Sediments exposed to high temperatures: reconstructing pyrotechnological processes in Late Bronze and Iron Age Strata at Tel Dor (Israel)

Many of the sediments analysed from Tel Dor (Israel) show structural alterations indicating that they were exposed to high temperatures. This observation is consistent with the abundant evidence for use of pyrotechnology from the earliest exposed Middle Bronze Age strata through the Roman period. Such structurally altered sediments may well represent one of the more widespread and durable records of pyrotechnology, and as such could be invaluable for reconstructing past human activities. The specific aims of this research are therefore to develop the means for identifying local sediments that were altered by different pyrotechnological activities and to elucidate the varying circumstances whereby sediments were exposed to high temperatures in a Late Bronze and Iron Age 1 section.     

An integrated approach to reconstructing primary activities from pit deposits: iron smithing and other activities at Tel Dor under Neo-Assyrian domination

Secondary pit deposits in historical occupations of Near Eastern mounds are usually regarded as uninteresting and are seldom analyzed. We used an integrated approach to study all the artifacts as well as the sediments in a pit at Tel Dor, on Israel's Carmel coast, dating to the 7th c. BCE – a period when the site served as an Assyrian administrative center. This pit was unusually large, had a peculiar ceramic assemblage, and many macroscopic metallurgical wastes. A detailed excavation and analysis revealed that the pit served intermittently as a waste disposal site for an iron smithy and for pottery that was presumably involved in maritime trading. On two occasions the area was also used for animal penning. Despite the obvious importance of the iron industry to the Neo-Assyrian Empire, actual workshops are rare in its archaeological record. Hence the new information regarding an Iron Age iron smithy in the southern Levant contributes to the study of this industry, and also to the history of Dor in this period.     

Subsistence practices in an arid environment: a geoarchaeological investigation in an Iron Age site,the Negev Highlands,Israel

The Negev Highlands (southern Israel) is an arid zone characterized by settlement oscillations. One settlement peak occurred in the early Iron Age IIA (late 10th and early 9th centuries BC). The most conspicuous structure in many sites of this period is an oval compound comprised of an internal courtyard surrounded by rooms. Two hypotheses for the function of these oval compounds are that they served as Israelite fortresses which guarded the southern border and routes of the Solomonic kingdom, or that they represent local agro-pastoral groups. In order to gather more information regarding the subsistence practices conducted in these oval compounds, we carried out a small-scale excavation at the site of Atar Haroa. We focused on sediment sampling and used several geoarchaeological, as well as isotopic, techniques in order to identify macroscopic and microscopic remains related to animal husbandry and crop agriculture. The remains identified from the archaeological sediments were compared with modern reference materials collected from abandoned Bedouin camps. The excavation included two half rooms and several test pits in the courtyard of the oval compound, featuring one Iron Age occupation level composed of gray sediments and relatively small amounts of pottery, bones and macro-botanical charred remains. Micromorphological, mineralogical, dung spherulite and isotopic analyses carried out on the gray occupational sediments from the rooms show that they originate from wood ash and dung, both used as fuel. Similar analyses of the gray sediments in the courtyard show that they originate only from degraded livestock dung. Phytolith analyses show that the gray anthropogenic sediments have similar concentrations of phytoliths as in control (yellowish) sediments and in the dung of winter free-grazing desert livestock and lichen-grazing black dwarf Bedouin goats. Phytoliths indicative of cereal crops are completely absent in the archaeological dung remains, indicating that cereal crops were not processed by the site inhabitants. Based on ethnographic and archaeological parallels, and on the presence of grinding stones and absence of sickle blades in the excavated rooms, we infer that the inhabitants at the oval compound at Atar Haroa subsisted on livestock herding and bought or exchanged cereal grains. Our results support the hypothesis that the inhabitants at the oval compound at Atar Haroa were desert-adapted pastoralists, rather than garrisoned soldiers.     

Variety in cereal cultivation in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in relation to environmental conditions

The objective of this paper is to assess the relationship between the cereals cultivated in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages (ca. 1250–400 BC) within the area of the present-day Czech Republic, and their environmental settings. The various charred caryopses of cereal species represented in the archaeobotanical assemblages from 35 archaeological sites differ, especially in the proportion of wheat and barley. The cereal assemblages were compared regarding site altitude, weather conditions, soils and soil productivity. The most important environmental variable influencing the choice of a particular crop seemed to be altitude which is correlated with other variables such as the length of growing season, mean annual temperature, soil quality etc. Although the ecological requirements of cereals cultivated in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages are not known, they presumably thrived under similar conditions to present-day species/varieties, and the strategy of past crop husbandry was based on similar principles as today, e.g. flexible adaptation to local environmental conditions, in an effort to achieve optimal yields and reduce the danger of crop failure.     

Massive storage in As Laias/O Castelo (Ourense,NW Spain) from the Late Bronze Age/Iron Age transition to the Roman period: a palaeoethnobotanical approach

The highest platforms of As Laias, a settlement located in northwest Iberia, were used for storage during the Iron Age and until the turn of the Era. In this time-span, the whole hilltop – the croa – was a walled enclosure mostly used for storage and due to recurrent fires affecting the settlement's terraces, abundant plant remains were preserved in overlying wattle and daub storage structures.     

The development of animal husbandry from the Late Iron Age to the end of the Roman period: a case study from South-East Britain

In this paper zooarchaeological evidence from Iron Age and Roman sites in South-East Britain is presented and the results are applied to the continuing debate over culture contact and change following the Roman invasion. Evidence from Heybridge in Essex indicates that there were two stages of livestock development. These may reflect the import of new breeding stock into Britain. Differences between the rate of livestock development at this rural site and the nearby urban centre of Colchester indicate differing mechanisms of animal supply between the two sites. The appearance of very large cattle in Late Roman contexts at Boreham in Essex suggests that improvement of animals continued throughout the Roman occupation and was not merely an initial response to new economic and administrative demands. The biometrical evidence from these three sites is compared with evidence from elsewhere in Europe and the development of livestock during the Roman Period is shown to be complex and varied. The impetus and ideology behind the changes in animal husbandry following the Roman invasion in Britain are explored.     

Fuel, Fire and Heat: an experimental approach to highlight the potential of studying ash and char remains from archaeological contexts

As in traditional societies today ancient societies probably selected different fuels to meet specific heat requirements. Char and ash, the end products of fire, are often found in abundance in archaeological contexts. These end products can provide information regarding (i) the original fuel resource and type, (ii) the characteristics of the fire and (iii) combined with other archaeological evidence shed further light on possible socio-economic activity(-ies) associated with that fire. The three main fuel resources would have been (i) modern vegetation, (ii) fossil fuel and (iii) animal by-products. Local availability and abundance would have influenced the choice made.In this study an experimental approach was adopted to try and distinguish between the three different fuel resources that are known to have been used by ancient societies (and continue to be used by traditional societies today) from their char and ash remains to help determine original fuel-type and understand the relative heating properties. For this end one fuel-type from each fuel resource listed above, namely wood, peat and cow dung, was chosen.     

An early Iron Age assemblage of faience beads from Ashkelon,Israel: chemical composition and manufacturing process

The microstructure and chemical composition of eight faience beads from an early Iron Age (12th century BCE) assemblage found in the ancient city port of Ashkelon (Israel) are determined by means of FTIR spectrometry, pXRF, microRaman and SEM-EDS analysis. The results are compared with published data of Egyptian and Near Eastern artifacts. Each sample exhibits a hue which is obtained by adding a specific colorant to the glazing mixture. A new gray chalcopyrite-manganese-based colorant was identified. Cementation glazing was most likely used in the manufacturing process of the specimens analyzed, except for the blue bead, which is an Egyptian blue frit. The results suggest that these objects represent a unique assemblage, quite different from contemporary Egyptian and Near Eastern materials, and provide new information regarding the Iron Age faience evidence in the southern Levant.     

Bronze production in Southwestern Iberian Peninsula: the Late Bronze Age metallurgical workshop from Entre Águas 5 (Portugal)

Archaeological works at Entre Águas 5 (Portugal) uncovered a seasonal LBA settlement with significant metallurgical remains (crucibles, moulds, prills and a tuyere) related to bronze production. Radiocarbon dating ascribes an occupation period (10th–9th century BC) previous to Phoenician establishment in Southwestern Iberia. In spite of the proliferation of metal artefacts during LBA, the production of bronze alloys is still poorly understood. An integrated analytical approach (EDXRF, optical microscopy, SEM–EDS, micro-EDXRF and Vickers microhardness) was used to characterise this metallurgy. Crucibles show immature slags with copious copper nodules, displaying variable tin content (c. 0–26 wt.%), low iron amount (<0.05 wt.%) and different cooling rates. Certain evidences point to direct reduction of oxide copper ores with cassiterite. Scorched moulds with residues of copper and tin indicate local casting of artefacts. Finished artefacts also recovered at the site have an analogous composition (bronze with ∼10 wt.% Sn and low amounts of Pb, As and Fe) typical of coeval metallurgy in SW Iberia. Some artefacts reveal a relationship between typology and composition or manufacture: a higher tin content for a golden coloured ring or absence of the final hammering for a bracelet. An uncommon gilded nail (gold foil c. 140 μm thick; 11.6 wt.% Ag; ∼1 wt.% Cu) attests the existence of evolved prestige typologies. This LBA settlement discloses a domestic metallurgy whose main features are typical in Iberian Peninsula. Finally, it should be emphasized that a collection as comprehensive and representative of a single workshop has rarely been studied, enabling a deeper understanding of the various operations involving the bronze production and manufacture of artefacts.     

Ancient standards of volume: negevite Iron Age pottery (Israel) as a case study in 3D modeling

Hand-made cylindrical vessels unearthed in excavations of Iron Age IIA sites in the Negev Highlands constitute the largest and most dominant ceramic assemblage of simple-shaped vessels found in Israel. The volumes and linear dimensions of these vessels were analyzed based on computer 3D models reconstructed according to their drawn profiles. This analysis revealed the rules that could have been employed by the ancient potters in order to produce vessels of given volumes. These rules demonstrate the human ability to reveal approximate (but inherent) geometric relationships between form and volume and deploy them in everyday life.     

An Iron Age II snake cult in the Oman peninsula: evidence from Bithnah (Emirate of Fujairah)

Excavations carried out by the French Archaeological Mission at Bithnah-44/50 (Emirate of Fujairah) have provided new data about Iron Age II cultic practices in the Arabian Peninsula centred on the symbol of the snake. The site includes a public building, various types of shrines, and a central area of offerings where the remains of animal sacrifices were buried in pits. These remains are presented and a preliminary account of the evolution of the site is given on the base of the site's stratigraphy.     

Smelting and recycling evidences from the Late Bronze Age habitat site of Baiões (Viseu,Portugal)

Many aspects of bronze production during Late Bronze Age in Western Europe are so far unknown. In the present study selected artefact fragments and metallurgical debris, which include a slag fragment, from the emblematic Late Bronze Age habitat site of Castro da Senhora da Guia de Baiões (Viseu, Portugal) have been studied by optical microscopy, micro-EDXRF, SEM–EDS and XRD. Evidences were found for bronze production involving smelting and recycling. Compositional analysis showed that the artefacts are made of a bronze with 13 ± 3 wt.% Sn (average and one standard deviation) and a low impurity pattern, namely <0.1 wt.% Pb, being comparable with the composition of other bronzes from the same region (the Central Portuguese Beiras). This alloy is generally different from elsewhere Atlantic and Mediterranean bronzes, which show frequently slightly lower Sn contents and higher impurity patterns, namely Pb which is often present as an alloying element. The present study gives further support to early proposals suggesting the exploration of the Western Iberian tin resources during Late Bronze Age, and besides that, it indicates that metalworking and smelting could have been a commonplace activity requiring no specific facilities, being bronze produced at a domestic scale in this Western extreme of Europe.     

The Tel Akko Total Archaeology Project (Akko,Israel): Assessing the suitability of multi-scale 3D field recording in archaeology

Abstract

Archaeology is a destructive discipline, and, unfortunately, the majority of methods employed by archaeologists to record and preserve the archaeological record consist of two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional (3D) subjects. Recent breakthroughs in 3D technology, however, have the potential to revolutionize the discipline. In recent years, multiple software suites capable of generating spatially accurate, photorealistic 3D models with a series of digital photographs have become available. Following a successful season of field testing in 2011, the Tel Akko Total Archaeology Project (Akko, Israel) expanded the use of Agisoft’s PhotoScan Pro—one of the commercially available software suites—to test the accuracy and suitability of the program for archaeological applications at multiple scales. After two years of field testing, it is clear that the implementation of PhotoScan Pro in archaeology facilitates unprecedented accuracy in field recording and digital heritage management, and provides a new outlet for the dissemination of archaeological data.     

Evolving ecosystems: ecological data from an Iron Age small mammal accumulation at Alorda Park (Catalonia,Spain)

Small mammals are considered to be good indicators of ancient environments. One particular layer in a fortification tower of a Mediterranean Iberian village, Alorda Park (4th century BC), provided a large amount of well-preserved small mammal bones (about 19,200 remains) probably accumulated by barn owls (Tyto alba). Such an accumulation is rarely available from the Iron Age. It provides not only palaeoenvironmental data, but also further information about other studies such as morphometrics, ancient DNA and zoogeography. This article focuses on the ecological data, and attempts to develop an accurate taphonomic study to assess the reliability and statistical significance of this archaeological sample.     

Geoarchaeological tsunami deposits at Palaikastro (Crete) and the Late Minoan IA eruption of Santorini

The explosive eruption at Santorini in the Aegean Sea during the second millennium BCE was the largest Holocene volcanic upheaval in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The eruption was disastrous for the Minoan settlements at Santorini, but the effect on human society in the neighbouring islands and regions is still clouded in uncertainty. Tsunami generation was suggested, but comparatively little evidence was found. The lack of firm tsunami traces is particularly puzzling in Crete with its coastal settlements of the Late Minoan IA period, during which the Santorini eruption occurred. Here, we report the discovery of extensive geoarchaeological tsunami deposits at Palaikastro in north-eastern Crete. These deposits are characterized by a mixture of geological materials, including volcanic Santorini ash, and archaeological settlement debris. Various tsunami signatures were identified: (1) erosional contact with the underlying strata, (2) volcanic ash intraclasts in the lower part of the deposit, (3) reworked building stone material in the lower part of the deposit, (4) individual marine shells, (5) marine micro-fauna, (6) imbrication of rounded beach pebbles, settlement debris, ceramic sherds and even bones, (7) multi-modal chaotic composition. Late Minoan human settlement activities at Palaikastro provided architectural and stratigraphic frameworks in space and time that recorded and preserved tsunami evidence as geoarchaeological deposits. Such stratigraphic resolution and preservation may not occur in the natural landscape. Volcanic ash transported by wind from Santorini south-east to Crete preceded the tsunami. Geological, archaeological and radiocarbon dating criteria all converge, indicating that the tsunami deposits are coeval with the Minoan Santorini eruption. Field evidence suggests that tsunami waves at Palaikastro were at least 9 m high. Inverse tsunami modeling was attempted, based on these newly discovered tsunamigenic deposits. The initial wave in the generation region at Santorini that best fits the stratigraphic data is a wave with +35 to −15 m initial amplitude and a crest length of about 15 km.     

Stable isotope investigations of charred barley (Hordeum vulgare) and wheat (Triticum spelta) grains from Danebury Hillfort: implications for palaeodietary reconstructions

Palaeodietary studies typically focus on the analysis of bone collagen due to the limited availability of plant remains. Isotopic analysis of plant remains, however, allow for a more extensive consideration of the contribution of plants to the human diet and can potentially provide information about the environment in which the crops were grown. This paper reports the results of carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses performed on charred barley and wheat grains recovered from pits within Danebury Iron Age hillfort. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Iron Age site in Britain from which charred grains have been isotopically analysed. Our results suggest that cereals found at the hillfort were grown in several different environmental contexts. The isotope data demonstrate that the herbivores were not consuming a diet primarily based on grains as the δ¹⁵N values of the grains are very similar to those of the herbivores. Palaeodietary investigations typically assume that humans eating plant protein only would have the same δ¹⁵N value as the local herbivores. This assumption is clearly invalid at Danebury, where the humans and animals appear to have consumed either different parts of the same plants or different plants. Researchers typically interpret high differences between human and animal δ¹⁵N values as indicative of diets high in animal protein, however where major plant resources have δ¹⁵N values similar to those of the herbivores our ability to distinguish between plant and animal sources of protein in the diet is limited. Our research has demonstrated that whenever possible it is desirable to measure the isotopic signatures of potential major plant resources in order to understand past subsistence strategies.     

The Terramare and the surrounding hydraulic structures: a geophysical survey of the Santa Rosa site at Poviglio (Bronze Age,northern Italy)

The Terramara Santa Rosa is a Middle and Late Bronze Age archaeological site located in the Po alluvial plain, northern Italy. It is constituted of two moated villages delimited by earthen ramparts. The peripheral structures of the site are sealed by fine-textured flood plain deposits and they have not been fully explored through excavation due to their large extent. Because the shape of the villages and their relation to moats and the fluvial network are of paramount importance to understanding the landscape management and the use of water resources in the Terramare civilisation, a geophysical survey was planned to extend the results of the existing archaeological excavations to the site scale. A frequency-domain electro-magnetic sounding (FDEM) and electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) covered an area of approximately 26 ha; ERI was conducted for a total length >9000 m. Despite the predominance of electrically conductive fine-textured sediments, electrical resistivity anomalies were observed and they were attributed to subtle lithological differences in the sedimentary context of the alluvial plain. The geophysical interpretation, after the calibration with the excavation data, revealed the structures of the Terramara and of the surrounding hydraulic network, which are not visible at the surface due to flood plain deposits. The Santa Rosa site was founded in a favourable geomorphological position, on the top of a crevasse splay lobe of the adjoining Po palaeo-channel, rising above the surrounding alluvial plain. The Terramara and their surroundings were delineated through an artificial modification of this pre-existing crevasse splay lobe and a well-targeted urban design, with the objective of diverting water, most likely from a palaeo-channel of the Po River, through the digging of peripheral moats used to collect water around the site and to distribute it to the surrounding fields for irrigation. The water management documented by this study in the Terramara Santa Rosa can be considered as paradigmatic for the whole Terramare civilisation, which is therefore responsible of the introduction of the irrigated agriculture into western Europe for the first time.     

Sourcing Iron Age softstone artefacts in southeastern Arabia: results from a programme of analysis using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry/Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-MS/OES)

Iron Age softstone vessels manufactured in southeastern Arabia are widely distributed across that region and in lesser amounts throughout Western Asia. Results from a pilot programme of analysis using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry/Optical Emission Spectrometry on vessel fragments from two southeast Arabian sites are presented. These results indicate the existence of geochemically distinct groups that are separated by both transition metals and rare earth elements. While this indicates the potential for the application of the provenance postulate in softstone analysis, these promising results need to be further tested by an expanded programme of analysis which includes quarry fragments.