Corpus cartographique pour l'histoire de Damas,Syrie, à la fin de la période ottomane (1760–1924)

Abstract

De manière générale, la cartographie des villes de l'empire ottoman est peu abondante. Au dix‐neuvième siècle, malgré plusieurs réformes administratives, l'autorité publique ne recourait pas à des documents cartographiques pour organiser les travaux d'édilité tandis que les étrangers rencontraient les plus grandes difficultés pour établir des représentations de ces villes. Damas constitue une exception à ce tableau. On dispose de plusieurs cartes antérieures à l'établissement du mandat français (1920) qui sont de qualité inégale. Les auteurs étrangers sont les plus nombreux et les plus fiables; le plus souvent archéologues ou historiens, ils ont dressé des documents partiels par toujours faciles à évaluer. Cependant, et malgré la faiblesse de son volume (sept documents), le corpus des premières cartes de Damas constitue une source essentielle pour l'histoire du développement spatial de la ville entre le milieu du dix‐neuvième siècle et l'établissement du pouvoir mandataire.     

Archaeology of Guano: Preliminary Results of the Survey Conducted in Caleta Robles (Mejillones,Chile), 1862–83

The exploitation of guano was one of the first important economic activities in Chile and Bolivia during the 19th century. Although its development was brief and less successful than the guano industry in neighbouring Peru, it laid the foundation of a state business system based on the granting of franchises to private companies, regulation of the maritime trade and modernisation of the extractive process to improve the exploitation of mineral resources.

Caleta Robles, a guano production centre between 1862 and 1883, succeeded the exploitation of other guano deposits on the Mejillones peninsula coast from the 1840s. It represents a highly relevant coastal archaeological site illustrating the early development of the mining industry in the north of Chile.

The preliminary results of the investigations conducted on this site have created an understanding of the spatial distribution of the different functional areas relating to the different phases of the production process and their adaptation to suit the peculiar topographical conditions of the site.     

THE ROLT MEMORIAL LECTURE 2011

Abstract

The Pawtucket Dam in Lowell is a key site in the interpretation of the city’s industrial heritage and a potent symbol of corporate determination to alter the natural environment for textile production and profit. It is both a certified National Landmark and the most dramatic feature of a National Park, the first one to be located in an American industrial city. Without a great dam at Pawtucket Falls, Lowell would never have become a renowned example of manufacturing prowess and attractive urban design. Every dam built across the Merrimack River since 1825 at that site has been controversial. They have blocked fish migrations, overflowed farmland, backed water into the wheelpits of upstream mills, halted log drives, and made floods more destructive. The existing Pawtucket Dam of 1847 and 1875 is now the focus of a heated debate between preservationists and a hydroelectric power company that wants to alter it.     

A Late Bronze Age Shipwreck with a Metal Cargo from Hishuley Carmel,Israel

A 13th‐century‐BC shipwreck site, Hishuley Carmel, is described and discussed. It provides direct evidence for marine transport of copper and tin along the Israeli coast and may indicate inland and maritime trade‐routes of metals in the Mediterranean. The shipwreck represents a supply‐system providing the demand for bronze in the Levant. Trace‐elements and lead‐isotope analysis suggest that the copper came from Cyprus, similarly to bun and oxhide ingots from Uluburun. The source of the tin cannot yet be ascertained. The medium‐size ship was probably grounded and wrecked during a storm. Some of the cargo may have been salvaged in Antiquity. © 2012 The Authors     

The Roman Shipwreck of Antirhodos Island in the Portus Magnus of Alexandria,Egypt

Between 1998 and 1999 three excavation campaigns were undertaken on a shipwreck at the now‐submerged site of the ancient Portus Magnus, off the coast of Alexandria. The site, close to the island of Antirhodos, was identified through geophysical and archaeological surveys carried out by the Institut Européen d’Archéologie Sous‐Marine (IEASM), directed by Franck Goddio. The remains of the ship lie c.5 m deep and are spread over c.350 sqm. No cargo has been found. Artefacts recovered, the details of the ship's architecture and radiocarbon dating all suggest it sunk between the end of the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE. Its dimensions correspond to those of commercial ships of the Roman era. Identification of the wood used contributes significantly to our knowledge of materials used in naval architecture of this period.     

A Risk Assessment for Cultural Heritage in Southern Iraq: Framing Drivers,Threats and Actions Affecting Archaeological Sites

ABSTRACT

This paper proposes a classification of the risks threatening archaeological sites in southern Iraq and suggests some possible remediation to better preserve them. This has been possible thanks to a research methodology that combines remote sensing and ground control on a sample of 558 sites documented by the Iraqi-Italian QADIS survey project. A three-tier typological framework has been created illustrating the risks jeopardising the cultural heritage of the region. This research showed that the most impacting risks are the ones caused by agricultural activity, despite current narratives which mainly focus on looting and violent destruction. To get at the root of the problem, current laws protecting cultural heritage in Iraq are analysed, as well as how the cultural authorities are organised on the ground. Improving the organisation of the SBAH, engaging the local communities towards the issue of sites’ protection and introducing preventive archaeology are among the solutions proposed.     

Development of a Methodological Framework for Handling Urban Archaeological Resources: Tarsus Historic City Centre,Turkey

In Turkey, most of the historic city centres have been continuously occupied since early ages, and ongoing research or ad hoc findings indicate urban archaeological resources beneath modern cities. According to the results of such research, archaeological and conservation sites are determined in terms of current legal frameworks. However, urban archaeological resources have not been included in the planning process because of inadequacy in spatial documentation, so archaeological deposits have been seen as problem areas in urban development. Thus, urban archaeological resources — not only subsoil resources, even monumental sites — could not be integrated into urban daily life, so most citizens are not aware of archaeological layers beneath their feet. The research project in Tarsus historic city centre, which is supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), primarily aims to develop a method to include urban archaeology — especially subsoil archaeological resources — into the urban conservation planning process of multilayered historic city centres in Turkey. In this way, planners would be informed, aware, and equipped about the urban archaeological potential at the earliest stages of the planning process. Consequently, urban archaeology, as an inter-/ multi-disciplinary field of research, is going to evolve as a crucial planning analysis in urban conservation including not only archaeological research, but also in evaluating settlement history and issues in urban development.     

An Assessment of the Status and Condition of Archaeological Remains Preserved In Situ in the Medieval Town of Trondheim Based on Archeochemical Investigations Conducted During the Period 2007–2010

Abstract

In recent years systematic archeochemical investigations in the medieval town of Trondheim have provided the heritage management authorities with a rich and complex set of data concerning the status and condition of the cultural deposits in the anthropogenic material. The collected data raises important questions for the long-time management of in situ preservation for archaeological material in non-saturated zones. In this paper we present the standardized scientific methods used in these archeochemical investiga- tions. We examine the results from several sites in the town and discuss the challenges facing modern heritage management in its efforts to protect a complex body of archaeological material in the non-saturated zone. We show that sediments with a thickness of 1–2 m have low levels of moisture and organic matter, and most of the inorganic parameters analysed are found in oxidized form with low preservations. The 2–3 m thick anthropogenic sediments showed better preservation conditions.     

Greek nationalism,architectural narratives,and a gymnasium that wasn’t

Abstract

This paper seeks to further the discussion that positions archaeological interpretation as a practice entangled between professional ethics and political circumstances. Perhaps the most obvious route for the mobilisation of extant architecture is to recruit it into nationalist discourses. An example of this is the case of the Roman Bath-Gymnasium Complex at Salamis (Cyprus), which can be used to illustrate how nationalism can call forth convenient narratives about material culture. Excavations (1952–1974) revealed the remains of a massive structure, and Vassos Karageorghis, the principal excavator, identified it as a ‘Gymnasium’. This paper demonstrates that Karageorghis’ hitherto well-accepted interpretation remains largely conjectural due to the absence of hard archaeological evidence. By examining the architectural characteristics of the remains and analysing the published excavation data, the paper explains how the present structure belongs to a bath-gymnasium complex, erected during the Roman period, and is an amalgamation of Roman and Greek culture. The paper revolves around the argument that the Romans’ role in negotiating the socio-cultural differences, which ultimately enriched the existing structures, has been systematically downplayed in the architectural narratives for the sake of presenting a homogeneous ethnic-cultural continuity from the Homeric Greek world down to the contemporary Cypriote Greek society.     

资源,神权与文明的兴衰

根据当代流行的马克思主义考古学分析观念,上层建筑和经济基础都会对复杂社会的演进或衰亡起重要的作用。本文尝试从资源和神权这两个概念来探讨早期文明兴衰的动力,并讨论良渚文化消失和中国文明演进地域差异的原因。