Excavation Program Research Articles

The Excavation of a Romano-British Site at Netherhall Road, Maryport

A programme of archaeological trial trenching and excavation was undertaken by CFA Archaeology Ltd between Maryport (Alavna) Roman Fort and Netherhall Road on the north-eastern outskirts of Maryport from 2010 to 2016. The work confirmed the presence of a large sub-square ditched enclosure with two phases of construction, which is interpreted as a Romano-British rural farm site. It contained a variety of pottery deposited in its ditches, dating from the 1st to the 4th century CE. A linear feature, thought to be the line of a Roman road, did not produce definitive evidence of being a Roman road, but a Roman-period cremation cemetery was uncovered adjacent to it. One of the burials excavated held two pottery vessels of mid-3rd-century CE or slightly later date, one of which contained the cremated remains of an adult female along with other finds, while a second burial contained the cremated remains of a young child within a decorated Rhenish beaker.

The River Valleys of the Greek Colony of Selinunte: Results of an Offshore Investigation

The ancient Greek colony of Selinunte, with its acropolis on a promontory on the south-western coast of Sicily, is flanked by two valleys where two modest rivers flow today: the Modione to the west and the Cottone to the east. Archaeological reconstructions, historical documents from various sources, and recent remote sensing surveys indicate two important bays corresponding to the ancient mouths of these two rivers, now completely covered by a thick layer of sediments. It is believed that the ports of the colony were located in these bays, although the remains of these ports are still sparse and contradictory. Here we present a multibeam bathymetric map of part of the marine area immediately off Selinunte and a series of high-resolution seismic profiles acquired parallel to the coastline. They show the geometries and stratigraphic context of the two buried river valleys offshore, from which information about the palaeoenvironmental setting and evolution of the landscape can be derived and which may be used in adequately guiding future archaeological excavation programs.

Psychological outcomes of local heritage engagement: Participation in community archeological excavations increases well‐being, self‐efficacy, and perceived community support

AbstractThere is evidence that engagement with tangible heritage is linked to improvements in well‐being. However, experimental tests of this association, as well as theoretical accounts explaining this relationship, are lacking. The present study aims to compensate for this gap by developing a theoretical framework based on the social identity approach that explains the effect of community‐based heritage engagement on well‐being, and testing this effect in a quasi‐experimental field study in the context of community test pit archeological excavations. In line with the predictions, the results demonstrate that excavation participants (but not participants in the control condition) report improvements on a number of psychological outcomes after (as compared to before) participation in a 2‐day excavation program (including well‐being, self‐efficacy, and perceived community support). The findings offer implications for community‐based approaches to enhancing well‐being, as well as the practice of conducting community‐based archeological excavations.

RENEWING THE BELIZE ARCHAIC PROJECT IN 2019

The Archaic period in the Maya region represents six millennia (7000-1000 BCE) when non-ceramic-using peoples began to experiment with domesticates and reduce their settlement ranges. The single longest epoch of the Mesoamerican chronology, these early millennia are often overshadowed by the investigation of more recent peoples who built cities and have left evidence of elaborate artistic traditions. The Belize Archaic Project (BAP) began work over 20 years ago after the fortuitous discovery of aceramic deposits containing heavily patinated lithic tools and debitage under Postclassic settlements in the Freshwater Creek drainage of northern Belize. The 2019 field season marks a renewed phase of this project and initiates a program of systematic settlement survey and test excavations. This paper presents initial results of a systematic program of auguring that documented 87 Archaic-period sites and excavations at four of these locales during the summer of 2019. The renewed BAP investigates local land use patterns and foraging adaptation as well as the dynamic manner in which they affect (and are impacted by) climate change and evolving local forest and lacustrine ecology.

A geologist and an Egyptologist in conversation: Sir Charles Lyell and Sir John Gardner Wilkinson

The history of archaeology, and of Egyptology, has traditionally been written as a linear narrative of progress, with narrow-minded amateurs—the antiquaries—giving way to professional archaeologists. For some, Joseph Hekekyan's excavations (co-directed by Leonard Horner) at Memphis and Heliopolis in the 1850s have been seen as a turning point, when the geological principle of stratigraphy was applied to archaeology, thus giving rise to methodical scientific excavation. This article challenges the existing narrative by showing how critiques of Hekekyan's excavation and Horner's interpretation, by the antiquary and historian Samuel Sharpe, inspired the eminent geologist Charles Lyell to seek the opinion of John Gardner Wilkinson, another leading antiquarian Egyptologist, as to the validity of the excavations. Wilkinson's specialist knowledge of Egypt enabled him to identity the problematic assumptions that underpinned the excavation programme, which other leading scholars had missed. Though Lyell was unsuccessful in obtaining the support he desired, he became aware of the more complex situation on the ground in Egypt. Instead of ushering in an age of scientific Egyptology, the Horner–Hekekyan programme highlights how new methodological techniques were contested by contemporaries, and did not immediately or necessarily translate into improved knowledge: a much-neglected dimension in fieldwork-centred disciplinary histories.

Review of the research programme on the Mortella III wreck (2010-2020, Corsica, France): A contribution to the knowledge of the Mediterranean naval architecture and material culture of the Renaissance.

The Mortella wrecks are the remains of two navi, Genoese seagoing merchant ships, sunk in 1527 in the Bay of Saint-Florent (Upper-Corsica, France) during the Seventh Italian War. A programme of archaeological excavations and historical research has been held on one of them, Mortella III, between 2010 and 2020. It has involved a multidisciplinary team around a European research project called ModernShip (Horizon 2020), whose objective is to shed light on Mediterranean shipbuilding during the Renaissance, a field still little known to this day. At the end of these 10 years, the aim of the present article is to conclude this research programme with the presentation of a scientific review that complements a recently published monograph on the Mortella III wreck. This study presents the latest results on the ship's architecture obtained during the excavation of the wreck in 2019, including a study of the wood of the framework. Finally, this article broadens our understanding of the nave presenting the results of a collaborative line of research on material culture with three studies in close connection with the ship architecture: artillery, anchors and ceramics.

Review of the research programme on the Mortella III wreck (2010-2020, Corsica, France): A contribution to the knowledge of the Mediterranean naval architecture and material culture of the Renaissance.

The Mortella wrecks are the remains of twonavi, Genoese seagoing merchant ships, sunk in 1527 in the Bay of Saint-Florent (Upper-Corsica, France) during the Seventh Italian War. A programme of archaeological excavations and historical research has been held on one of them, Mortella III, between 2010 and 2020. It has involved a multidisciplinary team around a European research project calledModernShip(Horizon 2020), whose objective is to shed light on Mediterranean shipbuilding during the Renaissance, a field still little known to this day.At the end of these 10 years, the aim of the present article is to conclude this research programme with the presentation of a scientific review that complements a recently published monograph on theMortella IIIwreck. This study presents the latest results on the ship's architecture obtained during the excavation of the wreck in 2019, including a study of the wood of the framework.Finally, this article broadens our understanding of thenavepresenting the results of a collaborative line of research on material culture with three studies in close connection with the ship architecture: artillery, anchors and ceramics.

Pathways to the interior: Human settlement in the Simbai-Kaironk Valleys of the Madang Province, Papua New Guinea

New Guinea has yielded some of the earliest evidence for a human presence in Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea), with the north coast being one of the likely colonisation routes from Southeast Asia. Of the known pre-Last Glacial Maximum (≥30kya) archaeological sites from New Guinea, only a handful come from the Highlands. Navigable pathways linking the north coast to the central cordillera, specifically ‘grassland corridors’, may have facilitated settlement, yet little is known about human settlement of fringe montane valleys within these corridors. A survey and excavation program within the Simbai-Kaironk Valleys (2,000–1,600 m asl) on the northern montane fringe identified 51 sites across a 21 km corridor. Radiocarbon dating suggests a possible human presence from 31 ka, clear evidence for landscape use from 17 to 15 ka, and an increase in site density from the Mid-Holocene. Most sites were from open settings, with Holocene settlements positioned at elevations optimising access to montane forests, grasslands and lowland resources. We argue that the Simbai-Kaironk grassland corridor has facilitated access to the central Highland valleys since the Late Pleistocene. Shorter and more direct pathways, transecting the river valleys via prominent spurs rising above the lowlands – and their associated insect-borne diseases – are likely to have facilitated coastal-Highland movement throughout the Holocene.

SINCLAIR HOOD (1917–2021)

Sinclair Hood (1917–2021) was one of the two leading archaeologists of Minoan Crete of the second generation after Sir Arthur Evans, the other being Nikolaos Platon (1909–92). He spent much of his life researching the history of Knossos, including a major programme of excavations during his Directorship of the British School at Athens (1954–62) to test Evans’ chronological system for Knossos and Crete in the Bronze Age. He also directed excavations at prehistoric Emporio in Chios, and was versed in the archaeology of Central Europe and the Near East, as well as every aspect of Aegean prehistory, on which he wrote profusely. In Greece he revolutionised methods for British archaeologists and trained many students who later became project directors. His monumental studyThe Masons’ Marks of Minoan Knossoscrowned his career. It was published in 2020, when he was 103.

Geotechnical and geophysical characterisations of construction waste-infilled quarry for housing and commercial developments: Case study of Tehran, Iran.

The fast population growth in the metropolitan areas of the province of Tehran has led to the scarcity of land and inevitable expansion of urban construction to non-engineered fills and construction/demolition waste disposal sites. An abandoned aggregate quarry, infilled with construction wastes over 16 years, has been recently selected for a new development project consisting of several multi-storey commercial and residential complexes (up to 7 storeys). This study was aimed at delineation of the waste materials, geophysical and field and laboratory geotechnical characterisations prior to foundation design, and the design of the excavation programme. Geo-electric resistivity test was used to delineate the waste materials from natural ground materials. Surface and downhole P- and S-wave velocity measurements were used for the estimation of dynamic elastic properties of the wastes. In total, 12 boreholes (15-30 m deep) along with 10 test pits (4-8.5 m deep) provided the opportunity for visual observations of the waste materials, necessary sampling for compositional analyses, laboratory shear strength tests and determination of waste deposit thickness in different regions of the site. Manual standard penetration test (SPT) was also used to evaluate in situ stiffness of the fine materials of the waste. Six field plate load tests were performed on the waste materials at their natural water content conditions and at saturated (flooded) ground conditions to determine their compressibility and the ground reaction modulus. Based on the results from extensive characterisation programme, it was concluded that the waste materials are in a metastable state and exhibit heterogeneity across the site. The findings of current case study can provide new insight into construction/demolition waste behaviour, using available geophysical and geotechnical tools and testing procedures for characterisation, and eventually helping in reliable design of foundations for new development projects.

CERAMIC SEQUENCE, CHRONOLOGY, AND CULTURAL DYNAMICS OF THE UCAREO-ZINAPÉCUARO, MICHOACÁN OBSIDIAN SOURCE AREA

AbstractThis article presents the ceramic sequence and chronology resulting from a multi-year program of survey, excavation, and analysis of pre-Hispanic settlement and exploitation within the Zinapécuaro-Ucareo (“U-Z”), Michoacan obsidian source area. Pottery analysis and classification aided by seriation analysis identified nine ceramic complexes and seven ceramic phases and sub-phases that both expand and refine the ceramic sequence previously established for the region by Gorenstein's (1985) investigations at nearby Acámbaro, Guanajuato. Initially established by ceramic cross-dating, the U-Z ceramic chronology has been largely confirmed by 30 radiocarbon dates and spans over 2,000 years of pre-Hispanic settlement, which included at least two notable episodes of trait-unit and site-unit intrusion from the eastern El Bajío and central Mexico. One of these episodes involved the appearance of two enclaves settled by individuals from the Acambay valley c. 90 km to the East, most likely from the site of Huamango, which our data indicate would have been occupied during the Middle Postclassic period.

New chronostratigraphic records of the early-to-middle Holocene in the north-central region of Chile indicate Andean foothills housed hunter-gatherers during pulses of extreme aridity

The scarcity of middle Holocene radiocarbon dates in different regions of the Andes has been interpreted as an indicator of discontinuity in human occupations in response to adverse environmental conditions due to marked aridity. In the subtropical Andes of north-central Chile and adjacent areas, this paucity has been detected in radiocarbon ages between 8000 and 6000 cal BP. A systematic programme of cave excavations with detailed chronologies in the Combarbalá area in the Andean western foothills at 31°S allows questioning the role these spaces and ecosystems played for hunter-gatherers throughout the Holocene. The elusive record of dateable material has been addressed by excavating deposits under rock-shelters which tend to trap sedimentary material. This dataset has been compared with the available climate records and shows a collation between the onset of various site chronologies during the early-to-middle Holocene and periods of extreme aridity. The organization of mobility and the role of Andean foothills for hunter-gatherer settlements is reviewed. Resource availability in the area, namely fresh water supply, good-quality toolstones, faunal resources, and shelters, attracted mobile populations to these environments as indicated by our records as well as others in the broader region.

La visibilité totale en archéologie : Etude des panoptiques de la prison de Pentridge

Archaeological excavations carried out at Pentridge Prison discovered the ruins and foundations of three panopticon exercise yards. This paper details the scope and observations of the excavation program and discusses the influence of Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon model on penal reform and prison design in Australia in the middle of the 19th Century.

Stability Analysis of TBM Tunnel Undercrossing Existing High‐Speed Railway Tunnel: A Case Study from Yangtaishan Tunnel of Shenzhen Metro Line 6

During the construction of the underpass of a new tunnel, the excavation unloading effect disturbs surrounding rock masses and promotes surrounding rock deformation, inevitably changing stress and displacement in the existing tunnel. Taking Yangtaishan tunnel excavation of Shenzhen Metro Line 6 as an engineering example, effects of excavation programs of left and right lines on the deformation characteristics of newly excavated and existing tunnels were evaluated based on Midas numerical model and priority excavation advantages of the left line were determined. The settlement and horizontal deformation characteristics of the existing tunnel were analyzed using the construction monitoring method. Results showed that maximum settlement and horizontal deformation of the existing tunnel were 1.35 and 0.23 mm, respectively. Settlement of invert and inverted top along axis direction was from growth to decline, and then a V‐shaped settlement trough was formed with maximum settlement values of 1.36 and 0.97 mm, respectively. Maximum settlement and uplift of the newly built tunnel appeared on the upper and bottom parts of invert, respectively. In the newly built tunnel segments, the top settlement was dominated and deformation was mainly distributed in both side areas. At the top of the existing tunnel segment, convergence settlement was 3.09 mm and settlement rate was slow first which was accelerated, then stabilized, and finally slowed down again which was opposite to the uplift development trend of the bottom of tunnel segment. The top of the existing tunnel segment showed four settlement stages, slow, rapid, stable, and slow settlement stages. Compared with the right line, preferential excavation of the left line had obvious advantages in terms of tunnel stability. The unloading effect of TBM excavation created vault settlement in the existing tunnels where actual settlement values were 1.12 and 1.13 times, which theoretically calculated settlement. The horizontal deformation of the existing tunnel was varied first linearly and then nonlinearly with maximum deformation in the convergence stage of 1.47 mm.

Survey and excavation at an Iron Age enclosure complex on Turin Hill and environs

This paper presents the results of a programme of survey and evaluative excavation at a complex of five enclosures on Turin Hill in Angus, Scotland. This includes one large bivallate hillfort, an oblong fort and three smaller duns. The aim of the investigation was to re-map the surviving archaeological features and clarify the chronology of the sites. Geophysical survey was also undertaken and clarified various aspects of the enclosures on the hill, revealing a dense concentration of features within the interior of the large bivallate hillfort. Keyhole excavation was undertaken with basic chronological information being obtained for four out of five of the enclosures and dating samples from one other dun on the same ridge at Rob’s Reed. All the samples produced dates falling in the Iron Age and importantly, despite their location overlooking the rich assemblage of early medieval sculpture at Aberlemno, there was no definitive indication of early medieval activity or settlement at Turin Hill or its immediate environs. Evaluation of the rampart of the large bivallate hillfort produced an Early Iron Age date, and as such, may represent one of the few dated forts from this time period presently known in Scotland.
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Caracterización morfológica y tecnológica de la cerámica prehistórica del yacimiento arqueológico del Cerro de los Vientos (Puente del Obispo-Baeza, Jaén)

Para la realización de este estudio se ha sometido a análisis morfométrico y tecnológico un conjunto cerámico recuperado de la campaña realizada en el yacimiento arqueológico del Cerro de los Vientos (Puente Obispo-Baeza, Jaén) entre 2014 y 2015. El sitio presenta varias fases de ocupación de época prehistórica y protohistórica. Los investigadores identificaron distintas zonas y recintos compuestos principalmente por estructuras negativas de muy diversa tipología.
 Como punto de partida del trabajo se propone la clasificación tipológica de las cerámicas correspondientes a las fases de la Edad del Cobre y Edad del Bronce del asentamiento. Posteriormente los datos se cruzan con una serie de variables tecnológicas y cualitativas, para poder descubrir técnicas de manufactura, uso o reparación de las vasijas. En último término el objetivo es conocer parte de la cadena técnico operativa y el modelo productivo desarrollado.

Photogrammetric Measurement of Erosion at the Sabbath Point Beothuk Site in Central Newfoundland, Canada

Erosion at archaeological sites in Central Newfoundland, Canada is a major concern, which is compounded by the fact that there has been a dearth of archaeological research in this region. While more than 70 house pits are known, very few excavations have examined whole features in the Exploits River Valley (ERV), and the archaeology of many has not been examined yet. The aim of this study is to examine the rate of erosion at the Sabbath Point house pit, a recently recorded archaeological site, located on the bank of Red Indian Lake (RIL), and to describe a low-cost methodology for analysing site level bank changes. This site is particularly important, as it represents an example of a late Beothuk residential feature about lifeways practiced in this region. The surveys employed here were carried out using image-based modelling. GRASS GIS was used to measure the diachronic difference between bank edges. The Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) were then compared, and the differences were measured using a transect based method. The erosion measurement has shown that Sabbath Point is in danger of being completely eroded. This shows that a salvage excavation program covering the entire feature is necessary within the next few years, as the feature itself will begin to erode.

Intertidal investigations of early Holocene archaeological deposits from the Núláwitxv tribal area, British Columbia, Canada

In 2016, 2017 an intertidal excavation program was conducted at the outer coastal archaeological site EkTb-9 in the Núláwitxv Tribal Area of Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) territory, British Columbia, Canada. Haíɫzaqv oral history marks this area as a place of origin and longstanding ancestral histories (núyṃ́) have been derived from Núláwitxv. The sea level curve for this area shows that the shoreline was between two and 4 m lower than today from 14,000 to 10,500 years ago. Intertidal subsurface testing was conducted at EkTb-9 with the hope of discovering archaeological deposits of this age. This resulted in the collection of a varied assemblage of lithics from secondary deposits, representing the products of ancestral labour for the Haíɫzaqv community. The assemblage consists of simple flake and core tools, bifaces, and flakes and cores that generally resemble other early Holocene lithic assemblages from coastal sites in British Columbia. Minimum radiocarbon ages were obtained by dating barnacles found on artifacts, dating this area of the site to at least 9535 ± 25 B.P. (10,199–9714 cal B.P.), and demonstrating that intertidal lithic scatters can be assigned minimum ages. Critical to our understanding of the intertidal secondary deposits is a detailed knowledge of site formation processes and how these were affected by sea level change, erosion, and beach deposition. The results of this work provide a framework for approaching methodological challenges associated with excavating, dating, and interpreting intertidal archaeological sites.

The funding of the PEF in its early years, associated issues and responses

ABSTRACT The PEF was founded as a charity, relying almost entirely on public generosity for its funding. Its insecure financial basis was at odds with its ambitious programme of surveys and excavations, which required sizeable and stable funding for periods of years. This dichotomy precipitated financial crises which occasionally brought the organisation almost to its knees. Yet, despite all the odds, it managed to chalk up impressive achievements. The financial shortcomings and the ways in which they were addressed, as well as the special factors responsible for the ultimate success of early PEF endeavours, are examined and discussed.

The Eastern Link: The Largest Archaeological Excavation Program in the History of Sweden?

The Eastern Link: The Largest Archaeological Excavation Program in the History of Sweden?