Excavations at Rio Claro,Northeast Honduras: Preliminary Report

Abstract

During the summer of 1975, preliminary survey, mapping, and excavations were conducted at the H-CN-12:Rio Claro site, a sizeable Pre-Hispanic village settlement in the Department of ColónNE Honduras, Central America. Artifactual remains and chronometric determinations indicate that the settlement was inhabited during the Cocal Period (ca. 1000-1530 A.C.). This report describes the location and layout of H-CN-12:Rio Claro, principal excavations, the first regional radiocarbon dates for the Cocal Period, and some of the artifacts and significant findings of the second season of fieldwork in this little-studied region of the Americas. The possibility is raised that the site is the ethnohistorical chiefdom center Papayeca.     

Excavations at Mlambalasi Rockshelter: a Terminal Pleistocene to Recent Iron Age Record in Southern Tanzania

The Mlambalasi rockshelter in the Iringa Region of southern Tanzania has rich artifactual deposits spanning the Later Stone Age (LSA), Iron Age, and historic periods. Middle Stone Age (MSA) artifacts are also present on the slope in front of the rockshelter. Extensive, systematic excavations in 2006 and 2010 by members of the Iringa Region Archaeological Project (IRAP) illustrate a complex picture of repeated occupations and reuse of the rockshelter during an important time in human history. Direct dates on Achatina shell and ostrich eggshell (OES) beads suggest that the earliest occupation levels excavated at Mlambalasi, which are associated with human burials, are terminal Pleistocene in age. This is exceptional given the rarity of archaeological sites, particularly those with human remains and other preserved organic material, from subtropical Africa between 200,000 and 10,000 years before present. This paper reports on the excavations to date and analysis of artifactual finds from the site. The emerging picture is one of varied, ephemeral use over millennia as diverse human groups were repeatedly attracted to this fixed feature on the landscape.     

From Pioneer to Tourist: Public Archaeology at Spring Mill State Park

This paper examines processes and consequences of transforming historic sites into tourist attractions, in this case, Spring Mill Pioneer Village at Spring Mill State Park, Mitchell, Indiana. The site is considered from perspectives of history, tourism, and archaeology to show that relations among conservation, tourism, and preservation factors are neither simple nor direct, and can lead to the unintended consequence of seeing sites as unauthentic. The results demonstrate how tourism inspires multi-vocal interpretations of historic sites and underscore the importance of archaeology to inform on the historicity of tourist sites since interpretation above the ground is often at odds with what lies below.     

Excavations at Bishop's Street Without: 17th Century Conflict Archaeology in Derry City

Abstract

Excavations on this site, undertaken by Paul Logue for EHS: Built Heritage DOE: NI, produced evidence for at least two phases of occupation outside Bishop's Gate, Londonderry during the 17th century. This occupation came to an end with a phase of activity dated to the commencement of the Jacobite siege in A.D. 1689. Further evidence of that siege was uncovered in the form of a ravelin ditch 2.8 m wide and 0.57 m in depth, constructed in early 1689 to front Bishop's Gate. The extant remains of a sally port interrupted the ditch. A nearby larger ditch, scarped from the sloping ground outside Double Bastion, measured a maximum of 8.4 m in width and 1.4 m in depth. This larger ditch may have been part of efforts to improve the City defences in the wake of the 1641 rebellion. Further evidence of conflict archaeology was recovered in the form of lead shot, weapon furniture and flint gunspalls.     

Excavations at E1 Remolino: Household Archaeology in the San Lorenzo Olmec Region

Abstract

Studies on the Olmec frequently focus on large centers and monumental works of art, often ignoring the important role of peripheral sites in regional hierarchies. Recent investigations at the Early Formative period (900–1500 b.c., uncorrected radiocarbon years) site of El Remolino help balance this “elite centered” focus by collecting household and community level data at a habitation area away from the regional center of San Lorenzo. Subsurface testing and extensive excavations produced evidence of living surfaces, features, and refuse disposal patterns, which together with phytolith data improve our understanding of a lower order Olmec site. El Remolino was established in the San Lorenzo phase as a permanent settlement whose inhabitants pursued fishing, hunting, gathering, and plant cultivation. The degree to which this site was politically or economically dependent on the elite center of San Lorenzo is unknown.     

湖北孝昌武家岗墓地第二～四次发掘报告

武家岗墓地位于湖北省孝昌县城关以北约3.5公里处,隶属孝昌县卫店镇武河村和花园镇白莲村。107国道自北向南分武家岗墓地为东西两部分,1995年2月,孝感市博物馆等单位对墓地西部进行了第一次发掘,发掘材料已报道。1995年7月至1996年底,湖北省文物考古研究所等单位联合组队对墓地进行了第二～四次发掘,共发掘古墓葬142座,其中有随葬品墓126座,分为东周墓119座、东汉墓3座、六朝墓3座,唐代墓1座,出土各类随葬品共991件。黄陂鲁台山两周遗址与墓葬的发掘与研究,是鄂东地区考古的重要发现。武家岗墓地的发掘,是这一发现与研究的继续。     

The Eleventh- and Twelfth-century Waterfront and Settlement at Queenhithe: Excavations at Bull Wharf,City of London

Evidence for the development of London’s riverside settlement c. AD 1000–1200 was found on the east edge of an important dock known successively as Æthelred’s hithe and Queenhithe. A sequence of embankments and tree-ring dated revetments advanced the waterfront nearly 40 m into the Thames and small inlets provided access to the foreshore. Building and rebuilding took place on a row of properties, with up to a dozen buildings identified; after c. 1150, passages were created for two narrow lanes connecting Thames Street with the quays and foreshore. Important reused building and ships’ timbers and dated groups of metalwork and other artefacts were recovered from the waterfronts.     

Excavations at Bamburgh: New Revelations in Light of Recent Investigations at the Core of the Castle Complex

The article documents the results of a series of investigations undertaken by the Bamburgh Research Project (BRP) within the Inner Ward of Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland between 1997 and 2010, using resistivity, ground penetrating radar survey, and limited excavation. Throughout the course of the investigation around the ruins of the medieval chapel, material evidence was found of Romano-British activity. Furthermore, stone structures of pre-twelfth-century date were revealed. Two phases of a possible early medieval defensive wall were identified beneath the north wall of the current chapel structure, and a stone building was found beneath the main body of the church which may represent part of the church of St Peter, mentioned by Bede.     

郑州古荥师家河唐墓清理简报

１９９９年１２月１日,郑州市西北郊古荥镇师家河村村民在该村西取土时发现一些陶俑、镇墓兽、铜镜等物,遂上交正在附近小双桥遗址进行考古发掘工作的河南省文物考古研究所工作人员。经初步判断,这些都为唐代文物,应出自一唐代墓葬。考古人员随即前往文物出土点进行了调查,并对该墓进行了清理。（图一） 墓葬位于村西一高出地面约３米的台地上。西部１００余米有引黄人郑灌渠通过,南部２００米左右为索须河河道,河南岸则为郑州小双桥遗址。在西南部有后庄王遗址,北部即著名的荥阳城遗址。据当地农民介绍,该处原为高出现今地面丈余…     

Wet-Site Excavation and Field Methodology at Butrint,Albania: The Roman Forum Excavations Project

Since the start of archaeological research at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint (Bouthrotos/ Buthrotum) in southern Albania, archaeologists have allowed the water table to serve as a limit to archaeological excavation. From 2011 to 2013, the Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project conducted the first wet-site excavations at Butrint, reaching depths of up to 4 m below the water table in the ancient urban center. Well-preserved wood and other organic remains were recovered from waterlogged deposits, dating as early as the 7th century b.c. Major changes in RFE Project methodology emerged in response to wet-site archaeology. Unskilled local workers were trained to become local excavators. This significantly improved excavation techniques and recording procedures and enhanced the quality of the archaeological data, showing the high degree to which seemingly disparate elements of field methodology are intertwined.     

Excavations at the Bairaki Lower Paleolithic Site,Trans-Dniesteria,in 2011

Early Paleolithic deposits of the left-bank high seventh fluvial terrace of the Dniester were excavated at Bairaki, Trans-Dniestria. The assemblage is comprised of 28 artifacts including distinct flakes, cores, and Lower Paleolithic tools. Based on the 2011 geological and archaeological study, tools from the riverbed alluvium, paralleled by those of the Middle Oldowan, date to the earliest Lower Pleistocene. Bairaki, then, should be classified among the most ancient Paleolithic sites in Eastern Europe.     

Down Little Lon: An Introduction to the Casselden Place Archaeological Excavations, Melbourne

In 2002 Melbourne’s Casselden Place excavation provided a window into the urban past opened by an innovative relationship between the development industry, heritage consultancy and La Trobe University. The project demonstrated that with the support of consent authorities and the co-operation of the development industry, collaborations between the academic world and heritage consultants could be highly successful. The Casselden Place Project made a significant contribution to the ‘slum debate’ in Australia and delivered an enhanced understanding of the cultural, social and scientific significance of an inner-city block, and shed new light on a notorious chapter in the city’s history.     

A Sixteenth-Century Wealden Blast Furnace: A Report on Excavations at Panningridge,Sussex, 1964-1970

Abstract

The excavation recovered evidence for two periods of iron smelting; there were substantial surviving structures from a blast furnace thought from documentary sources to have produced pig-iron from 1542 until at least 1563 and, superimposed, indications of a later furnace built with major changes in layout at some time after 1563 but abandoned well before 1611. It was possible to compare, in particular, the application of water-power in the two periods and to sample ore and cast iron. The features of the first furnace could be related to references in surviving account books, and thus a yardstick may be offered for future fieldwork on undocumented furnaces of the period.     

Recovering the Forgotten Woodland Mound Excavations at Garden Patch (8DI4)

Forty-five years ago Timothy Thompson excavated at two of the six mounds at the Garden Patch site but results were never reported. We assembled data from Thompson's work and enhanced them with new test pits at Mound IV and re-excavation of a Mound V trench. Mound IV is a natural sand ridge where a village was established early, by the second century A.D. Mound V began as a naturally elevated platform for at least one burial and associated structure during the fourth century A.D. and was then covered by lenses of shell and sand. The construction sequence of Mound V resembles other mounds in the region. These results help illuminate the functions and depositional histories of mounds within Woodland multi-mound centers of the coastal plain while also demonstrating an effective approach to balancing stewardship and new excavations.     

湖北十堰潘口水电站三处古遗址的发掘

潘口水电站与陕南和川东接壤,是古庸国所在地.遗址地处河流边缘地带,长年受河水的冲刷,破坏殆尽,出土遗物甚少,文化内涵主要包含新石器晚期和东周时期遗存.东周时期文化面貌较为复杂,既有楚文化特征又具巴蜀文化风格,同时还包含陕南文化因素,这种多元文化因素,是与周边文化相互影响、碰撞形成的一种以地方文化为特色的多元文化.因此,我们认为潘口水电站淹没区的小府坪、红花湾、王家套等遗址是东周时期楚灭庸后的一处村落遗址.