Archaeological Evaluation Research Articles

Gjellestad introduction, background and historical framework

The spark that ignited this research project was the discovery of the Gjellestad ship in the autumn of 2018 by the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU). The surveying was initiated by Østfold County Council (ØCC) after a landowner planned to drain farmland (Figure 1). Archaeologists Lars Gustavsen and Erich Nau, both associated with NIKU, conducted the geophysical surveys that led to the uncovering of this amazing archaeological find. The discovery attracted massive international interest, partly because in this particular landscape in Østfold County no one had ever found any evidence to suggest that a ship could be hidden below the ground – this “ship” was considered something of an anomaly. In 2019 the Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Riksantikvaren) funded the verification project to investigate the degree of preservation of the ship anomaly using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), as well as to collect material for radiocarbon-dating of other features detected with the GPR. The Museum of Cultural History (MCH) at the University of Oslo led investigations of the ship anomaly, while ØCC led the remaining part of the surveying, mainly through trial trenching and sampling. MCH’s investigations showed that the ship’s state of preservation was poor, with the remaining wood both fragile and prone to attacks from soft rot bacteria, causing uncontrolled deterioration. On the advice of the cultural heritage authorities, the government decided to cover the full cost of the excavation of the ship burial. This excavation was conducted in 2020-21 under the leadership of archaeologist Christian Løchsen Rødsrud.

Coprolite diversity from the archeological site Gruta Do Gentio Ll, Unaí, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The first paleoparasitological analyses in Brazil are related to the Gruta do Gentio ll (GGll) an archeological site related to the beginning of the Una ceramist tradition (13,000–410 cal B.P.), with two subsistence horizons, an ancient one related do hunter-gatherers, and a more recent one related to a horticulturist population. Crucial cultural traces of Una tradition such as pottery, fabric, adornments made from animal teeth and shells, and food remnants were also identified during the GGII excavations. Coprolites, fossilized or mineralized feces are important elements in the studies on taphonomy and sedimentology, and yield valuable information on parasitological, environmental, producer origin, and diet. In the present study, GGll coprolites were submitted to morphological and morphometrical procedures to identify the probable origin of samples within the geographical location of study. The results of the identification of coprolites showed four different morphotypes including complex, flat, spherical, and cylindrical, in 10 distinct colors, distributed heterogeneously in 16 sectors and 11 stratigraphic layers, indicating a great variety of not only human but animal coprolites. With the collected data, along with previous archeological evaluations, we can propose a primary GGII paleoecological scenario, with the presence of animals and humans that used de cave in the Pleistocene and Holocene times of Southeast Brazil.

Experimental study on the punching failure model of soft red rock subgrade by BPT-BVM methods and it’s assessment of the load bearing capacity

The recommended bearing capacity of medium weathering mudstone foundation is less than the capacity of the rock structure to withstand loads in Southwest China. A comprehensive failure characterization of medium weathering mudstone in Chengdu has been performed including bearing plate test (BPT), binocular vision measurement (BVM) test, uniaxial compressive strength test, trial trench test of shallow rock surface and 3D imaging in this paper. Failure behavior of rock has been modeled with 3D imaging algorithm that utilizes Zhang’s calibration method in BVM system combination with trial trench test of shallow rock surface. The bearing capacity of medium weathering mudstone foundation were extracted from uniaxial experiments and BPT-BVM test by fitting relevant material properties to the data. The results revealed that: Bearing capacity of medium weathering mudstone of layered isotropic in Chengdu is undervalued. Specifically, the characteristic load carrying value is in the range 1500–2500 kP, that is 50% higher than in the local standard system. Failure process is different from Hoek–Brown Failure Criterion, presenting a wave peak transfer phenomenon of the increment displacement into the distance. Thus, it can be reduced to that of punching failures for thin bedded structures of Moudstone foundations. Compressive strength of soft rock proves to be main factor limiting the bearing capacity, a clear correlation between the uniaxial compressive strength reduction coefficient and the bearing capacity has been used to establish, leading to the proposal of a load bearing capacity prediction model.

Does archaeology deliver evidence about the past or co-create contemporary values?

The paper focuses on heritage value systems, particularly investigating the archaeological understanding of heritage values and evaluation. The literature review shows that the postmodern archaeological paradigm predominantly covers the topic, while the perspective of the intrinsic value is less explored. The starting point of our research is the thesis that archaeological paradigms obstruct better public support if they refrain from using axiological considerations. By archaeological paradigm, we refer to the processual and post-processual ones (the latter focusing on understanding past social phenomena). Axiology, as the theory of values, developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its approach is now used in many areas of social sciences (for example, education and medical care). Public archaeology is more open to societal needs than processual and post-processual archaeology but has yet to apply a values-based approach consistently. To clarify our thesis, we analyse the theoretical and practical considerations on the values of (archaeological) heritage, including the issues of the categorization of values, reflection on who assigns values to heritage and how this affects the reception of archaeological knowledge in society. The paper addresses some critical aspects of the evaluation in archaeological heritage conservation, management and building alliances with locals and communities who identify with heritage. I outline a comprehensive archaeological evaluation system considering systemic, extrinsic and intrinsic archaeological values in the conclusions.

The Excavation of a Romano-British Site at Netherhall Road, Maryport

A programme of archaeological trial trenching and excavation was undertaken by CFA Archaeology Ltd between Maryport (Alavna) Roman Fort and Netherhall Road on the north-eastern outskirts of Maryport from 2010 to 2016. The work confirmed the presence of a large sub-square ditched enclosure with two phases of construction, which is interpreted as a Romano-British rural farm site. It contained a variety of pottery deposited in its ditches, dating from the 1st to the 4th century CE. A linear feature, thought to be the line of a Roman road, did not produce definitive evidence of being a Roman road, but a Roman-period cremation cemetery was uncovered adjacent to it. One of the burials excavated held two pottery vessels of mid-3rd-century CE or slightly later date, one of which contained the cremated remains of an adult female along with other finds, while a second burial contained the cremated remains of a young child within a decorated Rhenish beaker.

Stories from the Cold Hill: Reassessing the Bryn Oer Tramroad

ABSTRACT The history and development of the early 19th-century Bryn Oer Tramroad in South-East Wales has been considered previously by Gordon Rattenbury and John van Laun, but archaeological monitoring and walkover surveys carried out during conservation works to the tramroad in spring 2022 have yielded new data. In particular, fresh evidence for the tramroad’s drainage system, turnouts and gateways has allowed a reassessment of the earlier studies, enabling a more complete narrative of the tramroad to be presented. The article is divided into four parts. The first part outlines the history of the canals to which the Bryn Oer Tramroad was connected, and the second discusses the historical context of the tramroad. The third part provides an archaeological evaluation of the tramroad, whilst the final part discusses the comparative importance of the tramroad within the context of late 18th- and early 19th-century transport networks in South-East Wales.

An archaeological evaluation of the Olmec “Royal Tombs” at La Venta, Mexico – Corrigendum

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An archaeological evaluation of the Olmec “royal tombs” at La Venta, Mexico

AbstractAt La Venta, Mexico, the Middle Formative Olmec regional center, the existence of individual leaders is interpreted from the evidence of monumental stone portraiture and several tombs believed to house the bodies of a sequence of kings late in La Venta's history. The status of these latter features as graves, however, has been debated since soon after they were excavated in the 1940s, especially because they generally lacked osteological material. What remained was arrangements of costume items as if adorning a body, usually associated with a stone container. Most archaeologists have advanced the reasonable explanation that bones and teeth would not have survived in tropical environments and accepted both the tomb attribution and their function as individual funerary monuments. A detailed review of available information from the La Venta excavations reveals these assumptions are not warranted. Field data indicate the absence of expected taphonomic evidence of bodily decay. Analysis of the stratigraphy of Mound A-2, aided, by computer-enhanced imaging of field drawings, demonstrates its tomb-like features were erected in a single, short construction phase, not over a span of decades as individual kings died. These conclusions call for alternative explanations of these “surrogate burials,” absent bodies materially evoked by ritual officiants.

Effects of siltation and desiltation on the wave-induced stability of foundation trench of immersed tunnel

The evaluation of stability for the submarine artificial slope is important in the construction of offshore structures such as immersed tunnels and embedded pipelines. The siltation in marine dynamic environment is common, inevitable, but difficult to deal with. Cohesive sediment, or mud, is encountered in most water bodies throughout the world, and thus siltation inevitably occurs in the stage of underwater excavation for the offshore structure foundations. To this end, based on the temporal and spatial variations law of siltation observed from the trial trench in-situ test of Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link in China, a numerical study is carried out on the influences of siltation and desiltation on the stability of foundation trench slope under wave action. The waves are simulated by the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations and then applied on the surface of seabed and trench slope. The pore pressure induced by the wave action is obtained by Darcy's law. The seabed is characterized by Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model and the factor of stability (FOS) of the slope is calculated using the strength reduction method. Three failure modes are assumed to analyze the stability of trench slope and to determine the most unstable mode. A sensitivity analysis is conducted on various key factors affecting the whole stability of the trench slope after siltation or desiltation, which is valuable for practical engineering design.

Dredging of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link in the Pearl River Estuary, China: Short-Term Siltation Mechanism for a Trial Trench

Han, Z.; Li, H.; Xie, H.; Yang, H.; Ouyang, Q., and Gong, S., 2022. Dredging of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link in the Pearl River Estuary, China: Short-term siltation mechanism for a trial trench. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 988–998. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Understanding the short-term, particularly daily, siltation mechanism of a dredged trench is critical for immersed tunnel construction, as well as for offshore engineering and coastal management. This study explored the short-term siltation mechanism of the trial trench dredged for the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link in the Pearl River Estuary, China. Monthly silting characteristics over a period of ∼11 months indicate that the silting intensity during the flood season was much larger than during the dry season. Local suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) also varied on a flood–dry seasonal cycle, which were impacted by the suspended load from the Pearl River. Daily silting characteristics indicate that the silting intensity during spring tides were higher than during neap and moderate tides and that the local SSCs and flow velocities also varied on a spring–neap tidal cycle, which was dominated by periodic variations in the astronomical tide. The flow velocity deceased substantially from the surface to the bottom of the trench, and flow circulation occurred at the bottom of the trench, which aided the silting process. Seasonal changes in the sediment load from the Pearl River were the dominant cause of the changes in suspended sediment around the trench, which produced seasonal siltation changes in the trench. Daily changes in trench siltation were directly caused by the amount of sediment that entered the trench, which was affected by changes in the flow velocity and bottom SSC around the trench during the neap–spring tidal cycle. Although the high-siltation intensity during the flood season was unhelpful, the low-siltation intensity during neap and moderate tides was helpful for the construction of immersed tunnel during the flood season.

Preliminary report on the research of the JU Institute of Archeology and the AGH UST Faculty of Geo-Data Science, Geodesy, and Environmental Engineering at the Dajaniya and Tuwaneh sites in Jordan – seasons 2018-2019

The article presents the preliminary results of research conducted by the expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Jagiellonian University and the Faculty of Geo-Data Science, Geodesy, and Environmental Engineering in the south-western Jordan at the of Dajaniya (Ma’an Husseiniyeh) and Tuwaneh (Tafila Hessa) sites in 2018-2019. The main aim of the research was to create plans for both sites and document the state of preservation of architectural remains using photogrammetry (both pole- and kite-based) as well as terrestrial laser scanning. Additionally, robber pits were recorded at both sites. A surface prospection was also conducted, collecting ceramic and metal materials, which, in the case of Tuwaneh, covered the central part of the site (the area around the socalled caravanserai) and part of the robber trenches and their waste piles. In 2019, three trial trenches were also excavated in the vicinity of the ancient baths at Tuwaneh.

Arkeologisk geofysikk i Norge – En historisk oversikt og statusevaluering

Archaeological geophysics in Norway - an historical overview and status evaluation The introduction of archaeological geophysics to Norway has been relatively slow and the methodologies employed are still very much in their infancy. A recently compiled overview indicates that only about 120 surveys have been conducted in Norway over the last 40 years, which is a relatively low number compared with other countries. In other European countries several hundred surveys are conducted annually and archaeological geophysics is generally considered an integral part of archaeological investigations and evaluations. The article gives a short description of the most commonly used methods in archaeology, and focuses on some of the more important geophysical surveys carried out in Norway. Furthermore, it seeks to explain why the Norwegian archaeological milieu has been reluctant to adopt these methods in their work.

Depot medených predmetov z Mníchovej Lehoty (okr. Trenčín). Príspevok k poznaniu antimónovej medi typu Nógrádmarcal v období staršieho eneolitu / Depotfund von Kupfergegenständen aus Mníchova Lehota (Bez. Trenčín). Beitrag zur Erkennung des Antimonkupfers vom Typ Nógrádmarcal in dem älteren Aeneolithikum

Hoard of Copper Artefacts from Mníchova Lehota (Distr. Trenčín). Contribution to the Issue and Distribution of the Antimony Copper of Nógrádmarcal Type in the Early Copper Age. Submitted paper deals with the archaeological evaluation and elemental analysis of a collection of copper industry from the cadastre of municipality Mníchova Lehota (distr. Trenčín) in the north-west Slovakia. The hoard consists of two flat copper axes and a copper chisel. The basic typological-chronological analysis of the flat copper axes showed their connection with the Southeast European types and varieties of the series Pločnik, Coteana, Gumelniţa, as well as Central European types Stollhof, Strážnice, Kalinowice Dolne and axes of the group III of J. Říhovský. Statistical evaluation of basic morphometric parameters of the artefacts by means of principal component analysis (PCA) suggests that the objects from the hoard from Mníchova Lehota belong to the Central European shapes. Separate issue is the elemental analysis of the copper artefacts by means of inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). On the basis of the statistical evaluation of the elemental analyses the authors set the origin of the copper material mainly in the antimonic copper. They pay attention to its distribution in the area of Central Europe and possible location of the copper material deposit.

An archaeological evaluation of crimes committed in the Arnsberg Forest (South Westphalia, Germany) in the final months of the Second World War

ABSTRACT In recent years an historical reappraisal has been carried out of one of the worst crimes – outside of prisons and concentration camps – committed in Germany by the SS and Wehrmacht in the final months of the Second World War: the execution of 208 forced labourers by firing squad in the Arnsberg Forest near Warstein and Meschede (Westphalia, western Germany) by the ‘Division for Vengeance’ of the SS in March 1945. The use of archaeological research methods allowed us to (1) pinpoint both the scenes of the crimes and the events, (2) recover and classify finds attributed to both the victims and the perpetrators and (3) uncover and record in their historical context concrete finds and features from when the atrocity occurred, the period of the initial burial of the victims by US troops in May 1945 and their exhumation in 1964, with the aim of preserving them for future presentations.

A Combined Approach Using GPR and Trial Trenches in Cherbourg for Archaeological Evaluation

– Urban archaeology in Cherbourg (France). – Ground-Penetrating Radar for urban archaeology. – Comparison of GPR and trial trenching for archaeological evaluation.

The Ancient Rural Settlement of Plantades in Salviac (Lot, France): Comparison of Previous Data with Two Geophysical Surveys

– Discovery of a rural settlement in the territory of the Gallic tribe of the Cadurques. – Comparison of trial trenches and resistivity and magnetometry maps co-located.

Podmorski nalazi u Mulinama na otoku Ugljanu

U članku su obrađeni podmorski arheološki nalazi nađeni ispred gospodarskog kompleksa u Mulinama na sjeverozapadnom dijelu otoka Ugljana. Riječ je o nalazima, prije svega keramičkih ulomaka te nešto stakla, prikupljenim tijekom kratkih sondažnih arheoloških istraživanja provedenih 1997. godine. Najveći broj pripada dijelovima amfora, ali su pronađeni i ulomci finijih sigilatnih ili grubljih kuhinjskih keramičkih posuda, nekoliko ulomaka tegula, dva ulomka uljanica i jedan pršljen. Nažalost, velik broj nalaza nije moguće tipološki odrediti jer je riječ tek o ulomcima trbuha i tijela amfora koji ne pružaju dovoljno podataka za detaljniju klasifikaciju. U radu je predstavljen samo dio primjeraka koji su sa sigurnošću determinirani, a njihovom je klasifikacijom određen vremenski okvir kojem pripada i čitav antički i kasnoantički kompleks

Cercetări arheologice preventive în județul Giurgiu

The implementation works for the BRUA project imposed the making of an archaeological evaluation for the route taken by the natural gas line and, implicitly, depending on the situations, of archaeological rescue excavations. In the following, we will focus on specific results from the BRUA route area in the center of Giurgiu country – Mirău (Stoenești commune). The stratigraphy of the site is predominantly natural. All stratigraphic interventions (a very probable diagnostic survey – Cx2, two medieval pits – Cx1 and Cx3, also a series of wooden poles that we attribute to some fencing works made during the 70’s and 80’s of the twentieth century) affect a level of ancient soil and are, stratigraphicaly, covered by the level of the current one, ploughed. The pottery and archaeozoological remains are the only materials discovered and recovered. Even if the inventory of Cx3 is weaker from a quantitative point of view, the characteristics of both categories are unitary, proving both contemporaneity and identical manifestations and behaviors.

Hollis Croft, Sheffield, South Yorkshire: Old site and new connections

In 2017, a team from the Wessex Archaeology Sheffield office investigated a site, Hollis Croft (NGR 434990 387580), prior to the construction of a multi-million pound commercial and student housing development. Hollis Croft is one of many Sheffield’s sites where well-preserved industrial archaeology survives beneath the modern buildings. Historic building recording was followed by a watching brief, a scheme of archaeological evaluation trenching and then strip, map and sample excavations, which revealed substantial 18th-/19th-century remains of steel conversion furnaces (both cementation and crucible, constructed by Burgin and Wells and W. Fearnehough Ltd respectively). We also discovered metres of entwined brick-built flues (likely related to later steelmaking methods such as the Siemens-Martin open hearth process or Bessemer process), traces of two pubs (The Cock and The Orange Branch) and a wide range of finds – all indicative of the industrial processes and the everyday lives of the workers. Apart from the discovery of a crozzle layer covering the entire interior of the furnace (not just its base as previously thought), and the detailed impressions of the ferrous bars visible in the surface of the crozzle layer, the remains were very familiar for Sheffield and industrial archaeology. The post-excavation processes were carried out as usual following industry standards. All our findings have been brought together in a final report held in the digital archive and the physical archive (including the finds) was subsequently deposited with Museums Sheffield under SHEFM:2019.13 and Sheffield Archives. This publication is based on that final report, but edited and updated, so there are some minor differences between the documents. But, inspired by a great deal of public interest during the excavations (and Mili's love for comics), a comic book has also been created and is published here alongside what would otherwise be a more traditional offering.

Test excavation of the “pseudo-ditch” system of the Late Neolithic settlement complex at Öcsöd-Kováshalom on the Great Hungarian Plain

In 2018, the RGK’s research team led by Knut Rassmann undertook the magnetometer survey of the Late Neolithic site of Öcsöd-Kováshalom over a roughly 65 ha large area. An enclosure system of three concentric semi-circular ditches was detected around the tell-like mound that formed the core of the settlement. In order to resolve these issues, we organised a small field school excavation with the support of the RGK and with the participation of the archaeology students of the ELTE Institute of Archaeological Sciences between July 13 and 25, 2020. We opened an 8×2 m trial trench across the north-eastern part of the innermost ditch appearing on the magnetogram. We uncovered a ditch segment with a V-shaped cross-section, a width of 315 cm and a depth of 295 cm. We recovered a total of 17,430 finds with a weight of 194.4 kg (pottery sherds, daub, animal bones, bone tools, chipped and polished stone implements, quern stones, mussels, and ochre). In our preliminary report, we made a reconstruction of infilling process based on the quantitative distribution of the finds (frequency and weight data) and the different characteristics of the fill layers.