Archaeological Surface Survey Research Articles

Application of mobile digital recording and GIS analysis of archaeological surface survey finds in the MapFarm project

Recent technological developments in the field of mobile devices have influenced the way archaeological surveys are conducted. The collection, management and analysis of archaeological data have been enriched through the use of new digital applications and devices. This paper presents a case study of the application of a technique for digital recording of archaeological surface finds in the MapFarm project, along with the subsequent analysis. This technique relies on the capabilities of modern mobile devices and web technologies, combined with the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It enables the direct digital recording of the exact location of artefacts in the field, using the GNSS receiver of smartphones, allowing the rapid extraction of collected data and their analysis with GIS. The technique was applied during the systematic archaeological survey of selected prehistoric settlements in Aegean Thrace, in the context of the research project MapFarm, which aims to expand our knowledge about the Neolithic settlers of Aegean Thrace. The implementation of this technique has significantly reduced the time required for recording in the field, ensuring at the same time a more efficient and precise analysis of data. In addition, more firm conclusions emerged regarding the distribution of the archaeological finds in the context of the intra-site level and the site’s extent, by comparison to older surface survey techniques. Analyses performed through the GIS digital tools provided an improved approach to the distribution of surface finds at the settlements under investigation.

3D Modeling of Cultural Heritage Artifacts within the Boundaries of the Malazgirt District as part of the Identification, Historical, and Archaeological Surface Survey of the Malazgirt Battlefield: A Cultural Inventory Study

Bu çalışmada, Malazgirt Savaş Alanının Tespiti, Tarihi ve Arkeolojik Yüzey Araştırması projesi kapsamında Malazgirt ilçe sınırları içerisinde yer alan kültürel miras eserlerinin, korunması ve yönetimi için kültür envanteri oluşturulması kapsamında kültürel miras eserlerin 3B modellerinin insansız hava araçları ile oluşturulma potansiyeli irdelenmektedir. İnsansız hava araçları ile bir objeye ait farklı formatlarda (jpg, tıff, png, raw) dijital görüntüler çekilebilir. Bu sayede verilerin depolanması, Web üzerinden paylaşılması, farklı yazılımlarla işlenmesi ve kullanımı kolaylaşır. İHA’lar uzaktan kontrol edilerek ya da önceden planlanmış rotalar üzerinden uçarak (otonom) yüksek çözünürlüklü kameralar, sensörler ve diğer veri toplama araçları ile donatılarak, küçük ve zor arazi koşullarında uçabilir, düşük maliyetlerle detaylı görüntüler, videolar ve diğer veriler elde edilebilir. Anadolu’da yaşayan insanlar için ortak belleğin oluşturulması ve bu bilincin gelecek nesillere aktarılmasında ilçe sınırları içerinde yer alan kültürel miras özelliğine sahip eserlerin korunması ayrı bir öneme sahiptir. Malazgirt gibi ekonomik olanakların sınırlı olduğu bir coğrafyada kültürel miras özelliğine sahip bu eserlerin kültür turizm amaçlı kullanımı ilçeye ekonomik anlamda önemli katkı sağlayabilir.

Results of excavation at the Roman Period site in Podegrodzie, Nowy Sącz district

In the Late Roman and the Early Migration Periods, i.e. the 4th and the early 5th centuries AD, in the Polish Western Carpathians, especially in the Sącz Basin, the adjacent Sącz Beskid Mts and Wyspowy Beskid Mts as well as in the Krosno-Jasło Basin, a significant intensification of settlement is observed. The area has been investigated through archaeological surface surveys and excavations; in the Sącz region, five sites have been excavated with the results published to date. This text presents the results of test excavation at yet another site, Podegrodzie 7, Nowy Sącz district. In the feature investigated there a rare jug ornamented with glossed triangles, several storage vessels of the Krausengefäße type, as well as some organic remains were discovered. Palaeobotanical analysis has shown that common barley (Hordeum vulgare) was the predominant species cultivated by the inhabitants of this territory. The radiocarbon date obtained from a charcoal sample corresponds to the chronology of the site determined by the ceramics typology. The results of the excavation at Podegrodzie 7 site are complemented with a map presenting the location of settlement in that area in the Late Roman and the Early Migration Periods.

Recasting the Sangoan Stone Age Techno-Complex in the Stone Age Nomenclature at Sango Bay, Southern Uganda

This paper discusses the complex use of the term ‘Sangoan’ and its placement between the Early Stone Age (ESA) and Middle Stone Age (MSA) using data from Simba Hill in Sango Bay. The purpose is to examine whether the Sangoan is Acheulean, Middle Stone Age, or an independent lithic industry at Sango Bay. Four specific objectives guided the study: reviewing the Stone Age terminology, Sangoan lithic typology, technology, and environmental characteristics. A detailed literature review of the Stone Age nomenclature shows patterns and trends of the Sangoan terminology; while a combined lithic assemblage from the archaeological surface survey and excavation yielded heavy and light-duty lithic tools. The 13 sites identified within the 202.6km surveyed had 73 lithic artefacts, while the excavation unit yielded 1344 lithic artefacts. The results suggest that the Sangoan typology at Sango Bay has five general lithic categories of shaped tools, backed pieces, cores, and debitage. Typologically, the conventional Sangoan lithics at Sango Bay include lanceolates, picks, cleavers, discoids, becs, points and core axes. Technologically, the Levallois lithic reduction strategy characterises the Sangoan with unifacial and bifacial retouch and core technology elements. The toolmakers at Sango Bay used local raw materials, suggesting they were not highly mobile in terms of raw materials. Conclusively, therefore, the Sangoan is a transitional lithic industry.

A model of spatial location: New data for the Gor River megalithic landscape (Spain) from LiDAR technology and field survey

AbstractThe megalithic cluster of the Gor River valley (Andalusia, Spain) is one of the biggest dolmenic groups in Europe, made up of 151 preserved megaliths. In spite of this high number of known monuments, increasing loss and destruction of many of the graves has taken place during the last decades due to enormous soil erosion and anthropogenic activities. With the aim of recording the location of these lost megaliths, Digital Terrain Models and LiDAR data have been used to analyse the terrain showing a high quantity of structures that seem similar to those actually documented in the zone but that were not noticed until now. These possible new burial mounds have been tested by archaeological surface survey, choosing three contrasting areas as samples. Results have shown a high success rate for this methodology, even allowing the discovery of new megalithic graves in heavily researched areas. We interpret the likely higher number of burial mounds in the area to indicate greater territorial control in boundary areas between 4th and 3rd millennium BC.

Orțișoara preistorică - fortificție rondel / Prehistoric Orțișoara, Rondelle type fortification

This paper is focused upon a significant quantity of archaeological finds discovered in one of the archaeological surface surveys in the summer of 2010, during my participation at the Timișoara – Arad motorway rescue excavations, next to the village of Orțișoara. Special attention is drawn to the pottery for domestic usage which, after a comparative analysis with other findings from the surrounding area, were identified as part of the Banat culture, phase II. After a careful reflection upon the satellite images, the shape and gates positioning, the possible settlement could be seen as a rondelle type fortification. This type of settlement is mapped in different areas from Romania (Iclod, Portărești) as well as Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Czech Republic. The multitude as well as the diversity of the finds (pottery, a possible small clay figurine and the lithic materials) is suggesting a much wider periodization starting from Middle Neolithic to the Late Neolithic and most probably early Bronze Age. As a result of human intervention trough agricultural activities as well as natural transformations, the presumed settlement was levelled. A prompt rescue excavation either through a systematic or extended archaeological prospection would be necessary and it would bring much more insight upon this kind of settlements in Banat and the surrounding regions.

The 2019 Bays of East Attica Regional Survey (BEARS) Project: New Archaeological Evidence for the History of Coastal Settlement, Economy, and Connectivity from Porto Rafti (Greece)

This paper presents the findings of the inaugural season of the Bays of East Attica Regional Survey project (BEARS). The project aims to clarify the history of human activity around the bay of Porto Rafti in eastern Attica. Surface finds from Raftis Island demonstrate that it was the location of a major Late Helladic IIIC site probably linked to the cemetery at Perati, as well as of limited Late Roman occupation. The Pounta peninsula yielded a large quantity of obsidian lithics, indicating significant activity during the Final Neolithic/Early Bronze Age, with lesser quantities of material dated to the Late Helladic IIIC and Roman/Byzantine periods. At Koroni, surface finds of Late Helladic IIIC and Archaic/Classical date indicate that activity at the site predates the third-century Ptolemaic military camp excavated by American archaeologists in 1960. Overall, these survey data provide a range of new evidence and insight into the history of the Porto Rafti area and its connections to other regions of the Aegean. Methodologically, the project’s work also demonstrates the value of conducting archaeological surface survey even in areas with extensive modern development.

Evidencing Human Occupation of a Small Island Through Ancient Glass: The Case of Ustica (Palermo, Italy)

AbstractThe subject of this study consists of 17 ancient glass fragments from the island of Ustica (Palermo, Italy) obtained from local museums. All the 17 glass fragments are stratigraphically decontextualized, as they were collected by archaeological surface surveys. Each fragment was analyzed by Electron Micro Probe Analyzer coupled with an Energy Dispersive X-Ray System (EMPA-EDS) and by Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to obtain the composition of major, minor and trace elements. Surface analyses revealed the presence of corrosion layers in most of the glass fragments which was evident also in the chemical data. Nevertheless, reconstruction of the glassmaking processes and the approximate period of production was possible for almost all the glass fragments. Less than half of the examined fragments are attributable to recognizable typologies as unguentaria, beakers, bottles, and vases; all the other small fragments are typologically undetermined. Out of 17 fragments only one fragment is of HLLA composition possibly being produced in 17th–18th century AD, while all the others can be attributed to soda glass with different periods of production: natron glass from Roman and Early Medieval period, plant-ash glass from High or Late Medieval period with the exception of possible Byzantine glass from 6th century AD, and synthetic soda glasses typical of modern era. These data confirm the discontinuous habitation of the island from the Roman period as well as the import of glass objects to the island.

THE EARLY AND MIDDLE BRONZE AGE SETTLEMENT AT KOIMISIS, THERASIA: PERIODS OF HABITATION AND ARCHITECTURE

The study of the history of the first excavations on prehistoric Therasia in the nineteenth century, which were carried out in the context of contemporary scientific interest in the volcanic eruptions of Santorini, has led to the systematic archaeological investigation of the island from 2007 onwards. The intensive archaeological surface survey, the geological survey of the geological structure and palaeotopography of Therasia, and geophysical investigations, undertaken in conjunction with the ongoing excavation of the prehistoric settlement at the site of Panaghia Koimisis at the southern end of modern Therasia, have created the conditions for a more comprehensive approach to the archaeological landscape of the island. Based on the results from the excavation trenches in the south and south-east terraces of the Koimisis hill, which have been excavated down to the virgin soil, we present findings on the organisation, architecture and habitation phases of the Koimisis settlement. The site emerges as an important settlement located on the imposing hilltop rising on the west side of the pre-eruption Santorini caldera in the Early Bronze Age, with a long period of habitation to the end of the Middle Cycladic period, when it was definitively abandoned. The excavation of the settlement provides new information on its architecture and spatial organisation during the Early and Middle Bronze Age, completing the picture from Akrotiri, whose early phases are preserved in a piecemeal fashion under the buildings of the Late Cycladic town.

‘Looking for the tombs of dragons’: preliminary results of archaeo-geochemical prospecting studies at Tirinkatar - Karmir Sar area, southern slopes of Mt Aragats, Armenia

An interdisciplinary archaeogeochemical research on vishaps (stone stelae also known as dragon stones) has been carried out for the first time in Armenia. The survey area is situated in the neighborhood of Tirinkatar and Karmir Sar volcanoes on southern slopes of Mt. Aragats. The geochemical prospecting studies have been realised on a high mountain meadow (2850 m asl) with 12 vishaps and numerous circular stone structures known as cromlechs. Five cromlechs excavated until now did not yield any human remains and the main aim of the geochemical prospection was to check whether other cromlechs detected by archaeological surface survey and by ground-penetrating radar contained burials. The geochemical haloes of some chemical elements indicate their anthropogenic character and a very high probability that some of the cromlechs were tombs.

Centimeter-Level Recording for All: Field Experimentation with New, Affordable Geolocation Technology

AbstractThe methodical recording and representation of spatial data are central to archaeological fieldwork and research. Until recently, centimeter-level precise geolocation equipment was the exclusive domain of researchers who could afford setups costing tens of thousands of dollars. However, high-quality measurements are being made more accessible by rapidly evolving technologies. These new tools, when used together with mobile technology for efficiently recording field data, open up the possibility of capturing the precise location of every find during an archaeological surface survey. An important step in reaching the desired outcome—centimeter-level recording for all—is experimentation with a variety of emerging low-cost setups. Accordingly, we tested the Reach and Reach RS, differential global navigation satellite systems (dGNSS) equipment produced by the company Emlid, during a surface survey in Armenia in June 2018. Our field application demonstrates that the use of dGNSS is already possible and that the described advances in precision enable improved recording and representation of spatial data.

Remote Sensing Analyses on Sentinel-2 Images: Looking for Roman Roads in Srem Region (Serbia)

The present research is part of the project “From Aquileia to Singidunum: reconstructing the paths of the Roman travelers—RecRoad”, developed at the Université Bordeaux Montaigne, thanks to a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship. One of the goals of the project was to detect and reconstruct the Roman viability between the Roman cities of Aquileia (Aquileia, Italy) and Singidunum (Belgrade, Serbia), using different sources and methods, one of which is satellite remote sensing. The research project analyzed and combined several data, including images produced by the Sentinel-2 mission, funded by the European Commission Earth Observation Programme Copernicus, in which satellites were launched between 2015 and 2017. These images are freely available for scientific and commercial purposes, and constitute a constantly updated gallery of the whole planet, with a revisit time of five days at the Equator. The technical specifications of the satellites’ sensors are particularly suitable for archaeological mapping purposes, and their capacities in this field still need to be fully explored. The project provided a useful testbed for the use of Sentinel-2 images in the archaeological field. The study compares traditional Vegetation Indices with experimental trials on Sentinel images applied to the Srem District in Serbia. The paper also compares the results obtained from the analysis of the Sentinel-2 images with WorldView-2 multispectral images. The obtained results were verified through an archaeological surface survey.

Vestigial Matters: Contemporary Archaeology and Hyperart

This article addresses things that can be described as rudimentary and vestigial; for example, an arguably out-of-place snow stake encountered in a derelict 19th-century landscape garden during an archaeological surface survey. How can one approach this stake without removing or overlooking its vestigial character? The term hyperart is introduced to develop the concept of vestigial objects. Hyperart was conceived by the Japanese artist and author Akasegawa Genpei, who defined it as ‘useless but beautifully preserved objects connected to some form of real estate’. That is, things that in one way or another have become vestigial and meaningless. An underlying link is shown between the concept hyperart and an archaeologically inspired approach to the material world. The rudimentary and detached are regarded as an integral part of the anthropogenic environment, and it is theorised that such recognition is important in depicting both past and contemporary human environments.

Channels, terraces, pottery, and sediments – A comparison of past irrigation systems along a climatic transect in northern Jordan

This contribution compares the remains of irrigation systems along a climatic transect in northern Jordan: Gadara (today Umm Qeis) in the north-west, Abila (today Queilbeh) in the north, and Umm el-Jimal (ancient name unknown) in north-east Jordan. While Gadara and Abila were monumental ancient cities of the Decapolis city league, which are located in Mediterranean environments, Umm el-Jimal is a large urban site situated in the steppe. Rainfed agriculture is possible near Gadara/Umm Qeis and Abila/Queilbeh, but not at Umm el-Jimal. Our surveys of the hinterlands revealed evidence for runoff farming at Umm el-Jimal near some wadis, and at Abila/Queilbeh and Gadara/Umm Qeis near both springs and wadis. Contrary to our expectations, the extent of ancient irrigation near Umm el-Jimal appeared more limited and economically less important than at the two other sites. Although the steppe proved covered by an approximately 4 m deep loess cover, these fertile sediments were apparently utilized only to a limited degree for agriculture. This can be deduced from the petty amount of sediments that accumulated behind terrace walls, the small extent of the fields and from low concentrations of nutrients usually associated with manuring. The archaeological surface survey confirms this picture: in the steppe, widely spread pottery scatters were found only within the settlement and the necropolis. The sites to the west revealed larger and more sophisticated remains of irrigation systems, as well as higher concentrations of material culture scatters, which suggest far more intensive land use systems than in the east. The most extensive and sophisticated remains of irrigation canals were found on caliche crusts near Gadara/Umm Qeis. As these rocks are mostly bare of soil cover, they are well-suited to collect runoff and construct rock-cut canals to transport water. We conclude that the available water resources and the geology had the strongest influence on the construction of ancient irrigation systems in northern Jordan.

Amorphous glass fragments from archaeological surface surveys: Potential chronological use of ion beam and isotopic analytical characterization

Analytical techniques have been used to implement the archaeological information from surface surveys. We have shown that the compositional comparison of amorphous samples, e.g. glass, can provide important chronological information when compared with findings from other sites. A group of 61 glass fragments, recovered from an archaeological surface survey at the site of the Roman city of Duratón (1st to 3rd century AD), near Segovia, Spain, have been analysed by combined Particle Induced X-ray/Gamma-ray Emission (PIXE-PIGE) techniques and by isotope dilution mass spectrometry. Four groups of objects were identified. The largest group by far, corresponds to the typical sodium-rich natron-made Roman glass. Compared with data reported in previous studies, including a few on the Iberian Peninsula, the composition of Duratón natron glass is similar to that of the widespread Roman 1st–3rd century AD glasses. The glasses of the nearby Patones, six of which have been analysed in this study, belong, on the contrary, to the so-called HIMT glass. This is compatible with the soda-lime-silica glass pattern observed in the Western Mediterranean. HIMT glass is dominant in this area from the 4th century onward. HIMT glass products are much easier to make and less expensive. Strontium and neodimium isotope analysis confirms the compositional proximity of the Duratón glasses to three groups of 1st–3rd century samples from Barcino, Lyon and the Iulia Felix wreck and point to a production of the glass in the Eastern Mediterranean. Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia had specifically mentioned the glass production of Hispania and Gallia, which should hopefully be confirmed by the findings in the corresponding regional sites. This is the case for Gallia but not yet for the Iberian Peninsula, where few Roman glass analyses have been completed.

The lower city of Asea, Arcadia. Results from a geophysical project 2001–2012

Between 2001 and 2012 a geophysical survey project was carried out on and around Asea Paleokastro in Arcadia, Greece. The results of this work complement the archaeological surface survey carried out in the same area in 1995 and the cleaning session of the acropolis walls in 2000. We have now a fair idea of how the lower city was laid out and how the city wall encompassed the city blocks. Detailed information concerning a residential block was supplied in part by the excavation published by Erik J. Holmberg in 1944, and this supports our results. We have an orthogonal town plan consisting of rectangular city blocks of c. 38 x 56 m. The city wall has several towers and a postern gate, as well as at least one more complex city gate. The agora is more elusive, but we think that it could be placed in an area mostly devoid of anomalies downhill from a built-up area revealed by the magnetometer survey and bordered by the main passageway to the acropolis entrance.

The utility of UAVs for archaeological surface survey: A comparative study

The utility of UAVs for archaeological surface survey: A comparative study

OBSIDIAN SUB-SOURCES AT THE ZARAGOZA-OYAMELES QUARRY IN PUEBLA, MEXICO: SIMILARITIES WITH ALTOTONGA AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION THROUGHOUT MESOAMERICA

We present data produced through archaeological and geological survey, as well as geochemical analysis of the Zaragoza-Oyameles obsidian source area located on the northern and western flanks of the Los Humeros Caldera in eastern Puebla, Mexico. One result of the intensive archaeological surface survey of this obsidian source area was the identification of 117 obsidian flow-band exposures. Geologic samples from 40 of these were submitted for instrumental neutron activation analysis. Eighty-five projectile points collected from the surface were characterized using portable X-ray fluorescence. These analyses identified three sub-sources: Z-O1, Potreros Caldera, and Gomez Sur. The Gomez Sur sub-source appears chemically similar to the previously identified Altotonga source, located 25 km to the northeast. Results of the geological survey help elucidate the relationship of Altotonga obsidian with the Zaragoza-Oyameles source area. The data from the three sub-sources are compared to all consumer site data attributed to the Zaragoza-Oyameles source in the Missouri University Research Reactor database. Results indicate that the majority of consumer samples throughout Mesoamerica match the Z-O1 sub-source, while 4 percent match the Potreros Caldera sub-source. This information, combined with the Gomez Sur data, is discussed in terms of economic relations with the regional center of Cantona. Obsidian procurement and distribution may have been more nuanced than previously modeled. We suggest that a number of potentially independent communities in addition to Cantona may have been involved in distributing this obsidian throughout Mesoamerica.

Discovery and appraisal of the early Christian church of Notre Dame de Baudes near Labastide-du-Temple, France

Initial results are presented on the early Christian church of Notre Dame de Baudes located near the village of Labastide-du-Temple, France. The church was discovered in the first year of a multi-year systematic archaeological siteless survey of the interfluve between the Garonne and Tarn River valleys in anticipation of its future development during construction of the Toulouse-to-Paris TGV train line. The Midi-Pyrénées Region containing the interfluve is archaeologically and historically rich, but lying between major and monumental archaeological sites in the region has not been subject to much systematic archaeological or historical investigation. The church remains were last recorded visible between 1576 and 1662 CE, and there is no record of its precise location, size or other characteristics. We summarize results of a ground penetrating radar survey and vertical sampling of sediment for an area ca. 2700m2 of floodplain under agriculture that combined with historical archive results indicates the church was in existence by at least 1100 CE. Proximity of the church remains to those of a third or fourth century Gallo-Roman villa are suggestive of a linkage between the two sites offering the possibility these sites can inform on the Medieval evolution of this landscape. The results also provide a cautionary note on negative results from archaeological surface surveys given the rate at which alluvium has accumulated in the interfluve.

Exposed Fragments, Buried Features: Evaluating the Surface Archaeology of Ahar

The present paper is a detailed report of a systematic archaeological surface survey carried out by the author at Ahar, District Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. The paper discusses the methodology, findings and the results of the survey project and also attempts to reappraise the archaeology of the site on the basis of the new sets of data generated by the present survey by comparing the results with the findings of the explorations or excavations conducted at the same site in the past.