Early Medieval Age Research Articles

USING GEOMATICS TO UNDERSTAND AND VALORIZE HERITAGE, THREE DIFFERENT CONTEXTS OF STUDY: SYRIA, ITALY, AND FRANCE

Abstract. Such innovative meeting dedicated to Cultural Heritage: challenges, new perspectives, and technological innovation are ‘vital’ in order to exchange different experiences, needs, opportunities, and, above all, to find new approaches to preserve, at least, the memory of heritage for further generations. This paper includes some experiences accumulated throughout several topographic projects concerning Christianity during the Late Antiquity and Early Medieval Ages in northern Syria, in Liguria in Italy, and in Provence in France. Geospatial and Geomatics data have been used in these investigations, since 2007, thanks to the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology of Rome, the National Institute for Art History in Paris, Nino Lamboglia Foundation, and Marc de Montalembert Foundation. The Geospatial data highlighted for the first time, after about a century of research, much un- published data about Syrian monasteries. One of our goals was to understand what the exact differences are from all points of view: time, results, and economic costs between Agisoft Photoscan and MicMac. The models of the two applications are well made, but we noticed that the model created by MicMac software is excellent, despite being an open source application. In 2017, due to the positive geomathic results during the last three seasons of our excavations on the site of Capo Don, the first Multimedial Exhibition Space (SEM) of the town Riva Ligure was inaugurated, thanks to Comune of Riva Ligure, and all research team members guided by professor Philippe Pergola. Geomatics is a powerful tool not only for preserving memories, but it is ideal for dissemination heritage on the public levels, exactly like the role of archaeology.

ЕПОХА СЛОВ’ЯН НА БАЛТИЦІ: ЕКОНОМІЧНЕ ПІДНЕСЕННЯ СЛОВ’ЯНСЬКОГО ПОМОР’Я У РАННЬОМУ СЕРЕДНЬОВІЧЧІ

Abstract Background. The article attempts to explore the reasons of the economic rise in the Slav-inhabited Baltic Sea region, including the role of geographical factors; the impact of international trade on the economic development of the Slavic region; the role of the coastal Slavs in developing the Baltic trade routes as well as the network of river and land communications in Central and Eastern Europe. The paper mainly focuses on the participation of the Slavs in the formation of transcontinental trade routes and the development of trade between Europe and the Arab East. Purpose. To explore medieval written sources, archaeological sources and historical literature on the economic development of the Baltic Slavs; identify the main factors of their economic rise, including the establishment of cities and the development of trade. Results. The following conclusions are made in the article: the first early medieval cities in the southern Baltic were founded by the Slavs; as early as in the VII century in the Oder river basin alone there were about a hundred settlements in the lands of lutych tribes. The cities founded by the Slavs on the southwest coast of the Baltic were large trade centers such as Veligrad (ger. Mecklenburg), Volyn (ger. Yumna), Staryhrad (ger. Oldenburg), Kolobreg, Shchetin, Arkona and others. According to the German chronicler Adam Bremensky the Slavic city of Volyn located on the island at the mouth of the Oder river, was one of the largest early medieval cities in Europe and a major international trading center. The emergence of early cities was stimulated by economic development in the Baltic Slavic region, including agriculture and crafts. However, trade was the main factor in the economic rise of the Slav-inhabited Baltic sea region. The favorable geographical location contributed to the formation in its territory of a network of waterways and landways, which were branches of international trade highways. Contrary to established views of the Slavs as exclusively agricultural people, sources indicate that the main occupation of the coastal Slavs was trade. They also engaged in the maritime piracy, the centers of which were the islands of Fembra (ger. Femarn) and Ruyan (ger. Rügen). The coastal Slavic tribes were pioneers in paving the first trade routes and in developing international trade in the Baltic region. Trade activities of the coastal Slavs to a large extent ensured the establishment of trade links between different regions of Europe and the development of transcontinental trade between Europe and the Arab East. The transcontinental water and land routes passed through the lands inhabited by the Slavs (Slavonia). An important role in its development in the early Middle Ages also belongs to the Danube Slavs (the state of Samo, Great Moravia) and Rus. Key words: early Medieval Age, Baltic Slavs, obodrytes, lutyches, ruyans, international trade routes, trade with the Arab East.

아리스토텔레스의 삼단논법과 보에티우스의 삼단논법

In this paper, we discuss the syllogisms from both fronts : Aristotle and Boethius. We mainly focus on the differences with respect to categorical and hypothetical syllogisms in Aristotle and Boethius. Regarding Aristotle’s works on logic, it is not unusual to claim that Aristotle extensively worked on categorical syllogisms. In Prior Analytics, Aristotle gave proofs for many valid moods. However we cannot find a similar treatment for hypothetical syllogism in his works. Thus, it might be a reason for his students to improve Aristotle’s theory of syllogisms by filling the gaps in hypothetical syllogisms. As Boethius already emphasized in the Book I of De Hypotheticis Syllogismis, the Peripatetic School only initiated the start. The remaining and detailed treatise was due to Boethius himself. The impression we got from Boethius’s and Aristotle’s works on syllogisms is that the categorical syllogism is almost entirely developed by Aristotle himself, whereas the extensive and the detailed study of the hypothetical syllogism was carried out by Boethius, although he was not the first figure in the history who gave concise expositions on hypothetical syllogism. Boethius’s translations of syllogisms in medieval era were the primer resource and textbook for Aristotelian logic during the early Medieval ages. Therefore, the scholars of those times had no other chance but to work from Boethius’s commentaries. So, the evident properties of Aristotelian figures were not then visible. Boethius wrote several textbooks in logic. A detailed investigation might yield significant information on Boethius’s logic compared with the influence of Aristotle on Boethius.

DAGHESTAN HISTORICAL CHRONICLE «TARIH ABU MUSLIM» (MISKINDZHA LIST): TRANSLATION FROM THE ARABIC LANGUAGE, COMMENTS

The article introduces the content of recently revealed Arabic manuscript list from the anonymous medieval Daghestan historical chronicle «Tarih Abu Muslim» («History of Abu Muslim») into scientific circulation for the first time. The list, unknown before, is found in the Lezgin village Miskindzha (Dokuzparinsky district of Daghestan) and dates back to A.H. 1262 (13.12.1845 - 19.12.1846). This fact makes it the oldest dated work preserved till our days. Presumably, the manuscript was rewritten in one of the Lezgin villages in the territory of the modern South Daghestan. Among the most important themes of the chronicle «Tarih Abu Muslim» are the military activity of Abu Muslim in order to impose Islam in Daghestan and Shirvan; construction of mosques in different villages by Abu Muslim and his sons and designation of local governors. The list of Abu Muslim’s descendants and distribution of settlements between them is of particular interest. The study of Miskindzha list (list I) shows that its content overall corresponds to the published text of the composition (list A) in a slightly concise form. Moreover, there are some significant differences. The article specifies some toponymical terms, and identifies the names of some settlements in the territories of the modern South Daghestan and Northeast Azerbaijan Republic. It should be noted that practically all toponymical nomenclature of the Miskindzha list lies in the territory of the historical settlement of the Lezgins and other peoples of the Lezgin group. The latter gives us the reason to assume that the medieval work «Tarih Abu Muslim» was created by one of the natives from settlements of historical Lezgistan (Lakz of early medieval age). The translation of the Arabic text is provided with scientific commentary. When commenting on the text of the list, we involved new data of Arabic epigraphic monuments of medieval Daghestan from the 13th to the 15th centuries, which confirms the authenticity of some chronicle information.

Migration or landscape fragmentation in Early Medieval eastern France? A case study from Niedernai

Modelling of archaeological remains in the landscape is a common tool in multidisciplinary research projects that focus on the movement of material and people. The interactions of human, material, and environmental spheres, however, depend on the scale, permeability and availability of the environment. This article deals with the construction and range of activity spheres in Early Medieval eastern France. A transformation period necropolis at Niedernai that dates to the 5th and early 6th century shows long-term settlement continuity with regional communication networks and local land-use strategies among other locally scattered communities. The consistently populated site-catchment in the Upper Rhine Valley was chosen to estimate the theory of large migration processes in the 5th century. Spatial analyses of GIS-based environmental and remotely sensed geomorphological data derived from satellite imagery were conducted. Social structure and social organisation changed at the transition from the Imperial Period to the Early Medieval Ages, affecting land use strategies and economic developments. Larger infrastructural networks were replaced by small-scale dwelling assemblages indicating local spheres of influence in a rather fragmented landscape.

Some Remarks on the Term Balbal of Ancient Turks

Two important concept related to burial customs, evolved in the belief of Turkic tribes in Early Medieval Ages. The first is inhumation that anyone dies in the steppe as anywhere else in the world, have to bury somehow. The second is their cultic (memorial) sites; the structures built as an act of recalling in honor of those who have died.Archaeological and historical sources confirm that these cultic constructions were built mainly for representatives of the aristocrats. There are two different type of cultic sites in the steppe: The ones built for Kaghans (and their family members) are more complicated than the ones built for the Beghs (Lord, head of the tribe). Those built for the Beghs (and their families) are more common in the Steppe. A statue was placed in the east section of a square area made of slab stones and has a single stone line extending through east. Each stone in this line is called balbal. Different views exist among the researchers regarding the purpose of these stones, although many of them agree that each stone symbolizes the enemy killed by the buried in his lifetime.Despite this, there are uncertainties regarding the purpose and functions of these line of stone. In this article, our inquiry focus on this confusion about the meaning of the concept and propose the probable function according to historical, archaeological and social data overlooked by researchers.

Islam in North-Western Azerbaijan in the Early Medieval Ages

Islam in North-Western Azerbaijan in the Early Medieval Ages

Micromorphology and site formation processes in the Castrum Popilii Medieval Motte (N Italy)

This paper presents the results of the geoarchaeological study of a medieval motte known in historical documents as “Castrum Popilii” (Poviglio, Northern Italy). The Castrum Popilii motte, for its particular environmental characteristics, represents an exceptional case study for the Early Medieval Age in Po Valley. In 1989 an archaeological rescue excavation revealed an exceptionally well-preserved stratigraphic sequence at the northern side of the Santo Stefano church. The study of the archaeological materials and thin soil sections collected during this campaign, integrated with geoarchaeological observations, allowed the reconstruction of the natural and anthropogenic processes involved in the formation of the Santo Stefano di Poviglio stratigraphy sequence. The area also referred to as “Santo Stefano di Poviglio”, exposed the eastern limit of the medieval motte, characterizes by a sequence of occupation deposits, living floors, and wooden structural remains dated between the late 9th and the 11th centuries AD.The micromorphological study of this archaeological site led to developing a new hypothesis about the use of lime-based plaster in the construction of domestic living floors in a rural early medieval village in Central Po Plain. The sealing of the sequence due to the construction of a stone stronghold in the 15th century, combined with waterlogging, preserved the deposit from reworking by bioturbation and later human activities. On the other hand, water stagnation influenced a series of post-depositional migration and accumulation of iron–manganese and phosphatic features. The geoarchaeological tools applied in this study allowed to maximize the data collected in a rescue situation in 1989 highlighting new information about the genesis and development of Castrum Popilii medieval motte.

中世初期アイオナ修道院とダール・リアダ王権 : 『聖コルンバ伝』における王の聖別の叙述をめぐる一考察

中世初期アイオナ修道院とダール・リアダ王権 : 『聖コルンバ伝』における王の聖別の叙述をめぐる一考察

The Cross-Cultural Kingship in Early Medieval Kāmarūpa: Blood, Desire and Magic

Kingship in early medieval Kāmarūpa (Assam) was influenced by the collision of orthodox and heterodox Brahmanic traditions with various tribal cultures. Since the last part of the Śālastambha period (seventh–tenth century) the royal tutelary deity of Kāmarūpa was the menstruating Kāmākhyā, an ancient kirāta goddess. According to the Puranic tradition, the cult of Kāmākhyā was absorbed within Hindu religious folds by the mytho-historical king Naraka of Kāmarūpa. According to textual and epigraphic records, Naraka was conceived by Pṛthvī (Earth goddess) during her menstrual period, through a sexual intercourse with varāha (boar form of Viṣṇu). All early medieval dynasties of Kāmarūpa traced back their origins to Naraka, connecting their lines to the divine power but also to the menstrual blood—a substance considered extremely impure though powerful in Vedic and post-Vedic traditions. The king operated as a cross-cultural mediator: he was the only actor who was able to harness the produced polluted forces, through the Tantric rituals, in order to strengthen the political power. Thence, this essay aims to demonstrate, through inter- and intra-textual evidences, epigraphic records, and ethnographic data, that in Assam throughout the early medieval ages, the kingship grounded its roots in an osmotic cross-cultural process which was influenced by tribal traditions and orthodox and heterodox Hindu sects.

Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan’s Premodern Capital by Matthew Stavros

Reviewed by: Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan’s Premodern Capital by Matthew Stavros Ethan Isaac Segal (bio) Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan’s Premodern Capital. By Matthew Stavros. University of Hawai‘i Press, Honolulu, 2014. xxvi, 230 pages. $47.00, cloth; $29.00, paper. In the eyes of visitors, Kyoto may appear to be a timeless, unchanging city. It served as Japan’s imperial capital for over one thousand years and is the home to temples, festivals, and cultural traditions that were first practiced there centuries ago. Even today, the city retains much of its original eighth-century grid-like layout, and many of the major streets still bear the names given to them at that time. But those who study premodern Japan quickly discover that there were many different Kyotos. Literary scholars might engage with Kyoto as the site of elegant refinements and romantic escapades in Genji monogatari or as a capital groaning under Kiso Yoshinaka’s occupation in Heike monogatari. In the fourteenth century, it was home to active communities of moneylenders and sake brewers, but in the sixteenth century, the city was often under siege, divided by neighborhood moats and fortifications. As these examples suggest, Kyoto was a city of frequent changes and continual transformation. Matthew Stavros does a wonderful job of highlighting these transformations in his new urban history of Kyoto. He provides a guided tour through these many different Kyotos: from its initial construction as a Chinese-inspired capital with an orderly east-west design, to its shift into “upper” (for the nobility) and “lower” (for the commoners) halves in the early medieval age, and finally its radical makeover during the late medieval period. Given how important the city was as a political, economic, religious, and cultural center, it is surprising how little we know of its physical appearance. Therefore, although Stavros’s journey is more descriptive than argumentative, it is still a worthwhile contribution. Along the way, he [End Page 127] is able to connect his survey of Kyoto’s history to debates on public versus private authority, monumentalism, and the use of urban design to reflect state power and thereby meet his goal of demonstrating “how careful attention to space, place, and the built environment can reveal novel facets of old problems, enriching complexity and opening up new avenues of interpretation” (p. xxiv). Stavros’s work is not the first to explore Japan’s premodern urban history. Some have addressed Kyoto during particular eras, such as William McCullough’s account of the Heian-period capital, Suzanne Gay’s examination of the medieval commercial city, and Mary Elizabeth Berry’s exploration of the capital during the Warring States period.1 Others have delved into related aspects of Japan’s urban tradition, such as Ellen van Goethem’s book on Nagaoka, the failed capital that Kyoto was built to replace.2 The work in English that comes closest to Stavros’s book is John Whitney Hall’s “Kyoto as Historical Background,” a chapter in an edited volume from more than 40 years ago which, like the monograph under review, addresses Kyoto from its founding to the early modern era.3 Whereas Hall could only introduce some topics, Stavros is able to explore them fully, as well as bring up issues that were not yet known during Hall’s time. He also has the benefit of being able to draw on recent Japanese scholarship and the generous support of the University of Hawai‘i Press, which allowed him to include numerous maps and illustrations, many of them in color. The book has seven chapters covering the eighth to sixteenth centuries, with a short epilogue that looks at Kyoto during the Tokugawa period. The first two chapters address the capital when it was known as Heian-kyō (up to the eleventh century). They effectively explain how the city’s designers incorporated improvements over earlier Japanese capitals. For example, whereas Fujiwara and Nara had streets that cut into the residential blocks, resulting in blocks of uneven size, Heian-kyō had regular blocks that assured even distribution of plots. These chapters also provide a readily understandable explanation of how addresses worked in Heian-kyō and why the...

The Churches' Bans on Consanguineous Marriages, Kin-Networks and Democracy

This paper tests the hypothesis that extended kin-groups, as characterized by a high level of cousin marriages, impact the proper functioning of formal institutions. Consistent with this hypothesis I find that countries with high cousin marriage rates exhibit a weak rule of law and are more likely autocratic. Further evidence comes from a quasi-natural experiment. In the early medieval ages the Church started to prohibit kin-marriages. Using the variation in the duration and extent of the Eastern and Western Churches’ bans on consanguineous marriages as instrumental variables, reveals highly significant point estimates of the percentage of cousin marriage on an index of democracy. An additional novel instrument, cousin-terms, strengthens this point: the estimates are very similar and do not rest on the European experience alone. Exploiting within country variation support these results. These findings point to the importance of marriage patterns for the proper functioning of formal institutions and democracy.

Flank eruptions of Mt Etna during the Greek–Roman and Early Medieval periods: New data from 226Ra–230Th dating and archaeomagnetism

In this paper, we present new data from 226Ra–230Th dating and archaeomagnetism with the aim of improving the knowledge of the flank eruptions that occurred at Mt Etna during the Greek–Roman and Early Medieval periods, as defined in the new geological map of the volcano. The combination of the two dating techniques demonstrates that three major flank eruptions occurred on the lower north and west flanks during Greek–Roman epochs, producing large scoria cones and extensive lava flows. In particular, the Mt Ruvolo and Mt Minardo events highly impacted the territory of the west flank, notably by damming the Simeto River. The new data of the Millicucco and Due Monti lava flows, on the lower north–east flank, indicate a younger age than their stratigraphic ages quoted in the 2011 geological map, since they occurred around 700 and 500AD, respectively. None of the large flank eruptions occurring on the lower slopes of Etna during the Early Medieval age are reported in the historical sources. Overall, our paper shows that a comprehensive assessment of eruptions at Mount Etna in the last three millennia can only be achieved through a multidisciplinary approach.

Deciphering the evolution of agrarian technologies during the last ~1600 years using the isotopic fingerprint (δ13C, δ15N) of a polycyclic terraced soil

We analyzed the isotopic (13C and 15N) composition of a polycyclic terraced soil located in Santiago de Compostela (NW Spain) and compared it with previous results on total aluminum, iron and silicon and their fractionation by selective dissolution techniques. The aim was to recognize the imprints of land management changes, with particular attention to fertilization techniques applied during the use history of the terrace (~1600 y). The buried paleosol, found below the terraced layers, is considered to preserve the soil properties prior to the terrace construction. The isotopic composition (13C, 15N) provided evidence of extensive land use previous to the construction of the terrace, with the utilization of fire as liming and clearance tool. In the Late Antiquity and Early Medieval Ages the soil use was more intense and amendments with vegetal remains from nitrogen fixing shrubs were likely applied. Since the Early Middle Ages, animal wastes were used as a way to maintain or increase soil fertility because of an intensification of the agrarian use.
 Descifrando la evolución de las tecnologías agrarias durante los últimos ~1.600 años utilizando la huella isotópica (δ13C, δ15N) en un suelo aterrazado policíclico - Hemos analizado la composición isotópica (13C y 15N) de un suelo policíclico aterrazado situado en Santiago de Compostela (NO de España) y la hemos comparado con resultados geoquímicos previamente obtenidos de aluminio, hierro y silicio totales, así como las fracciones en las que se distribuyen estos elementos, mediante técnicas de disolución selectiva. El objetivo era reconocer las señales de los cambios de manejo del suelo agrícola, con especial atención a la aplicación de técnicas de fertilización, durante la historia de uso de la terraza (~1600 años). Se asume que el paleosuelo enterrado, que se conserva bajo los niveles de aterrazamiento, preserva las propiedades del suelo previas a la construcción de la terraza. La composición isotópica (13C y 15N) proporcionó evidencias de un uso extensivo del suelo con anterioridad a la construcción de la terraza, con la utilización del fuego como principal herramienta para el encalado y el clareo del terreno. Durante la Antigüedad tardía y la Alta Edad Media el uso del suelo se intensificó y se introdujeron técnicas de fertilización basadas en la adición de restos de vegetales de arbustos fijadores de nitrógeno. A partir de la Alta Edad Media se detecta el uso de abonos de origen animal, como medio para mantener o aumentar la fertilidad del suelo, ante una creciente intensificación del uso.

The evolution of Roman urban environments through the archaeobotanical remains in Modena – Northern Italy

The paper reports on the urban archaeobotany of Modena, a town that lies on the southern Po Plain of the Emilia Romagna region, Northern Italy. Founded in 183 BC, it was an important Roman colony known as Mutina. The integrated study of micro- and macro-remains, the interdisciplinary archaeological and botanical approach, and the comparison of on-site/off-site records allow the reconstruction of an urban environment of the past. Pollen and macroremains from four archaeological sites located in and around the ancient walls, along with pollen from an off-site trench, were studied with an integrated approach, aimed at reconstructing the main floristic, vegetational and palaeoecological features of the town and its surroundings between the 6th century BC and the 10th century AD. During the Roman age, the natural plant landscape was characterised by wetlands, thinly scattered mixed oak woods, cereal fields, gardens and other human environments; during the Late Roman and Early Medieval age, the woodlands increased. Some currently rare, or locally extinct, species lived in the area. The fragmentation of the landscape has been evident since the Roman times because pieces of the natural environments have survived near lands strongly modified by inhabitants.

1189년, 요리토모는 왜 야다테(矢立)를 했는가

This paper considers the duality of Yatate(矢立), a ceremony that involves shooting arrows at a big tree, by studying the case of Minamotono Yoritomo(源賴朝). Yoritomos Yatate was performed in the ?sh? battle(奧州合?), developed as a reproduction of Zenkunennoeki(前九年の役) and fulfilled by various symbols. Yoritomo shot arrows at the big tree behind a shrine worshipping Daid?so(大道祖), before his departure to the Fortress of Kuriyagawau(廚河柵), the last base of Abeno Sadato(安倍貞任). Considering folktales of early medieval age composed of a big tree, arrows, and kami(神), it can be concluded that Yoritomos Yatate must have been a symbolic political performance. That is to say, Yoritomo intended to declare that ?sh? is the territory of Kamakuradono(鎌倉殿) through the Yatate, which meant exorcizing Daid?so, a guardian deity of ?sh?. Kunio Yanagita(柳田國男) insists that Yatate as an exorcization is incompatible with Yatate as a dedication. But, considering the sites chosen for performances of Yatate and the world of gods both good and evil, it can be concluded that Yatate as an exorcization is compatible with Yatate as a dedication.

Integration of remote sensing, geophysical surveys and archaeological excavation for the study of a medieval mound (Tuscany, Italy)

AbstractThe area described in this article was ‘detected’ by the Laboratory for Landscape Archeology and Remote Sensing, University of Siena research team during aerial prospection in spring 2005. Analysis of the aerial photographs allowed interpretation of the site as a triple‐ditched enclosure. During subsequent field‐walking survey a number of archaeological artefacts were collected and mapped. Differential global positioning system (DGPS) survey confirmed the morphological pattern of the site, which seems to represent a survival of the Early Medieval Age settlement pattern on the coastal plain. The field‐walking and DGPS surveys were followed by a programme of geophysical survey combining three different methods: differential magnetics (Overhauser probe), ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and Automatic Resistivity Profiler (ARP©, Geocarta). Finally, three sample areas were excavated, mainly to test the evidence collected previously. The excavation data – ditches, post‐holes, domestic pottery, animal bones, and wall remains – support the interpretation of the site as the first earth‐and‐timber castle mound, or motte, to be identified in Tuscany. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Warrior‐Monks in Japanese History1

AbstractJapan's early medieval age, roughly the late eleventh through the late fourteenth centuries, is usually described as an age when power shifted from noble elites to the warrior class, most commonly embodied in the cultic samurai. However, scholars subscribing to the notion of a clearly defined military class with a common ethos from this period will find few figures in the premodern age that correspond to those idealized images. Those who fought came from all facets of society, indicating that the separation of the samurai from other warriors was a much later invention. This distinction of different fighters have affected monastic warriors more than any other group, for they have been seen as a negative influence on society, often referred to by the later term sōhei (monk‐warriors). This essay explores the social origins of monastic warriors, their relationship to those we now call samurai (or bushi) during the early medieval age, and the later creation of stereotypical images of evil naginata (glaive)‐wielding monks that have dominated both popular culture and academe until the present.

Multidisciplinary approaches to defining historic period coastal and fluvial changes at Dunglass Burn, South East Scotland

An exceptionally thick (>2.5 m) fluvial and colluvial valley fill is described from the coastal reach of the Dunglass Burn, draining the Lammermuir Hills in south east Scotland. Buried by the valley fill is a series of charcoal accumulations interpreted as beacons to guide fishing boats, and an assemblage of large mammal bones. Radiocarbon assays on charcoal associated with these elements show them to be of early Medieval age. The onset of this extraordinary fluvial and colluvial sediment aggradation is considered to have begun at c. 1100 AD, although causation cannot be closely defined. The relations between the valley fill and securely dated built structures (buildings, bridges), an approach very infrequently explored, allow the cessation of aggradation to be dated to before the mid‐16th century AD. After c. 1600 AD incision has occurred to the present. The development of this valley fill is likely to have extensively altered the configuration of the coastline in the Medieval and early modern periods. The analyses emphasise the large magnitude of very recent landscape changes.

Analysis of surface layers of an iron axe from Early Medieval Age

An ancient axe from Early Medieval Age which was unearthed on a territory of the archaeological excavation site near the village Borovce (Slovakia) is investigated. The surface of the axe was supposed to be covered with a sort of glassy system. Mossbauer effect measurements performed in backscattering and transmission geometry upon original as well as powdered pieces of the axe confirmed that the surface layers of the axe consist of goethite, lepidocrite, akageneite, and/or magnetite. After temperature treatment at 400°C/100 min hematite and maghemite were found; these are products of thermal decomposition of the above mentioned iron phases. These findings ruled out the hypothesis that the surface covering substance was put on the axe by intention.