Two Early Archaic Shipwrecks at Kekova Adası and Kepçe Burnu,Turkey

During its annual surveys of the Turkish coast in the 1970s and 1980s, the Institute of Nautical Archaeology discovered two early Archaic (7th‐ to early‐6th‐century BC) shipwrecks at Kekova Adas? (Antalya region) and Kepçe Burnu (Mu?la region); Dokuz Eylül University's Institute of Marine Science and Technology is currently involved in survey of the region. The wrecks, marked by a primary cargo of basket‐handle amphoras, indicate exchange between Cyprus and the cities of coastal Asia Minor and Corinth. Such Iron Age internationalism may have been driven by an interest in processed agricultural goods such as olive oil. © 2010 The Authors     

Neolithic nomadism in south‐east Arabia — strontium and oxygen isotope ratios in human tooth enamel from al‐Buhais 18 and Umm al‐Quwain 2 in the Emirates of Sharjah and Umm al‐Quwain (UAE)

Human skeletal remains from the Neolithic sites BHS18 in the interior of the Sharjah Emirate and the Neolithic shell midden UAQ2 (Umm al‐Quwain) on the coast of the Persian Gulf (United Arab Emirates, UAE) were analysed for their isotope ratios of strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and oxygen (¹⁸O/¹⁶O). The results are not in agreement with earlier assumptions about a Neolithic nomadism between inland regions and the south‐eastern coast of the Persian Gulf. Existing evidence of nomadic movements of the people from BHS18 most possibly refers to transhumance within the mountains in the hinterland. The strontium isotope measurements on human skeletons from UAQ2 on the contrary indicate uninterrupted residence of this population on the coast. Nevertheless, evidence was found of individual mobility between inland regions and the coast.     

The deposit of KHB-1, Ra’s al Khabbah (Ja’lān region,Sultanate of Oman): Stratigraphy,features and structures

The excavation of KHB-1 archaeological site was part of the Joint Hadd Project [Joint Hadd Project is a project operating in the Ja’lān region since 1985, born under the collaboration between ISIAO (Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente, Rome), CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris) and the University of Bologna] carried out in the Ja’lān region, along the coast of the Sultanate of Oman. Different phases of occupation with significant structural evidences were identified within the deposit: an early short-term occupation in the 7th millennium, followed by a longer, extended period of occupation during the 4th millennium by a community of hunter-gatherers, with some evidence of animal husbandry. The material culture recovered from KHB-1, which includes architectural remains, provides new insights on the cultures of this region, highlighting a need for further excavations and analysis. This paper will illustrate the stratigraphic sequence and the main features recovered at KHB-1, followed by a discussion on the two main periods of occupation which will help shed a light on the site function and more broadly provide key insights on mobility, economy, and material culture of Ja’lān in the beginning of 7th and along the 4th millennium B.C.     

Thorny burnet (Sarcopoterium spinosum L.) in a Roman shipwreck off the Israeli coast and the role of non-timber shrubs in ancient Mediterranean ships

Abstract

This paper describes and discusses twigs of the dwarf shrub thorny burnet (Sarcopoterium spinosum L.) found in association with submerged remains of a Roman (4th century AD) shipwreck discovered off the Israeli Carmel coast. The twigs were recovered from within a crumpled lead container, interpreted as part of a bilge pump. The find demonstrates again that, under certain favourable circumstances, fragile botanical material can be preserved on ancient shipwreck sites. Similar twigs found previously in association with shipwrecks have been identified as dunnage, i.e. packing material intended to protect the cargo. In this particular case they were apparently used as a bilge pump filter. Thorny burnet grows profusely in the Eastern Mediterranean, but elsewhere only in a few isolated coastal areas most of which are in the vicinity of ancient ports. The wider implications of the past use of non-timber shrubs onboard ships is discussed, in particular, how this may have promoted colonisation by plants of areas beyond their natural distribution, and also how botanical material recovered from shipwrecks may help identify ancient sailing routes and ports of call.     

Evidence for Indo-Roman Trade from Bet Dwarka Waters, West Coast of India

India had a very active maritime trade contact with the Roman world between the 4th century BC and the 4th century AD. In this context recent finds of stone anchors, potsherds, lead anchors and a lead ingot from 5 to 8 m water-depth near Bet Dwarka jetty is significant. The sherds include amphoras, jars, bowls and lids. Archaeological finds along the Indian coast and comparison between amphoras from Bet Dwarka and the Mediterranean suggest that the artefacts from Bet Dwarka may be datable to between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. The numbers of stone anchors suggests that this was an ancient anchorage.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

Structuring the Late Stone Age of Southeastern Arabia

This paper treats the classification of a number of facies in the Late Stone Age of Southeastern Arabia. The basis for this classification is a selection of substantial find complexes of chipped stone artifacts from sites located along the coast of Oman. Human occupation in the region dates to the beginning of the Holocene, but insufficient material is available for the first quarter of the post-Pleistocene era. At the beginning of the second quarter of the Holocene, we find a relatively undifferentiated stone tool-using facies (Wadi-Wutayya-Facies) which was appar- ently contemporary with the Qatar B blade-arrowhead horizon in the interior of the Oman peninsula. Early in the 5th millennium BC, the Wadi-Wutayya-Facies was superseded by the Saruq-Facies which can be seen as a local variant of the “Arabian bifacial tradition”. The high point in the Late Stone Age occupation of the coast was reached early in the 4th millennium BC when various local facies can be distinguished. These include the Ra's-al-Hamra-Facies in the central coastal zone around Muscat and the Bir-Bira-Facies in the area around Sur. This phase, which was characterized particularly by the formation of shell middens, seems to have lasted only about 500 years. An essentially aceramic occupation on the coast of the Gulf of Oman, called the Bandar-Jissa-Facies, represents the final phase in the classification of Late Stone Age occupation outlined here. This facies was characterized by the use of a simple stone tool industry alongside of metal artifacts, and was contemporary with the Early Bronze age occupation of the southern and southwestern flanks of the Oman mountains. Information on categories of finds other than chipped stone, particularly those made of groundstone and shell, as well as observations on the economic and environmental history of the periods discussed, complement the study of the stone tool industries and form the basis for an outline of the history of Southeastern Arabia in the second quarter of the post-glacial era.     

Compositional and Microstructural Study of KoryŎ Celadon and Whiteware Excavated from SŎRi Kiln in Kyŏnggi Province

An extensive study of the composition and microstructure of celadon and whiteware sherds excavated at Sori, one of the most important sites that were active during the founding stage of the stoneware and porcelain industry in Korea, was carried out. The analysed sherds were organized according to four different levels of the excavation and four different styles of haemurigup foot rim. Principal component analysis of the chemical compositions of the sherds revealed slight differences in their body and glaze compositions between the levels of excavation. Porcelain stone with high silica and low aluminium contents was generally used as the body material and wood ash as the chief flux in the glaze. Over the period of operation, the aluminium content in the bodies of the ceramics decreased and the P₂O₅ content in the glazes increased. Glazed bodies were fired in a single step, in contrast to the two‐step method used in later ceramic production. Firing conditions were adjusted to produce vitrification of the glazes, which meant that vitrification of the ceramic bodies occurred to varying extents, mostly determined by the relative contents of flux in the body and the glaze.     

Polished Stone Axes in Caput Adriae from the Neolithic to the Copper Age

This paper reports the results of a long-term project on the stone axes from Caput Adriae. Available data show that jade axes originating in the western Alps reached the Neolithic groups of Friuli Venezia Giulia and coastal Istria as early as the second half of the 6th millennium BC, during the Danilo/Vla?ka culture. The exchange of this and other classes of lithic artefacts testifies that in this period this area was fully integrated into long-distance exchange systems that used mainly coastal routes. These systems would have continued in the 5th millennium BC, as indicated by a few oversized jade axe blades and other materials. Far from the coast, jade axes entered central Slovenia, probably reaching sites of the Sava Group of the Lengyel culture in the first half of the 5th millennium BC. In roughly the same period, shaft-hole axes made of Bohemian metabasites (BM) spread over central and southeastern Europe, crossed the Alps and reached Italy. According to different Neolithic traditions, during the 5th millennium BC Europe appears to be divided into a jade-using western area and a central-eastern BM-using one. During the 4th millennium BC, the exchange networks of Caput Adriae are increasingly influenced by the eastern Alpine and Balkan world, where the raw material sources of the main groups of shaft-hole axes are located. The association of the rocks used for axe production and copper ore suggests that the changes in raw material exploitation strategies during the Copper Age were probably related to the development of the first metallurgy.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE AMPHORAE,STONE BALLAST AND STOWAGE MATERIALS OF THE SHIPS FROM THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF PISA–SAN ROSSORE,ITALY: INFERENCES ON THEIR PROVENANCE AND POSSIBLE TRADING ROUTES*

In December 1998, during excavation for the construction of a new building near San Rossore railway station in Pisa, the remains of ancient ships were discovered. These findings have been dated (radiocarbon) to between the end of the 10th century bc and the fifth century ad ( Belluomini et al. 2002 ). Several transport amphorae belonging to the Hellenistic ship, samples of rocks (stone ballast) belonging to ships B, D and the Hellenistic ship, and stowage materials belonging only to ship B have been analysed. The mineralogical and petrographic data of the investigated samples provided information on the possible provenance of the raw materials utilized in the manufacture of the ceramic amphorae, as well as on the provenance of the rock materials found in the ships as ballast and stowage. The compositional data (obtained through XRD, XRF, OM and EPMA) and their statistical analyses suggest that the provenance of the Dressel amphorae belonging to the Hellenistic ship was the Middle Tyrrhenian coast of Italy, and more precisely the area between Tarquinia and Naples, according to the numerous kilns and wine production sites found in this area. The provenance of the volcanic rocks was from southern Tuscany, northern Latium and possibly the Pontine Islands, whereas the intrusive rock possibly comes from the Calabrian–Tyrrhenian coast and/or the Peloritani area. The impure limestones and the dolostone come from southern Tuscany and the Latium coast; the semi‐metamorphic rocks could come from the coast of southern Tuscany, the Tuscan Archipelago or possibly also from the Ligurian coast; only the sample of mylonitized granitoid possibly comes from either the Calabria–Peloritani arc or the Tuscan Archipelago. The stowage materials, consisting of lapilli and scoria of a pyroclastic nature, are sourced from the Neapolitan area. These data might shed some light on the centres of production of the amphorae and of the trading routes followed by the ships, according to the ports of call.     

Silver phiale said to be from al‐Juba (al‐Wusṭa Governorate) — an archaeological puzzle

In March 2014, while recording finds in the Ministry of Heritage and Culture in al‐Khuwair, artefacts unexpectedly came to light reportedly from al‐Juba in Oman's Bar al‐?ikmān, in al‐Wus?a Governorate, until recently an archaeologically little‐researched part of the Sultanate. Some of the pieces could be attributed to the Samad LIA or perhaps the PIR, both from the centuries at the turning point of the ages from BCE to CE. Such finds have never before come to light in this part of Oman. Samad LIA sites are generally located some 220 km to the north on the southern flank of the al‐?ajjar mountains in a zone c.160 x 105 km in area. Diagnostic pottery finds spread from Wadi Bānī Ruwāhah (UTM 40Q 620570 m E, 2561848 m N) eastwards to the coast, a smaller area than previously believed.     

A double dog burial from San Nicolas Island, California, USA: osteology, context, and significance

Recent archaeological excavations on San Nicolas Island, located off the coast of southern California, revealed the remains of a double dog burial interred sometime during the 13th and 14th centuries. Two carefully laid to rest and possibly sacrificed juvenile, female domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) between the ages of 1 and 6 months were found within a Native American village. Digestive tract residues include burned and unburned fish and marine mammal bone that suggest scavenging behavior or direct feeding by humans. Breed classifications place it between the Short-Nosed Indian dog and the Plains-Indian dog, likely representing a cross between those and other varieties of North American dogs. Comparisons with other dog burials from archaeological sites across southern California suggest commonalities and possible cultural linkages.     

COLONIZING CONTRASTING LANDSCAPES. THE PIONEER COAST SETTLEMENT AND INLAND UTILIZATION IN SOUTHERN NORWAY 10,000–9500 YEARS BEFORE PRESENT

This article contributes a western Scandinavian perspective to the discussion of the human colonization of former glaciated landscapes. Four assumptions concerning the peopling of the Norwegian coast are discussed: 1) a delayed colonization, 2) an immigration from the ‘North Sea Continent’, 3) reindeer as the main economic factor, and 4) a rapid rate of expansion along the coast. It is argued that only the first and last suppositions still appear credible, but need to be confirmed. A gradual major development is evident. Stage 1: Marine hunters colonized the resource‐rich coastlines of south‐west Sweden and southern Norway about 10,000 y.BP. Stage 2: Soon after, based on short seasonal moves, some coastal groups started exploiting reindeer in recently deglaciated mountain areas in south‐west Norway. A similar subsistence pattern developed in north‐west Norway. With its remote location, distinct landscape development and many‐faceted environments, Norway appears as ideal for exploring human colonization processes on different geographical scales. More C14‐dates and osteological material are, however, still needed.     

BURNT KIMMERIDGIAN SHALE AT EARLY ROMAN SILCHESTER, SOUTH-EAST ENGLAND, AND THE ROMAN POOLE–PURBECK COMPLEX-AGGLOMERATED GEOMATERIALS INDUSTRY

Summary.   A wide range of geomaterials were worked at industrial settlements scattered over an area of c.225 km² in the Poole Harbour–Isle of Purbeck district of modern Dorset. These materials, more than one handled at some sites, included shale ('coal'), burnt shales (yellow, red) and cementstones from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Upper Jurassic), Purbeck marble from the Purbeck Group (earliest Cretaceous), hard chalk from the Chalk Group (Upper Cretaceous), and potting clays and sands from the Bracklesham Group (Palaeogene), for South-east Dorset Black-burnished Pottery Category 1. There was also a salt industry, which could have used pottery for packaging. The industrial products are conterminously distributed in southern and central Britain and, in the case of pottery and shale items, reached as far as the northern frontiers. Raw material of red burnt shale was exported to Silchester ( Calleva Atrebatum ), where it was made into mosaic tesserae. Of proven Kimmeridgian age on the evidence of fossils, the mudstone used to make it had been collected and quarried on the coast of the Isle of Purbeck before being burnt. The decline in the demand for stone products, excepting shale, in the second century AD saw an expansion of the potting industry, which persisted into the fifth century. The term complex-agglomerative is introduced to describe this diverse and dispersed enterprise at this highest hierarchical level, examples of which occur elsewhere in the Roman world.     

Rock art on Socotra,Yemen: the discovery of a petroglyph site on the island's south coast.

Recent fieldwork on the south coast of the island of Socotra, Yemen, has revealed a hitherto unknown petroglyph site. This site represents the first rock art to have been recorded on the south coast, an area generally regarded as being unpopulated up until the recent past. The corpus of recorded petroglyphs includes feet, cupules, anthropomorphic figures and geometric motifs, whose designs parallel those from known rock‐art sites on the north coast. The importance of this site is that it provides us with the first glimpse into the religious and socio‐political lives of the inhabitants of the previously unknown southern half of Socotra. Placing these petroglyphs within the broader context of rock‐art studies on the island of Socotra has also allowed us to begin to disentangle the skewed view of Socotra's inhabitants.     

Discoveries of Neolithic prehistoric sites at Pleistocene carbonate rock shelters on the east coast of the UAE

Three newly discovered prehistoric sites on the east coast of the United Emirates (UAE) are described. All are located on surfaces of Pleistocene carbonates or rock shelters that are generally rare along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Oman. Aqqah 1 (Le Meridien al Aqqah Beach Resort), the most important and best preserved of these sites, is a partially collapsed rock shelter with an exposed section, lithic finds and marine molluscs. Deriving an exact date from the material present is difficult because of a lack of comparanda. A bifacial fletched arrowhead made of yellow jasper and the lithic debris of five different raw materials as well as an undecorated ceramic fragment might suggest a date in the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. The presence of many marine bivalves and snails with operculae, which differ from recent coastal species, indicates the collection and consumption of living molluscs by the prehistoric population of Aqqah. Nearby burials may be related to the rock shelters.     

Seventeenth-Century Glass Trade Beads from La Salle's Fort St. Louis and the Grand Village of the Kaskaskia

Abstract

Glass trade beads are described here from two seventeenth-century sites located in the upper Illinois Valley, La Salle's 1682–1691 Fort St. Louis and the nearby Grand Village of the Kaskaskia, destroyed during an Iroquois raid in 1680. Simple monochrome drawn beads characterize both bead assemblages and each contains significant percentages of very small (<2 mm) and small (2–4 mm) size beads. Dominant colors are blue, white, and black. Turquoise-blue beads were a staple of the French trade at this time in the Illinois Country, particularly in transactions involving La Salle and his successors based at Fort St. Louis. Comparative treatment provided as part of this research indicates that there are significant similarities between the bead assemblage from Fort St. Louis and the beads recovered from the 1686 wreck of La Salle's ship Belle in Matagorda Bay off the Texas coast.     

Socio‐cultural innovations of the Final Umm an‐Nar period (c.2100–2000 BCE) in the Oman peninsula: new insights from Ra's al‐Jinz RJ‐2

The Early Bronze Age site of RJ‐2, located close to the coastal village of Ra's al‐Jinz on the eastern Omani coast (Niyabat Ra's al‐Hadd), was the focus of archaeological investigations for over two decades. The latest campaigns of excavation unearthed an architectural complex (Building XII) dated to the very end of the Umm an‐Nar period (Final UaN, c.2100–2000 BCE), previously attested on site by poorly preserved remains. This paper presents the remains explored during the most recent fieldwork, focusing on the stratigraphic‐structural sequence and the spatial layout. It also considers the transformations affecting structural evidence and material culture during this period, at both local and regional level, highlighting their significance for a comprehensive assessment of the last occupations related to the Early Bronze Age in south‐eastern Arabia. The paper concludes by showing how the Final Umm an‐Nar phase represents an age of substantial socio‐cultural innovations, which most likely shaped the transition towards the following Wadi Suq period.     

The dynamics of mangrove ecosystems,changes in sea level and the strategies of Neolithic settlements along the coast of Oman (6000–3000 cal. BC)

This paper focus on the Holocene palaeogeography of the Ja'alan coast from the 6th to the 4th millennium cal. BC, integrating the dynamics of mangroves, lagoons, khors-estuaries and deltas, with sea-level change and the evidence from Neolithic shell middens. The distribution and maturation of mangrove ecosystems along the Arabian coasts has varied considerably, affected by physical forces such as sea-level changes, climate, tidal amplitude and duration as well as the quantity of fresh water inflow associated with the monsoon systems along the Arabian coast. Palaeo-mangroves and lagoons, today replaced by large sabkhas, appear to be correlated to mid-Holocene fossil deltas and estuaries that currently function episodically, depending on the rhythm of winter rains. All these parameters have determined and impacted the location of settlement networks and the economic strategies of the first Arabian farmers along the eastern Arabian coast. The mid-Holocene sea-level highstand stability (5th millennium BC) can be considered to be an optimum period for mangrove development and can be correlated with Neolithic sites around the mangroves. The decline of mangroves since 3000/2500 cal. BC and further degradation is mainly attributed to the prevailing arid climate that reduced summer monsoon effects in the tropical area by favouring the extension of sabkhas. We discuss these aspects based on new archaeological surveys, excavations and geoarchaeological studies.     

The exploitation of marine resources at Saruq al‐Hadid: Insights into the movement of people and resources in Bronze and Iron Age south‐eastern Arabia

Marine resources were an integral and consistent component of subsistence strategies employed in south‐eastern Arabia throughout late prehistory. Of particular interest is the movement of these resources from the coast to interior sites and the implications of this movement for transhumance and trade in the region during this period. Marine species were frequently identified in the faunal assemblage from the inland site of Saruq al‐Hadid, dating from the Bronze Age to Early Iron Age (c.2000–c.800 BCE). This included marine fish species, along with two cormorant species (Phalacrocorax sp.) and several fragments of dugong (Dugong dugon). Twenty‐seven families of marine shell were also identified in the remains recovered from the site. The presence of these remains at this inland site demonstrates that resources were frequently moved from the coast to the interior throughout Saruq al‐Hadid’s occupation, indicative of their enduring significance in subsistence strategies employed at the site. This paper presents the results of zooarchaeological analysis of these remains and discusses the significance of their presence at Saruq al‐Hadid, with reference to subsistence, craft production and intra‐regional exchange during the Bronze and Iron Ages.     

Pillar Tombs and the City: Creating a Sense of Shared Identity in Swahili Urban Space

This paper reviews published research on Swahili pillar tombs, as a specific type of tombs built of stone, by summarising records on almost fifty sites on the east coast of Africa. Dated to the 13th–16th centuries AD, the pillar tombs represented a core component of Swahili urban space. By considering their spatial setting, characteristics and comparative case studies from Africa and the Indian Ocean world, the paper reconsiders how pillar tombs might have functioned as a type of material infrastructure for creating social ties and notions of shared identity in a society that has never formally united.