Limited Excavation Research Articles

금호강 유역 고려분묘 출토 도기 줄무늬병 연구

The pottery striped bottle of the Goryeo Dynasty is a characteristic bottle found in tombs in the Yeongnam area and this has received attention in that it reveals the locality of the Yeongnam region. This paper examined the process of change in the bottle, paying attention to the phenomenon that the striped bottle is intensively distributed in the Geumhogang River basin.
 The first period (middle 11th century to late 12th century) is the period in which hemispheric striped bottle and trumpet-mouth striped bottle coexist. The two types of striped bottles differ in the distribution range. Hemispheric striped bottles are excavated from the Nakdong River to the Geumho River, and trumpet-mouth striped bottles are excavated from the East Sea coast to the Geumho River. In the second period (13th century to 14th century), the trumpet-mouth striped-bottle was used alone, and the striped bottle culture, which developed in two directions through different routes, showed an integrated aspect centered on the Geumho River.
 The Geumho River basin is an important transportation hub, and the limited excavation pattern of the distribution of the striped bottle from the mid-stream of the Nakdong River to the East Sea is thought to be closely related to the distribution system formed around the road system of the time. In addition, this is an area that has long held the identity of the Silla people and the production base of earthenware early on, the earthenware production system. In this study, I tried to reveal the existence of a pottery production system shared in the Geumho River basin from the mid to late Goryeo period.

An integrated archaeo-palaeoenvironmental approach to the study of human-environment relationships in the Wierzchowo Lake microregion (Northern Poland) during the Mid- to Late Holocene

The area surrounding Wierzchowo Lake, located in the central part of Pomerania (Northern Poland), is of particular interest from the point of view of the development of past settlements. Archaeological data have revealed human activity during various periods, ranging from the Palaeolithic through the Modern Period. This may suggest the relative and long-term attractiveness of this area. Among archaeological sites from this microregion, a monumental, well-preserved hillfort located in the Wierzchowo Lake peninsula stands out. Although limited excavations were carried out and numerous archaeological materials were collected, its origin remains unclear. Unfortunately, this hillfort could not be properly investigated during the excavations, due to the conservation conditions resulting in a high level of administrative protection. Having these limitations in mind, it was decided to conduct a palaeoenvironmental investigation in the vicinity of this hillfort and correlate its results with the extensive archaeological information available for this area. An investigation based on pollen, charcoal, and geochemical analysis of the lake sediments and their juxtaposition with the available archaeological record, a broad insight into the past of this region, and the nature of the relationship between people and the natural environment were revealed. The first traces of permanent settlement have been linked to the Funnel Beaker culture. A strong increase in human impact within the microregion and important changes in local vegetation (e.g., deforestation, the spread of ruderal habitats) have been associated with the activities of Lusatian culture groups at the end of the Late Bronze Age. A significant transformation of the natural environment and modification of farming practices has been recorded during the Roman Period (Wielbark culture communities) and Medieval Times (Slavic culture). Changes in vegetation composition have also been related to climatic fluctuations around 850 BCE, during the Migration Period and Little Ice Age, when temporary settlement regressions were observed.

Lithic and stone industries of Bahra 1, an Ubaid‐related site in northern Kuwait

AbstractBahra 1 is a large site in the north of the Arabian Peninsula that provided an assemblage of nearly 100,000 lithic artefacts. The whole lithic industry of Bahra 1 represents a set of well‐thought‐out flint, quartz and stone tools for the mass production of shell jewellery, with only a small share of typical household tools. They mostly relate to the Ubaid tradition with Arabian Neolithic influences. However, limited excavations of the oldest occupational layers of the site also revealed an Epipalaeolithic Zarzian tradition. This paper presents a techno‐typological, functional and cultural characteristic of the whole Bahra 1 chipped and ground stone industry identified during the excavations at the site in 2009–2019.

Something old, something new: Ongoing revelations within the Faynan Landscape

ABSTRACT The long-term research projects within the Faynan Basin of southern Jordan continue to yield new and unexpected finds of all periods. This report focuses upon the investigation of the region in the Faynan floodplain, an area known from previous archaeological survey and limited excavation. Renewed investigation in 2019 focused upon analysis of the environmental impact of early metallurgy upon the ancient population through the excavation of five (5) EB IB tombs, and this paper outlines the unexpected nature of the graves, their contents, and preliminary observations of the human remains.

Дюрбе Бей Юде-султан в Азизе: история изучения, архитектурная форма, вопросы датировки

This article studies the mausoleum of Bey Yude Sultan, located in Aziz, a suburb of Bakhchisarai. The account of the monument by various authors are cited, as well as some visual sources depicting the structure. The mausoleum is a cubic building. The cube passes into an octahedron via triangular bevels, which are called Turkish triangles by the historians of architecture. The octagon is covered with a spherical dome, which formerly was topped with a hip roof. On the south side, the building had a portal with typical Seljuk niches in the side walls. Above the door there is a building inscription; in the lower tier there was a burial vault covered with a cupola. Most researchers date the construction to the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries. In 1991, there was a limited excavation of the mausoleum resulting in the find of a late-eighteenth-century coin. Taking this find into account, V. P. Kirilko has attributed the construction of the building to the said period. However, the architectural form of the Bey Yude Sultan Türbe in Azis meets with analogies only in the architecture of Asia Minor from the Seljuk and Early Ottoman Periods and in the Golden Horde. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine that, in the late eighteenth century, a building was constructed following all the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century canons.

Sociokulturel betydning af tragtbægerkulturens tidligneolitiske flintøkser

Sociokulturel betydning af tragtbægerkulturens tidligneolitiske flintøkser

STONE INDUSTRY OF LEILATEPE CULTURE

One of the characteristic features of Leilatepe archaeological culture of the Chalcolithic period (end of the 5th millennium BC - first half of the 4th millennium BC) is a unique stone product. This culture was studied mainly on the basis of monuments in the territory of Azerbaijan. Extensive excavations were carried out in Leilatepe, Beyuk Kesik I, Poylu II, Galayeri settlements belonging to the Leilatepe culture and numerous stone tools were discovered. Similar tools were also discovered as a result of the limited excavations carried out in residential areas – Agili Dere, Selakhan, etc. belonging to this culture. The bearers of this culture led a sedentary life and were mainly engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. The discovered stone tools and their purpose of use gives us reason to come to such a conclusion. Thus, during the excavations a large number of quern stones, graters, sickle teeth, etc., typical for early farming, made of different types of stones, were found. The explorations showed the superiority of flint tools over obsidian products in all other monuments belonging to the Leilatepe culture, except for the Galayeri settlement. Along with these, other tools and products made of stone – a detail of a potter’s wheel, maces, scepters, balance weights, etc. was found from the mentioned Leilatepe culture monuments. The stone industry of the Leilatepe culture is closely related to the traditions of Eastern Anatolia and Northern Mesopotamia. At the same time, close analogies of some specific stone samples of Leilatepe culture were found in Maikop culture monuments.

Excavations outside the Roman fort on the Antonine Wall at Croy Hill, 1975–8

Large-scale rescue excavation beyond the guardianship area around the Roman fort on the Antonine Wall at Croy Hill (NGR: NS 7335 7652) was undertaken over four summers (1975–8), funded by a predecessor to Historic Environment Scotland. The aims of the excavation were to identify any potential civil settlement associated with the fort and to confirm the character and date of a pre-fort enclosure identified by Sir George Macdonald in the 1930s. The latter proved to be a camp associated with the building of the Antonine Wall, not an earlier Flavian fort as previously postulated. A civil settlement was shown to lie within the guardianship area on a plateau immediately to the west of the fort, though only one timber structure extended into the excavated area. However, a curvilinear trackway wound its way down the hill from the settlement towards a southern road that bypassed the fort. The trackway was defined by substantial ditches that contained a large quantity and wide variety of artefactual material washed down from the settlement, predominantly after its abandonment. The bypass road, which showed signs of at least two phases of construction, was traced for a distance of some 275m. The area on either side of it to the east of the fort was divided up by a system of fence lines and ditches into fields or compounds, one of which contained a pottery kiln, another a cremation burial. Field observation during the excavation led to the suggestion that a fortlet lay some 80m west of the fort. This was confirmed by limited excavation within the guardianship area. The construction of the fortlet was shown to have been contemporary with the Antonine Wall.

Preserving Holocaust history: Geophysical investigations at the Ponary (Paneriai) extermination site

Holocaust mass grave sites in eastern Europe can be difficult to investigate due to a paucity of historical documentation relating to the events and because the use of traditional invasive archaeology methods raises concerns around the disturbance of the remains of Jewish people. When combined with other lines of evidence, including historic photos and eyewitness testimony, noninvasive geophysical methods help to effectively identify and demarcate buried features at Holocaust sites, limiting unnecessary excavations. Between 1941 and 1944, as many as 100,000 people were murdered at the Ponary (Paneriai) extermination site in Lithuania, but many critical details of the site layout during this period are still to be resolved, including the location of some of the mass graves and confirmation of an escape tunnel that was used by slave laborers to escape captivity and certain death at the site. At Ponary, a combination of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) profiling, limited ground-penetrating radar data, and bare-earth elevation data (from a light and distance ranging data set) was used to confirm the location of a large unmarked mass grave with a diameter of approximately 25 m and depth of approximately 4 m. Additional ERT profiling at a second location imaged the entrance to an escape tunnel previously uncovered by an archaeological excavation in 2004, and it detected an approximately 5 m section of the continuation of the tunnel, approximately 33 m away from the tunnel entrance. The geophysical results are supported by evidence from limited archaeological excavations, historical photographs, eyewitness descriptions of the site layout, and testimonies from the few survivors who managed to escape Ponary.

Mapping Complex Land Use Histories and Urban Renewal Using Ground Penetrating Radar: A Case Study from Fort Stanwix

Fort Stanwix National Monument, located in Rome, NY, is a historic park with a complex use history dating back to the early Colonial period and through the urban expansion and recent economic revitalization of the City of Rome. The goal of this study was to conduct a GPR investigation over an area approximately 1 acre in size to identify buried historic features (particularly buildings) so park management can preserve these resources and develop appropriate educational programming and management plans. The GPR recorded reflection events consistent with our expectations of historic structures. Differences in size, shape, orientation, and depth suggest that these responses likely date to different time periods in the site’s history. The GPR recorded other reflection anomalies that are difficult to interpret without any additional information, which suggests that pairing high-density geophysical data with limited excavations is critical to elaborate a complex site’s intricate history.

The Vulcan Works, Southport: The Archaeology of an Edwardian Car Factory

ABSTRACT The widespread adoption of the motor car had what was perhaps the greatest impact on the physical and social landscape of 20th-century Britain, and yet virtually none of the early car factories have been subject to formal archaeological investigation. In 2019–20, Salford Archaeology carried out a comprehensive survey of the former Vulcan Works, a purpose-built factory that was erected near Southport in 1907 by Thomas and Joseph Hampson, two pioneers of the British motor-manufacturing industry. Initially, this ‘state-of-the-art’ factory comprised an architecturally impressive two-storey office with a single-storey machine and erecting shop to the rear, together with the associated power plant. Extensive additions had increased the size of the works to more than 3.6ha by 1924, and whilst the buildings were repurposed as a general engineering works in 1937, the original Edwardian car factory remained largely unaltered. The archaeological survey, coupled with historical research and limited excavation, has provided a unique record of a rare survivor of Britain’s fledgling car-manufacturing industry prior to its demolition.

Public archaeology at Baynard-Zion: bringing life back to an antebellum cemetery

ABSTRACT Heritage tourism is a driving economic force in much of the coastal southeastern United States, including on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, one of the most popular destinations for vacationers in the country. Working with local community members in developing a diverse and multipronged public archaeology program, we helped facilitate research and develop programing at the Baynard Mausoleum and Zion Chapel of Ease and Cemetery (Baynard-Zion). Built and used during the late eighteenth through mid-nineteenth centuries, Baynard-Zion includes some of the oldest marked graves on the island as well as its oldest standing architecture. Using a constellation of techniques, including geophysical surveys, genetic testing of human remains, and limited excavations, research conducted at Baynard-Zion provides an opportunity to enhance public perception and understanding of pivotal historic events and people on the island while also assisting in development plans that promote heritage tourism.

Up the Wadi: Development of an Iron Age Industrial Landscape in Faynan, Jordan

ABSTRACT In 2014, the Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project renewed excavations at Khirbat al-Jariya (KAJ), an Iron Age copper smelting site in Faynan, Jordan. Located roughly 3 km from the prominent smelting center Khirbat en-Nahas (KEN), KAJ was an integral component of Early Iron Age (ca. 1200–800 b.c.) copper production in Faynan, one of the largest copper ore deposits in the southern Levant. To date, the site had only been investigated by surveys and limited excavation; the 2014 excavations opened two areas (the largest extant building and a slag mound sounding) to explore the social dynamics and temporal intricacies of copper production. The excavation results, detailed site remapping, paleobotanical analysis, and new radiocarbon dates suggest KAJ more rapidly developed into a large-scale copper production center than previously believed, likely as a strategic expansion to the industry at KEN. This reinterpretation sheds new light on the development of the Iron Age industrial landscape in Faynan.

A Pilot Study of Wichita Indian Archeology and Ethnohistory

In 1965 several anthropologists drew up plans for a one-year pilot study of the archeology and ethnohistory of the Wichita Indian tribes. After financial support had been generously provided by the National Science Foundation, the proposed research was carried out. This is a report on the results of that study. The pilot study was designed to: a) obtain a body of field data from the components of the Spanish Fort sites, the largest and best=documented of the historic Wichita sites in the Red River area; b) make test excavations at several other sites in order that a problem=oriented program of future research can be accurately planned; c) attempt to locate, by field reconnaissance, sites that relate to the Wichita occupation of the southern plains on both the historic and prehistoric time levels; d) make a survey of available ethnohistorical data in order (1) to compile a bibliography of documentary materials relevant to Wichita ethnohistory, (2) to make a detailed study of documents that relate specifically to the excavations being carried out at Spanish Fort and at the sites being tested, (3) to seek information that might lead to the field locations of other Wichita sites, and (4) to appraise those sources best suited for more extended examination. The co-investigators of the project were Tyler Bastian of the Museum of the Great Plains, Robert E. Bell of The University of Oklahoma, Edward B. Jelks of Southern Methodist University, and W.W. Newcomb of the Texas Memorial Museum at The University of Texas. Bastian supervised the archeological field work in Oklahoma under the direction of Bell. Jelks directed the archeological work in Texas. Newcomb directed the ethnohistorical research. Marvin E. Tong of the Museum of the Great Plains served the project as general coordinator. The main part of the ethnohistorical study consisted of a thorough search of the archives at The University of Texas for documents relating to Wichita ethnohistory. The archeological work included extensive excavations at the Longest Site in Oklahoma and at the Upper Tucker and Coyote Sites in Texas. More limited excavations were carried out at the Glass and Gas Plant Sites in Texas. Several other archeological sites were visited but not excavated beyond a test pit or two: the Devils Canyon and Wilson Springs Sites in Oklahoma, and the Gilbert, Stone, Vinson, and Womack Sites in Texas. An effort was also made to locate several sites in Oklahoma and Texas which were reported in historical documents but which had not been located in the field. After the library research and the archeological field work had been completed, a brief, general report could have been prepared to satisfy our contractual obligation to the National Science Foundation. It was felt, however, that the data which had been collected would be of interest to archeologists and ethnohistorians and, if possible, it should be made available to them in some detail without delay. Consequently, a series of descriptive papers was prepared instead of a summary report. Those papers are presented here.

Early Historic Gemstone Bead Workshops at the Badmal Asurgarh and Bhutiapali in the Middle Mahanadi Valley Region, Odisha, India

Recent archaeological investigations conducted in the tributaries of the Middle Mahanadi Valley region of Odisha have brought to light evidence for large-scale bead manufacturing workshop sites, i.e. Badmal Asurgarh and Bhutiapali belonging to the Early Historic period. Most interestingly, while the Badmal site is a fortified settlement, the latter site is an extensive open-air bead workshop site. Significantly, both the sites brought to light evidence for gemstone bead manufacturing activities during the Early Historic period. Preliminary studies and limited excavations conducted at both the sites appear to suggest their significant role in the Early Historic trade and exchange network in the Middle Mahanadi Valley riparian system and probably beyond. The present paper outlines the results of our preliminary archaeological investigation conducted at both the nature of sites.

The Taylor Site (41RK36) and 41RK31 on Martin Creek in Rusk County, Texas

In the early 1970s, the Texas Archeological Survey at The University of Texas (UT) at Austin completed archaeological investigations in advance of the construction of Martin Lake by Texas Utilities Services, Inc. on Martin Creek in the Sabine River basin (Figure 1). Martin Creek is a northward-flowing tributary of the Sabine River. These investigations included an archaeological survey with limited test excavations (McDonald 1972), and then more extensive excavations at five ancestral Caddo sites (Clark and Ivey 1974), most particularly the Musgano site (41RK19) (Figure 2) (Clark and Ivey 1974; Perttula 2014), a Middle Caddo period (ca. A.D. 1200-1400) settlement.

Alexandria, Kom el-Dikka. Season 2016. Appendix: Glass from Area CV on Kom el-Dikka (Alexandria). Season 2016

The PCMA expedition to Kom el-Dikka conducted fieldwork between March and July 2016, filling out the usual multiple-task agenda encompassing both conservation projects and archaeological excavation. The program of work was conditioned to a large extent by the pending completion of the first stage of the Kom el-Dikka Site Presentation Project (southern zone of the site). Top priority was given to preservation work, supplemented with limited excavation in the early Islamic necropolis. A vast collection of finds including coins, plasterwork, glass artifacts of different age (from Ptolemaic to early Islamic) originating from previous seasons of fieldwork continued to be documented and studied by a group of specialists. The appendix brings a brief report on the glass finds from area CV, stratigraphically from the level of the Lower Necropolis, but chronologically from the late Roman/early Byzantine period (5th–6th century AD).

A preliminary report of the fossil mammals from a new microvertebrate locality in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Grand County, Utah

The first Mesozoic mammals in North America were discovered in the Morrison Formation during the closing decades of the 19th century, as by-products of dinosaurs quarried by teams led by O.C. Marsh. These tiny fossils served as foundational specimens for our understanding of Mesozoic mammal evolution. There are now nearly 25 mammal-bearing localities known from the Morrison Formation, distributed across the Western Interior from the Black Hills to southern Colorado and west into Utah; the most historically important of these are in Wyoming (e.g., Como Quarry 9). Most Morrison mammals are known by jaws or jaw fragments, and several important Mesozoic groups (e.g., docodonts, dryolestoids, and to a large extent triconodonts and symmetrodonts) were established based on Morrison material, shaping the perception of mammalian diversity on a global scale. Despite heavy sampling of coeval sites elsewhere, the Morrison remains the most systematically diverse (at high taxonomic levels) assemblage of Jurassic mammals in the world. Here, we describe two mammalian specimens and highlight other remains yet to be fully identified from a new microvertebrate locality in the Morrison Formation of eastern Grand County, Utah. The site is positioned low in the Brushy Basin Member and is similar in lithology and stratigraphic level to the famous small vertebrate localities of the Fruita Paleontological Area, located less than 50 km to the northeast. In addition to small archosaurs and squamates, limited excavation to date has yielded at least 20 mammalian specimens representing a minimum of six taxa, several of which are new and quite different from typical Morrison taxa. Preservation is generally excellent and includes partially articulated cranial and postcranial elements of small vertebrates. This new site has great potential to contribute new taxa and more complete morphological data than typical Morrison localities, underscoring the importance of continued field work in the Morrison.

A preliminary report of the fossil mammals from a new microvertebrate locality in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Grand County, Utah

The first Mesozoic mammals in North America were discovered in the Morrison Formation during the closing decades of the 19th century, as by-products of dinosaurs quarried by teams led by O.C. Marsh. These tiny fossils served as foundational specimens for our understanding of Mesozoic mammal evolution. There are now nearly 25 mammal-bearing localities known from the Morrison Formation, distributed across the Western Interior from the Black Hills to southern Colorado and west into Utah; the most historically important of these are in Wyoming (e.g., Como Quarry 9). Most Morrison mammals are known by jaws or jaw fragments, and several important Mesozoic groups (e.g., docodonts, dryolestoids, and to a large extent triconodonts and symmetrodonts) were established based on Morrison material, shaping the perception of mammalian diversity on a global scale. Despite heavy sampling of coeval sites elsewhere, the Morrison remains the most systematically diverse (at high taxonomic levels) assemblage of Jurassic mammals in the world. Here, we describe two mammalian specimens and highlight other remains yet to be fully identified from a new microvertebrate locality in the Morrison Formation of eastern Grand County, Utah. The site is positioned low in the Brushy Basin Member and is similar in lithology and stratigraphic level to the famous small vertebrate localities of the Fruita Paleontological Area, located less than 50 km to the northeast. In addition to small archosaurs and squamates, limited excavation to date has yielded at least 20 mammalian specimens representing a minimum of six taxa, several of which are new and quite different from typical Morrison taxa. Preservation is generally excellent and includes partially articulated cranial and postcranial elements of small vertebrates. This new site has great potential to contribute new taxa and more complete morphological data than typical Morrison localities, underscoring the importance of continued field work in the Morrison.

Anchoring the landscape: human utilization of the Cerro Gavilán 2 rockshelter, Middle Orinoco, from the Early Holocene to the present

Abstract Initial archaeological investigations at Cerro Gavilán 2, a rockshelter located in the Bolívar State of Venezuela, reveal evidence for human activity that spans the Early Holocene to the present. This report summarizes the information obtained through surface collection, limited excavation, and documentation of the surface features and rock art in the cave. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C analysis established dates from excavated strata that range between 9250 ± 60 BP to 3440 ± 40 BP, and are associated with a unifacial flake technology and charred faunal and floral remains, whereas surface remains span the known ceramic sequence for the area. Rock art corresponds to distinctive superimposed styles that indicate continual repainting of the cave through time, serving to anchor the site to the landscape for multiple societies inhabiting the region. It is suggested that the shelter may have fulfilled different functions over time and a sequence of seasonal residential, ritual, and funerary activities is proposed. The rich cultural context found in Cerro Gavilán 2 contributes to advances in Amazonian archaeology that are redefining our knowledge of early developments and the complexity of human/environmental interactions in tropical America.