Complex Archaeological Sites Research Articles

A sustainable monitoring approach to manage complex archaeological sites – The example of Pompeii

The management of archaeological sites has always been a particularly complex issue, especially in the context of significant natural and man-made hazards. Among these, climate change is becoming increasingly significant. Over the past few decades, the analysis of the evolution of the condition of archaeological sites has revealed a trend of decay that is significantly influenced by extreme and/or rapid weather changes. While short-term solutions may not always be available to prevent disasters, proactive maintenance can help to control the impact caused by rapid changes and mitigate their extreme effects. Therefore, reliable knowledge and prediction of the evolution of decay are key to the design of a successful maintenance plan.In this context, an innovative approach to monitoring has been developed and applied in the Archaeological Park of Pompeii (Southern Italy). The methodology adopts both multi-scale (data and time resolution) and multi-level (assessment accuracy) approaches compatible with the master data and the information system already developed and implemented in the Park. This paper outlines the overall monitoring framework, which is structured on three assessment levels: Local (LA), General (GA) and Detailed (DA). Additionally, some application examples are also described.

In the land of the apu: Cerro Llamocca as a sacred mountain and central place in the pre-Columbian Andes of southern Peru

Cerro Llamocca is a mountain with a summit elevation of 4,487 m asl in the southern Peruvian Andes. This paper presents a first overview of recent archaeological and paleoenvironmental research in its vicinity, and introduces new results from archaeological surveys and strontium isotope analyses. Our survey data show how the wider Cerro Llamocca area comprises an extensive complex of archaeological sites, composed of different sectors with public, domestic, and funerary architecture and rock shelters, occupied throughout the pre-Columbian period from the Early Archaic to the European invasion in 1532. Despite the extreme living conditions of this high-elevation environment, Cerro Llamocca includes the oldest archaeological site hitherto recorded in the larger region: a rock shelter (PAP-969) on its south-eastern slope with evidence of human occupation in the Early Archaic period ∼ 8000 BCE. Human activity in the Cerro Llamocca area reached its zenith in the Middle Horizon (CE 600–1000), at a time of a dry climate and when an expansive Wari state incorporated the worship of mountain deities into an imperial strategy to dominate local people. Our strontium isotope analyses of archaeological human dental enamel from a funerary rock shelter (PAP-942), alongside modern plants as reference data, indicate that the people buried here originated in the adjacent highlands. At a broader level, we study the roles of Cerro Llamocca as a sacred mountain or apu and central place over a long-term perspective, and how these functions integrated and focused religious, ritual, social, political, and economic activities over this high-altitude complex. Its central place function was linked to its sacredness, but also to its topography, provision of shelter, and geographical proximity to a range of critical resources such as water, creating resource dependencies that shaped socio-economic cooperation and exploitation. Although Cerro Llamocca has progressively lost many of these roles since the beginning of the colonial period, local communities continue to revere it as a sacred mountain today.

UAV-Based Remote Sensing for Detection and Visualization of Partially-Exposed Underground Structures in Complex Archaeological Sites

The utilization of remote sensing technologies for archaeology was motivated by their ability to map large areas within a short time at a reasonable cost. With recent advances in platform and sensing technologies, uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) equipped with imaging and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems have emerged as a promising tool due to their low cost, ease of deployment/operation, and ability to provide high-resolution geospatial data. In some cases, archaeological sites might be covered with vegetation, which makes the identification of below-canopy structures quite challenging. The ability of LiDAR energy to travel through gaps within vegetation allows for the derivation of returns from hidden structures below the canopy. This study deals with the development and deployment of a UAV system equipped with imaging and LiDAR sensing technologies assisted by an integrated Global Navigation Satellite System/Inertial Navigation System (GNSS/INS) for the archaeological mapping of Dana Island, Turkey. Data processing strategies are also introduced for the detection and visualization of underground structures. More specifically, a strategy has been developed for the robust identification of ground/terrain surface in a site characterized by steep slopes and dense vegetation, as well as the presence of numerous underground structures. The derived terrain surface is then used for the automated detection/localization of underground structures, which are then visualized through a web portal. The proposed strategy has shown a promising detection ability with an F1-score of approximately 92%.

КАМЕННЫЕ ПЕСТЫ И ЗЕРНОТЕРКИ НА КОМПЛЕКСЕ АРХЕОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ПАМЯТНИКОВ ТОРОПОВО-7 В КУЗНЕЦКОМ ПРИСАЛАИРЬЕ

The article publishes and examines the archaeological collection of stone objects found during excavations at the Toropovo-7 archaeological site complex in the Kasma River valley in the Kuznetsk Prizalairye. The archaeological objects under investigation have been found in different excavations, which are dated to two chronological periods of the Late Bronze and Developed Middle Ages and correlate with the circle of antiquities of the Irmen and Shandin archaeological culture. The stone pestles and grain grinders found are indirect evidence of agriculture among the population who built this site. The grain grinders found are of the “saddleshaped” type, which were used before the advent of millstones. The studied collection of finds of primitive stone grain grinders and pestles allows us to raise the question of the emergence of agriculture during the Late Bronze Age and conclude that the population of the developed Middle Ages has agriculture in the valley of the middle reaches of the river Kasma.

ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ АРХЕОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ОБЪЕКТОВ В КАСЬМИНСКОМ АРХЕОЛОГИЧЕСКОМ МИКРОРАЙОНЕ

The article gives a description of the results of archaeological surveys of 2023 on the visual study of previously identifed objects in the Kasma River Valley. The fact of a satisfactory state of archaeological sites and the presence of destruction at two archaeological sites of the Krasnaya Gorka settlement and the Toropovo-7A archaeological site complex is stated. An illustration of lifting materials is given and their cultural and chronological interpretation is given

К вопросу о перспективных формах развития археологического туризма

The purpose of the paper is to identify high-potential organizational forms and developmental prospects of archaeological tourism in the Russian Federation. Despite the obvious importance of archaeological tourism for cultural and educational touristic activities, it is still underdeveloped in Russia. The reason might be a vague doctrinal understanding of archaeological tourism features. Educational and protective essence of archeological tourism in the field of cultural heritage preservation seems to be underestimated. Furthermore, low involvement of the State in the development and promotion of archaeological heritage can be observed. Several forms of archaeological tourism development can be currently distinguished in the global tourist market, including Education and Research based Archaeological Tourism mainly non-profit oriented and Culture and Recreation based Archaeological Tourism commercial in its nature. The authors of the paper consider complex archaeological cultural sites in the form of Archaeological Parks to be one of the most effective forms of archaeological tourism development. Open Archaeological Funds are another high-potential organizational form aiming at preserving and promoting Russian cultural heritage. Government regulation and conceptualization of the archaeological tourism development are also required in order to specify means of archaeological tourism stimulation demand and mechanisms for facilitating interaction between subjects and removing existing obstacles.

Emergent consilience among coeval fishing and farming communities of the middle holocene on the North Peruvian coast

Coasts are dynamic, constantly changing ecosystems offering rich and varied foods and other resources. Compared with the monistic structure of crop production in many terrestrial parts of the world, some coastlines reflect a dualistic structure with complementary maritime and agricultural economies beginning in early prehistoric times. In particular, the Pacific coast of the Central Andes offers one of the world’s most abundant and diverse supplies of marine resources. The late Pleistocene to middle Holocene (∼14,500–4,000 BP) cultural sequences from south Ecuador to north Chile vary appreciably from one region to the next, but all reveal varying degrees of mixed diets of maritime and terrestrial foods. By at least ∼7,000 BP, a diversity of seafood and domesticated crops were mutually exchanged to form varied specialized and unspecialized economies in a few Andean areas. This study reports on interdisciplinary data from a complex of archaeological sites with mixed economies along the desert coast of the Chicama Valley in north Peru, specifically the Huaca Prieta area dating between ∼14,500 and 3,800 BP. Around 7,500–7,000 BP, intensified maritime and agriculture economies developed simultaneously with social differentiation between public ritual monuments and outlying domestic support sites in an environment of rich marine resources and fertile estuarine wetlands in the valley. This and other coastal areas played an important and persistent early role in human population growth, community formation, and the consilience of different but complementary technologies and principles of socio-economic organization to establish the foundations for later state development along the Central Andean coast.

Royal Palace of Nanyue Kingdom (Materials for the Educational Course “Archaeology of Foreign Asia”)

Purpose is to present a description of the complex of archaeological sites associated with the palace complex of the Nanyue kingdom, and thereby emphasize the importance of regional centers in the formation of Chinese civilization and attract the attention to understudied topics. Results. The palace district in the capital of the Nanyue kingdom was located on the territory of Yuexiu district in Guangzhou, covering an area of approx. 400 000 sq. m. The complex included the remains of various buildings, household and waist pits, wells, a palace park with a pond and an artificial meandering stream. The nature of some earlier finds remains unclear (stilt dwellings or shipbuilding workshop). The palace complex was built no earlier than the 170s BC and existed until the fall of Nanyue in 111 BC. The palace park is one of the oldest monuments of landscape art in China; it probably served not only as a place for recreation and entertainment, but also as a space for ritual ceremonies.Conclusion. In matters of organizing the space of the palace district, the Nanyue elites were guided by the standards adopted in the capitals of the Qin and Han empires, adapting them to local conditions. The studied archaeological complexes demonstrate a high level of production technologies, urban planning and landscape art. One of the most promising areas of research is the analysis of the semantics of the spatial organization and architectural objects of the palace park.

Imaging Islamic architecture in the multileveled archaeological settlement of Tell Dibgou, Northeast Nile Delta, Egypt

Abstract Tell Dibgou, northeastern Nile Delta (Egypt), is a typical type of complex archaeological site that contains ruins from different chronological periods (Pharaonic, Byzantine, Greece-Roman and Islamic), as evidenced by the findings of pottery kilns, pottery shards, fired brick and colored glass. This study aims to image the topmost archaeological layer of Islamic architecture using electrical resistivity tomography and land-based magnetic surveys. Two nearby areas in the northern part of Tell Dibgou were investigated; the first was surveyed using resistivity tomography and magnetics, and the second used total-field and vertical magnetic gradients. Several electrode arrays (dipole–dipole, Wenner Beta, Wenner Schlumberger and pole–dipole) were tested to select the one that provides better resolution. Two inversion schemes were applied where the smoothness-constrained inversion smeared and blurred the archaeological boundaries, and the robust inversion produced models with well-defined and sharp edges. The vertical extent of the topmost archaeological layer of Islamic settlers was imaged using the electrical resistivity tomography; however, the presence of slag debris, collapsed bricks, and pottery shards at shallow depths complicated the discrimination of the closest walls. The interpretation of magnetic data (total and vertical gradients) in terms of depth and geometry was executed using semi-automated techniques such as three-dimensional, Euler deconvolution and tilt angle derivative. The geometry of archaeological targets is interpreted to be closed rooms, water tanks and corridors constructed from fired brick walls filled with clay sediments. The depths yielded from both techniques are comparable and range from >1 m to up to 2 m.

Pottery of the population of the Kulayka Culture (Surgut variant) in the settlement of Barsova Gora III/2: technology and traditions

Barsova Gora is a unique complex of archaeological sites of the Neolithic — Late Middle Ages. The repre-sentative body of the collected sources requires systematic analysis, primarily, of the pottery collections. This paper presents the results of technical and technological analysis of 50 vessels of the Kulayka Culture (Surgut variant) from different dwellings of the settlement of Barsova Gora III/2. The study of the technological markers was carried out with the aid of binocular microscopy of the surfaces and fractures of the ceramics, followed by the comparison with an experimental collection of technological markers. It has been determined that ferruginous low-sand clays were used as the raw ductile material. The main artificial admixture is represented by broken stone, while chamotte and organic substance are found in the clay paste only alongside the broken stone. It has been found that the principal recipe of the clay paste is clay + broken stone (64 %). The second most common recipe of the clay paste is clay + broken stone + chamotte (28 %). It is possible that the raw materials for the grus were imported from areas with stone outcrops, and/or unknown sources of stone from Barsova Gora and the surroun-ding area were used. The bottom and hollow body of the vessels were formed from laterally overlapping bands. External and internal surface treatments vary, and include 29 different combinations. A comparison of the pottery technology of the ceramics from the settlement of Barsova Gora III/2 with the pottery from the fortress of Barsov Goro-dok III/6 showed their similarity. Differences appear in particular adaptive skills of the potters. These differences can be explained by active two-way contacts of the population of Barsova Gora III/2 with the representatives of other ar-chaeological cultures who lived in this territory, and by the started processes of mingling of the pottery technology.

CROSSED EXPERIMENTATIONS OF LOW-ALTITUDE SURVEYS FOR THE DETECTION OF BURIED STRUCTURES

Abstract. Drones are becoming essential in the field of heritage surveying, especially for large-scale archaeological site. The precision offered by the new survey tools (UAVs, sensors, processing software, etc.) should make it possible to obtain enough information to complete the plan of a site on an urban scale.This paper shows the use of two types of sensors embedded simultaneously on a UAV with the aim of highlighting information that is often difficult to detect on the ground. By crossing RGB and thermal data, certain built-up limits seem to appear. Thanks to this new information, hypotheses of the urban structure are proposed. In other words, the aim is to bring out circulation hypotheses within a large complex archaeological site. Unlike the field of architectural survey where thermography is widely used, for example, to identify certain building pathologies, in archeology this technique does not seem to be part of the traditional survey pipeline and even less on large-scale sites. The possibility of using a third type of sensor is also sketched. The aerial-GPR would in fact make it possible to confirm the presence of a buried structure without having to go through systematic excavation and could provide a three-dimensional image of the ruins.

Complex of archaeological sites near the village of Skovorodka. History of investigations and the present state

Complex of archaeological sites near the village of Skovorodka. History of investigations and the present state

НОВЫЕ НАХОДКИ С ИЗОБРАЖЕНИЕМ МЕДВЕДЯ ИЗ КИПЧАКОВСКОГО АРХЕОЛОГИЧЕСКОГО КОМПЛЕКСА (ЛЕСОСТЕПНОЕ ПРЕДУРАЛЬЕ)

The Kipchakovo archaeological site complex encompasses several monuments located in the northwestern part of the Republic of Bashkortostan. It is believed to be one of the earliest archaeological centers of the Pyany Bor cul-ture. Therefore, the artifacts discovered on its territory serve as valuable illustrative material reflecting the process of emergence and formation of the Pyany Bor cultural traditions. One of those is the tradition of using bear images in the folk costume. Thearticle analyzes two recent finds of metal garment elements with bear images from the Kip-chakovo settlement and the Kipchakovo burial ground. The first artifact –a bronze onlay with protomes of two bears –wasfound by chance on the territory of the Kipchakovo settlement. The second one –a bronze buckle with the full-figured image of a bear –comes from one closed assemblage of the Kipchakovo burial ground. The onlay has close parallels with some antiquities of the Kara-Abyz culture dated to the 3dand 2ndcenturies BC, while the buckle looks similar to a number of finds, which make up the Pyany Bor and Kara-Abyz archaeological assemblages at the turn of the eras. The authors statethat bear images depicted on both finds represent the same line of animal art development in the aforementioned cultures and belong to a large group of bear images that could be further divided into two sub-groups (early and late) based on some typological variations. An intermediate stage between these subgroups is rep-resented by a belt hook with the image of three bears from the Kipchakovo burial ground. The early type of bear im-ages was formed in the Kara-Abyz culture during the 3dand 2ndcenturies BC under the influence of the Scythian-Sarmatian animal style. The late type started to appear at the turn of the eras and became widespread in the Pyany Bor culture. However, it was genetically linked with the early one. The authors also emphasize the exceptional role of the Shipovo and Kipchakovo archaeological site complexes in the described processes of the bear images trans-formations

OLBIO AND ITS OUTSKIRTS IN THE 18th — EARLY 20th CENTURIES:TOPOGRAPHIC AND HISTORIOGRAPHIC ESSAYS

The paper is devoted to the publication and analysis of the literary and cartographic sources of the late 18th — early 20th centuries in some way or another related to the ruins of Olbio and its outskirts. Some of them are dated back to so-called «pre-Russian period» of the study of this unique complex of archaeological sites, in particular the plan of the French military topographer A. Zh. de Lafitt-Clave in 1784 where any settlements is not marked directly in the Olbio region. Further is the «Russian Old Believers episode» of the history of Ilyinske-Parutine village recorded by Count A. S. Uvarov in 1848. The author paid the main attention to several problems and aspects of the history of mapping the Olbio settlement and the Sto Mohyl (One hundred kurgans) tract which was began around 1810 by I. S. Borislavsky. Particular attention in the paper was paid to the plans of P. I. Kцppen 1819, and it is also specified that the author of one of the best plans of Olbio (1863) was A. P. Chirkov. The result of these researches is the «List of basic plans and maps of Olbio and its environs in the 1810s — 1860s» (Appendix 1). In the final part of the paper the sources of the late 19th—20th centuries which were the basis of S.B. Buyskikh’s reconstruction of the defense line of Olbian limes were analyzed in detail. The main problem with these constructions is that earthen embankments with moats have not yet been identified or explored. Based on a number of facts and field observations, the route of the road from Olbio to the west (to Tyras and other cities), which passed through Kamеnka (Anchekrak), is proposed by the author. It is clear that this assumption needs to be tested in the field using modern devices (GPS navigator, georadar and drone). In addition, the author republished the essays by I. I. Kedrin «Small town Illinskoe» 1850 (Appendix 2) and A. A. Skalkovsky about his trip to Olbio in 1861 (Appendix 3).

Gonfienti (Prato, Tuscany, Central Italy), a zooarchaeological snapshot on daily sixth-century Etruscan household life

While Etruscan sites have received considerable attention over the years, scholarly focus has rarely been directed on the faunal remains from the various celebrated archaeological localities. The present is a zooarchaeological analysis of archaeofaunal material from Gonfienti, a renowned Etruscan locality near Prato, in north-central Tuscany. The vast, complex archaeological site includes a large building, called Edifice 1, that was constructed starting from the sixth century BC. Predominant taphonomic signatures, human-induced damage, archaeobiological evidence and mortality patterns obtained from the study of the faunal remains from the building’s main phase of occupation revealed that the householders depended principally on cattle and subordinately on domestic suids for much of their subsistence, although game also formed part of the diet. The zooarchaeological interpretations match up very well with the interpretations of the excavators and archaeologists concerning the function of Edifice 1 and the use of some of its rooms. In addition, the low incidence of in situ weathering, extensive corrosion of cortical bone surfaces possibly by exposure to alkaline solutions and the relatively high frequency of waterfowls in the studied samples suggest that the area hosting Edifice 1 experienced very humid conditions and was surrounded by large wetland expanses at the time of its main Etruscan occupation.

Archaeological prospection in ultra‐shallow aquatic environments: the case of the prehistoric submerged site of Lambayanna, Greece

ABSTRACTOver the last three decades, multicomponent geophysical prospection has given a new perspective in the domain of inland archaeological prospection. However, the complexity and constantly evolving environmental regime encountered in the transition zones has so far limited the implementation of these technological advancements towards the understanding of the past dynamics in littoral and ultra‐shallow offshore environments. The main objective of this work is to appropriately adapt, test and validate the efficiency of diverse geophysical mapping and imaging methods for reconstructing the ancient built environment below a relatively thin water layer. The submerged prehistoric site of Lambayanna in Greece was used as an ‘open laboratory’ to explore in situ the resolving capabilities and limitations of marine three‐dimensional electrical resistivity tomography and multisensor magnetic gradiometry, as well as terrestrial ground‐penetrating radar. The geophysical mapping covered more than 4.4 hectares of the shallow marine and coastal part of the site with high spatial resolution. The data processing followed a specific flowchart to enhance the signal and the subsequent integrated analysis showed a number of candidate targets buried below the seabed, providing strong indications to support the hypothesis for the existence of an ancient submerged man‐made environment in the bay. The results demonstrate the complementary nature of applying multiple geophysical methods to under‐explored shallow offshore archaeological contexts in order to provide useful information for understanding the complex archaeological sites around the Mediterranean. The successful transfer of established geophysical methods into the ultra‐shallow aquatic environment comprises the major innovative aspect of this work. Thus, in view of climate change and the risks related to future sea‐level rise and erosion of low‐level coastal areas, the proposed research model can be integrated into a wider strategic framework for the sustainable management of coastal cultural resources.

The Dating and Interpretation of a Field Wall in Öggestorp

The interpretation of the use and contextual meaning of fossil agrarian forms is connected with their age. In this article we discuss the dating and interpretation of a field wall in Öggestorp, situated on the northern rim of the southern Swedish uplands in the province of Småland. Öggestorp is a complex archaeological site dating from the early Iron Age (500 BC to AD 550). The site was also used for various forms of agriculture during the Middle Ages and in early modern times, a fact which complicates the dating and the interpretation of the agrarian features. We discuss the possibility and practical issue of dating agrarian sediments by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). By combining OSL and other methods, a reliable estimation of age can be established. The paper also deals with the possible implications of the OSL-method in relation to the current state of knowledge of agrarian structures. We show that a serious dating of agricultural remains must be based upon a critically used combination ofmethods. Without a well-argued date, it is difficult to relate any agrarian form chronologically to other remains in a fossil landscape of multilayered complexity.

Shallow Offshore Geophysical Prospection of Archaeological Sites in Eastern Mediterranean

Geophysical prospecting methods have been extensively used to outline buried antiquities in terrestrial sites. Despite the frequent application of these mapping and imaging approaches for the detection of archaeological relics in deep-water marine environments (e.g., shipwrecks), the aforementioned processes have minimal contribution when it comes to understanding the dynamics of the past in coastal and shallow aquatic archaeological sites. This work explores the possibilities of multicomponent geophysical techniques in revealing antiquities that have been submerged in diverse shallow coastal marine environments in the eastern Mediterranean. A group of four sites in Greece (Agioi Theodoroi, Olous, Lambayanna) and Cyprus (Pafos) spanning from prehistory to Roman times were chosen as test sites to validate the efficiency of electrical resistivity tomography, magnetic gradiometry, and ground penetrating radar methods. The comprehensive analysis of the geophysical data completed the picture for the hidden archeological elements in all the sites. The results manifest the significance and the potential of these methods for documenting and understanding the complex archaeological sites encountered in the Mediterranean. In view of climate change and the risks related to future sea level rise and erosion of low-level coastal areas, the results of this work could be integrated in a strategic framework to develop an effective interdisciplinary research model that can be applied to similar shallow water archaeological surveys, thus substantially contributing towards cultural resources management.

Photogrammetric modeling and the central ravine of the sanctuary of the great gods, Samothrace

A seasonal torrent, bounded by retaining walls integrating Greek and Roman phases, runs through the middle of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on the island of Samothrace. This central ravine was the subject of study in 2016, inspired by the American mission’s current focus on the question of how ancient visitors navigated the sanctuary. A key aspect of this study was the accurate, but selective, documentation of the ravine’s anthropogenic elements, and the delineation of these premodern and modern phases. Rather than using laser scanning or other technologies more often used for large features, the project generated a high definition photogrammetric model and associated vector drawings by a modified protocol using a handheld camera. This case study reviews the efficacy of this low-resource methodology within a complex archaeological site, its limitations, and the technique’s long-term benefits in light of a series of catastrophic storms between 2017 and 2020.

Značaj arheoloških lokaliteta na području Ražanca, Podvršja i Ljupča u funkciji valorizacije kulturnog i sportskog turizma

U radu se donosi pregled najznačajnijih arheoloških lokaliteta na širem području mjesta Ražanca, Podvršja i Ljupča, koji datiraju u vrijeme od prapovijesti pa sve do novog vijeka. Budući da se značajan dio istraženih lokaliteta nalazi na prirodnim uzvisinama, morskim uvalama te vodom bogatim područjima, ističe se njihova uloga kao svojevrsnih katalizatora u promociji kulturnih, ali i prirodnih ljepota toga kraja. U tome kontekstu, lokaliteti postaju važna odredišta u razvoju kulturnog i sportskog turizma, kao ujedinjenog oblika turističke ponude lokalne zajednice. Posebno se ističe položaj Ljubljana iznad Ljupča (Castrum Liube) kao kompleksno arheološko nalazište koje nudi slojevitu povijesnu priču. Spomenuti položaj iznad Ljupča je zbog svojega prirodnog okruženja idealan za postavljanje kulturnih te sportsko-rekreacijskih staza, a u konačnici to područje ima i izvrsne predispozicije za formiranje arheološkog parka. Takvo što bi zasigurno utjecalo na lokalni ekonomski rast i razvoj. Posebice je to izraženo na ekonomskom utjecaju organizacije kulturnih i sportskih manifestacija.