THE FERTILE DESERT: AGRICULTURE AND COPPER INDUSTRY IN EARLY ISLAMIC ARAVA (ARABAH)

Abstract

The Arava is an arid region in the Southern Levant. Archaeological excavations and surveys in the area revealed dense settlement and sophisticated technologies from the eighth to ninth centuries—qanat water technology and copper production. Differences between the data of the middle and southern Arava suggest two separated economic systems. While the Southern Arava seems to be primarily an industrial area of copper that delivered the raw material to Ayla, the middle Arava was mainly agricultural and may be connected to trade routes. Studying the farming conditions of this arid area points to date palms as the main crop of the agricultural settlement. However, it is not yet clear where the Arava's produce was exported.     

EARLY VILLAGE LIFE IN SOUTHEASTERN INDIANA: RECENT FIELD INVESTIGATIONS AT THE GUARD SITE (12D29)

Abstract

Investigations at the Guard site (12D29), located in Dearborn County, Indiana, have provided evidence pertaining to the development of early Fort Ancient villages. Recent geophysical survey and excavations alongside many new radiocarbon dates have allowed for improved understanding of household architecture and intrasite variability. Although some scholars have hypothesized that Middle Fort Ancient villages developed out of small early Fort Ancient hamlets, the Guard site provides explicit evidence for villages early in the Fort Ancient sequence. Guard also contains key Mississippian indicators for interaction, particularly wall-trench architecture and a Ramey knife. These findings demand that we reconceptualize the inception of Fort Ancient villages.     

Forts or agricultural estates? Persian period settlement in the territories of the former kingdom of Judah

ABSTRACT

The territories of the former kingdom of Judah were only sparsely settled during the Persian period, as exemplified by the extreme rarity of domestic structures unearthed in excavations. Viewed against this background, the large number of excavated forts and isolated administrative buildings from this period is remarkable, and they apparently outnumber the period's excavated dwellings. Not only is this an extremely unlikely situation, but various lines of evidence, pertaining to specific sites as well as to the phenomenon as a whole, render the possibility that all these structures were forts or administrative buildings re-examines implausible. Consequently, this article reexamines the phenomenon within the social landscape of the region in particular, and of the Achaemenid empire in general, in an attempt to embed those unique buildings within the broader demographic and political reality of this time. Given the location of many of the sites and the finds unearthed in them, and in light of the demographic reality in the region and of the broader Achaemenid imperial policy, the article suggests that most of the so-called forts were estates, created in the process of the resettlement of this previously devastated region.     

GEOPHYSICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT THE CLEMENT SITE,A CADDO MOUND COMPLEX IN SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA

Abstract

Since the 1960s, few professional archaeological excavations have been conducted at Caddo sites in southeastern Oklahoma. This article summarizes the initial phase of a research program designed to increase our knowledge of this area. Geophysical and archaeological investigations at the Clement site (34Mc8) were conducted during the summer of 2008 by the University of Oklahoma. These revealed deep middens, intact mound stratigraphy, and architecture, and suggest that Clement had multiple Caddo occupations spanning approximately 300 years.     

Joshua’s Tomb

Abstract

Following the recent excavations of the Jerusalem 'Warren's Shaft System' and its attribution to the Middle Bronze II period, the authors re-evaluate the dating of the Gezer water system. R. A. S. Macalister attributed it to the 'Second Semitic' period, which roughly corresponds to the ME II period. Several scholars challenged this dating, suggesting a lower date in the Late Bronze or the Iron Age. The article draws attention to a detail which escaped the types of scholars, namely that the cave at the bottom of the system has in fact a lower outlet, to the tell's southern perimeter. This detail appears on a plan and section drawn by L Vincent, when visiting the excavation. This explains how the miners knew where to locate the entrance to the system within the city's boundary, and to what direction and angle to aim their tunnel to hit that cave. This increases the similarity between the Jerusalem and the Gezer water systems, and corroborates the MB II dating for the Gezer system, originally suggested by Macalister.     

Constructing community at civic-ceremonial centers: pottery-making practices at Crystal River and Roberts Island

ABSTRACT

Crystal River (8CI1) and Roberts Island (8CI36, 8CI40, 8CI41) are neighboring mound complexes on Florida’s west-central Gulf Coast, with mainly sequential occupations during the Middle and Late Woodland periods, respectively. Previous work at Crystal River produced assemblages marked by a diversity of pastes and surface treatments, suggestive of distinct communities of practice. However, these excavations were unsystematic and poorly controlled, thus confounding understanding of temporal and spatial variation in practice. Recent excavations in domestic areas, combined with the analysis of older collections from mounds, support a finer-grained understanding of variation in ceramic production. Our analysis suggests that communities of practice persisted through time, although there is variation that corresponds well with changes in settlement.     

A Re-Appraisal of the Archaeological Findings at Tel Hashash: On the Archaeology of the Yarqon Estuary from Classical Times to Late Antiquity

Abstract

Tel Hashash is located within the boundaries of modern Tel Aviv. Surveys and excavations carried out in the site by the late J. Kaplan and H. Ritter-Kaplan during the 1960s and 1980s revealed remains and finds dated mainly to the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. The present paper includes the presentation and analysis of these yet unpublished remains, and a revision of the excavators' conclusions about the function and history of the site in classical times and Late Antiquity, in light of the archaeology and history of the lower Yarqon river and the central coastal plain.     

In the Land of Olmec Archaeology

Abstract

Michael D. Coe and Richard A. Diehl, In the Land of the Olmec, two volumes plus maps. Volume I, The Archaeology of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, 416 pp.; Volume II, The People of the River, 198 pp. The University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas 1980. 100.00.

The recent publication of a comprehensive report describing the excavations at San Lorenzo, Tabasco, Mexico, In the Land of the Olmec by Michael D. Coe and Richard A. Diehl, provides a significant contribution to Mesoamerican archaeology and a suitable opportunity to review the present status of Olmec studies. The development of Olmec archaeology is a relatively recent phenomenon, with the modern era of research beginning with Matthew Stirling's surveys and excavations at several sites in Mexico's Gulf Coast region (1938–1946), and continuing with the University of California at Berkeley's excavations at the site of La Venta in the mid-1950s. The report by Coe and Diehl of the San Lorenzo investigations (1966–1968) adds considerably to our understanding of the origins and other aspects of Olmec civilization. These contributions, together with several continuing gaps in our knowledge, are reviewed by a resume of Olmec chronology, archaeological remains, external connections, and the implications of the Olmec for the evolution of Mesoamerican civilization.     

Mortimer Wheeler's Theatre of the Past

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of Mortimer Wheeler's work as a public archaeologist, and in particular his efforts to display the archaeological process to interested members of the public. By focusing on the excavations at Maiden Castle, Dorset, from 1934 to 1937 we compare Wheeler's stated philosophy of public archaeology with his practice in the field. At Maiden Castle the theatre of excavation was the centrepiece of a carefully marketed archaeological experience including tours, souvenirs, and a well-developed media strategy. By applying the commodity model of public archaeology as an analytical framework we highlight the sophistication and success of Wheeler's 'theatre of the past'. This analysis lays a foundation for further critical historical studies of both the public understanding of the past, and of Wheeler's life and works.     

MOUND BUILDING AT LAKE JACKSON (8LE1), TALLAHASSEE,FLORIDA: NEW INSIGHTS FROM GROUND PENETRATING RADAR

Abstract

The Lake Jackson Mounds site (8LE1), located near Tallahassee, Florida, has long been considered to be a frontier Mississippian center. This assertion is primarily based on elaborate burial goods recovered during salvage excavations in the 1970s. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) on the two largest intact mounds at Lake Jackson revealed new information about their morphology and construction histories. These findings demonstrate that mound-building practices at the site were distinct from earlier, local Woodland mound-building traditions, and more similar to those of other Mississippian centers, such as Etowah and Moundville. Lake Jackson revitalized mound building in the Tallahassee area under the influence of external connections with groups in the Mississippian interaction network. These findings show how mound building was an integral practice for expressing and expanding Mississippian ideologies and rituals. This work also shows the utility of GPR in exploring mounds' morphologies and construction histories.     

The Archaeological Heritage of the Jerusalem Protestant Cemetery on Mount Zion

Abstract

Ever since the purchase of land in 1848 for the establishment of the Jerusalem Protestant Cemetery on Mount Zion, the south-western brow of the hill has attracted the attention of scholars. Initiated by the discovery of a series of rock-hewn steps in a scarp that was traced for over 200 metres and thought to be the line of Jerusalem's ancient fortifications, archaeological investigation within the confines of the cemetery continued for some 150 years. In this paper, the results of a century and a half of excavations are summarized and synthesized, providing important evidence regarding the development and chronology of Jerusalem's fortifications from the Iron Age to the Ayyubid Period. Also, the idea of an Essene Quarter on Mount Zion during the Second Temple Period, based on the discovery of a gate believed to be Josephus' 'Gate of the Essenes', is re-examined in light of the rest of the archaeological evidence from the cemetery.     

Edward II. His Last Months and his Monument

Abstract

Very little site-oriented dendrochronology has been undertaken in Scotland, possibly because of the absence of a locally based dendrochronological facility until recently. However, timbers found during the excavations of several medieval burghs in the late 1970s and 1980s were saved for future analysis and had been stored in museums around the country. During a project to locate suitable samples fir a Scottish tree-ring database the potential of these assemblages was recognised. Although relatively small assemblages, their analysis has expanded and strengthened the tree-ring database within Scotland, thus facilitating future work. Evidence fir synchronous development in the early burghs in the late 12th century and the nature of the woodland resource at times during the medieval period is presented. An 'event horizon' in the early 10th century, signalled by the birth dates of marry of the dated timbers, has been recognised and possible causes are discussed. The projects reported on here were all funded by Historic Scotland.     

BUILDING AN IDENTITY: ARISTOCRATIC LANDSCAPE AND CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION AT THE 16TH‐CENTURY BISHOP'S PALACE IN ODENSE

In the 16^th century, establishing and maintaining one's status and position in society was an important social factor and motivator. This article examines to what extent such efforts can be deduced from archaeological material. The subject is the 16^th‐century bishop's palace in Odense, Denmark. This case study has been encouraged by the unprecedented large‐scale archaeological excavations that have taken place in the Odense city centre in recent years. The new archaeological data allows for a contextual analysis in which the finds and structures are considered as evidence for negotiated identity expressed through materiality. The main conclusion is that a unique socioeconomic identity is expressed in the building structure, while evidence from the portable objects is more ambiguous.     

UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC LIGHTING IN THE 1880S: CLAYTON MINE,ECTON, STAFFORDSHIRE

Abstract

In 2008 evidence was first identified for 1880s use of electrical lighting deep underground in Clayton Mine at Ecton; further data was gathered in 2014 when archaeological excavations were undertaken. This lighting illuminated the main chamber, where there was a steam engine for winding and pumping, and also an adjacent side chamber where there was a further engine used to produce compressed air. Both engines are documented as installed in 1883/4. In a second side chamber a stone bed remains for another small steam engine, which we now know powered a DC dynamo set on a timber floor that kept the equipment free from the puddles of water that collected on the bedrock below. All three chambers were whitewashed to make lighting more effective. Archaeological finds include a commutator brush, a mica separator from the commutator, copper wiring and pieces of drive belt. Clayton Mine was abandoned in 1889/90; hence this is a demonstrable important example with archaeological evidence for the early use of electricity.     

Bioturbation of Submerged Sites by the Asiatic Clam: A Case Study from Amistad Reservoir SW Texas

Abstract

Burrowing clams represent a poorly studied threat to shallowly buried and submerged archaeological sites across North America. Test excavations at a formerly submerged prehistoric terrace site in SW Texas unearthed burrowing clams (Asiatic clam Corbicula fluminea) in, under; and around features. A review of this clam's ecology, burrowing habits, geographical distribution, and presence in this and other archacological sites illustrates the potential for significant sediment disturbances.     

Tracks Across the Irwell: From the Liverpool & Manchester Railway to the Ordsall Chord

ABSTRACT

Archaeological excavations and built heritage recording has been undertaken by Salford Archaeology (based within the Centre for Applied Archaeology, University of Salford) during the construction of a new rail link across the River Irwell between Manchester and Salford, known as the ‘Ordsall Chord’. The new bridge links existing lines of historic importance, and also crosses the extant remains of the world’s first passenger steam railway, the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, being carried over the Grade I designated ‘Stephenson's Bridge’ at approximately deck level. Six further Grade II designated structures were also affected by the scheme, as were the below-ground remains of a dye works that predated the opening of the railway in the 1830s, and a large livestock market that grew adjacent to the improved transport infrastructure provided by the rail network. This paper discusses the archaeological work undertaken on this important early transport hub during the construction programme in 2015–18.     

Edmund Spenser at Kilcolman Castle: the archaeological evidence

Abstract

As part of a broader study of the Elizabethan colonization of Munster, the home of a member of the colonial elite was the object of four seasons of fieldwork, 1993–96. Kilcolman Castle in north County Cork now comprises a ruined tower-house and some mounds of masonry overlooking Kilcolman Bog. The castle and 3,000 acres had been granted to the poet Edmund Spenser, who refurbished and occupied it from 1588 to 1598, when Tyrone's rebellion burned Kilcolman. Spenser's family fled, the poet soon dying in London, and the castle was finally abandoned after a second fire ante 1622. The excavations established that archaeological remains survived to a significant extent: the bawn (bailey) wall line was traced, structures identified as the Great Hall and Parlour were located, and artefacts and ecofacts from the occupancy of Spenser's family were recovered.     

OLYNTHUS MILLSTONES IN THE SOUTHERN LEVANT: THE BACKDROP TO THE MARITIME TRADE OF OLYNTHUS MILLSTONES

Abstract

This article aims to illustrate the background behind the maritime trade of Olynthus-type millstones in the eastern Mediterranean region. A look at the distribution of southern Aegean Olynthus millstones, whose provenances were identified by Williams-Thorpe and Thorpe’s petrographic analysis, reveals that millstones were not a major import into the southern Levant, where local Olynthus millstones were produced and distributed. They were more frequent in Cyprus, where they were valued locally due to the dearth of stones appropriate for use as millstones. The analysis of Williams-Thorpe and Thorpe also suggests that southern Levantine millstones, in contrast to millstones from earlier and later periods, were not exported to other Mediterranean regions. Shipwreck remains from the eastern Mediterranean, as well as the distribution of commercial Rhodian amphorae, reveal that Rhodian merchants carried wine and millstones from the southern Aegean to Cyprus. The southern Levant, where a number of locally produced Olynthus mills were unearthed, was self-sufficient in millstones. Hence, the Rhodian merchants, who dominated eastern Mediterranean trade, used the southern Aegean millstones as saleable ballast.     

The Excavations at Tel 'Eton (2006–2009): A Preliminary Report

Abstract

Tel 'Eton, commonly identified with biblical 'Eglon, is a large site in the trough valley in the southeastern Shephelah. Since the summer of 2006, Bar-Ilan University has been carrying out a large-scale exploration project at the site and its surroundings. The excavations were preceded by a detailed mapping of the site, which was subsequently divided into 39 sub-units. This was followed by survey and shovel tests in each of those units, and by full-scale excavations in four excavation areas. It appears that the site was first settled in the Early Bronze Age, and again in the Middle Bronze Age to the late Iron Age (8^th century BCE). Following a settlement gap in the 7^th–5^th centuries BCE, the site was resettled for a short period in the late Persian or early Hellenistic period. Among the major finds is a thick Assyrian destruction layer (8^th century BCE), which sealed many houses with their content, including many pottery vessels, metal artifacts, and botanical material (some still within the vessels), and many additional finds. The present article summarizes the results of the explorations of the site in 2006–2009.