The Tell Abu Duwari Project, 1988–1990

Abstract

The second (1988–1989) and third (1990) seasons of excavation and survey at the 2nd-millennium B.C. urban site of Tell Abu Duwari (ancient Mashkan-shapir), Iraq, have yielded important new evidence on the organization of ancient Mesopotamian cities. A combination of aerial and surface survey has provided a broad overview of the differing functional areas, and of the role played by canals, streets, and walls to divide the city. Excavations consisted of both small soundings and one broad horizontal exposure. The soundings were designed to test the relationship between surface traces and the remains beneath the ground, and the larger excavation generated an artifactual, faunal, and floral inventory from an administrative district which will be compared with similar collections excavated in other parts of the city in future seasons.     

Temporary site protection for earthen walls and murals at Çata1höyük,Turkey

Abstract

The exposure of earthen architecture at archaeological sites presents tremendous difficulties both during and after excavation. While it is the intent of most reburial programmes to stabilize exposed structures against the long-term effects of loss of pressure and fluctuations in moisture, relative humidity and temperature, reburial does not easily afford practical protection against immediate damage caused during excavation. At the Neolithic site of Çata1höyük in Anatolia, Turkey, a phased programme to integrate the excavation and conservation of the site was developed. This included emergency stabilization and protection of the mud brick walls, plasters, mural paintings and relief sculpture, both during and between excavation seasons. One component of this programme included the development of a temporary perlite-vermiculite protection system.     

Archaeological geophysical survey of a Prehistoric Bronze Age site in Cyprus (Alambra <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mouttes</Emphasis>)—applications and limitations

The University of Queensland Alambra Archaeological Mission (UQAAM) conducted a program of geophysical survey and archaeological excavation over four seasons from 2012 to 2016. This program has allowed this study to compile a large array of geophysical data, which has been tested against actual excavation results. By integrating the two forms of archaeological investigation, the UQAAM has been able to identify geophysical ‘signatures’ diagnostic and indicative of internal architectural features relating to the Cypriot Prehistoric Bronze Age (c2400–1750BC). This is the first time internal features have been identified using these techniques on a Middle Bronze Age site in Cyprus. The program has also identified two, and possibly four, areas of domestic settlement. This has yielded results that are of considerable value to cultural heritage managers of the site, which is experiencing development pressures. While identifying several constraints with the geophysical survey for the Prehistoric Bronze Age in Cyprus, the program has demonstrated the efficacy of a combined geophysical survey and excavation approach to sites of the Early-Middle Bronze Age period.     

湖北秭归何家坪遗址发掘简报

何家坪遗址位于湖北省秭归县郭家坝镇楚王井村11组。1996～2000年,湖北省文物考古研究所分三次对遗址进行了发掘。三次发掘面积1600平方米,清理新石器时代至明代墓葬5座、灰坑3个、窑址1处,出土了陶、石、瓷、银、铜、铁等不同质料的文化遗物百余件。该遗址年代跨度长,遗存特征比较典型,是三峡地区一处比较重要的考古发现。     

Failaka Island in the Late Islamic Period. Investigations at the fishing village of Kharaib al-Dasht

The aim of the paper is to present the architectural remains and spatial organisation of the site of Kharaib al-Dasht, a Late Islamic fishing village dating from the late seventeenth to the nineteenth century. In the course of six seasons of excavation, which started in 2013, there was uncovered a part of this extensive site, revealing remnants of a fish processing area, residential architecture and a mosque. The findings from Kharaib al-Dasht serve here as a starting point for a discussion on the character of settlement activity on Failaka in the Late Islamic period, which was a time of dynamic change in the political and economic landscape of the region as evidenced by the available written sources.     

Excavations in the Church of St Augustine's Abbey,Canterbury 1955–58

THE EXCAVATION of Anglo-Saxon structures below the W. end of the 11th to 12th-century nave of the church of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, occupied three seasons between and 1957. Further, small-scale, excavation took place subsequently on the site of the pre-Conquest church of Sts Peter and Paul to test particular points. The need for the excavations in 1955 arose unexpectedly out of routine consolidation of the upstanding remains (which are in the care of what is now the Department of the Environment), when there were discovered by chance the voussoirs of an arch a few inches below ground level in the ill-defined mass of masonry at the extreme SW. corner of the Norman church.     

Taphonomic evidence for site formation processes at fort Christanna

Fort Christanna was an early eighteenth century Indian trading post on the western frontier of Virginia. This paper describes and interprets the faunal remains recovered during three seasons of excavation at the site. Taxonomic and body part representation are examined to gain insight into diet on the frontier, food provisioning at the fort, and the relationship between the fort's occupants and the neighbouring Indian settlement. These interpretations are limited by the poor preservation apparent in the faunal assemblage. The patterning of a variety of different surface modifications is explored to understand the taphonomic history of the assemblage. These characteristics of the assemblage seem to be related largely to the bone refuse disposal practices of the fort's occupants, and thus give important insight into a crucial aspect of the site formation processes.     

Gete Odena: Grand Island’s Post-Contact Occupation at Williams Landing

Abstract

Two seasons of excavation were conducted at Gete Odena, a Terminal WoodlandlHistoric Period site near Williams Landing. We discuss two significant findings from the post-contact period. The first is the discovery of six pits investigated through a performance-based analysis and thought to be used in hide processing. The second significant finding is the identification of the occupation surfaces associated with the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century component. Our investigation has revealed information about site function, seasonality, and hide-smoking technology during the late prehistoric/early historic Native American occupation of the island.     

Excavations at MR11 on Marawah Island (Abu Dhabi,UAE): new insight into the architecture and planning of Arabian Neolithic settlements and early evidence for pearling

In 1992, an archaeological survey of Marawah Island conducted by the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey identified two significant Neolithic settlements known as MR1 and MR11. Both sites are constructed on prominent rocky platforms located towards the western end of the island. In 2000 and 2003, small-scale excavations took place at MR11, with the first full excavation taking place in 2004. Excavations continued at MR11 between 2014 up to 2019. Radiocarbon dating demonstrates that the site was occupied between the earliest part of the sixth millennium to the mid-fifth millennium BC. Three areas have been so far examined. Area A—a tripartite house (2004 and 2014–2017 excavation seasons); Area B—a partial structure (in 2003 and 2017–2018); and Area C—a series of at least five rooms (in 2017–2019). The results provide a valuable new insight into the architecture and planning of Arabian Neolithic settlements in the region, as well as the earliest known evidence for pearling.     

The Franchthi Cave Flint Survey: Some Preliminary Results (1974)

Abstract

Six seasons of excavation have been conducted at Franchthi Cave, a large prehistoric site in southern Greece which has given evidence of essentially continuous human occupation from ca. 20,000 B.C. to ca. 3000 B.C. (in radiocarbon years). A detailed survey of the raw materials used in the local chipped stone industries was initiated in 1973 and is being carried out by one of the authors (DMVH). The objectives of this survey include the identification of the types and the distribution of locally available raw materials with the hope that this information will contribute further to our understanding of the human ecology of the site and its environs. A summary of some of our preliminary observations resulting from a modification of original sampling procedures will be given in the following paragraphs.     

London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition: 1994 and 1995 excavations at Saar, Bahrain

The long-term aim of the project is to excavate the entire central area of the Dilmun settlement. During the 1994 and 1995 seasons a further twelve buildings were excavated, most of them located along the main arteries of the settlement. A resistivity survey, followed by selective excavation, determined the size and extent of the site. A well excavated on the eastern flank provided valuable information about the level of Bahrain's aquifers in the Early Dilmun period.     

The Social,Spatial, and Bioarchaeological Histories of Ancient Oman project: the mortuary landscape of Dhank

The Social, Spatial, and Bioarchaeological Histories of Ancient Oman (SoBO) project has conducted three seasons of survey and excavation in north‐western Oman. Focusing on third‐millennium BC archaeological features, this project is unique because of the combination of geospatial survey and bioarchaeological excavation of mortuary monuments in and around the town of Dhank. Here we report our initial findings, define our survey area and techniques and discuss excavated funerary structures and associated radiocarbon dates from both charcoal and human skeletal remains. This report presents preliminary results that introduce this new project on the prehistoric mortuary landscapes of Oman and highlight the techniques the SoBO team employs to examine Bronze Age communities in this rural location.     

Ria de Aveiro A: a shipwreck from Portugal dating to the mid-15th century; a preliminary report

The remains of a coasting vessel were found in a lagoon close to the coast. Four radiocarbon determinations provided a date in the mid-15th century and it has been the subject of several seasons of excavation of CNANS. The excavation strategy is described, as are its surviving constructional details which are analysed with reference to early sources for Portuguese naval architecture. This coaster has constructional features found in ocean-going ships of the Iberian-Atlantic tradition. Its cargo of pottery is one of the most extensive and closely dated from the Age of Discovery and includes 18 forms.     

On the Probable Identity of the Gloucestershire Chapelry of St. Briavel’s,Recognised as Lidneia Parva in the Twelfth Century,with the Ledenei of the Saxon Hundred of Ledenei,Named in the Domesday as the Property of William Fitz Baderon

The shrunken medieval hamlet of Wintringham lies in the parish of St Neots some 2 miles east of the town centre. The position of the settlement was clearly defined by the remains of the peasant crofts, moated enclosures and bj the ridge and furrow of the open fields, which surrounded much of the site.

An excavation was arranged by the Department of the Environment and the Deserted Medieval Village Research Group in 1971 and 1972 to examine the moated enclosure, lying in the southern part of the site, before it was levelled and ploughed. The finding of four superimposed houses and their associated buildings revealed much information about the construction and expansion of a substantial timber house between circa 1175 and 1340.

The excavation finds have been presented to the University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge.     

A Byzantine Shipwreck from Cape Stoba,Mljet, Croatia: an interim report

The Cape Stoba shipwreck is located on the seabed off the island of Mljet in Croatia at a depth of 21–28 m. Following initial investigation in 1975, four seasons of excavation have been carried between 2010 and 2014 by the Department for Underwater Archaeology of the Croatian Conservation Institute, joined by the Department of Studi Umanistici of the Università Ca' Foscari of Venice from 2012. The wreck‐site is evidenced by a cargo of nine amphora types dated to the 10th‐11th century AD, produced in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea area, and glassware of Levantine production. The only direct evidence of the ship itself to date, is one iron anchor.     

有心还是无意:李济汾河流域调查与夏文化探索

1925年李济在汾河流域的调查以及1926年对山西夏县西阴村遗址的发掘是中国考古学者第一次自行组织的考古工作。以往研究大多指出探索夏文化是李济这次考古活动的主要目的,本文通过分析李济当年所写的调查和发掘报告,证明李济此行的真实目的是要寻找一处适合发掘的史前遗址,并企图通过自己的工作以回应安特生的中国文化西来说。而终李济一生,他认为在考古学上还没有足够的证据表明何种文化为夏文化。     

隋唐长安城东北角夹城及十王宅遗址2020年度发掘简报

隋唐长安城东北角夹城及十王宅遗址位于隋唐长安城遗址东北部。2020年,西安市文物保护考古研究院对该遗址东城墙与夹城墙之间的道路南段进行了主动发掘,清理道路、车辙等遗迹,并解剖了东城墙墙基。本文即是对2020年度发掘工作主要收获的简报。     

上海市青浦区青龙镇遗址2010年发掘简报

青龙镇遗址位于上海市青浦区,是唐宋时期上海重要的对外贸易港口。2010年上海博物馆考古研究部首次对青龙镇遗址进行了考古调查与发掘,发现了唐宋时期的房基、瓷片堆、水井、灰坑等遗迹及大量的遗物,为今后的工作奠定了基础。