Archaeological Objects Research Articles

Long-term electrochemical and biological study of archaeological iron-wood composite impregnated with 10 % PEG-200 solution

Electrochemical and biological analyzes were carried out on iron-wood composite archaeological objects from the “KASBA-OUDAYA” site in Morocco in 10 % PEG-200 solutions. Electrochemical measurements of steel combined with wood were made possible thanks to a proposed steel-wood configuration, with characterization of the surfaces after natural aging tests focused on the steel-wood interface by scanning electron microscope. The Mohr and Nephelometric method allow the determination of chloride and sulfate ions. While the biological study is ensured by isolation and enumeration of strains. The results revealed that the presence of wood in the PEG-200 solution decreased the pH of the solution and accelerated corrosion of steel. At the interface, we observe the development of pitting corrosion zones. In addition, PEG-200 solutions constitute a favorable environment for the proliferation of microorganisms.

Sources of Silver in North-Eastern Rus in the 10th–13th centuries ad according to lead isotope analysis

The article discusses the results of lead isotope analysis of 54 silver objects from the 9th–13th centuries AD from rural sites of Suzdal Opolye and villages around Murom. As a result of comparing the obtained data with the available databases for Pb-Pb isotopic values of archaeological objects from various collections and ore samples, it was established that in the second half of the 10th – early 11th century AD, Samanid dirhams were used in Opolye as a raw material for jewellery making. In the 11th century, silver from European sources began to flow into the region via the Baltic, becoming dominant by the end of the century. In Opolye and Murom of the 12th century, adornments were made from European raw materials.

Why the Shroud of Turin is not a Medieval Work?

The Shroud of Turin is an old linen fabric imprinted with the image of a tortured man who lies prone with his hands crossed before him. Since for many it is related to Jesus of Nazareth, this cloth is among the most studied, controversial and enigmatic of all archaeological and religious objects. Since its radiocarbon dating at the end of the eighties of the last century, it is considered by many to be an object made in the Middle Ages. The controversy is due to the fact that there are other scientific and artistic evidences that place this object outside the medieval sphere. An argument map is a critical thinking way of representing the relationships between evidences and arguments, and is used here to represent the sequences of argumentation that defend that the Shroud of Turin is not a medieval object.

Experimental simulation of the ancient production of gold granules

Granulation is an ancient and sophisticated decorative technique. The production of granules is a crucial part of this process but has rarely been studied. The present study employed three techniques—pouring method, heating method, and crucible method—to produce gold granules. The success ratio of granule formation, granule surface morphology, microstructure, and formation were analyzed to identify the techniques used in archaeological objects. The cooling medium significantly influenced small granule formation, microstructure, and grain size. Both heating and crucible methods could control the granule formation, but these methods produced distinct microstructures. Based on these experimental granules, the probable production methods of ancient gold balls were identified. The present study provided microscopic information for determining ancient gold granule production techniques.

Maya and Aztec astronomy: Skywatching in prehispanic Mesoamerica

Abstract The Aztecs, Maya and other Mesoamerican peoples achieved advanced knowledge of the regularities of the apparent motion of the Sun, Moon and various planets visible with the naked eye, particularly Venus. Much of this knowledge enabled orientation in space and time and was particularly useful for scheduling agricultural activities. However, since the celestial order is apparently superior to that on Earth, the phenomena observed in the sky were believed to exert influence on earthly affairs. Therefore, the exact astronomical knowledge was intertwined with religious beliefs and ritual performances, and this complex worldview had a prominent role not only in subsistence activities but also in the political ideology of the ruling class. The relevant information is contained in the imagery and hieroglyphic texts in prehispanic manuscripts or codices, mural paintings, sculpted monuments and other archaeological objects, as well as in early colonial written sources and ethnographically documented survivals of prehispanic concepts. Important data are also provided by architectural orientations, most of which were laid out on astronomical grounds, largely referring to the Sun’s positions on the horizon on certain dates.

On methodology of describing archaeological porcelain and faience of Modern and Contemporary Times

The article substantiates why it is important to commit to a number of characteristics to process and describe fine ceramics from the Modern and Contemporary cultural layers and introduce these ceramics for scientific use. Such characteristics imply the material of products (porcelain, faience, semi-faience, maiolica), morphology and function (cups, saucers, plates, dishes, etc.), decor, including decoration techniques (painting, printing, decal, etc.), manufacturers’ stamps including techniques of their application (printing, decal, stamp, stencil, etc.). Archaeologists and museum experts give specific examples that illustrate what information can be extracted from a detailed description of these parameters in the archaeological porcelain and faience. This information can be used for interpretation of both the finds themselves and the cultural layer where they were discovered. The study offers separate description of specifics and significance for individual and mass finds. Individual finds in the first place serve for historical and cultural affiliation and chronology of an archaeological heritage object. Therefore, it is suggested to describe such finds committing to the characteristics that make it possible to determine the place and period of origin of the artifacts themselves as accurately as possible. Whereas mass finds are severely destroyed objects not subject to restoration. Some of them might be left behind at the site of archaeological excavations, and irretrievably lost as a consequence. That is why the research suggests options for setting out their most important historical, cultural and scientific parameters in statistic tables. The study raises problematic methodological issues regarding the possible interpretation of the statistical data obtained.

Exploring the limits of the provenience postulate: chemical and mineralogical characterization of Bronze Age ceramics from the Great Hungarian Plain

Determining the provenience of archaeological objects relies on the so-called “provenience postulate,” namely, that sources of these objects are more compositionally distinct from each other than they are internally variable. For ceramics, it can be relatively straightforward in geologically heterogeneous environments to determine where vessels were produced, and whether they were traded or not. In geologically homogeneous regions, this can be far more complicated. In this study, we mineralogically and chemically compare Bronze Age ceramics (primarily Middle Bronze Age) from five archaeological sites on the Great Hungarian Plain to a large regional clay sample. The Great Hungarian Plain is comprised almost entirely of Pleistocene loess deposits, yet prior compositional studies have identified patterned variability between ceramics from different sites. Our results show that chemical variation in the region is continuous and clinal, making it difficult to strictly apply the provenience postulate to identify distinct production locations. However, we show that this clinal chemical variability can be used to make broad statements about whether most ceramics at any given site were produced relatively locally or were obtained from further distances (c. 50 km or more). We show that while production at most of our study sites was likely relatively localized, in one instance (the tell at Berettyóújfalu-Herpály-Földvár), many ceramics may have been obtained from other Bronze Age communities, including those in the Körös River drainage.

The Vače situla and creation of the Slovenian national identity

ABSTRACT The paper traces the role of a prominent archaeological object, Vače situla in the formation of the modern Slovenian state. It examines the material properties of the situla and the – often implausible and counterintuitive – ways it entered into heterogeneous networks that emerged and led to the formation of the Republic of Slovenia. Although the situla was mobilised by different groups and initiatives with different goals and ideas, the paper argues that the situla, with its own powers, was able to align these coalitions towards a common goal.

Disclosing Colors and Pigments on Archaeological Objects from the Aga Khan Necropolis (West Aswan Egypt) through On-Site Analytical Methods: Preliminary Results

The present study is aimed at the characterization of artifacts excavated in the necropolis surrounding the mausoleum of the Aga Khan in Aswan (Egypt), as part of the Mummies Investigations Anthropological & Scientific West Aswan Necropolis (MIASWAN) project. Four cartonnages and some pottery shards were investigated on-site by means of non-destructive and micro-destructive techniques, such as attenuated total reflection/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR/FTIR) and visible reflectance spectroscopy Vis-RS). Thanks to the use of these techniques, several pigments employed in the creation of the artifacts were identified. Due to the impossibility of transporting the investigated objects out of Egypt, a first-ever on-site characterization of the artifacts from this important excavation was carried out through scientific methodologies. These extreme conditions made the use of analytical instrumentation very challenging. Nevertheless, several characteristic pigments and hues were successfully identified.

Islam Di Komering Desa Betung Kec. Semendawai Barat, Kab. Oku Timur, Sumatera Selatan

The history of the entry and development of Islam in Komering Betung is one of the phenomena of the development of Islam in Indonesia, especially in South Sumatra. The presence of several ulama in the 16th to 18th centuries in the Komering area was a trigger for the development of Islam in Komering. Of the many ulama, there are 3 ulama who started preaching in Komering, one of which is Tuan Di Pulau (Sayid Hamimul Hamiem) whose grave is currently in Campang Tiga Village, Kec. Cempaka. He is a Komering Muslim figure who is said to be the forerunner of Islam in Komering Betung. Islam in Komering had several triggers for its development, one of which, apart from the ulama who started arriving, was the end of the conflict between the Abung Tribe and the Komering Tribe in Komering in the 17th century. So after the conflict was over, the development of Islam spread further to the Uluan and Ilir areas, assisted by with the presence of Makkah scholars who gradually came to this area in the 18th century AD. Apart from the historical aspect, the discovery of Islamic archaeological objects and material heritage is one of the authentic evidences of Islamic history in Komering Betung.

Texture measurements of archaeological objects at STRESS-SPEC neutron diffractometer

The main advantage of neutron diffraction over X-ray diffraction, arises from the fact that the interaction of neutrons with material is relatively weak and not related to the number of electrons, and consequently the penetration depth of neutrons is about 102-103 larger than that of laboratory X-ray diffraction. This is particular essential for the non-destructive texture analysis of archaeological objects as no additional surface treatments of the samples (e.g. polishing) are necessary. STRESS-SPEC at MLZ is designed as a state of the art multi-purpose diffractometer for strain and texture analysis. Besides the optimized high neutron flux the available large variability in gauge volume definition systems together with the robotic sample handling option offer high flexibility for bulk or gradient texture measurements. Since 2014, local and bulk textures of iron and gold artefacts collected by Bavarian State Archaeological Collection (Munich, Germany) have been thoroughly investigated at STRESS-SPEC. Results showed that heat treatment of iron artefacts at high temperatures can re-orientate the inner crystallites. In the gold foil artefacts, the texture represented by the measured pole figures shows a high symmetry – the so-called Cube component, which is commonly found in annealed fcc materials. For comparison, laboratory samples were produced by rolling, flat hammering, and pin / round hammering and also measured in order to elucidate possible manufacturing and processing routes. In turned out that both rolling and pin / round hammering followed by a high temperature annealing can produce similar pole figures to those of the gold artefacts foils.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE DOWNTOWN BERDYCHIV

Materials of 2024 scientific and rescue research in the downtown Berdychiv, at 11/4 Zhytomyrska Street are published in the paper. These are the first available results of archaeological research of the part of the city of the 18th—19th centuries outside the complex of the Barefoot Carmelite Monastery. The paper provides a brief outline of the settlement’s history and a description of the history of archaeological research in the central part of the city. In 2024, on an area of 61 m2 in the valley of the Kanava stream, materials of the late 18th—19th centuries were discovered. Some items can be associated with the functioning of a nearby marketplace that served the town. The research area belongs to the territory of the Jewish shtetl, and the found objects, including a metal dreidel, illustrate the material culture of its inhabitants. The 2024 field season is the first archaeological research on the territory of the exact settlement part of Berdychiv. These explorations supply the information of the 2018 research on the stratigraphic situation in the city. The survival of organic materials (bone, wood, leather) in the lower, waterlogged layers of the city raises the question of the need for a special program for the preservation of such organic artifacts dating from the nineteenth and even the late eighteenth century. The discovery of individual objects which are the ethnic and religious markers of the inhabitants (a dreidel) and evidence of trade relations (trade seals) helps to supply the information about the life of the city’s inhabitants. Now the processing of the artifacts obtained as a result of the research in progress. We hope that the analysis of the discovered artifacts will provide a more complete picture of the material culture of Berdychiv residents at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This research indicates the prospects, scientific and social feasibility of archaeological research in the city. The analysis of the current Historical and Architectural Reference Plan indicates the lack of enough information about archaeological sites and objects on the territory of the modern city. We hope that this publication will be an impetus for the future clarification of the protection and registration documents for the city’s archaeological sites and will initiate further scientific and scientific-rescue research not only in Berdychiv and its environs but also in other cities and towns.

A Novel Approach for Autonomous Densely Spaced Acquisition of Buried Objects in Intertidal Environments—Field Examples From Avaldsnes, Norway

ABSTRACTUnderwater archaeology relies on expensive and time‐consuming invasive methods for identifying and excavating objects buried in the seabed or identifying layers in shallow and intertidal environments. Especially shallow and intertidal environments are challenging due to locally high levels of sedimentation that offer good conditions for preserving organic material, that is, archaeological objects, in stabile and low‐oxygen environments. We present a system capable of dense (25 cm × 25 cm) survey coverage that enables nondestructive decimetre‐scale visualization of buried objects and sedimentary layers lying in the subsurface. The system comprises an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) equipped with a single‐channel 2D Chirp sonar. A description of the vehicle design is presented, and results from five field tests demonstrate the ability of the system to collect high‐resolution acoustic data in a variety of shallow water environments. The system shows an example of the linearized zero offset reflectivity inversion dataset, visualizing a known buried shipwreck from the medieval period in Avaldsnes, Norway. The ASV system holds global implications as it can serve as a noninvasive first‐stage survey in sensitive heritage or archaeological areas. Areas where traditional methods are challenging, or invasive methods are dissuaded.

Legal consequences of the discovery of a treasure containing archaeological objects: problems of legal regulation

The article reveals the legal problems associated with finding a treasure containing cultural values. According to the author, the person who found the treasure, without special knowledge, cannot independently determine its cultural significance. The paper also examines the legal consequences of the discovery of a treasure, which includes archaeological items. The normative legal regulation of these public relations has its own peculiarities. Based on the analysis of the norms of the current legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of protection of cultural heritage objects and law enforcement practice related to the finding of archaeological treasures, determining their fate, the author formulates a number of conclusions and proposals for improving legislation.

Arqueología pública y cartografías participativas: institucionalidad y resignificaciones locales del patrimonio arqueológico del Sígsig, Ecuador (2022-2024)

The objective of the article is to identify the perceptions, meanings, and resignifications that the inhabitants of Sígsig canton, Azuay province (Ecuador), assign to archaeological heritage. It also attempts to explain how these ways of understanding and using such heritage come into conflict and friction when managed exclusively within a legal and institutional framework. To analyze the ambiguities arising from the dichotomy between public management and the local populations’ uses and meanings of heritage, this study employs the theoretical frameworks of public archaeology and the methodological approach of participatory cartographies. By analyzing national and local heritage regulations and conducting interviews and mappings with actors from the educational, political, and general society sectors, it is suggested that institutional management views heritage as an identity, historical, and economic resource through tourism. Additionally, this management is characterized by a fiscalizing, regulatory, and sanctioning logic, while the inhabitants understand, incorporate, and use archaeological objects and vestiges in their daily lives. This usage fosters a direct connection with oral traditions, intangible aspects, and, above all, with nature. Thus, frictions were identified between the social and political uses of heritage, which regularly involve themes such as gold, mining, and water, within a framework of collective imaginaries and discourses.

Chapter 9. Feral fields of Northern Dalmatia (Croatia)

AbstractHow do we identify ancient fields and farming systems in areas where the same spaces of cultivation have been used repeatedly over thousands of years? In the limestone karst landscapes of northern Dalmatia, on the Adriatic coast of Croatia, drystone field walls, terraces, and cairns are common features that attest to generations of working the land for agriculture. While confounding archaeological objects due to complex histories of reuse, drystone terraced field systems throughout the Mediterranean are believed to have roots in ancient and prehistoric land use. Against this backdrop, this paper works to better understand the dynamic patterns and outcomes of field “recycling” through multiple lines of evidence for long‐term changes in cropping patterns and agroecology in multi‐millennial agricultural landscapes of northern Dalmatia. We compare archaeobotanical data from the Ravni Kotari plain to documents of preindustrial land use from the 1826 Franciscan cadastre. We also draw upon contemporary observations of traditionally managed, semi‐wild olive groves on the nearby Adriatic island of Ugljan to better understand the land‐use legacies inherent in the landscapes of northern Dalmatia today. These data show that, despite a relatively static agricultural built environment of field walls and terraces, Dalmatian communities held historically dynamic relationships with domesticated and wild plant ecologies. Prehistoric integration of cereal agriculture with wild forest resources appears to have shifted to commercial‐scale domesticated arboriculture in the Classical period, leaving a multifaceted legacy of commercial agriculture, traditional farming, and rewilding among the contemporary cultural landscapes of Dalmatia.

Notes on the Interpretation of Some Non-standard Archaeological Objects

Notes on the Interpretation of Some Non-standard Archaeological Objects

Preventive Archaeological Research in Overhead Electric Power Line’s Construction Zones

The article is dedicated to archaeological research within the limits of projected and existing overhead power lines in Ukraine. Based on the experience of the Scientific and Research Centre “Rescue Archaeological Service” of the Institute of Archaeology, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the results of such works were summarised and monument protection measures for avoiding or mitigating the negative impact on the archaeological heritage during the overhead power lines construction were proposed. In 2008–2024 the Center’s employees surveyed 1507.3 km of power lines 220‑750 kW and 2642 hectares of area within the 14–21 m wide right of way; 444 new and known archaeological objects were localised; monument protection measures for 342 objects were developed; 8946 m2 were excavated in places where supports installed on 40 archaeological sites; 30 archaeological sites were supervised; accounting documentation for 78 monuments was developed. According to the survey results the average archaeological objects occurrence index per one kilometer of the overhead power lines planned route was determined as 0.251. It has been confirmed that in the steppe zone and adjacent areas of the forest-steppe mounds and mound groups occur more often than the settlements that prevail in the forest and forest-steppe zones. The regularities in which each stage of research defines the task for the next and gradually narrows the scope of development areas have been determined: at the Feasibility study stage an area of more than 1200000 hectares was developed; at the Project stage 2642 ha were archaeologically surveyed; at the stage of Construction monument protection research is planned on an area of 28.27 hectares. The same trend applies to the archaeology objects number covered 1358, 444 and 342 objects respectively. Despite the research areas decreasing, their resource consumption and the cost of the archaeological methods used are increasing.The United Energy System of Ukraine is one of the largest in Europe. According to its promising development program it was planned to build a thousand km of new overhead power lines. However, the war made its corrections and to the new planning construction were added hundreds of kilometers of destroyed overhead lines and dozens of ruined electrical substations. Comparing such linear objects as highways or main pipelines a much smaller volume of earthworks is processed during the overhead lines construction and they too can potentially have a significant negative impact on the environment including cultural heritage. Therefore, preventive measures developed on the mitigation hierarchy principles should be implemented at all construction stages. Each cycle’s phase corresponds to a certain type of archaeological research: planning → preliminary archival and bibliographic research; design → archaeological investigations (surveys); construction → archaeological monument protection research; exploitation → monitoring. Such approach using ensures the optimal management adoption decisions and helps to avoid and/or reduce the potential negative impact on cultural heritage even at the first stages of the investment project development.

On the Methodology of Analysing Aerial and Satellite Images to Detect Archaeological Sites

Today, the use of remote sensing methods is an integral part of archaeological research. The use of various types of aerial and satellite photography at the level of micro-regions makes it possible to collect data on large areas in a short time. The received data are subject to archaeological deciphering – the process of recognition, detection and interpretation of archaeological information based on photographic images of the Earth’s surface. In the course of deciphering pictures, photographic images of objects are analysed, which have a number of decipherable features, that is, characteristic ones by which archaeological objects can be recognised. Modern processing and recording of these data is carried out in geoinformation systems, taking into account their spatial reference. The analysis of domestic publications showed that this direction is promising for future research in Ukrainian archaeology. However, the researchers do not provide a general, clear methodology for working with aerial photography materials and features of archaeological deciphering. Summarising this information prompts the creation of a consistent description of such work. This description is intended to formalise those research operations, which in one way or another were performed by the above-mentioned authors. The paper is an attempt to create a methodology for the archaeological deciphering of aerial and satellite photos for the remote study of archaeological monuments and the protection of archaeological heritage. It is intended to summarise the previous experience of publishing the methodology of working with remote sensing of the land in the archaeology of Ukraine and to structure it on the basis of our own developments. The proposed scheme is not final or mandatory, but only offers one of the options for the approach to thematic deciphering in archaeology. Undoubtedly, the given algorithm of actions will require improvement and expansion as a result of the accumulation of practical experience and theoretical achievements. It is important to emphasise that this branch of archaeology is closely related to technical sciences and technologies in general and therefore requires thoughtful introspection and competent theorising. To obtain reliable results of deciphering in archaeology, it is necessary to always pay attention to the analysis of the research process and the multi-level process of checking its results. The reliability of the obtained data definitely depends on the clarity and awareness of the sholar’s actions, which in turn has a great impact on various fields of archaeological science, and even national security. The reliability of data depends on the “purity” of research operations, which is extremely important in the process of monitoring archaeological objects. The current state of archaeological monuments in Ukraine in the conditions of martial law, and especially on the territories of hostilities, requires urgent monitoring. With the help of modern aerial and satellite photographs, it is especially relevant and necessary today to investigate the damaged archaeological landscapes, wide application of remote sensing of land, satellite navigation systems and geo-information technologies with decoding, for the collection, processing and analysing the information in combination with the data of specific aerial visual surveys using drones and traditional methods of surveys in those areas where it is possible.

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE PALEOCLIMATE WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF AN ANCIENT SETTLEMENT NEAR THE KOROBCHYNE VILLAGE IN THE KIROVOHRAD REGION (PALEOPEDOLOGICAL ASPECT)

Climate is the main factor determining the change of paleolandscapes and their components. When studying the climates of the historical past beyond the period of instrumental observations, secondary climate indicators, chronicles, other literary sources and testimonies, monuments of material culture, etc. can be used. The methodological techniques of paleogeography are based on the studied monuments of ancient nature, which can be indicators of the paleoclimate and give certain indicators of it. Geomorphological, lithological, paleopedological, archaeological and other data are important for climate analysis. An important and fundamental problem in paleogeography today is the study of modern and ancient soils with the help of soil-archaeological approaches (macro- and micromorphological, geoarchaeological or chrono-series methods), which are now increasingly used to reconstruct the natural conditions of ancient human habitation in key areas within geological or archaeological objects. Research of ancient and modern soils within the ancient settlement near the village Korobchyne in Kirovohrad Region using paleopedological and micromorphological methods combined with a geoarchaeological approach to establish trends in soil development and climatic changes over time is extremely relevant for the evolution of soils in their relationship with the geographic environment. In the process of researching an ancient settlement near the Korobchynе village, we found out that the conditions of human existence in Vytachev's time were more acceptable, which is evident from the nature of the sediments and soils. This section corresponds to the situation when man developed watersheds and high terraces under warmer climatic conditions. In conditions of cooling of the climate (we studied earlier in this area the sections and layers of flints within the settlements near the villages of Troyanovе and Shmidovе), people settled in depressions, closer to water bodies, where vegetation was richer than on watersheds. So, the change in climatic conditions affected the change in the niches occupied by ancient man. Key words: paleoclimate; soil; paleopedological method; geoarchaeological approach.