Integration of Complementary Archaeological Prospection Data from a Late Iron Age Settlement at Vesterager—Denmark

The complementary use of various archaeological prospection data sets offers a series of new possibilities for the investigation of prehistoric settlements. In addition to the separate interpretations of the single methods, the implementation of image fusion provides an additional tool to obtain an even higher degree of data integration during the interpretation process. To investigate some possibilities and risks of image fusion, a procedure frequently used in the medical field but rarely applied in archaeology, various algorithms inside a dedicated MATLAB toolbox TAIFU (Toolbox for Archaeological Image FUsion) were tested on the geophysical prospection data from an Iron Age settlement near Vesterager in West Jutland, Denmark. The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology had conducted large-scale, high-resolution ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry surveys at the site in 2014, based on its discovery by the Ringkøbing Museum through aerial photos and the results of a follow-up excavation in 2009. The aim was to determine if, and to what extent, geophysical prospection together with a novel integrative interpretational approach was able to add more detailed information to an already known prehistoric settlement. Results yielded a variety of deeper insights into the separate farms (dated to around AD 400), including the discovery of several new structures and more information about the construction of the longhouses, as well as a first suggestion on how to implement image fusion into the process of analysis and archaeological interpretation of geophysical data sets.     

Aktuelle Herausforderungen für die Tourismuspolitik am Beispiel von Rheinland-Pfalz

Als Folge der weltweiten Terroranschläge der letzten Jahre, der internationalen politischen Konflikte und der gesundheitlichen Gefahren durch Krankheiten wie SARS, steht die Tourismusbranche vor einer veränderten Situation, die sie in dieser Ausprägung bisher nicht kannte. Welche Konsequenzen sich hieraus für die Branche und den Deutschlandtourismus allgemein sowie für das Land Rheinland-Pfalz im besonderen ergeben, diskutierte DIPL.-GEOGR. KAI PARTALE, DVAG-Arbeitskreissprecher Freizeit+Tourismus, mit dem Tourismusreferenten des Ministeriums für Wirtschaft, Verkehr, Landwirtschaft und Weinbau des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz, DIPL.-GEOGR. ROLAND JOHST.     

FAY‐NE15 — Another Neolithic graveyard in the Central Region of the Sharjah Emirate?

The paper describes indications for the existence of another substantial Neolithic graveyard of the fifth millennium BC besides al‐Buhais 18 (BHS18) in the Central Region of the Sharjah Emirate. Archaeological explorations in 2006 recovered skeletal remains of three individuals from a primary burial. Deposition of the deceased was similar to BHS18. All three were richly adorned with different kinds of beads found in the head and neck areas. A total of 949 finds of beads from FAY‐NE15 are compared to the large complex of personal adornments from BHS18. There are slight deviations that might indicate that the two graveyards were used by different groups. Implications for the relations between the groups are discussed.     

Provenance of Iron Age iron in southern Germany: a new approach

Ores, slag, and blooms from an Early Iron Age smelting site in the Black Forest, southern Germany, were analysed in view of their possible provenance in combination with products from a modern smelting experiment. Rather than employing lead isotope ratios, like in a previous study, osmium and strontium isotope ratios are used for the discussion of provenance. The results of the smelting experiment with iron ores from the archaeological site and their comparison with original finds show the high potential of osmium as a tracer to determine provenance. Strontium may be an additional indicator but possible contaminations need to be assessed. A Celtic iron ingot has also been analysed to check the potential of osmium for further provenance studies.     

The Sacred Economy of Ancient “Israel”

Abstract

Taking up the challenge to develop a new study of the economic patterns in the ancient Near East, including what passes for ancient “Israel’ (the Persian province of Yehud), this article proposes a model of the “sacred economy.” A study in economic history, it seeks to map out the broad contours of this sacred economy in light of the neglected but crucial economically–informed scholarship from the Soviet Union on the ancient Near East. The article identifies the key nodes of the sacred economy as the village–commune, the temple–city complex, the formation of the despotic state, the tensions between labour and class, and mediations between empire and village commune. It traces the development of the State to the tensions between the village commune and the city–temple complex. It also argues that the key features of this sacred economy may be described as regimes of allocation and regimes of extraction. The unique combination of these regimes and the tensions between them make up the sacred economy. The underlying logic of the regimes of allocation was to provide a rationale for the allocation of productive units such as land and fertility by means of kinship, the war machine, patron–client relations and the judiciary. All of this was posed in the language of the sacred, for the deity is the ultimate arbiter of allocation. By contrast, the regimes of extraction undermine the allocatory economic logic by means of a pattern of exploitation in terms of tribute and trade. This article insists upon the necessary centrality of economic analysis in any historiography of the Ancient Near East.     

Market Actors' Views on Urban Family Living: Informing Urban Planning and Place Marketing in Preparation for Urban Transitions

Cities want to attract young families as residents instead of losing them to the suburbs. This asks for profound and specific understanding of the housing-related needs and expectations of those families desiring urban living. The article presents and discusses these needs and expectations, focussing on social and environmental issues, as seen by different market actors with regard to a major urban transition area in Basel, Switzerland, a typical middle-sized western European city. We used the exploration parcours technique, which allows for what is called “information acceleration” including an in-depth encounter with different scenarios of urban design before responding to a questionnaire on urban family living (N?=?80). The results indicate that housing suppliers underestimate young families' demand for participation, for the recognition of children's needs, and, to a large extent, for high environmental standards.