Fortified Site Research Articles

Редкий тип энколпиона с Селитренного городища

Редкий тип энколпиона с Селитренного городища

SUSTAINABLE CONSERVATION OF URBAN TOWN HOUSES IN THE HERITAGE SITE OF GALLE FORT IN SRI LANKA

Sustainable conservation of heritage sites contributes to sustainable built environments in a city. Conservation should maintain the integrity of the physical place with social equity and environmental soundness in order to be a sustainable conservation endeavor. Efforts should go beyond conserving the façade of buildings of heritage value but sustain the embedded social needs of the occupying society. The study focuses on the heritage site of Galle Fort in Sri Lanka to establish the importance of a sustainable conservation effort that maintains the authentic physical definitions of the place, while accommodating the transforming societal needs within an environmentally sound urban context. Galle Fort was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1988 for its unique physical definition and social significance as a living city. It is an outstanding example of an urban ensemble, which illustrates the interaction of European architecture and South Asian traditions from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The “town houses” (attached street fronting houses) within the grid network of streets, form a larger percentage of the built fabric of the Fort and establishes a distinct identity that strengthens the heritage value of Galle Fort. The heritage value of the town houses goes beyond the surface/ facade of their physical identity. As a living city, the historic layers represent both the physical and social evolution. The study firstly identifies physical typological characteristics of the town houses that represent authentic spatial definitions. Thereafter, four town houses are presented in detail as cases, to identify the existing spatial definitions to trace the authentic spatial characteristics embedded within and the social context and functional needs of users represented through the evolved physical definitions. Subsequently, the study suggests spatial principles that will sustain the authentic physical definitions while fulfilling the functional needs of the inhabitants within a habitable context (climatically responsive). The study establishes that sustaining the habitability of the town houses with temporal changes inevitable with changing societal needs is paramount in conserving this living heritage city for posterity, enabling a sustainable built environment that is physically, socially and environmentally appropriate.

Archaeobotanical research at the medieval fortified site of Îgîlîz (Anti-Atlas, Morocco) with particular reference to the exploitation of the argan tree

The analysis of botanical macro-remains (seeds, fruits and wood) from the fortress site of Igiliz, situated in the Anti-Atlas mountain range of southern Morocco, provides a first glimpse of the plant economy of a medieval rural community in this part of North Africa. Considered as the original stronghold of the religious community led by Ibn Tumart, the founder of the Almohad dynasty, the site was occupied from the 10th to the 13th century a.d. The crop assemblage identified from ashy contexts in a central grouping of buildings (the qasba) comprises barley (Hordeum vulgare), sorghum (Sorghum sp., earliest occurrence known so far from Morocco), wheat (Triticum sp.) and a pulse (Lathyrus sativus/cicera). Several arboreal fruit species are also identified: fig (Ficus carica), almond (Prunus dulcis), date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and argan (Argania spinosa). The latter, predominant in the archaeobotanical record in the form of both fruit and wood remains, is of particular interest as it is the first time that this species, endemic to south-western Morocco and of prime economic interest regionally, has been identified from an archaeological context. In the past, as today, the argan tree seems to have played a major role in village economies as a source of wood for fuel and construction, fodder for livestock and food in the form of an edible oil, extracted from the oleaginous seeds. This article focuses on present and past uses of Argania spinosa as well as on the ecology and morpho-anatomy of this emblematic species.

Review: Prato: Architecture, Piety, and Political Identity in a Tuscan City-State by Alick M. McLean

Alick M. McLean Prato: Architecture, Piety, and Political Identity in a Tuscan City-State . New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009, 250 pp., 35 color and 98 b/w illus. $65, ISBN 9780300137149 With this well-produced book, Alick McLean provides a much-needed study of the urban development and architectural history of the key institutional buildings of one of Tuscany's lesser-known city-states. Between 1351 and 1992 Prato was under the administrative control of its nearby neighbor, Florence; this is perhaps the main reason why this interesting small city has been so easily overlooked as a marginal dependent in the hinterland of that paradigmatic central Italian city. The author's strategy for dealing with the overbearing presence of Florence is to make a strength out of a weakness. In the preface, McLean speaks of the “typicalness” of Prato (viii), identifying it as broadly representative of a swath of similarly diminutive city-states of the twelfth to fourteenth centuries and suggesting that the in-depth study of one will offer a comparative frame for a better understanding of the others. Another ambition of the book is to trace a long history of Prato's urban development from the first documentary references at the end of the tenth century to its subjection to Florence in 1351. While the latter objective is carefully achieved through the chronological sequencing of chapters that chronicle the phases of development in relation to changing institutional arrangements, the former is rather forgotten, as McLean seems rather to overlook comparisons to other “centri minori” in favor of a predominance of Florentine referencing. Set within the fertile Arno valley and upon the …

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy modeling for prediction of ambient CO concentration at urban intersections and roadways

This paper describes development of neuro-fuzzy models to predict 1-h average carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations. The neuro-fuzzy models are developed at two urban air quality control regions in the Delhi city, India—one, a typical traffic intersection (i.e., Income Tax Office, ITO); and second, an urban straight roadway (i.e., Siri Fort). ITO models have been validated at Siri Fort site and Siri Fort models have been validated at ITO site. The models have been developed for ‘heterogeneous’ traffic conditions and ‘tropical’ meteorology having three meteorological and one traffic characteristic variables as their inputs. Two-year data, from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 1998 has been used to train the model. The models have been tested using data from 1 January to 31 December 1999 at the same site and then validated using data set from 1 January 2004 to 30 June 2005 at different sites. Prediction performances of 1-h average neuro-fuzzy CO models have been found to be satisfactory with predictions accuracy varying from 89% to 93%.

Kh. 'Aujah el-Foqa (Ataroth) — an Iron Age Fortified City in the Jordan Valley

During the Manasseh Hill Country Survey, an unknown fortified site was traced and explored. The site, Khirbet 'Aujah el-Foqa, may add new aspects to the understanding of both the Iron Age period and the history of the Jordan Valley. The site is situated on a high, stony hill in the western part of the Wadi 'Aujah valley and its overall area is 3.75 acres. The khirbeh was defended by a casemate wall and towers. The location of the site on an elevated hilltop, with an excellent view, hints at its military qualities and we suggest defining it as a 'fortified town'. The main settlement in the site was founded at the beginning of the Iron Age IIB and it was possibly abandoned during Sennacherib's campaign to Judah in 701 BCE. This site can be identified as 'Ataroth in the Manasseh–Ephraim boundary description (Jos 16. 6–7).

Sourcing Gunflints to Their Country of Manufacture

Some 318 gunflints recently recovered from the French barque longue, La Belle, which ran aground off the coast of Texas in 1686, and an additional 405 gunflints from the related terrestrial site of Fort St. Louis offer an opportunity to research the origins of gunflints found in the colonial period Americas. Current research suggests that the best means of addressing this question is through inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), comparing traceelement chemical levels in European source materials with trace-element levels in gunflints found in the New World. A small number of samples from colonial sites and European source locations were submitted to evaluate the potential of this application for sourcing chert. While the initial results are encouraging, some caution is warranted.

From myth to reality: archaeobotany at the Cartier-Roberval Upper Fort site

The first official attempt at settlement in the St Lawrence Valley is recounted in a number of historical documents. These accounts were aimed at justifying the colonization project of Jacques Cartier and Sieur de Roberval in Canada; they provide little information on many aspects of the colonists' daily life. The recent discovery of the site where these two explorers settled in 1541–43 and the archaeological excavations carried out there provide an excellent opportunity to re-examine their colonization project. It is from that perspective that this paper presents some of the results of an archaeobotanical analysis conducted at the site.

Tales from the old guards: Bithnah Fort, Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

This article examines the historical site of Bithnah fort, United Arab Emirates. Relevant historical sources were investigated, which highlighted the strategic importance of Bithnah’s location in the Wadi Ham. A theoretical date was proposed for the site based on these historical references. The architectural features and material culture were combined with ethnographic information. This combination of sources allowed for a much clearer understanding of the fort’s layout and interior use of space. It also provided a context for the village and agricultural space that surround the fortification of Bithnah.

The Western Marmarica Coastal Survey 2009: preliminary report

AbstractThe 2009 season of the Western Marmarica Coastal Survey continued to document the settlement profile of the coastal area east of Tobruk, focussing upon the area around Marsa Lukk. Rock art was documented in the Wadi el-'Ayn and a number of Early-Mid Holocene sites were located there and to the west of Marsa Lukk. The survey continued to locate kiln sites of the Mid-Late Roman period. Two fortified sites were documented, spanning the Late Roman to Early Islamic period.

A Multiscalar Approach to Modeling the End of the Neolithic on the Great Hungarian Plain Using Calibrated Radiocarbon Dates

This article presents the results of a multiscalar analysis of 168 radiocarbon dates from Neolithic and Copper Age sites on the Great Hungarian Plain. We examined chronological patterns at different geographic scales to explore socioeconomic changes that occurred during the transition from the Neolithic to the Copper Age. The beginning and end of the Late Neolithic (5000–4500 cal BC) and Early Copper Age (4500–4000 cal BC) were modeled with14C dates calibrated with the CALIB 5.01 program and IntCal04 calibration curve. Our attempts to identify chronological subphases within these 500-yr-long periods were confounded by multiple intercepts in the calibration curve. The analysis indicated that terminal Late Neolithic (4700–4300 cal BC) and “transitional” Proto-Tiszapolgár occupations (4600–4250 cal BC) at tell sites were contemporary with initial Early Copper Age habitations (4450–4250 cal BC). Calibrated dates from small Early Copper Age settlements at Vészto-Bikeri and Körösladány-Bikeri document changes in community and household organization that took place over several decades during the transition to the Copper Age. Bayesian analysis indicated that the small fortified sites were occupied contiguously in phases of 30–50 yr. The younger Körösladány-Bikeri site was established before the older Vészto-Bikeri site was abandoned. When large nucleated Late Neolithic communities dispersed and established small Early Copper Age settlements, the pattern of vertical accretion that had created the Late Neolithic tells gave way to a pattern of horizontal settlement accretion at the smaller settlements.

Khirbet Qeiyafa: Sha`arayimn

Khirbet Qeiyafa is a 2.3 hectare fortified early 10th century BCE site, located in the Judean Shephelah, atop a hill that bordered the Elah Valley from the north. This is a key strategic location in the biblical kingdom of Judah, on the main road from Philistia and the Coastal Plain to Jerusalem and Hebron in the hill country. It is the only site in the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel with two gates. This unique feature provides a clear indication of the site's identity as biblical Sha`arayim, a place name that means “two gates” in Hebrew. Sha`arayim is mentioned three times in the Bible (Jos 15:36; 1 Sam 17:52 and 1 Ch 4:31-32). It is located near the Elah valley, associated with King David twice, and not mentioned in conjunction with any other later First Temple period tradition. This accords with the archaeological and radiometric data that indicate a single-phase settlement in the early 10th century BCE at Khirbet Qeiyafa.

Archaeological Evidence of Economic Activities at an Eighteenth-Century Frontier Outpost in the Western Great Lakes

During the late-19th and early-20th centuries, antiquarian collectors amassed hundreds of artifacts from the vicinity of Fort St. Joseph (20BE23), a mission-garrison-trading post complex established by the French in the late-17th century along the St. Joseph River in southwest Michigan. George Quimby (1939, 1966) later used these materials to establish a chronology for post-contact Native American sites in the western Great Lakes region, although the research potential of the collections was limited by their lack of provenience. Subsequent fieldwork conducted in 2002 and 2004 by Western Michigan University located intact deposits from this site. Excavations have identified a number of cultural features and associated archaeological materials that suggest the locations of buildings and discrete activity areas. The undisturbed deposits encountered at the site of Fort St. Joseph can inform researchers about everyday economic activities at an important trading post in the North American interior.

Archaeological Investigations on the Small Islands of Aiwa Levu and Aiwa Lailai, Lau Group, Fiji

ABSTRACT We present archaeological data from the small limestone islands of Aiwa Levu (1.21 km2) and Aiwa Lailai (1.0 km2), Lau Group, Fiji. Surveys revealed prehistoric occupations of a sinkhole cave, rockshelters, and a fortified site. We excavated six sites, all with abundant pottery and faunal materials. Eleven radiocarbon dates from four sites span nearly the entire period of Fijian prehistory, from 2710–2330 cal BP to 430–10 cal BP. From inland sites on Aiwa Levu, the stratification, long chronology, and abundance of midden, and other artifacts argue for more permanent prehistoric occupation than the island's current use as a temporary fishing camp for people from nearby Lakeba (55.84 km2). Our archaeological data reinforce the notion that small islands were important in the prehistoric settlement and long-term occupation of Oceania, even in archipelagos where much larger islands exist nearby. In spite of their typically limited agricultural potential, small islands may be easy to defend and may offer better access to certain terrestrial and marine resources than large neighboring islands. Prehistoric sites on some small islands also may be less disturbed by modern activities than most larger islands, and therefore have enhanced potential to yield rich archaeological records.

Contested Space

The announcement in 1999 by the government of Newfoundland and Labrador of a new $40 million cultural heritage complex, known as The Rooms, to replace the crumbling buildings of the provincial art gallery, museum, and archives should have been greeted by celebration. Instead, a rancourous public debate ensued that threatened to cancel the project. That debate centred on government’s choice of an eighteenth century fort site for the new building. This article reviews the genesis of the project which caused the public dispute and traces the discussion as the contest for the building site unfolded. The Rooms controversy, and the events which eventually brought it to a close, powerfully illustrate the importance of public consultation to government decision-making in heritage matters. The debate vividly demonstrates how different interest groups claim authoritative voice around issues of heritage preservation and interpretation.

Historical archaeology

Relatively few historical archaeology projects have been carried out in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet the area presents a wide variety of research potentialities from both historical and theoretical viewpoints. Various definitions of historical archaeology and their application to Africa are examined, and the research undertaken thus far is reviewed. Previous work has largely focused on the larger fortified sites of 15th to 19th century European construction. On the East African Coast archaeolological fieldwork has also been carried out on Islamic sites where limited documentation is provided by Arabic writings. Directions for future research are dis cussed, including the possibility of examining the socio? cultural background of the African diaspora. Particular stress is placed on the necessity for intensified regional studies, cognizant of the contacts between well documented historical sites and the villages and resource areas with which they interacted.

Le confort dans les châteaux bourguignons aux XIVe et XVe siècles

Comfort in the Burgundian Castles of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Until now most studies of medieval castles have focused on military aspects. Such research, however, does not take into account the increasingly residential nature of castles in the later years of the fifteenth century. This shift led to a change in the architecture and configuration of castles and fortified housing. A survey of the comfort equipment found in the castles of the Duchy of Burgundy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries reveals two main categories of installments. Thematically defined by their relation to fire and water, these categories emerge from a close study of both sites and archives. The first axis of this research is based on the element of the fireplace, the second concentrates on water conducts found in Burgundian fortified sites and on the question of hygiene, focusing specifically on latrines. Accounting records provided major source material for this research.

Survey and Excavation of the Anglo-Zulu War Fort at Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

A programme of topographic and geophysical survey was combined with metal detecting and trial trenching at the site of the British fort at KwaMondi, Eshowe, KwaZulu. Evidence was recovered of the buildings used by the British troops in 1879, together with artefacts from the siege. In addition, the results provided an insight into the history of the site after the end of the British occupation.

Ancient inscriptions and monuments from the territory of Oinoanda

AbstractThe results of a survey in the territory of Oinoanda led by Stephen Mitchell in 1994 are presented. A number of lost Hellenistic and Roman settlements could be identified through ancient cemeteries and cult furniture such as images, symbols and footings for stelai. A clear association between tombs and cults permitted the term ‘cemetery cults’. Other types of settlement included traces of an ancient village near Patlangiç Yayla, a fortified hill-top site at Düǧer, and a puzzling planned complex on an island in Girdev Gölü. Architectural fragments at Çukurceylan, Kinik and Girdev told of vanished Byzantine churches, and their associated settlements of later date.

The fortified site of Kelbessos

Cevik Nevzat, Pimouguet-Pedarros Isabelle. The fortified site of Kelbessos. In: Anatolia Antiqua, Tome 12, 2004. pp. 283-291.