upper town. Bedrock was reached at a depth of approximately 5.45 metres in the sondage below the temple. Several new buildings were found and work was completed in houses discovered in previous seasons. The article goes on to discuss the numerous seals and seal impressions found this season.     

Early settlement in Hadramawt: preliminary report on prehistoric occupation at Shi'b Munayder

While excavation and survey in Wadi Hadramawt itself has documented extensive first-millennium population centres and complex irrigation systems, earlier settlement and production remain poorly documented. Results of recent survey and test excavations in the mountainous hinterlands of southern Arabia have revealed scattered settlement near fossil springs that may have provided an important focus from as early as 6000 years ago. Lithic studies of surface material suggest that the widespread house sites at Shi'b Munayder in Wadi Idim were re-occupied or re-used as late as the Iron Age early-mid-first millennium BC. But stratigraphic evidence and a radiocarbon date point to an earlier establishment of settlement during at least the post-Neolithic second millennium BC. The site of Shi'b Munayder, the earliest reported settlement in Hadramawt, seems to suggest that Hadrami peoples living at the time of the early establishment of complex centres retained ties with cultural groups to the east rather than with highland northern Yemen.     

Charcoal analyses as an environmental tool for the study of Early Medieval sunken houses infills in Roztoky near Prague, Czech Republic

The research was focused on the testing of possible information value of charcoal analysis from infills of archaeological objects, when methodologically different approaches are used in the combination with the micromorphological and pollen-analytical approach. The case study site chosen for this type of study is the unique Early Medieval settlement at Roztoky, Czech Republic. The comparative study includes the infills of 20 pithouses from the extensive settlement comprising about 750 (323 excavated) such archaeological structures situated along the left bank of Vltava River close to what today is the city of Prague. A combination of three anthracological outcomes (the number of charcoal fragments, the anthracomass, and the qualitative frequency of charcoal species) proves to be a powerful tool in determining the vegetation pattern in the surrounding landscape. The study revealed a major effect of post-depositional processes and quantification methods on the final anthracological interpretation. A modification of the anthracological record in different layers was traced in order to assess the applicability of sedimentology and micromorphology in the interpreting of the primary use and ending of the objects found. The reliability of anthracological interpretations are then compared with the results of micromorphological analyses and with regional vegetation patterns interpreted from pollen analyses of an off-site pollen profile.     

Organization of ceramic production at a fortified Early Bronze Age settlement in Moravia (Czech Republic) inferred from minimally destructive archaeometry

This paper explores how pottery production was organized at fortified sites of central Europe at the end of the Early Bronze Age. The organization of pottery production in terms of ethnography-based models was inferred jointly by non-destructive multi-elemental analysis, micropetrography and powder X-ray diffraction. This minimally destructive approach was used to explore the mode of pottery production at the fortified central site Blu?ina (Moravia, Czech Republic). Archaeometry-based indirect evidence indicates that tableware of a specific shape was produced using a specific technology at the site or in its close vicinity and that coarse ware was brought to the site from elsewhere. The results obtained were complexly evaluated and compared with ethnography-based categorizations to reveal the features of production organization of the Early Bronze Age pottery. Multidimensional analysis classified the production as intensified household labour and work of individual retainers, or nucleated corvée, depending on its scale and intensity.     

Medieval phases of settlement at Benabbio castle,Apennine mountains,Italy: evidence from Ground Penetrating Radar survey

The lack of written sources for many of the medieval castles in the northern Apennines (Italy) makes it difficult to completely establish the most ancient historical phases of these settlements. The church of San Michele belongs to an abandoned fortified settlement of the Castle of Benabbio, in the mountains surrounding Lucca. Thanks to an epigraph still visible on the façade, the church foundation is dated back to AD 1218. However, several archaeological findings at the settlement seem to suggest stages of encastlement that are older than the church foundation.     

Botanical,malacological and archaeological zonation of settlement deposits at Gomolava

A 2 × 2 m column was excavated within the large-scale excavation carried out by a Jugoslav team at tell Gomolava, Hrtkovci, Jugoslavia, occupied from Vinc?a (c. 5000 BC) to post-Roman times. The archaeological zonation of the column's material is briefly outlined to provide the background to the detailed palaeobotanical, palynological and malacological study. The results of this study are used to aid the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment of the tell. They indicate that the earliest agrobotanical zone, in which most of the cultigens were already present, but which is characterized by a very low count of charred seeds, persists throughout the Vinc?a, Baden and most of the Kostolac layers of the tell. A marked increase in charred seeds, without the appearance of new species, occurs in the next zone (Bronze and Iron Age). In zone 3 (Iron Age and Roman), Triticum dicoccum, Triticum aestivum and Lens culinaris attain significant levels.An interesting correlation between an increase in shade-loving snail species (zone B) and increase in building activity in the same level needs to be verified by further similar studies. This level is approximately that of the end of the Vinc?a occupation, but does not precisely correlate with an archaeological transition, suggesting that new building styles may have ante-dated the full development of the Baden cultural group on the site. During the third malaco zone (zone C) most shade loving snail species decrease abruptly to make place for open country species. The spread of these species could have been caused by the partial or total abandonment of the tell. Aquatic snails, which had first appeared in the lowest habitation layers of the tell become rare towards the subsequent bronze and iron age occupation of the tell, indicating that hardly any riverine clay was used for the construction of houses within these periods. The final malaco zone, representing the disturbed iron, roman and medieval periods indicates that again open grassy slopes must have occurred on or around the tell.     

The Early Bronze Age settlement of Fidvár,Vráble (Slovakia): reconstructing prehistoric settlement patterns using portable XRF

This paper presents first results of chemical analyses of sediment samples from the Early Bronze Age (EBA) settlement Fidvár near Vráble (Slovakia). Large-scale geomagnetic prospection revealed detailed architectural remains of a fortified settlement. Other structures such as an earthwork of the linear pottery culture and at least two Roman march camps were found too. An Auger programme provided sediment samples of different depths, A) from an EBA house and the outer fortification ditch, B) from a potential metal workshop area as indicated by surface finds, and C) from an area located in the settlement's centre. The samples were analysed by a portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometer in order to investigate the vertical and horizontal distribution of chemical signatures. The comparison of geophysical data and three-dimensional chemical patterns gives us the opportunity to determine the human impact and to reconstruct activity patterns. The potentials and limits in the application of pXRF in archaeological soil chemical surveys are evaluated by systematic comparisons with high resolution laboratory measurements, including atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The pXRF analyses can be reproduced well and show a good accuracy. Whilst (p)XRF analyses reflect the total composition of archaeological soil samples, the results of the AAS and ICP-OES analyses are fundamentally influenced by the acid digestion or extraction methods used. The pXRF analyses of the Vráble soils showed typical patterns of human occupation. For example, there are strong positive correlations between phosphorous, strontium and calcium. Phosphorous shows an enrichment in pathways and the fortification ditch. It is less strongly enriched within the sediments of house structures. Similar results apply to calcium and strontium distribution. But compared to the respective concentrations in sediment samples from the ditch they show a considerably higher variation in samples associated with house structures; that is, individual samples of sediments from house structures contained high concentrations of both, calcium and strontium. The deposits of an area that according to surface finds was thought to represent a potential metal workshop did not show indicative chemical signatures. Targeted excavations confirmed the absence of such as workshop. Finally it was shown that the refill history of the innermost fortification ditch (sample area D) and the overall cultural occupation sequence at the site correlate strongly with the chemical signatures of the respective ditch profile. The systematic variation of key elements along the profile opens up an entirely new perspective for interpreting the site's history. Overall, the study shows the great potential of pXRF as valuable part of an archaeological survey toolkit.     

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.     

Provisioning an Early City: Spatial Equilibrium in the Agricultural Economy at Angkor,Cambodia

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory - A dominant view in economic anthropology is that farmers must overcome decreasing marginal returns in the process of intensification. However, it is...