Geoarchaeological Analysis Research Articles

Moses Wilhelm Shapira, Hermann Weser and the Moab Expedition: Provenance Study of the Moabitica

ABSTRACT The 1870s case of the archaeological forgeries attributed to Jerusalem antiquities dealer Moses Wilhelm Shapira continues to provoke interest. This article examines the association of the Moabitica, marketed by Shapira, to their Moabite origin using the modern scientific methods of ceramic petrography and X-ray fluorescence. The results serve, in turn, to illuminate an unanswered question raised by the historical account of the German explorers’ provisional delegation to Moab. The delegation traced the sources of the Moabitica antiquities in an attempt to locate additional Moabitica in situ where they had allegedly been found. The historical account is unclear as to whether this research trip was also part of the conspiracy organised by the Jerusalem counterfeiters or whether it solely involved a workshop and a team acting east of the Dead Sea. Combining the historical narrative and the geoarchaeological analysis, the affair is examined from a perspective never before undertaken.

Early science and colossal stone engineering in Menga, a Neolithic dolmen (Antequera, Spain).

Megaliths represent the earliest form of monumental stone architecture. The earliest megalithic chambers in Europe appeared in France in the fifth millennium BCE. Menga is the oldest of the great dolmens in Iberia (approximately 3800 to 3600 BCE). Menga's capstone #5 weighing 150 tons is the largest stone ever moved in Iberia as part of the megalithic phenomenon and one of the largest in Europe. The research presented here proposes a completely innovative interpretation of how this colossal monument was built. It comprises a geoarchaeological analysis encompassing three major components: (i) the angles of the planes of each stone, (ii) the stratigraphic polarity of each structural element, and (iii) the depth of the foundations. Our results show that Menga is a unique example of creative genius and early science among Neolithic societies. It was designed as a completely original engineering project, for which we know of no precedents in Iberia.

Archaeological landscapes and long-term settlements in the Perputxent valley (eastern Iberia): Exploring land use strategies and sustainability in a Mediterranean mountain area

In this paper, we present the long-term occupation of the Perputxent Valley with the purpose of exploring the factors that could explain the long-lasting and trans-cultural occupation of resilient sites and landscapes for nearly two millennia. The first part describes the archaeological research carried out based on remote sensing and intensive coverage survey methods and geoarchaeological analysis. The characterisation of the intensive agricultural uses has been studied from the geochemical analysis of the soil and sedimentary record. The objective is to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental processes and the possible evidence of the agricultural practices. This research has identified the residential spaces, the sites and the agrarian land-uses, especially intensive farmlands. The second part analyses the evidence of this long-term settlements in the context of the archaeological, ethnographic and historical record of the region. Understanding these practices of agriculture and land-use can contribute to understandings of what makes societies sustainable.

Preliminary Observations of the Archaeological Rescue Excavations of the Multilayered Settlement and Necropolises at Tarnyane, Vidin District

Abstract The rescue archeological excavations at the multicultural site of Tarnyane, Vidin district, Northwest Bulgaria, conducted in 2020–2021 uncovered evidence that the site was inhabited during the Early Bronze Age (EBA), Middle Bronze Age (MBA), Late Iron Age, and the Middle Ages. This article provides an overview of the main archaeological features uncovered during the excavations, along with the first results from anthropological, archaeozoological and geoarchaeological analyses. During the excavations, remains of an Early Bronze Age and Late Middle Ages settlements were studied, as were three necropolises: one from the Early Bronze Age, one from the Middle Bronze Age, and one from the Late Middle Ages. The archaeological site near Tarnyane has shed new important light on the development of the settlement patterns and burial practices during the Bronze Age and Late Middle Ages.

Lynchet-Type Terraces, Loess, and Agricultural Resilience on Chalk Landscapes in the UK and Belgium

Lynchets, often the defining component of historic agricultural landscapes in northern Europe, are generally associated with soft-limestone geologies and are particularly well developed on loess-mantled landscapes. To understand their formation and chronology, the authors present their geoarchaeological analyses of lynchet soils and loess deposits at Blick Mead and Charlton Forest in southern England, and Sint Martens-Voeren in Belgium. The lynchets date from the late prehistoric to the medieval periods and were constructed by plough action at the English sites, and by both cut-and-fill and ploughing in Belgium. This has resulted in the preservation of highly fertile loessic soils across chalk slopes, lost elsewhere. Although each example is associated with local/regional agricultural histories, the lynchets’ effective soil-retention capacities allowed them to survive as important heritage features with environmental benefits over millennia.

Searching for traces of human activity in earthen floor sequences: high-resolution geoarchaeological analyses at an Early Iron Age village in Central Iberia

The Northern Iberian Plateau during the Early Iron Age witnessed the proliferation of villages, showcasing well-preserved earthen architectural remains that offer valuable insights into past daily life practices. However, the application of high-resolution geoarchaeological approaches to these contexts has been largely overlooked, despite their significance in assessing complex sedimentary sequences predominantly composed of earth-based construction materials. This paper presents the outcomes of a microcontextual geoarchaeological study conducted on earthen dwellings from the Early Iron Age village of Cerro de San Vicente (Salamanca, Northern Iberia). Our study employed soil micromorphology, lipid biomarker analysis, XRD, and XRF analyses to investigate site formation processes, characterize construction materials and techniques, and explore aspects of daily life practices, functionality, and dwelling life histories. Our results have enabled the identification of three distinct construction layers within the dwellings, shedding light on recurrent events of floor use, maintenance, and repaving. Additionally, we have detected periods of abandonment and decay of the earth-based construction material that inform on the dynamics of abandonment and reuse within the village. Furthermore, our analysis has revealed the presence of well-preserved lipid biomarkers throughout the sequences, possibly associated with the past functionality of the dwellings. Ongoing and future analyses will further contribute to our understanding of ancient construction practices and the utilization of domestic spaces at Cerro de San Vicente. This study significantly enhances the limited availability of high-resolution, microcontextual data sets concerning Iron Age contexts in Iberia, underscoring the potential of our approach for future consolidation and advancement. By combining different geoarchaeological methodologies, we demonstrate the importance of integrating diverse analytical techniques to gain comprehensive insights into the socio-cultural dynamics of the Early Iron Age settlements.

Geoarchaeological Analysis of Soils and Structures of the Kurgan Shumny, Krasnodar Region

The chronosequence of soils buried under constructions of different ages at the large (h – 3.5 m, d – 74 m) kurgan Shumny in the Krasnodar Region has been studied. The kurgan was built sequentially by the people of Catacomb (XXVIII–XXII centuries BC) and Srubnaya (XV–X centuries BC) cultures, and includes five constructions, that built from the material of local soils and anthropogenic material. Each of the subsequent construction overlapped the previous one and went beyond it, covering some an additional space which allow studying a consecutive series of buried under the constructions soils. During the kurgan building (XXVIII–X centuries BC), the morphological and physicochemical properties of the soils changed: the content of organic matter and magnetic susceptibility increased, whereas the mixing up of the upper horizons by burrowing animals, the content of carbonates, and the share of exchangeable sodium in the composition of exchangeable bases decreased. The directions of these properties change in the materials of kurgan constructions, from early to late, agree with that for the soils buried below them. For the building of uneven-aged constructions of the kurgan, local soils were used, which had different properties at the time of a particular construction. Those soils occupied a significantly larger area than the kurgan, which increases the certainty of the studies. The evolution of soil properties and earth materials allow to suggest climatic trend for the period during the mound construction - atmospheric moisture increased and the mean annual temperature decreased from the Early Catacomb to Srubnaya cultures. For buried soils was carried out a palynological analysis, which, regardless of paleosol data, confirms the conclusions about climate changes. According to micromorphological observations, the Early Catacomb time can be additionally characterized as arid, which led to soil cracking and accumulation of carbonates in the upper part of soil profiles. Based on the structure and properties of mounds it is possible to identify the technology of their construction, which included compacting earthen material in dry and wet form, coarse mixing, adding of river silt, coals and bones.

Geoarchaeological Analysis of Soils and Structures of the Shumny Kurgan, Krasnodar Region

Geoarchaeological Analysis of Soils and Structures of the Shumny Kurgan, Krasnodar Region

Masters of mudbrick: Geoarchaeological analysis of Iron Age earthen public buildings at Ashdod‐Yam (Israel)

AbstractExcavations at Ashdod‐Yam exposed a fortification system that features a massive mudbrick wall with large earthen ramparts laid on either side. This fortified horseshoe‐shaped enclosure once surrounded what was likely a human‐made harbor and an adjacent acropolis with complex earthen architecture, constructed and active during Iron Age IIB–C (eighth–seventh centuries B.C.E.). These Iron Age public structures are at the center of the current research. In this paper, we present the geoarchaeological analyses of Ashdod‐Yam's earthen architecture. We applied a multidisciplinary methodology to new evidence for mudbrick manufacture with the goal of understanding the relationship between governing bodies and craftsmen. The analyses combine X‐ray fluorescence, loss on ignition, environmental scanning electron microscopy, and thin‐section petrography to investigate raw material procurement, manufacturing choices, and labor organization at Ashdod‐Yam during Iron IIB–C. Construction techniques and the standardization of the mudbrick recipe point to a local enterprise regarding the site's public earthen architecture. Furthermore, the degree of labor organization must have been closely observed and supervised by a central political power. Thus, it is argued here that construction and maintenance of the site was carried out by the kingdom of Ashdod, either as a part of its own local initiative or on behalf of the Neo‐Assyrian empire.

Exploring mudbrick architecture and its re-use in Artaxata, Armenia, during the 1st millennium BC. A multidisciplinary study of earthen architecture in the Armenian Highlands.

Mudbrick constructions are extremely common in ancient western Asia, including the 1st millennium structures of the southern Caucasus and Armenian highlands. However, in the Caucasus the geoarchaeological study of these materials to provide insight into building practices and social structure is a topic little researched, especially when focusing on the longue durée. Artashat/Artaxata (Ararat region, Armenia) was the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of the Artaxiads, founded in the eighties of the 2nd century BC, but even before this the site was occupied in the Chalcolithic period, (ca. 5200-3500 BC), Early Iron Age (ca. 1200-900 BC) and in the Urartian period (ca. 800-600 BC) as well. All the previous occupation phases showed communities that made extensive use of earthen constructions as determined during past and recent archaeological excavations. This multidisciplinary study seeks to examine mudbrick architecture as a proxy for environmental and social interactions during the 1st millennium BC combining geoarchaeology, archaeobotany and building archaeology. We analyzed changes and continuities in architectural form and practices, alongside reconstruction of technological and social processes, to identify issues of raw material procurement, attestation of re-use, and consistency of building practices. The results of the geoarchaeological analysis of the earthen building materials used in different parts of the ancient city point to a re-use of materials over time.

Earthen Architecture and Craft Practices of Early Iron Age Ramparts: Geoarchaeological Analysis of Villares de la Encarnación, South-Eastern Iberia

Abstract The use of mudbricks in Early Iron Age ramparts is an uneven feature of defensive architecture on the Iberian Peninsula. The use of mudbricks as a building material has been linked to the arrival of Levantine building traditions with the Phoenicians, and its appearance among local societies varies between the eighth and sixth centuries BC according to the public or domestic nature of the structures. In this article, we present the geoarchaeological analyses of the mudbricks used in constructing one of the defensive towers or bastions at Villares de la Encarnación (Caravaca de la Cruz, Spain). This site, endowed with two complex fortification lines and towers, is one of the main settlements for understanding the development of the Early Iron Age among the inland and mountain communities of the region. The analytical program includes wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence, CHN elemental analysis, and thin-section petrography and provides new data about soil procurement and manufacturing choices. These results highlight the technical and social complexity behind mudbrick constructions and the adoption of new earthen practices among Early Iron Age communities in order to build more imposing and elevated towers that might convey an image of the power and strength of these inland settlements.

Revealing the invisible floor: Integrated geoarchaeological analyses of ephemeral occupation surfaces at an early medieval farmhouse in upland Perthshire, Scotland

Poorly defined occupation surfaces restrict the ability to interpret the use of space in archaeological structures and settlements around the world. Integrated geoarchaeological methods, such as soil chemistry and micromorphology, can provide information about site preservation and characterise the use of archaeological space when stratigraphy is lacking but have rarely been applied in such contexts. This paper presents a comparative study of multiple geoarchaeological methods that were used to study ephemeral occupation surfaces in a 7th to 9th century AD turf longhouse in the upland settlement of Lair in Glen Shee, Perthshire, Scotland. When subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and k-means clustering, the combined data were successful in identifying activity areas and relating this to maintenance practices, the organisation of space, and post-depositional processes. Most significantly, the integrated multi-method approach demonstrated that ephemeral occupation surfaces retain surviving characteristics of the use of space, even if floors are not preserved well enough to be clearly defined in the field or in thin-section.

Bronze Age combustion structures of Italian contexts in comparison: Via Ordiere-Solarolo (Ravenna) and Mursia (Pantelleria island). Archaeological, geoarchaeological and experimental data

Recent investigations carried out by the University of Bologna at the Bronze Age sites of Via Ordiere (Solarolo – Ravenna province) and Mursia (Pantelleria) discovered several types of fire installations. The paper considers different steps of the research related to the use of fire and cooking practices in domestic contexts using the two settlements for a comparative approach. While in the first case the evidence of firing structures is poorly preserved and requires sampling for micromorphological analysis and complex analysis, the second case of Mursia, thanks to the best preservation of the archaeological deposit, allows to select and reconstruct more easily the features involved in processing and cooking food.Besides the presentation of the archaeological evidence, the research copes with the methods applied for a combination of results, including an archaeological protocol for documenting fire installations and the geoarchaeological analysis, extended to the comparison with similar features in the literature and with the ethnoarchaeological evidence. A further approach was scheduled experimenting archaeological replica of most common fire installations. Finally, we deal a general understanding of the use of fire with a concept map going in depth with the many questions arisen pointing out the interrelationships among several parts of the process involving fire installations.

Ancient Conflagration: a Reconstruction of a Middle Formative Fire at the Chiripa Mound, Bolivia

In this study, we assess competing interpretations of a burnt ceremonial structure from the terminal Middle Formative period (ca. 300–100 BCE) by analyzing the stepped platform mound at Chiripa, Bolivia, through a systematic reconstruction of the fire that destroyed it. We developed a model of potential fire pathways, their social contexts, and material indicators. Our approach contrasts incipient fires from accident or arson to planned fires initiated for functional or social ends. We assessed these pathways for the Chiripa mound fire through experimental, geoarchaeological, faunal, and botanical data. Experiments were aimed at deducing the temperature, duration, and oxidation conditions of the fire. The fire temperature and duration were approximated from geoarchaeological analyses of construction materials in comparison with controls, and thermal alteration of faunal bone. Fuels were reconstructed through paleoethnobotanical analysis of charred remains from discrete areas within the burnt structure. We conclude that an intentional fire burned the structures on the Chiripa mound to temperatures of 700 °C or higher under oxidizing conditions for several hours. The pattern of heat-altered materials recovered would have required a substantial supplemental fuel load. At the 3840 masl elevation of Chiripa, the effective control of a high temperature oxidizing fire demonstrates technical expertise in fire management. Our findings indicate the fire appears intentional, likely a ritual event. We believe the structures were burned to facilitate a socio-political change during a period of social transition at the end of the Middle Formative period in Bolivia.

3D landscape evolution reconstruction of the Magdalenian Roc-aux-Sorciers site (Vienne, France)

The Roc- aux- Sorciers site, located in the New-Aquitaine region of France, is a rock shelter which is located in the last meander of the River Anglin. Sculpted rock art is carved in Oxfordian limestone. It has been revealed through successive archaeological excavations since 1948 and attributed to the Magdalenian period through dating of the underlying archaeological levels. Before their discovery, these sculptures were buried under a few metres of clastic sediments, covering and protecting them from view and alteration. Thus, they were not visible in the landscape. The morphological setting during the occupation of the Magdalenian sculptors was thus different from today. This study focuses on the morphological context of the Roc-aux-Sorciers (rock shelters at the foot of the walls, collapse), to uncover its landscape evolution phases, particularly regarding the sedimentary filling of the site and the collapse of the rock walls. The reconstruction resulting from this study combines a geomorphological approach with archaeological results (sedimentology and radiocarbon chronology). It provides a methodological workflow based on 3D survey data acquired on natural environment and archaeological context. 3D mapping combined with geoarchaeological analysis of the site’s surroundings allows reconstruction of the morphological evolution of the site before, during and after the Magdalenian phases of human activity, and provides new elements for understanding of the modalities of evolution of the site.

Application of Phytolith (Microbiomorphic) and Non-Pollen Palynomorph Analyses to the Geoarchaeological Study of the Graft Farmyard, the Netherlands

The aim of the present paper is to discuss the application of phytolith (microbiomorphic) and non-pollen palynomorph (NPP) analyses to the geoarchaeological study of a Medieval – Early Modern Time period farmyard in Graft, a settlement located in the polder region of North Holland, the Netherlands. The authors have assessed the potential of the methods chosen for studying this type of archaeological site during rescue excavations, when archaeologists often have a limited number of samples or methods for geoarchaeological analysis. The studies conducted have proved the informative value and effectiveness of microbiomorphic and NPP analyses in rescue excavations, especially when applied in combination, thus providing controlling and complementary information for each analysis. The data obtained have provided an important insight into the archaeological interpretation of the cultural layer within the farmyard. In addition, more information was gained on the local palaeoenvironmental dynamics and the phases of economic activity at the farmyard during the 13th–17th centuries CE.

The Urban Biography of a Mauritanian City: Microstratigraphic Analysis of the Eastern Quarter of Tamuda (Morocco)

The lack of vertical stratigraphic sondages and open area excavations constitutes a challenge to understanding Mauritanian urbanism. This makes the characterization of the spatio-temporal evolution of Mauritanian towns a difficult task. Systematic excavations carried out in Tamuda by several research teams in the twentieth century provided vertical and horizontal views of Mauritanian urbanism. Our study offers, for the first time, a high-resolution geoarchaeological analysis of Tamuda’s urban sequence (third through first century BC). The microfacies analysis, by means of micromorphology and µ-XRF of Spaces E18 and E20 of the Eastern Quarter revealed a complex interaction of deposits and site formation processes that resulted from changes in everyday urban life. In this respect, the overlap of different construction phases and the alternation of episodes of active use and abandonment is highly significant. This study examines the functional characterization of urban spaces, including the identification of midden activities, a roasting pit, and a milling site (possibly) linked to fish flour production. These activities leave traces on beaten floors and occupation surfaces, and several features indicate abandonment periods between short-term occupations. The result is a complex urban biography of this Mauritanian town, in which human occupation was not constant over time.

Landscape change and settlement dynamics in Prehistory and Late Antiquity in the Firuzabad plain (South Fars, Iran); a preliminary consideration

The Firuzabad Plain in south Fars (Iran) is well known due to the circular city of Ardashir-Xurra, the first Sasanian (220 – 651 CE) capital, built by Ardashir Papakan around 220 CE, but its landscape evolution is not. Firuzabad is a relatively large and well-watered intermediate plain in the Zagros folded belt, about 80 km south of Shiraz. The archaeological record suggests a thin and sporadic prehistoric occupation compared to a dense and planned occupation with extensive land use in Later Antiquity. Historical accounts suggest a drastic and anthropogenically triggered landscape change in the third century CE, during the city’s foundation, including draining the swamps and changing the course of the main river to make the supposedly unhabitable wetlands of Firuzabad into a flourishing plain with a perfectly planned circular city.Such large-scale projects are known from other areas as part of the early Sasanian Iranshahr concept and have been historically discussed. However, their proposed landscape change has never been investigated using interdisciplinary methods to support or falsify this narrative. Therefore, the Firuzabad Plain has been subjected to a recent interdisciplinary project to comprehend its landscape evolution from Prehistory to Late Antiquity and address this issue with geoarchaeological data.This paper reports the preliminary results of this project and discusses future steps to address the proposed wetlands of Firuzabad. The authors present the area in geomorphological and archaeological terms and elaborate on geoarchaeological analyses, including surface and sub-surface soil and sediment texture, organic matter, slope, and elevation of the plain, as well as integrated archaeological and historical investigation. Based on these results, the landscape of Firuzabad seems to have changed from its original state of a heterogeneous, poorly drained, and highly eroded plain in Prehistory into a mosaic of well-planned and extensively used anthropogenic landscapes in Late Antiquity. Independent comparisons with regional paleoenvironmental records support those interpretations. This is considered a case study for investigating long-term human-environment interaction within the framework of Niche Construction Theory in the archaeology of the Ancient Near East.

Life before Stonehenge: The hunter-gatherer occupation and environment of Blick Mead revealed by sedaDNA, pollen and spores.

The Neolithic and Bronze Age construction and habitation of the Stonehenge Landscape has been extensively explored in previous research. However, little is known about the scale of pre-Neolithic activity and the extent to which the later monumental complex occupied an 'empty' landscape. There has been a long-running debate as to whether the monumental archaeology of Stonehenge was created in an uninhabited forested landscape or whether it was constructed in an already partly open area of pre-existing significance to late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. This is of significance to a global discussion about the relationship between incoming farmers and indigenous hunter-gatherer societies that is highly relevant to both Old and New World archaeology. Here we present the results of plant sedaDNA, palynological and geoarchaeological analysis at the Late hunter-gatherer site complex of Blick Mead at the junction of the drylands of Salisbury Plain and the floodplain of the River Avon, on the edge of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. The findings are placed within a chronological framework built on OSL, radiocarbon and relative archaeological dating. We show that Blick Mead existed in a clearing in deciduous woodland, exploited by aurochsen, deer and hunter-gatherers for approximately 4000 years. Given its rich archaeology and longevity this strongly supports the arguments of continuity between the Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers activity and Neolithic monument builders, and more specifically that this was a partially open environment important to both groups. This study also demonstrates that sediments from low-energy floodplains can provide suitable samples for successful environmental assaying using sedaDNA, provided they are supported by secure dating and complementary environmental proxies.

Geoarchaeology and Heritage Management: Identifying and Quantifying Multi-Scalar Erosional Processes at Kisese II Rockshelter, Tanzania

Natural and anthropogenically induced soil erosion can cause serious loss of the archaeological record. Our work shows the value of multi-scalar geoarchaeological study when excavating and re-excavating rockshelters in a highly dynamic sedimentary environment where erosion is prominent. Here we present our work on Kisese II rockshelter, Tanzania, originally excavated in the 1950s and largely unpublished, that preserves an important Pleistocene-Holocene archaeological record integral to understanding the deep history of the Kondoa Rock-Art World Heritage Center. Unlike rockshelters in quiescent tectonic settings, like much of central Europe or South Africa, Kisese II exists in highly dynamic sedimentary environments associated with the active tectonics of the Great Rift Valley system exacerbated by human-induced environmental and climate change. We report on our 2017 and 2019 exploratory research that includes integrated regional-, landscape-, and site-scale geoarchaeological analyses of past and present sedimentary regimes and micromorphological analyses of the archaeological sediments. Historical records and aerial photographs document extensive changes in vegetation cover and erosional regimes since the 1920s, with drastic changes quantified between 1960 and 2019. Field survey points to an increased erosion rate between 2017 and 2019. To serve future archaeologists, heritage specialists, and local populations we combine our data in a geoarchaeological catena that includes soil, vegetation, fauna, and anthropogenic features on the landscape. At the site, micromorphological coupled with chronological analyses demonstrate the preservation of in situ Pleistocene deposits. Comparison of photographs from the 1956 and 2019 excavations show a maximum sediment loss of 68 cm in 63 years or >10% of >6-m-thick sedimentary deposit. In the studied area of the rockshelter we estimate ~1 cm/yr of erosion, suggesting the ongoing removal of much of the higher archaeological sediments which, based on the coarse stratigraphic controls and chronology of the original Inskeep excavations, would suggest the loss of much of the archaeological record of the last ~4000 years. These multi-scalar data are essential for the construction of appropriate mitigation strategies and further study of the remaining stratigraphy.