OPTICAL DATING RESULTS FOR BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL SEDIMENTS

In this paper optical dating results for a range of British archaeological sediments are presented to illustrate the potential this method offers for archaeologists. The optical dating is shown to offer an absolute method for directly dating the deposition of sediments for an age range of approximately 1–300ka. Problems have been found with recuperation of the optically stimulated luminescence signal and insufficient bleaching at deposition of the sediment. A suitable correction method for the recuperation has been found and a method of identifying insufficient bleaching is suggested.     

THE BILZINGSLEBEN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE: NEW DATING EVIDENCE

New absolute dates have been obtained for the Bilzingsleben (D.D.R.) archaeological site, using uranium-series analyses of travertine, and electron spin resonance (ESR) analyses of travertine and tooth enamel of rhinoceros. The results indicate that the site was apparently occupied during interglacial isotope stages 9 or 11. The surrounding terrain has been subsequently dissected by at least three discrete stages of fluvial erosion during succeeding glacial stages. Bilzingsleben is thus shown to be significantly older than the Lower Travertine at the nearby site of Ehringsdorf, assigned to isotope stage 7 by uranium-series dating. The latter assignment is confirmed by new ESR data presented here.     

RADIOCARBON DATING ARCHAEOLOGICAL SAMPLES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN, 1730 TO 1480 BC: FURTHER EXPLORING THE ATMOSPHERIC RADIOCARBON CALIBRATION RECORD AND THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS*

The East Mediterranean Radiocarbon (Inter‐)Comparison Project (EMRCP) has measured time series of radiocarbon ages for known age samples of German oak (GeO) and for samples from the near‐absolutely placed Gordion juniper dendrochronology from central Anatolia. In this paper, we review the data for the calendar years from 1730 to 1480 bc , relevant in particular to controversy and debate concerning the absolute date of the Minoan eruption of the Santorini (Thera) volcano. We consider the issue of the radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating of the Santorini eruption, and the problem of how this relates to the archaeological record and historical chronology of Egypt in light of the ¹⁴C data. We find that these ¹⁴C data, and other recent radiocarbon work, provide good grounds to be confident in the possibility of a robust radiocarbon‐based chronology for the eastern Mediterranean. In contrast, as the radiocarbon case becomes stronger, questions must be asked about some archaeological dating: in particular, at the site of Tell el‐Dab‘a in the Nile Delta of Egypt.     

STATISTICAL ASPECTS OF POTTERY QUANTIFICATION FOR THE DATING OF SOME ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS*

This paper describes some statistical analyses of a particular archaeological material (pottery) originating at some sites in the city of Tours. An important part of the archaeological study of pottery is the comparison of ceramic assemblages to establish the absolute dates of contexts. In this paper, a statistical model is built to assess this comparison. The statistical procedure uses classical tools (correspondence analysis, linear regression and resampling methods) in an iterative scheme. Archaeologists may find in the paper a useful set of known statistical methods, while statisticians can learn a method of ‘arranging’ well‐known techniques. No method is new, but their combination is characteristic of this application.     

安以轩在这里，与精灵约会

传说,这里是精灵居住的岛屿,宁静而神秘,让人无法抵挡的美景和弥漫在空气中的气息是精灵赐予这个岛宝贵的财富。跨越了换日线,经过长途的飞行,我4fJgl本期明星安以轩一起来到了这个美丽的地方。这里,就是库克群岛。     

THERMAL ALTERATIONS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL BONES*

Archaeological bones, found close to Mexico City (Tlatelcomila), with alterations due to probable thermal exposure attributed to a possible case of cannibalism, have been characterized by XRD, SAXS and SEM. It is shown how these non‐destructive techniques, which are not conventionally used in archaeological research, may provide useful information. The deterioration degree of the bone structure is quantified through parameters such as gyration radius or fractal dimension. As some of the reported modifications could be attributed to diagenesis, a discussion is presented in terms of bone crystallinity and ionic exchange. Furthermore, the hydroxyapatite crystallite size increased depending on colour: this feature is not explained by diagenesis—it can only be attributed to temperature. We conclude that the samples were thermally treated. Indeed, thermal treatment alters the structure and morphology of bone at a very fine level (microscopic and nanometric), while morphology follows the structural modifications. It is determined that the studied human bones were treated at three different temperatures close to 100, 250 and 600°C. Therefore, they were either boiled (barbacoa) or grilled.     

OPTICAL DATING OF ANTHROPOGENIC SEDIMENTS AT THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF HERRENBRUNNENBUCKEL,BRETTEN-BAUERBACH (GERMANY)*

Optical dating was applied to natural and anthropogenic silts at an Iron Age settlement in southern Germany. The natural sediments were dated accurately and allowed study of the human impact on the landscape. The studied anthropogenic sediments were infills of cellars and ditches. Again, deposits derived from soil erosion proved to be datable using infrared-optically stimulated luminescence. However, optical dating of fine grained sediments was at its limits when sediments consisted of a mixture of bleached and unbleached grains. This is shown on sediments of known age originating from cellar infills. Improvements were obtained when using the 560 nm emission and a partial bleach approach. Experimental evidence shows that the D_E versus shine-time plot discloses insufficient bleaching only in cases in which all grains are insufficiently bleached to the same degree.     

FOSSIL DIATOMS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Summary. The relationship between environmental archaeology and diatom analysis, a well established technique in palaeoecology, is explored. The development of diatom analysis for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction is briefly considered and flow diagrams are presented to illustrate laboratory techniques. Examples of research in Mexico, North America, Britain and Europe are discussed to illustrate the potential of diatom analysis as a means of assessing human impact on the environment, notably lake water quality, and as a means of elucidating the palaeoenvironmental conditions under which archaeological sediments have accumulated. Consideration is also given to the role of diatom analysis in examining land/sea-level changes, especially those which may have affected prehistoric resource use, and to its significance in the reconstruction of local environments in and around archaeological sites. Finally, the potential of fossil diatoms for provenancing pottery is explored with particular reference to Dutch and Finnish examples.     

DATING THE BRONZE AGE IN SPAIN

Summary. How can archaeologists combine and use C14 determinations when they have irregular recalibrated dates? This question is solved by an example with six determinations from the Bronze Age settlement of El Castillo in the mountains of eastern Spain. For the first time we can date precisely the end of the Eneolithic to 2150–2110 BC, and the start of a Bronze Age expansion stage by 1960 BC. Each has a distinctive material culture; that of the Bronze Age stage is linked closely to the climax of the Motillas in La Mancha, and more distantly to El Argar in SE Spain.     

THERMOLUMINESCENCE DATING: RADIOACTIVITY IN QUARTZ

Alpha activities measured for four quartz extracts indicate that, in some samples, the alpha dose-rate to the quartz due to radioactivity within the quartz can be significant. Uranium mapping of the quartz by neutroninduced fission tracks shows that the radioactivity is not homogeneously distributed.     

LOCATING ARCHAEOLOGICAL FEATURES IN MAGNETIC DATA BY CROSS CORRELATION

Cross correlation is a simple numerical calculation that involves two different data sets and enables a comparison to be made between them. This method is presented as an aid to finding the location of specific archaeological features in magnetic data. A simple example to locate a kiln target is given, and its probable depth estimated. Providing a mathematical model exists for an archaeological feature, its location within geophysical data may be obtained by means of this method.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND IN SITU SCOTTISH WINDOW GLASS

Scottish window glass from both archaeological sites and historic buildings was examined using portable X‐ray fluorescence (pXRF) and scanning electron microscopy – energy‐dispersive X‐ray micro‐analysis (SEM–EDX). The elemental composition of the glass provides information regarding the materials used and, subsequently, an approximate range of dates of manufacture. pXRF is shown to be more vulnerable than SEM–EDX to the effects of surface corrosion and matrix effects in archaeological samples. The study showed that the production of window glass in Scotland from the 17th century onwards appears to closely parallel that in England. It also demonstrated the potential of pXRF for in situ studies of window glass in historic buildings. pXRF was used to assess two Scottish buildings; one in state care and one in private ownership. The building in state care, the Abbot's House at Arbroath Abbey, showed a uniform glass type, suggesting that the building was re‐glazed completely at some point during the late 19th or early 20th century. The building in private ownership, Traquair House, had a range of glass types and ages, demonstrating a different maintenance and repair regime. This type of data can be useful in understanding historic buildings in the future, particularly if re‐glazing is being considered.