Late Iron Research Articles

Cultural coherence of architecture in Greater Khorasan from Bactria to South Khorasan in Iran during the Late Iron Age/Achaemenid period

AbstractTappe Takhchar-Abad, near Birjand in south Khorasan, is a recently discovered and excavated almost circular adobe building with six towers, dating to the Achaemenid period. This article suggests that the architectural tradition of circular buildings and sites in the late Iron Age/Achaemenid period, in Greater Khorasan, apparently originated from Bactria in which most such sites have been reported.

Antlers far and wide: Biomolecular identification of Scandinavian hair combs from Ribe, Denmark, 720–900 CE

We used biomolecular methods to identify the faunal species present in hair combs and associated workshop debris discovered at the site Posthustorvet in the trading town of Ribe, Denmark, in contexts dated 720–900 CE. The finds included four unusual combs that have an uncommon but geographically characteristic ‘Scandinavian-type’ style, crafted from deer antler, and found in contexts 720–740 CE. They were identified as moose (Alces alces) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) using a combination of peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS) and ancient DNA analysis. Our study provides the first confirmed use of moose antler combs in Denmark in the Late Iron Age/Viking Age. Neither moose or reindeer occurred naturally at that time in Denmark, and their closest habitats in the eighth century were on the Scandinavian Peninsula. Based on mitochondrial DNA, the comb identified as moose belonged to the western European mitogenome group, which has been identified in contemporary samples from Scandinavia and Poland, and in one early Holocene sample from Germany. Comparison with other comb finds and extensive workshop debris from the Posthustorvet site reflect a range of different comb-types and raw materials. Our ZooMS and DNA findings, in the context of the absence of associated workshop debris of moose or reindeer during the early phases of the site, support that the four early ‘Scandinavian-type’ combs were brought to the site as finished items by travellers. Our results confirm that visitors from the Scandinavian Peninsula were present in Ribe, a place of trade at the southern edge of the North Sea, in the early eighth century, half a century before the maritime expansion of the Viking Age.

Fortified Communities in the South Caucasus: Insights from Mtsvane Gora and Dmanisis Gora

ABSTRACT Fortresses are defining features of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age landscape in the South Caucasus, with hundreds of sites recorded in archaeological surveys in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and northeastern Turkey. Yet, research on how these communities functioned is dominated by evidence from the small fraction of these sites that have been excavated, and regional variability remains underexplored. This paper discusses excavations at two such fortresses in the Lesser Caucasus borderlands and contextualizes them within global discussions about fortresses and their associated communities. Analysis of architecture, ceramics, and small finds identified evidence for a diverse range of activities within these compounds, including both craft production and ritual activity. While the size and construction of the two fortresses differ, the evidence for significant occupation at both suggests that these fortresses were durable communities, not temporary refugia. Further work is necessary, however, to assess whether these fortresses were highly ordered institutions centralized under elite rule or heterarchical communities joined by common interest.

Collection of Ceramics from the Excavations of V.A. Mogilnikov in the Krasnogorsk District of the Altai Territory (Based on the Materials of the Altai State Museum of Local Lore)

The article deals with ceramic collections from the Altai State Museum of Local Lore (ASMLL), obtained during the research of Vladislav A. Mogilnikov in Krasnogorsk district of the Altai Region. To date the museum collection holds from three sites related to the field work of the archaeologist: Gornal (Gernal) [ASMLL MC (Main Collection) 13187/1-2], Surtayka [ASMLL MC 13187/3-25] and Pilno [ASMLL MC 14788/1-27]. Judging by the decoration and ornamentation of tableware, the materials of the first monument are associated with the Irmenian culture (12th-8th cc. BC). The other two sites relate to the Bystryan culture of the northern foothills of the Altai Scythian-Saka period (6th-3rd (2nd) centuries BC). The collections presented in the article expand the range of sources on the history of the region in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. The results of V.A. Mogilnikov's little-studied fieldwork in Altai are one of the results of this work. In this regard, the continuation of research to introduce into scientific circulation of new materials related to the activities of the archaeologist in the territory under study has certain prospects.

The Nature and Dynamics of Pre-Roman Iron Age and Roman Iron Age Reclamation Settlements in the (Former) Peat and Clay-On-Peat Area of Friesland (The Netherlands)

ABSTRACT Recent research into Pre-Roman Iron Age and Roman Iron Age peat reclamations in Friesland has made clear that the margins of the peat area were intensively inhabited during both periods. This same research also provided insights into the local environmental circumstances under which the settlements were founded, the shapes these settlements took, and the way they functioned in a changing landscape. Although growing problems with peat subsidence, which increased the local water table, eventually forced the settlers to leave their settlements and settle on newly reclaimed peat land, this did not necessarily mean the end for the old sites. The old reclamations silted up, which raised the land surface and reversed the effect of the subsidence, thereby, in time, making the old reclamations once again attractive for habitation. In the Late Roman Iron Age all reclaimed areas were abandoned, as were most of the salt marshes.

Grave Monuments in South–Eastern End of the South Caucasus: Late Bronze – Early Iron Age Kurgans

The article deals with the results of the Late Bronze – Early Iron Age kurgans built in the foothills of the Talysh Mountains at the south-eastern end of the South Caucasus. Saribulag kurgans are located in Alar village of Yardimly district, on the pasture of the same name at an altitude of 2000 m above sea level. These grave monuments are very important in terms of studying the burial customs of the Late Bronze – Early Iron Age communities. Comparative analysis shows that such archaeological patterns are well known from the monuments of contemporary archaeological culture sites of the South Caucasus. When comparing the findings revealed during the excavations and the typology of graves with parallel samples in different regions of Azerbaijan and outside the Caucasus, the Saribulag kurgans can be attributed to the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age.

A multi-proxy Holocene palaeoenvironmental record of climate change and prehistoric human activity from Lough Cullin, southeast Ireland

A multiproxy (pollen, microcharcoal, loss-on-ignition, magnetic susceptibility and geochemistry) sequence from Lough Cullin, southeast Ireland, supported by a high-resolution radiocarbon chronology, modelled using Bayesian approaches, provides a record of environmental change for much of the Holocene. Following the establishment of mixed deciduous woodland, climatic deterioration was likely responsible for pronounced vegetation change and erosion, 7615–6500 cal. BC to 6245–5575 cal. BC, evidence for the ‘8.2 Kyr’ BP climate event. The so-called ‘elm decline’ is dated to 4220–3980 cal. BC and whilst there are possible indications of an anthropogenic cause, clear evidence of woodland clearance with cereal pollen is recorded at 3900–3700 cal. BC, 3790–3580 cal. BC and 3760–3650 cal. BC, during a period of clearance and farming of 320–450 years duration. A reduction in farming/settlement and woodland regeneration during the Middle Neolithic parallels the archaeological record, with low levels of activity during the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic after 2960–2525 cal. BC, prior to increases during the Bronze Age then woodland clearance and agriculture between 1500–1410 and 1275–1000 cal. BC, corresponding with the archaeological evidence. A subsequent ‘step-wise’ reduction in human activity follows, from the latter date to 815–685 cal. BC, and a brief but pronounced cessation at 690–535 cal. BC. Renewed woodland clearance and agriculture commenced until 415–250 cal. BC. From the latter date until cal. AD 390–540, the Late Iron Age/Early Medieval period, a phase of woodland recovery is attested, followed by renewed landscape disturbance and arable agriculture in particular, continuing to the close of the record at cal. AD 780–1035.

A Comment on the Circulation of Lead in the Levant During the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages

A Comment on the Circulation of Lead in the Levant During the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages

Arkeologi mellom oppdagelse og glemsel Forståelse av et funn i en sprekk i virkeligheten

Archaeology between discovery and forgettingThe article examines an unexpected discovery of human skeletons in a hidden cave in Bølekointa at Bøle in Flatanger in mid-Norway, and focuses on how a discovery becomes archaeology, and the lifespan of archaeological finds from discovery to our oblivion. Does an archaeological find always end up as archaeology, and what is the end of an archaeological find?While climbing a gorge in a mountain at Bøle in April 1987, an auxiliary teacher at Drageid School Camp discovered the entrance to a large cave. Lacking a torch, he fumbled his way in the darkness and literally stumbled upon a human skeleton crouched by a campfire. Contrary to the view of every archaeologist concerned, the discovery was not treated as an archaeological find. The remains were in such good condition that the police launched an investigation into what they assumed was a murder case. Two human skeletons, showing signs of violent death, were removed for forensic examination. German prison records from World War II archives led historians to identify the two men as escaped Russian prisoners of war, a theory confirmed by local people. Archaeologists nevertheless insisted on a radiocarbon analysis, which dated the find to the Late Roman Iron Age and Migration period.
 The establishment of the find as prehistoric also marked the end of archaeological research into the discovery, and the material was stored away for 17 years. The sudden bloom of interest in1987 withered to nothing. In an attempt to bring the skeletons out of the cupboard: how do we neglect, and forget, our discoveries and the things we find?

Late Mesolithic, Middle Bronze Age and Late Iron Age/romano-british Activity at Crowdhill, Fair Oak, Eastleigh

Nine areas, totalling 1.3ha were excavated after evaluation and desk-based assessment at land near Crowdhill, Eastleigh (NGR 448830 119560). Features were densest in Areas 1 and 2, with evidence dating from the Palaeolithic to the early Romano- British period. Three pieces of flint from a Long Blade assemblage were recovered, probably from a small localised scatter. A core tool rough-out, probably for a Mesolithic tranchet axe, was found in a pit with charred hazelnut shells from which two radiocarbon dates were obtained. Two cremation graves, each containing urned deposits, and an urned 'cenotaph' provide information about the inhabitants of the area although contemporary settlement evidence is lacking. By the Late Bronze Age there was evidence for settlement in the form of a pit containing flint-tempered pottery, worked flint and burnt flint along with charred cereal grain. A radiocarbon date was obtained on charred cereal grain from this pit confirming its age. There was sparse evidence for occupation in the late prehistoric period but by the early Romano-British period a number of ditches and intercutting pits as well as artefactual material (pottery, ceramic building material, fired clay and saddle quern fragments) indicates the presence of a small rural settlement in the vicinity of the site.

How far did they come from? Archaeological and archeometric provenance studies on glass beads recovered from the Malbork-Wielbark cemetery

Abstract The cemetery at Malbork-Wielbark, Pomeranian voivodship, northern Poland, was in use from phase A1 of the Late Pre-Roman Iron Age (end of the 3rd/beginning of the 2nd century AD) to the early Migration Period (phase D1 – beginning of the 5th century AD). To date over 2,000 cremation and inhumation burials have been excavated at this site, yielding at least 3,500 glass beads. They appear mainly in inhumation graves from the early and late Roman Period and the early phase of the Migration Period (phases C1b–C3–D1), and at that time they were deposited in about 40 % of the graves in this cemetery. They are rarely found in cremation graves, and when they do appear it is usually in assemblages of later date. The number of beads in cremation graves throughout the lifespan of the necropolis was usually limited to just one or no more than a few. There is no clear correlation between the presence of glass beads in graves (cremation and inhumation) and the ‘quality’ of the grave goods, and therefore the status of the deceased. Beads (in varying numbers) appear sometimes in poor burials of various date, where they constitute the only (or almost only) grave goods. In theory, graves with more burial goods should contain a correspondingly greater number of beads, but there are many exceptions to this rule. Extensive, multi-element necklaces were one of the characteristic features of dress during the so-called “Wielbark Baroque” (phase B2/C1–C1a). In Malbork-Wielbark, such prestigious necklaces, with numerous glass beads, appear mainly in richly furnished burials from phase C of the Roman Period. In some really rich graves, however, the presence of beads seems to be reduced to a symbolic minimum. Anthropological analyses could be performed for 25 bead-bearing burials of the 41 excavated during 2008–2018. The results seem to suggest no relationship between the age of the individual, the type of burial rite and the variation in the number of beads in the grave. However, it is interesting that a relatively large proportion of the graves with a greater range of glass ornaments and items of dress were burials representing the infans I and infans II age groups. The selected beads were subjected to various laboratory analyses, examining both the morphology of the materials, based on surface observation with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and their chemical composition. The chemical composition of all beads submitted for analysis was determined using the Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) technique. This analysis was performed for each colour in the case of multicoloured beads. A total of 43 glasses were analysed, including 18 single-colour beads and 25 analyses of variously coloured glasses taken from eight multicoloured beads. Additionally, some samples were analysed using an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) microanalysis system fitted with SEM, and for some the chemical composition was determined by wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF). The obtained results showed that all analysed samples represent soda-lime-silica glass (SLS glass), the majority of these samples having been made using a natural soda (natron). Due to the low content of Mg and K, they are referred to as LMLK glass. This means that, taking into account the results of the analysis, the majority of the analysed beads are consistent with glass beads produced in the Roman tradition. Only five of the 43 glass samples represent types of soda-lime-silica glass using plant ash as the flux. Due to the high content of Mg and K they are referred to as HMHK glasses. The individual glasses used in each bead came not from one but from various glass-melting factories. There is virtually no correlation between the type/ variety of glass and the dating of the graves in which the beads were deposited.

Seasonal patterns of methylmercury production, release, and degradation in profundal sediment of a hypereutrophic reservoir

Fuhrmann B, Beutel M, Ganguli P, Zhao L, Brower S, Funk A, Pasek J. 2021. Seasonal patterns of methylmercury production, release, and degradation in profundal sediment of a hypereutrophic reservoir. Lake Reserv Manage. 37:360–377. Profundal lake sediment is an important site of toxic methylmercury (MeHg) production by anaerobic bacteria. This study tracked sediment MeHg cycling in hypereutrophic Hodges Reservoir, in the United States. Sediment-associated MeHg was most elevated in the early spring during moderately reduced conditions. In the late spring, MeHg and iron were released into hypolimnetic water during the progression from iron-reducing to sulfate-reducing conditions at the sediment–water interface. A decrease in porewater sulfate in the early summer indicated enhanced sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) activity and was associated with sediment buildup of MeHg, likely due to enhanced sorption to iron sulfides. Depletion of sulfate in the sediment during the fall corresponded with a substantial decrease in both sediment and water-column MeHg, suggesting that methanogenic conditions led to enhanced MeHg degradation. Shortly afterward, MeHg increased in the hypolimnion, indicating an upward shift in the zone of SRB methylation. Our study suggests 2 “hot moments” of MeHg entry into the water column, where it is susceptible to uptake into the pelagic food web: a spring window of mildly reduced conditions that promote MeHg release from sediment, and a fall window where MeHg is produced in the upper hypolimnion. These hot moments may potentially be managed to lower mercury bioaccumulation via redox enhancement of the profundal zone with approaches such as bottom water oxygenation, which began operation in Hodges Reservoir in 2020. However, the complexity of biogeochemical responses to such management perturbations in regard to MeHg cycling makes it difficult to predict the ultimate effect of oxygenation on mercury bioaccumulation. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10402381.2021.1940397 .

Forging History: Spade-Shaped Currency Bars, History and Identity in Central Norrland

In central Norrland a large number of spade-shaped currency bars have been recovered. Currency bars have been produced since the introduction of iron technology in the late pre-Roman Iron Age, which roughly coincides with the introduction of agriculture. It is suggested that the shape of the bars is referential to the socketed axe, due to the importance of the latter during this period of change. The currency bars were therefore associated with a mythical history and local identity. The youngest 14C-date shows that the bars became part of narratives that remained relevant throughout much of the Iron Age, up until the Viking Age.

Bones of the Earth: Imitation as Meaning in Viking Age Burial Ritual

From excavation results of a pre-Roman Iron Age and Viking Age burialgroundin Västergötland, an example is presented ofhow religious meaning became projected into Viking Age burial ritual through imitation of an already then ancient custom. The burial-ground was abandoned for a period of at least 600 hundred years in between the two periods. In the Pre-Roman Iron Age and Viking Age graves the custom of depositing flakes of firecracked natural stone was documented. From a Viking Age perspective the tradition was imitated and derived from the urnfield burial-grounds ofther late pre-Roman Iron Age. The authors link the Viking Age ritual behaviour to the sagas, where stones are presented as symbolical representations of the human body and as cosmological parts of the skeleton that kept the earth together. In the interpretation it is argued that the very concrete use of older graves was essential in the Viking Age burial custom. In this specific example, the deposition of stones in the Viking Age ritual context is interpreted as a projection and representation of the past and the bodies of the dead.

Where Different Waters Met: Aspects on the Apollo Grannus vase and its position near Sagån in the province of Västmanland

At some time during the Late Roman Iron Age, an originally provincial-Roman vessel called the Apollo Grannus vase was used as a burial urn in a stone-setting at Fycklinge in the province ofVästmanland, on the bank of Sagån by the small rapids where this stream met the sea. In an attempt to understand why this particular vessel was used in this way at this particular place, the author discusses the characteristics ofthe area, of certain vessels and their associations with rebirth/regeneration, the provincial-Roman god Apollo Grannus (associated with fertility and water), the process of creolization, and cremation as part of a process of transformation.

Stone Enclosures —Linking Time and Guiding Space

From the late Roman Iron Age, stone enclosures and houses with a stone foundation have been built on Gotland. Stone enclosures have generally been interpreted as fences between the infields and the outlying land. I will argue that this explanation is insufficient and that we also have to consider the enclosures' symbolic and social significance. The stone enclosures were part of people's everyday practice as they moved through the landscape, and the enclosures structured the reality. The stone enclosures can be seen as both linking and separating, and one interpretation put forward is that the enclosures "embody" the social structure.

Käringsjön. A Fertility Sacrificial Site from the Late Roman Iron Age in South-west Sweden

In the beginning of the 1940s the sacrificial site at Käringsjön, in Halland, south-west Sweden, was investigated by Holger Arbman and Erik Floderus. Some years later the archaeological results were presented by Arbman in an exhaustive publication. Since then the site has been regarded as a typical example of the sacrificial sites used by the peaceful agrarian populations in the practice of the fertility cult. In this paper Käringsjön is brought up to renewed discussion. This is done i.a. by means of a structural analysis, in which is shown a very conscious use of the site. The sacrificial depositions are seen to closely correspond to the annual changes of the sun's movement in the sky when rising and setting on the horizon. It is here suggested that the sacrifices took place not only during different seasons but also at different times during the twenty-four hour day. Finally, the paper also deals with the questions of whether Käringsjön should be seen as a sacrificial site of local or of regional importance, and why the site was suddenly abandoned around 400 A.D.

Hoarding at Megiddo in the Late Bronze and Iron I

The article focuses on Megiddo hoards dating to the Late Bronze Age and Iron I. As many as 17 such hoards have been discovered thus far. One particular hoard, as yet unpublished, is presented. The remaining 16 hoards, several of which have never been identified as such, are cataloged. A classification of the hoards based on their ritual versus non-ritual nature is presented, as well as an analysis of other aspects of hoarding activity at Megiddo.

Stan i potrzeby badań nad uzbrojeniem w międzyrzeczu Odry i Wisły w młodszym okresie przedrzymskim

Summary: The State of and Needs for Research on Weapons in the Przeworsk Culture and in Pomerania in the Late Pre-Roman Iron Age Militaria are one of the most numerous groups of finds in Poland dated to the Pre-Roman Period. This category of sources has recently been a subject of two comprehensive studies: on the Przeworsk culture (Bochnak 2005) and the entirety of Poland (Łuczkiewicz 2006). These works, despite some differences resulting from the adopted methodology, systematised the material in the morphological and typological as well as chronological and cultural terms. However, the database has grown significantly in the last 15 years. There is a lot of information about new sites with weapons (at least 34); many sites (new and already known) were also published, e.g. Oblin, Siemiechów, Kuny, Gola, Wyszków-Zakręzie, Pajewo-Szwelice, Legionowo, Ruszków Pierwszy, Oronne, Gołębiewo, Nowy Targ, Malbork-Wielbark (pre-war research).However, the extremely important cemeteries in Zadowice, Niechmirów-Mała Wieś, Lemany, Modła, Glinki, Korytnica, Masów, and from Pomerania: Czarnówko, Brzyno, Wyczechowo, Żukczyn, Różyny and above all Gostkowo and Pruszcz Gdański, site 7, are still awaiting publication.After cataloguing the source database, organizing the material, and typological studies (the culmination of which were the two previously mentioned works), different areas of research are now dominant in the studies on armaments from Polish territory from the Late Pre-Roman Iron Age. The conference Waffen – Gewalt – Krieg (Wefers et alii 2015) has reviewed and summarised the topic. There is a lively discussion in the literature on the issue of armaments as an indicator for supra-regional contacts, as well as links with the Celtic world and imports from that zone. Various groups of military items (most often double-edged swords and their scabbards) are being analysed, as well as their distribution and influx routes. Also hotly debated is the general issue of the share of weapons of a foreign origin in the armaments of the population from the current Polish territory in the Pre-Roman Period.Another discussed issue is the importance of armament in the funeral rites, i.e.in the belief systems of the Przeworsk culture population. The weaponry is also used for sociological analyses, in terms of its importance for the world of the living, as a determinant of the status and social position of its owners during life and after death. The issue of the internal structure of warrior groups in the entire zone of the Baltic Sea was also extensively studied. Finally, the issues of the possible scale and scope of local arms production in the Przeworsk culture and Pomerania region were raised.As a postulate for the future, one should above all emphasise the need for continuous publication of the sources – new and archival ones. It is still possible to supplement or improve the existing typological systems, in the first place – that of spearheads. It is advisable to intensify research on the mechanisms behind the influx of foreign weapons, also in terms of sociology and ethnology. Militaria are still to be fully integrated into the study of social diversity and structure, as well as in the research of crafts and manufacturing in Poland in the Late Pre-Roman Iron Age.

Результаты археолого-геофизических исследований на памятнике Новая Курья-1 в 2021 году (Северная Кулунда)

This article describes the results of integrated archaeological-geophysical works at the Novaya Kurya-1 burial ground in the Northern Kulunda Steppe. The strategy for archaeological research in 2021 was based on the geomagnetic map of the site compiled in 2019. Archaeological study continued the search for the Bronze Age objects and attempted to clarify the chronology of the burial ground. Main excavation pits were made in the southern part of the site above the group of three lined up geomagnetic anomalies (trench 1) and above the completely evened up burial mound which repeated the structure of large objects of the burial mound - the central grave and round ditch - in small scale (trench 3). A completely destroyed child burial of the Early Iron Age was studied in trench 3, and seven graves which were preliminary attributed to the late Early Iron Age - Early Middle Ages were studied in trench 1. A ceramic pot, stone abrasives, and wood and birch bark remains of the interior elements of burial chambers were discovered in the graves in trench 1. Composition and scarcity of burial objects do not make it possible to clarify the dates of complexes without using radiocarbon dating. Archaeological observations and aerial photography indicate that mounds were present over both complexes, which were completely or partly destroyed by plowing. Comparison of the archaeological-geophysical data reveal clear correlation between the total volume of humified soil in the filling of the grave pits and amplitude of magnetic anomalies. Magnetic susceptibility of soils and underlying rocks measured in the trenches was 65-85*10-5 SI units and 25-35*10-5 SI units, respectively. The contrast between these values was sufficient for generating distinct anomalies above archaeological objects. Their amplitude values reached 10-12 nT at the Novaya Kurya-1 site. Results of inversed data ofprofile magnetic survey which were made at four altitude levels (trench 1) show that the simulated depth where the archaeological objects were supposed to occur, was close to actual depth.