Iron Age Settlement Research Articles

The First Data of Strontium Isotopic Composition of Osteological Material from Late Bronze to Early Iron Age Settlements in the Crimea Region

The First Data of Strontium Isotopic Composition of Osteological Material from Late Bronze to Early Iron Age Settlements in the Crimea Region

The case of a mass death of livestock in the Early Iron Age in the steppe zone of Kazakhstan

A mass burial of complete and almost complete cattle and small ruminant skeletons found in a pit within the Early Iron Age settlement of Abylai in Central Kazakhstan (49°15'N, 75°07'E) has been studied. The results of archaeological research and archeozoological contexts have shown that the animals’ burial was a single event. The aim of the work was to determine the reasons for the formation of this accumu-lation. The analysis of skeletal element composition, animal age composition, and the season of their death has been performed. A com-parison of species composition, skeletal element composition, age composition, season of animals’ death and taphonomic features be-tween samples from the pit and the cultural layer of the settlement has been made. Significant differences between these samples have been revealed. The animals from the settlement layer were slaughtered during late autumn-winter, while animals from the pit died in early spring. The bones from the pit were almost all intact, while those from the settlement layer had characteristics typical of household waste. Bones from the “layer” have significantly more postmortem modifications than those from the “pit”. The age composition and the skeleton parts ratio between the samples are different. The analysis of the obtained data shows that in the beginning of spring 89 small ruminant and 6 cattle individuals were buried in the pit in a short period of time. According to ethnographic data, this could possibly be interpreted as the burial of animals who died as a result of spring jute. In the steppe zone of Eurasia, jute is the most frequent extreme event leading to mass death of ungulates. Jutes can happen in summer, when grass burns out with drought. But the most large-scale and frequent are winter jutes, when, due to catastrophic snowfalls, grass becomes inaccessible to animals, and spring jutes, when frosts come after a thaw. During jute, many animals die from starvation in a short time. Small ruminants are the most vulnerable because they are the least adapted to breaking ice crusts with their hooves. Cattle are less vulnerable, and even less so are horses. The following archaeological situation has been observed: all animals died in early spring; many of them were buried in a short time; the remains of small ruminants prevail, there are few cattle and no horses; most animals were probably skinned. This picture is most consistent with the burial of animals killed by jute. As an alternative hypothesis, a sacrificial nature of death of the animals has been considered. However, the combination of characteristics of the archaeological and archeozoological contexts of pit filling allows us to reject the latter hypothesis.

Hallstatt Period Rectangular Farmsteads in the Old Bavarian Loess Landscape: The Hascherkeller Site Revisited

Abstract In the occasionally lively debate about the social structure of the Central European Early Iron Age, the Herrenhof as the presumed seat of a high-status farmer now also plays a role. A rectangular farmstead of this type is the famous Hascherkeller site on the northern outskirts of Landshut. The first magnetic prospection ever conducted at such an archaeological structure was carried out here in 1978. The site became widely known for its distinctive complex appearance and the excavations undertaken there between 1978 and 1981 by Peter S. Wells, then assistant curator of European archaeology at the Peabody Museum of Harvard University. After four decades, an opportunity arose to resume excavations in areas not explored at the time and bring them to a conclusion. The most important result of the recent field work, which was completed in 2022, is the stratigraphic disentanglement of the numerous ditches. The loess terrace, most likely, was initially divided by a ditch running across the terrain. This separating landscape feature may have been contemporaneous with the palisaded farmstead on the eastern edge of the study area. Later, the two rectangular ditched enclosures were constructed, probably the eastern one first. In another, more recent phase, they were joined together by connecting ditches to form a larger settlement complex. Already during the investigation, it was revealed that the middle one of the once assumed three rectangular farmsteads had never existed. In addition, about 200 m further to the southwest, a similar double enclosure was discovered. Here, too, two rectangular enclosures were apparently joined by connecting ditches to form a larger settlement area in a more recent phase. About 5 km to the northeast, in the area of the hamlet Holzen not far from Altheim, a group of unconnected rectangular farmsteads dating from the Hallstatt period has recently been magnetically surveyed. These are characterised by a larger number of long, narrow pits indicating former house sites. The following remarks focus on the latest excavation results and the role of the type of habitation known as Herrenhof in the Early Iron Age settlement system.

Evolutionary model and palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the La Codera archaeological complex (Ebro Basin, NE Spain)

La Codera archaeological site is one of the most important settlements from the 1st Iron Age in the Ebro valley, dated between ca. 800 795 and ca. 460 cal. BC. The archaeological area also includes other later settlements. We analyzed the geomorphological context of the area by conducting a geoarchaeological survey and sampling. We also completed the evolutionary framework of the settlement, including paleoenvironmental information. Four slope stages (S1–S4) were identified, some of them related to fluvial terraces. Stages S4 and S3 are two old residual slopes dated to the Pleistocene, without evidence of human occupation. Older features related to human occupations are charcoals dated to Chalcolithic times from T2 terraces of La Codera stream. Slope S2 contains archaeological remains from the 1st Iron and Bronze Ages. Therefore, La Codera and its slopes were occupied during the Bronze Age, before Iron Age settlements. Slope S2 formation corresponds to the stable environmental stage known as the Iron Age Cold Epoch, or 2.8 Bond Event, also identified in many areas of the Ebro Depression. This period was followed by an erosive stage after the Roman Epoch (possibly during the 1.4 Bond Event). Later, a new slope (S1) formed, together with a new terrace (T1). This slope includes walls and ceramics from Iberian, Roman, and Medieval times toward the northeast of the settlement. These features make it possible to infer that this last accumulation formed during the cold stages of the LIA.

The production of a glass toggle

A glass toggle was found among the ashes of a domestic hearth during the excavation of an unenclosed Iron Age settlement at Kilninian, Isle of Mull, Argyll, Scotland. The hearth was radiocarbon dated to 168 cal bc–cal ad 3 (SUERC-46765). The toggle was covered with a black residue that was stuck to its surface and it looked hastily made, using low-quality aqua cullet. Chemical analyses, using LA-ICP-MS, indicate the glass used was a natron-based glass. The trace element composition suggested the glass was produced in the east Mediterranean area using coastal sands and had subsequently been recycled. The morphological examination using extended depth of field microscopy and micro-computed tomography revealed the toggle was shaped at low temperatures using contaminated glass. The black sooty residue found on the surface of the toggle was found to extend within the toggle and was fused with the object. This could only have happened during manufacture, when the glass was still hot enough to be malleable and stick to the contamination. The uncleaned residues on the surface and the presence of the unpolished pontil scar suggest the toggle may have fallen in the hearth during manufacture and was lost to its maker. Analyses of other glass toggles found in Scotland and Ireland confirmed that natron-based glass had also been used and the toggles were made in the same way as that from Kilninian.
 Canmore ID 148437

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.

Neolithic and Early Iron Age Settlements of Mount Kilimanjaro’s Southern Slopes

Abstract Some received theories argue that the modern Chagga people of Mount Kilimanjaro are recent immigrants; however the findings assembled here suggest otherwise. Archaeological surveys and excavations conducted on the southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro have revealed sites of the Early Iron Age (E.I.A.) and the Neolithic period. Thus archaeological analyses demonstrate that the Chagga, as Bantu speakers, are of cultural and genetic affiliation to E.I.A. and the Neolithic people, as has been found in many other parts of East Africa. The ceramic findings detailed here indicate that modern Chagga people living on these sites share a cultural continuity and genetic affinity with human settlements on Kilimanjaro established in prehistory.

Типология и генезис циркульных знаков петроглифов Кайракколь и Аксу

Петроглифы Кайракколь и Аксу входят в группу памятников археологического комплекса Таусамалы, расположенного в Аксуском районе Жетысуской области. В составе комплекса зафиксированы три могильника и поселение раннего железного века, одиночные и небольшие группы курганов, которые предварительно датированы эпохой Средневековья, и скопления разновременных петроглифов. Памятники занимают территорию от окраин поселка Таусамалы и восточных склонов гор Каракунгей довосточной оконечности плато Суук в горах Кайракколь. Исследование комплекса началось в 2019 году с аварийных раскопок сотрудниками ТОО «Археологическая экспедиция» на кургане, содержащем погребение пазырыкского типа, впоследствии включенном в состав крупного могильника Таусамалы. Уникальные материалы, полученные в ходе этой работы, позволили продолжить изучение памятника.С 2020 года ТОО «Археологическая экспедиция» и Жетысуское областное управление по охране и использованию историко-культурного наследия проводят совместные и планомерные исследования на вновь обнаруженном могильнике и в его окрестностях. В 2022 году на археологическом комплексе приступил к работе таусамальский отряд Института археологии им. А.Х. Маргулана. В результате проведенной археологической разведки выявлены новые памятники, скопления петроглифов, среди которых отмечается коллекция циркульных знаков. Полученные в 2022 году данные позволили успешно выполнить первоначальную попытку их систематизации. Публикуемая коллекция включает 25 циркульных знаков с пяти крупных скоплений петроглифов. В работе учтены характеристики как самих изображений, так и их пространственное и топографическое положение. На основе выделенных параметров построена первичная типология и осуществлена попытка анализа генезиса циркульных изображений. Составлены визуализированные комбинации исходных и производных групп изображений. В результате проведенного исследования знаки разделены на два основных вида — собственно циркульные и очковидные наскальные изображения. Каждый вид изображений с учетом фиксируемых характеристик разбит на три группы. В список выделенных циркульных знаков входят изображения зам

Multi-proxy analysis of starchy plant consumption: a case study of pottery food crusts from a Late Iron Age settlement at Pada, northeast Estonia

Multi-proxy analysis of starchy plant consumption: a case study of pottery food crusts from a Late Iron Age settlement at Pada, northeast Estonia

Furnaces, hearths, rituals, and construction: investigating the utilisation of woody plant species at the Early Iron Age site of Ndondondwane by means of identifying archaeological charcoal

Ndondondwane, an Early Iron Age settlement situated on the banks of the Thukela River, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, provides a unique record of a single, short-term occupation (c. 1300 to 1200 years ago). Several areas associated with different activities had been previously excavated and analysed, yielding various scenarios for the cultural and social organisation of the settlement. Three phases of occupation or cultural horizons have been identified and this paper largely explores the charcoal assemblage from the middle cultural horizon, during the settlement’s maximum extent of occupation. Charcoal was analysed from the central part of the site, represented by a livestock byre (kraal), a meeting place, and a craft production area; as well as the peripheral areas including three domestic middens and a charcoal preparation area. Archaeological charcoal specimens were examined using reflective light microscopy to observe the characteristic anatomical features needed to determine the taxonomic group they represent and subsequently identified by direct comparison with a modern charcoal reference collection and published archaeological charcoal studies. Charcoal was identified as belonging to 15 families, 23 genera, and 29 species of trees with known fuel, construction, and medicinal uses. There was a preference for wood previously known as Acacia*, indicating that this genus was readily available and prolific in the surrounds of the site. Ndondondwane has been extensively investigated in terms of the archaeology, and this together with the anthracology data provides further insight into Early Iron Age settlement location-specific activities, cultural practices, and reasons for abandonment.

Montane Ecoclines in Ancient Central Asia: A Preliminary Study of Agropastoral Economies in Juuku, Kyrgyzstan

In this paper, we use preliminary archaeological data spanning the Iron Age through Medieval periods (ca. 800 BCE to 1200 CE) in the Juuku Valley on the south side of Lake Issyk-Kul to model land use across vertical mountain zones. We have (1) established a radiometric chronology; (2) conducted test excavations of an Iron Age settlement at 2100 m asl and a Turkic period burial at 1934 m asl; (3) undertaken preliminary archaeobotanical research; and (4) performed pedestrian surveys. Seed remains of wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), broomcorn millet (Panicum milaceum) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica), and legumes were recovered in very small quantities from both sites. We compare these preliminary archaeobotanical results with previously published data from the Talgar Iron Age settlements on the north side of the Tian Shan Mountain range in Kazakhstan. A small assemblage of faunal remains found at the Turkic period kurgan and from a profile at the upland Iron Age settlement demonstrates the practice of herding sheep/goats, cattle, and horses in the Juuku Valley. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that pastoral transhumance and agropastoralism were interchangeable economic strategies used by peoples in the Iron Age through Medieval periods in mountain-river valleys between 600 m to 2100 m asl. These economic strategies combined the pasturing of sheep, goats, cattle, and horses with the cultivation of cereals were adapted to different vegetational zones along a vertical gradient. This paper is based on preliminary research of upland sites of the Juuku Valley in Kyrgyzstan, and initiates a long-term research study of four millennia of settlements that ranged from pastoral transhumance and combined mountain agriculture using survey data and test excavations.

VETTONIA PROJECT: A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR THE EDUCATIONAL DISSEMINATION OF THE IRON AGE

Abstract. The VETTONIA project aims to disseminate the rich heritage from the Iron Age of the western Iberian Peninsula and the archaeological investigations carried out on this topic in recent years. The project utilizes new technologies such as virtual tours, 3D models, and impressions to create interactive and stimulating ways to access the results of the most recent archaeological research. Using these resources, lectures and seminars are being given in various forums with diverse types of audiences to present the virtual tours and the rest of the dissemination initiatives. In addition, the project presents its different initiatives during the annual archaeological interventions developed in the oppidum of Ulaca (Solosancho, Ávila, Spain), with good reception by the attending public. The VETTONIA project represents a pioneering dissemination experience that takes advantage of the educational opportunities offered by new technologies. In the future, tools such as virtual tours to archaeological sites may prove essential in classroom teaching at different levels and could promote sustainable tourism in fragile natural environments such as those that constitute the major settlements of the Late Iron Age (ca. 400–50 BC).

Керамические звери лесных городищ: игры взрослых с богами или детские игрушки?

The authors believe that the clay zoomorphic plastic figurines from the Early Iron Age settlements of the forest zone (the areas of the Yukhnovskaya, Milogradskaya, Verkhneokskaya and Dyakovskaya cultures) are not votive elements of agrarian cults but children’s toys. These toys as well as miniature vessels, ceramic models of things, clay loaves could be made by children themselves while learning the process of ceramic production. The use of images of wild animals especially predators and toads in agrarian rituals is doubtful. The dominance of horse images in the Milograd-Yukhnovo area seems to be an Indo-European trait associated with mythology and not with farming. In the area of the Dyakovskaya culture with developed horse breeding, attributed to the Finno-Ugric antiquities, there are clay figurines of animals except horses. Profane toys can carry sacred images since myth and fairy tale are closely connected with each other and a toy for a child has many faces and can situationally play the role of a mythical character, a fairy-tale hero, a usual domestic animal. Some figurines become votive objects at the final stage of existence. Toys were sacrificed during initiation into adulthood as in ancient Greece and Rome. Fragments of figurines in ashtrays formed during the annual ritual and sanitary burning of winter straw bedding from houses and stables are often taken as sacrifices. Household garbage trapped in a “cleansing” bonfire is not a meaningful sacrifice.

Iron Age and Roman Settlement at Land North of Newmarket Lane, Methley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Excavations to the southwest of Methley on a site to the north of the River Calder recorded an Iron Age settlement with possible Bronze Age origins, where a small community inhabited at least three phases of roundhouse within a large polygonal enclosure on the top of a hill overlooking the surrounding landscape. This was followed by Romano-British occupation during the mid to late second century AD and the mid third to early fifth century AD further to the south on the hill slope.

Iron Age Settlement at Broomfield Farm, Stainsacre Lane, Whitby, North Yorkshire

Archaeological excavations west of Broomfield Farm, Whitby, and subsequent radiocarbon dating have provided evidence of a mid-Iron Age settlement comprising up to seven roundhouses. Evidence from the roundhouses, including pottery, suggests the settlement was primarily agricultural with evidence of metal working also present. The settlement has similarities to a Late Iron Age settlement identified in 1999, 500 m to the northwest, and provides firm evidence of prehistoric activity around Whitby which until now has been elusive. A later system of enclosure overlay the settlement.

DETERMINING THE OPTIMAL SETTLEMENT LOCATING OF ANCIENT SITES USING TOPSIS MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MODEL: A CASE STUDY: ESTABLISHMENTS IN MOUNTAINOUS AREAS OF NORTH KHORASAN, NORTHEAST IRAN

Human settlements emerged based on natural factors such as adequate water resources and suitable and fertile soil. Other factors such as altitude, slope, and slope direction, the distance to permanent water sources, and communication paths are natural substrates that affect the distribution of human settlements, some of which have a more influential role in the formation and survival of life. This study aims to investigate the status of the Iron Age settlement in the Atrak River Basin. To achieve the objectives of the research and hierarchical analysis of Iron Age sites, seven natural variables, including altitude, slope, slope direction, landing, soil type, distance to rivers, and communication routes that have been effective in establishing settlements, have been selected and by using the statistical methods in the GIS, the TOPSIS hierarchical analysis process, and Excel, and they finally been studied. In terms of statistical analysis, the distance from river, Landuse and the distance to communication routes have been assigned the most ideal values. The slope degree, above sea level and Slope Direction have the lowest ideal value, respectively. Based on this, the IAMA60 site ranked first, the IAMA49 site ranked second, and the IAMA18 site ranked third in terms of natural indicators. In the lowest rank, IAMA25, IAMA35, and IAMA56 sites are located. In addition to these, the rest of the sites are considered relatively privileged areas.

Phoenician Pottery in the Western Mediterranean: A New Perspective Based on the Early Iron Age (800–550 BC) Settlement of Sant Jaume (Alcanar, Catalonia)

One of the most important reception sites for Phoenician pottery imports in the NE Iberian Peninsula is the Early Iron Age (800–550 BC) settlement of Sant Jaume. This site is exceptional in terms of preservation and the large number of complete vessels recovered. Moreover, the ceramic assemblage comprises one of the best collections of the earliest wheel-thrown pottery that is considered evidence of trade from the western Phoenician colonies and their specific interest in exploiting metallurgical resources. In this research, a sample of 58 individuals of wheel-thrown pottery has been analysed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), petrography (PE), and scanning electron microscopy attached with an energy dispersive X-ray unit (SEM-EDX). It was possible to identify 29 ceramic groups, some of which correspond to known Phoenician workshops of southern Andalusia and Ibiza, though the origin of most groups remains to be determined. The wide variety of sources identified illuminates the patterns of trade and exchange that the Phoenicians developed during the Early Iron Age and the export of their manufactured products. This information is fundamental to our understanding of the economic system developed by the Western Mediterranean Phoenician colonies that affected and transformed indigenous communities in the Mediterranean region.

Hoofprints in the sand: A study on domestic sheep (Ovis aries) from Iron Age southern Phoenicia using traditional biometric methods

The majority of research to date on the translocation of livestock in the premodern (before 1500 CE) Mediterranean Basin has focused on expansive movements out from geographic origins of domestication or from colonizer-to-colonized territories. Fewer zooarchaeological studies have investigated the lateral trajectories of distinct varieties of domesticated animals around the post-Neolithic eastern Mediterranean, partially due to the difficulty in detecting intra-species variation osteologically. The research conducted in the present study sought to improve understanding of the human-mediated mobility of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) from Iron Age settlements in the southern Levant. Variability in body size and a greater variety of morphotypes were expected from coastal flocks in southern Phoenicia in comparison to inland herds, possibly due to the dynamic influence of maritime trade. Biometric data analysis of zooarchaeological materials using log size index and astragalar dimension index methods revealed evidence for the possible optimization of coastal sheep for wool production and a potential introduction event in the Persian period. The Aegean region could be a source for this introduction; however, further research is needed to specify the geographic origin of this phenomenon.

Cultivating Villa Economies: Archaeobotanical and Isotopic Evidence for Iron Age to Roman Agricultural Practices on the Chalk Downlands of Southern Britain

Agricultural practices are key for understanding socio-economic change, community organization, and relationships with landscape and the environment. Under the Roman Empire, cereals were vital for supplying urban and military populations, yet cereal husbandry practices within villa landscapes remain underexplored. In this article, the author applies new methods to analyse a large assemblage of charred plant remains from an area of chalk downland in central-southern England in order to evaluate changes in cereal production strategies over the Middle Iron Age to late Roman periods. Archaeobotany, carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, and functional weed ecology are combined to reconstruct crop husbandry practices, in order to establish the cereal production system of Roman villas and the preceding Iron Age settlements, and to consider the environmental and socio-economic impact of cereal production systems.

“Animal-Style Art,” and Special Finds at Iron Age Settlements in Southeastern Kazakhstan: Chronology, Trade, and Networks during the Iron Age

Two Iron Age settlements, Tuzusai and Taldy Bulak 2 (ca. 500 BC to 1 CE), located in southeastern Kazakhstan on the Talgar alluvial fan north of the Tian Shan range, have yielded a small collection of bone, antler/horn, bronze, and stone artifacts with an affinity to the nomadic art of the first millennium BC. Both settlements date within the period of late Saka culture. Two pieces have decorative ornamentations with zoomorphic imagery: a small carved fragment with carved images of a wing and an ear and a perforated bone disk with the carving of three birds’ heads. The other artifacts include objects associated with Saka weaponry or nomadic economy, such as two horn psalias (cheek pieces) and a bronze amulet. A carnelian bead will also be described as an imported object. These special finds were found on the occupation floors of mud brick houses and in the pit houses of settlements, not in grave or burial contexts. The objects were placed in a stratigraphic sequence in the settlement sites. The method for placing these objects within the chronological framework of “animal-style art” is through comparisons with similar objects found throughout Eurasia—a method used in Soviet and post-Soviet archaeology. The results show that the functional and stylistic elements of the six objects indicate that the Talgar settlements were part of a larger world-system of trade and communication along the early Silk Route(s).