Archaeological Survey Project Research Articles

Elazığ Prehistoric Archaeological Survey (EPAS) 2022 – Harput Plateau and Elazığ Plain: A Preliminary Report

We present here the results of the third and final field season of the Elazığ Prehistoric Archaeological Survey Project (EPAS) conducted in 2022. EPAS aims at the documentation of settlements dating from the Neolithic period to the end of the Bronze Ages within the borders of the central district of modern Elazığ Province. In the third season, investigations were carried out in the vicinity of Harput Plateau and Elazığ Plain. In 2022, six prehistoric sites were examined and documented within the research area, including registered and non-registered sites. The focus of the project is the documentation of settlements dating to the prehistoric periods (from the Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Ages) and the season’s preliminary results are presented here. EPAS is significant for having identified previously unrecognised prehistoric sites in the Elazığ region, where field research was dormant for a long period before the initiation of EPAS.

Scholarly Networks, Gender Sociology, and Knowledge Production in Aegean Survey and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology

Scholarly Networks, Gender Sociology, and Knowledge Production in Aegean Survey and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology

Elazığ Prehistoric Archaeological Survey (EPAS) 2020 – Uluova and Vicinity: A Preliminary Report

This contribution presents the preliminary results of archaeological surveys conducted in Elazığ province in the western reaches of Eastern Anatolia. In 2020, the Elazığ Prehistoric Archaeological Survey (EPAS) Project focused on the documentation of archaeological sites dating from the Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Ages in Uluova and vicinity within the boundaries of Elazığ central district. A total of 38 sites were investigated in this zone during the first field season. Among these, 17 were previously unregistered sites. Bureaucratic procedures were initiated by EPAS through the Regional Cultural Heritage Preservation Board in Diyarbakır for these 17 sites to be officially included in the cultural heritage register in order for urgent site preservation measures to be put into action. Additionally, various other previously undocumented sites were identified and recorded by EPAS Project. Although Elazığ was pivotal for Keban Project (1968-1976), which was inarguably the most significant large-scale archaeological initiative in the region, no further investigations were carried out in the province in the following decades. After a long interruption, EPAS marks the beginning of a new era, revitalizing prehistoric archaeology in Elazığ. Unfortunately, the most striking observation of this field season is the severity of ongoing destruction even at previously registered sites. Some of the mounds are nearly obliterated by modern buildings, while others are threatened by agricultural activity. Elazığ province, and especially its districts, still home to a rich repository of cultural assets dating from the prehistoric to modern ages, are waiting to be investigated by archaeologists.

A Maxent Predictive Model for Hunter-Gatherer Sites in the Southern Pampas, Argentina

The following paper presents the results of a Species Distribution Model (SDM) for grassland hunter-gatherer archaeology sites in the southern Pampas region of Argentina. The goal of this exploratory model is to provide a complementary survey model for the detection of archaeological sites in this region, which will also help characterize and discuss site locations and regional distribution patterns of hunter-gatherer occupations. Even in this largely homogenous and highly dynamic landscape, SDMs can help guide archaeological surveys by identifying some environmental variables affecting hunter-gatherer decisions, and can provide insights into mobility and archaeological settlement patterns. Among the available tools for SDM, Maximum Entropy Modeling (Maxent) is one of the most widely used approaches in archaeological predictive modelling. After controlling for bias and adjustment of several modifiable parameters, the Maxent software provided a potentially effective predictive model to direct future archaeological survey and heritage management projects. The results of this research suggest that watercourses and slope were the key environmental factors influencing the distribution of hunter-gatherer archaeological sites in the southern Pampas region.

The Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project 2021: the prehistoric past, the archaeological present and looking to the future

The Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project 2021: the prehistoric past, the archaeological present and looking to the future

Recovering the Hidden Landscape of Copper Age Sicily

The Late Copper Age/Early Bronze Age transition has traditionally been seen as an enigma in Sicilian prehistory. The relatively incomplete nature of the archaeological record has been interpreted as a marker of societal contraction, population movement and increased dependence on pastoralism. It has become increasingly apparent that the preservation and recovery of these archaeological sites have played a highly significant role in the way that site distributions have been understood. Recently, archaeological survey projects have recovered further evidence of sites. This has begun to reveal a more complex history of settlement and landscape occupation, which can be used to question some of this period’s standard interpretations. The work of the Troina Survey in the Nebrodi Mountains of Sicily has revealed new evidence for Late Copper Age occupation in a variety of topographic locations. Crucially the integration of geoarchaeological investigations within this project has identified significant connections between the depositional and post-depositional processes, and their impact on the preservation of the archaeological record, which are particularly pertinent for our understanding not only of this time period but also of our narratives on Sicilian prehistory. This study emphasizes the fundamental importance of undertaking long-term landscape reconstruction in order to interpret regional settlement patterns.

A landscape-oriented approach to urbanisation and early state formation on the Konya and Karaman plains, Turkey

AbstractThis paper synthesises the data and results of the Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project (2016–2020) in order to address the earliest evidence for cities and states on the Konya and Karaman plains, central Turkey. A nested and integrative approach is developed that draws on a wide range of spatially extensive datasets to outline meaningful trends in settlement, water management and regional defensive systems during the Bronze and Iron Ages. The significance of the regional centre of Türkmen-Karahöyük for a reconstruction of early state polities between the 13th and eighth centuries BCE is addressed. In light of this regional analysis, it is tentatively suggested that, during the Late Bronze Age, Türkmen-Karahöyük was the location of the city of Tarḫuntašša, briefly the Hittite capital during the reign of Muwatalli II. More assuredly, based on the analysis of the newly discovered Middle Iron Age TÜRKMEN-KARAHÖYÜK 1 inscription, it is proposed that Türkmen-Karahöyük was the seat of a kingdom during the eighth century BCE that likely encompassed the Konya and Karaman plains.

The River as an Economic Asset: Settlement and Society in the Xeros Valley in Cyprus

Settled and Sacred Landscapes of Cyprus (SeSaLaC) is a systematic archaeological survey project of the University of Cyprus in the Xeros River valley in the Larnaka district in Cyprus. This article aims to present a first synthesis of the diachronic settlement pattern in the region. After a short introduction on the area and the SeSaLaC project, we attempt to identify and interpret settlement evolution and landscape changes in the region, from early prehistory to Late Antiquity. The contextualisation and evaluation of settlement changes in the Xeros River valley are carried out within a multi-layered framework along the main strands of approach presented in this Land special issue. The presentation and analysis that follows below is a work in progress.

The first field season of the Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project

The first field season of the Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project

Landscape Archaeology and Sacred Space in the Eastern Mediterranean: A Glimpse from Cyprus

This article aims to raise issues for discussion about the change in the use and concept of sacred landscapes, which were originally constructed in the era of the Cypriot kings (the basileis), but then continued to function in a new imperial environment, that of the rule of the Ptolemaic strategos and later of the Roman proconsul and the various Christian bishops. Our archaeological survey project in the Xeros river valley, titled ‘Settled and Sacred Landscapes of Cyprus’, reveals that these new politico-economic structures were also supported by the construction of symbolically charged sacred landscapes. Thus, while outlining the long history of the island as manifested from the diachronic study of Cypriot sacred landscapes, we identify three pivotal phases: first, the consolidation of the Cypriot polities and the establishment of a ‘full’ sacred landscape; second, the transition from segmented to unitary administration under the Ptolemaic and Roman imperial rule and the consolidation of a more ‘unified sacred landscape’; and finally, the establishment of a number of Christian bishoprics on the island and the movement back to a ‘full’ sacred landscape. Moving beyond the discipline of Cypriot archaeology, this contribution aims to serve as a paradigm for the implications that the employment of the ‘sacred landscapes’ concept may have when addressing issues of socio-political and socio-economic transformations. While it is very difficult to define or capture the concept of landscape in a pre-modern world, it offers a useful means by which to assess changing local conditions. We have also attempted to situate the term in archaeological thought, in order to allow the concept to become a more powerful investigative tool for approaching the past.

LiDAR-guided Archaeological Survey of a Mediterranean Landscape: Lessons from the Ancient Greek Polis of Kolophon (Ionia, Western Anatolia).

In 2013, an airborne laser scan survey was conducted in the territory of the Ionian city of Kolophon near the western coast of modern Turkey as part of an archaeological survey project carried out by the Mimar Sinan University of Istanbul (Turkey) and the University of Vienna (Austria). Several light detection and ranging (LiDAR) studies have been carried out in the temperate climate zones of Europe, but only a few in Mediterranean landscapes. Our study is based on the first LiDAR survey carried out for an archaeological purpose in Turkey and one of the first in the Mediterranean that have been planned, measured and filtered especially for archaeological research questions. The interpretation of LiDAR data combined with ground‐observations proved extremely useful for the detection and documentation of archaeological remains below Mediterranean evergreen vegetation and dense maquis. This article deals with the methodological aspects of interpreting LiDAR data, using the Kolophon data as a case study. We offer a discussion of the strengths and limitations of LiDAR as an archaeological remote sensing method and suggest a best practice model for interpreting LiDAR data in a Mediterranean context. © 2017 The Authors. Archaeological Prospection published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sea of Prosperity: Foundations of the California Commercial Abalone Fishery

Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, the first commercial abalone fishery sprang to life along the shores of central and southern California, an industry founded and developed by pioneering Chinese immigrants. Archaeological survey and excavation projects along California’s offshore islands and historical records searches have uncovered details on how Chinese immigrants established what became a multi-million dollar commercial fishery. Here, we offer the first synthesis of archaeological and historical data of Chinese abalone fishing across California’s Channel Islands. Our results reveal details about the history and lifeways of Chinese fishermen, their business practices, and their participation in local, regional, and global economies.

New Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites in the eastern Aegean: the Karaburun Archaeological Survey Project

Despite ongoing fieldwork focusing on the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods of the Aegean, the eastern part of this region, especially western Turkey, remains almost entirely unexplored in terms of early prehistory. There is virtually no evidence from this area that can contribute to broader research themes such as the dispersal of early hominins, the distribution of Early Holocene foragers and early forager-farmer interactions. The primary aim of the Karaburun Archaeological Survey Project is to address this situation by collecting data from the eastern side of the Aegean Sea, thereby contributing to the currently debated issues of Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean prehistory.

The Archaeological Survey Project in Fatschenbrunn, Municipality of Oberaurach, Germany: A Case Study for the Reconstruction of Past Farming Regimes in the Late Medieval and Post-Medieval Era

This paper presents the preliminary results of a survey project which is being carried out in the small village of Fatschenbrunn, in Lower Franconia, Germany. The project combines archaeological, historical geographical, botanical, geological and pedological data to reconstruct the farming regimes and land use in the late medieval and post-medieval era. Although the project is still on-going, the collected data allows the formulation of hypotheses on the formation of fertile agricultural soils through long-term human intervention in the past.

Drones over Mediterranean landscapes. The potential of small UAV's (drones) for site detection and heritage management in archaeological survey projects: A case study from Le Pianelle in the Tappino Valley, Molise (Italy)

Abstract Recent and ongoing technological developments make the application of unmanned aerial platforms increasingly accessible for archaeological research and heritage management. While the effectiveness of drones for documentation purposes of standing monuments and excavations has been amply demonstrated in recent years, there are also promising developments in their application for landscape archaeological projects. In this paper, the potential use of drones for the detection of subsurface archaeological remains in mountainous, Mediterranean landscapes is explored by presenting a case study in Molise, South Italy. In this rugged, Apennine area, traditional aerial archaeology approaches have in the past failed to yield good results as regards the detection and documentation of subsurface structures through crop marks. Recent experiments with low altitude, both vertical and oblique aerial photography using small, consumer friendly UAV's drones have, however, produced important and clearly readable information about the existence and extent of subsurface features in a series of sites in the Tappino Valley in Molise. This paper presents the first results of a case study of a complex rural site of the Classical-Roman period. Consequently, the paper discusses the potential value and feasibility of UAV's for archaeological research and cultural heritage management. In particular, the potential of the integration of UAV imagery in existing standard landscape archaeological research methods, such as field survey and geophysical prospection, is discussed. It is concluded that the targeted use of small remote controlled aerial platforms can significantly add to existing practices of both site-recognition and heritage management in the heavily threatened Mediterranean landscapes, and that it can be feasibly and efficiently integrated within standard methodologies applied in field survey projects.

Archaeological Ethnography of the Battle of Aslıhanlar (29–30 August 1922): A Case Study of Public Archaeology, Visual Storytelling, and Interactive Map Design

Our article seeks to determine the functions of visual communication design through the lens of modern conflict and public archaeologies. The Battle of Aslıhanlar, which took place in the triangle of the villages of Çal Köy, Allıören, and Yüğlük in Kütahya from 29 to 30 August 1922, was the focus of our experimentation. Our archaeological survey project was carried out in 2013; interviews with local people, a review of the literature available and our observations of local myths and traditions that emerged after the war constitute the basis of our article. We categorized these sources for the project design in order to form a storytelling narrative, so that the viewer could participate in the process of conflict as well as the ongoing research. We foresaw three major challenges while categorizing this complex dataset: equivalence of visual language; variable outputs of the multi-dimensional research methods; and interactivity for creating a live social platform. We responded to these challenges by developing a graphic design concept and an interactive map of the data. Our design surrounds the viewer with a historical timeline, which includes all of our research findings in one interactive interface.

Prehistoric landscapes of the Dolomites: Survey data from the highland territory of Cadore (Belluno Dolomites, Northern Italy)

The identification of Mesolithic lithic scatters on the highland district of Cadore (1700–2700 m a.s.l.), in the Eastern Italian Alps, started during the 1980s, enhanced by the discovery of the rock-shelter site of Mondeval de Sora. A new archaeological survey project was developed in this area, particularly between Passo Giau and Col de la Puina, from 2011 to 2014. The adoption of a “total archaeology approach” enabled the identification of different types of archaeological evidence. This paper focuses specifically on the small-scale record represented by lithic artefacts. Both previously identified sites and newly recognised find-spots have been positioned, described and spatially analysed in connection to the topography of the investigated territory, in order to set hypotheses on the settlement strategies adopted by prehistoric groups. Most of these scatters can be attributed with a good approximation either to the Sauveterrian or to the Castelnovian phase of the Mesolithic or generically to the Mesolithic, thus confirming the intense occupation of these territories by the last groups of hunter–gatherers. Nonetheless the presence of some lithic artefacts that can be attributed to more recent prehistoric periods has led the authors to reconsider the common assumption that all lithic assemblages at high altitude should necessarily be attributed to the Mesolithic.

Remote sensing, landscape and archaeology tracing ancient tracks and roads between Palmyra and the Euphrates in Syria

Abstract. The present paper concentrates on the use of remote sensing by satellite imagery for detecting ancient tracks and roads in the area between Palmyra and the Euphrates in Syria. The Syrian desert was traversed by caravans already in the Bronze Age, and during the Greco-Roman period the traffic increased with the Silk Road and trade as well as with military missions annexing the areas into empires. SYGIS - the Finnish archaeological survey and mapping project traced, recorded and documented ancient sites and roads in the region of Jebel Bishri in Central Syria in 2000-2010 before the outbreak of the civil war in Syria. Captured data of ancient roads and bridge points bring new light to the study of ancient communication framework in the area. Archaeological research carried out by the project on the ground confirmed the authenticity of many road alignments, new military and water harvesting sites as well as civilian settlements, showing that the desert-steppe area was actively used and developed probably from the second century AD. The studies further demonstrated that the area between Palmyra and the Euphrates was militarily more organised already in the second and third centuries AD than earlier believed. Chronologically, the start of this coincided with the “golden age” of the Palmyrene caravans in the second century AD. Topography and landscape were integral parts of the construction of graves/tumuli as sign-posts guiding in the desert, as well as roads and all kinds of settlements whether military or civilian.

Archaeological survey, paleogeography, and the search for Late Pleistocene Paleocoastal peoples of Santa Rosa Island, California

The northern Pacific Coast is an important area for understanding human colonization of the Americas, but Late Pleistocene coastal sites are rare and interglacial sea level rise has inundated the continental shelf and the primary areas where Paleocoastal archaeological sites are likely to occur. Here we outline a terrestrial archaeological survey project designed to identify Paleocoastal sites on Santa Rosa Island, California. Using reconstructions of ancient shorelines and paleogeography, we predicted that sites might be found where lithic resources, freshwater springs, caves or rockshelters, and strategic vistas drew Paleocoastal peoples into the island interior. We identified nine new Paleocoastal sites, including four radiocarbon dated to >11,000 cal b.p. that are among the oldest sites on North America’s Pacific coast. Our targeted survey demonstrates an important technique for investigating island and coastal settings where sea level rise remains a significant challenge for locating early sites.

Recovering the Hidden Landscape of Copper Age Sicily

The Late Copper Age/Early Bronze Age transition has traditionally been seen as an enigma in Sicilian prehistory. The relatively incomplete nature of the archaeological record has been interpreted as a marker of societal contraction, population movement and increased dependence on pastoralism. It has become increasingly apparent that the preservation and recovery of these archaeological sites have played a highly significant role in the way that site distributions have been understood. Recently, archaeological survey projects have recovered further evidence of sites. This has begun to reveal a more complex history of settlement and landscape occupation, which can be used to question some of this period’s standard interpretations. The work of the Troina Survey in the Nebrodi Mountains of Sicily has revealed new evidence for Late Copper Age occupation in a variety of topographic locations. Crucially the integration of geoarchaeological investigations within this project has identified significant connections between the depositional and post-depositional processes, and their impact on the preservation of the archaeological record, which are particularly pertinent for our understanding not only of this time period but also of our narratives on Sicilian prehistory. This study emphasizes the fundamental importance of undertaking long-term landscape reconstruction in order to interpret regional settlement patterns.