Settlement Mound Research Articles

The Bronze Age occupation of the Black Sea coast of Georgia—New insights from settlement mounds of the Colchian plain

AbstractAlong the lower course of the Rioni and several minor rivers, more than 70 settlement mounds (local name: Dikhagudzuba) have been identified by field surveys and remote sensing techniques. They give evidence of a formerly densely populated landscape in the coastal lowlands on the Colchian plain (western Georgia) and have been dated to the Bronze Age. As yet, limited information is available on their internal architecture, the chronology of the different layers and their palaeoenvironmental context. Based on archaeological sources, remote sensing measurements of three mounds and sediment cores from one mound and its closer surroundings, our study presents a review of the relevant literature and reveals the internal structure, distribution and spatial extent of the mounds. Geochemical and sedimentological analyses of element contents (X‐ray fluorescence) and granulometry helped to identify different stratigraphical layers and differentiate between natural facies and anthropogenic deposits; using the Structure‐from‐Motion technique the mounds' dimensions were calculated. The studied settlement mounds had relatively small dimension (varying from 30 to 100 m in diameter) and were similar in their stratigraphy. Measurement of elements that can identify types of human activity, notably metals and phosphorus, suggest changing intensities of human occupation, pastoral agriculture and metalworking through the occupation sequence. According to the 14C chronology, the formation of the settlements occurred during the first half of the second millennium B.C., which confirms the archaeological interpretation of their Bronze Age origin. The narrow age difference between the lowermost and uppermost anthropogenic layers indicates an intentional construction of the mounds, rather than a successive accumulation of construction debris due to the disintegration of loam bricks by weathering. Therefore, they are indeed mounds and not tells. It is most likely that the characteristic circular moats that surround them were the source of their construction material. Fluvial and alluvial processes in a warm and humid climate dominated the environment of the mounds.

Bakestones in Northern Norway: An Archaeological Witness to Medieval Foodways and Maritime Trade

BAKESTONES ARE A 11TH-CENTURY EARLY MEDIEVAL INNOVATION associated with flatbread production that reflect a distinctive Norwegian food culture spanning some 600 years. Large scale manufacture of chlorite schist bakestones at Ølve-Hatlestrand, western Norway, was linked to further distribution in Norway from the port of Bergen. Bakestones were an important item of maritime trade transported to northern Norway in exchange for stockfish (dried cod) and are most commonly found in coastal fishing villages and settlement mound sites. An attribute-based analysis of bakestones from northern Norway in the Arctic University Museum of Norway archaeological collection, the first comprehensive study outside of medieval towns, explores the role of bakestones for Norse/Norwegian maritime settlement and as a valued trade commodity, as demonstrated by reuse of bakestone fragments. In addition to documenting spatial and temporal bakestone distribution, geochemical (XRF) characterisation and a preliminary analysis of organic residues were also undertaken. Although bakestones are primarily associated with Norwegian settlement, their role in contexts with a combination of indigenous Sámi and Norse/Norwegian elements is also evaluated.

Revisiting site history and regional interaction at the Dia settlement mound complex, Mali

ABSTRACT Previously unpublished results of test excavations in 1986–1987 at Dia, an extensive occupation mound complex on the western margins of the Inland Niger Delta in Mali, have been augmented by a series of new AMS dates. This article explores how the excavation and radiocarbon data together provide new insights into occupation sequences and site formation processes. It presents details on the depositional contexts, chronology and associated material culture at each of the 1986–1987 excavation units. Using these data, we examine the role of post-depositional disturbance, secondary deposition and re-use of earlier cultural deposits in interpreting site formation processes at the Dia settlement mounds. In addition, we emphasise the important role that studies of well-contextualised pottery from excavation can play in evaluating regional interactions through comparisons with other documented sequences in neighbouring areas, including Jenne-jeno and the Méma. This focus on site formation and regional interaction enables new interpretations that also interrogate and expand the results of the larger-scale excavations at Dia by an international team between 1998 and 2002.

Long Bones and Antlers for Artifact Production in the Final Late Bronze Age Settlement of Thessaloniki Toumba (Northern Greece, 1210–1040 cal b.c.)

ABSTRACT We present two significant patterns of osseous artifact production during the Final Late Bronze Age at the settlement mound of Thessaloniki Toumba in the northeastern Thermaic Gulf region in northern Greece and compare with data published from the same and neighboring regions. One pattern is the use of long bone fractures for shaping awls. The other is the production of pins from deer antlers. Awl manufacturing is consistent with the practice of the use of broken bones for a variety of tools, which had been common since the Early Bronze Age. The antler pins and some rare, elaborate objects, such as barbed-and-tanged points and horse bits, indicate innovation and interactions across different spatial scales toward the end of the Bronze Age. Research into the manufacturing processes may provide a more detailed understanding of the cultural and technological significance of these artifacts.

Chalcolithic Bone Spindle Whorls in Bulgaria: Finds from the “Tilkiyuk” Settlement Mound (Sadievo, Southeastern Bulgaria)

Chalcolithic Bone Spindle Whorls in Bulgaria: Finds from the “Tilkiyuk” Settlement Mound (Sadievo, Southeastern Bulgaria)

A Newly Discovered Anthropomorphic Vessel from Eastern Bulgaria

The topic of prehistoric anthropomorphic sculpture, its presentation and interpretation are widely covered in the works of Marija Gimbutas. In her honor is the submitted paper, which presents a representative and very interesting vessel. It is a vessel in the shape of a human body, rare in the Eneolithic era.The vessel was found accidentally on the surface of a settlement mound. It is partially preserved, but the available fragments allow to restore its shape and ornamentation. The massive legs and long feet allow the vessel to be placed upright. It is one of the most impressive specimens among this type of finds which represents a female mythological image, probably the Mother Goddess. Specific shape and ornamentation of the vessel suggest representative functions, probably used in various rites associated with prayers for fertility.

Cow, Bull, Woman, Man (Relief on a Vessel from the End of the Fifth Millennium BC from the Western Black Sea Coast)

In the Varna Eneolithic necropolis three gold applications were found with shapes presenting cattle in profile. They have no clear sexual characteristics. These figures are usually interpreted as bulls. Images with analogous shapes occur rarely on ceramic vessels as well.This paper presents a vessel from the settlement mound Kozareva Mogila (Bulgaria). Two anthropomorphic and two zoomorphic figures are depicted on it. The images are schematic, modeled in relief along the entire middle part, arranged in a horizontal belt and alternating anthropomorphic and zoomorphic. The anthropomorphic ones are presented facing the observer, differing from each other only in that one has embossed female breasts. The zoomorphic ones are presented in profile. In shape they are very close to the gold cattle figures from Varna. Like the human figures, one has a clearly marked sex: a phallus in relief. This indicates that one depicts a bull and the other a cow, a rare example of simultaneous presentation of female and male anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images with clearly marked sex. This scene is a key to identifying the gender of the gold zoomorphic figures from the Varna necropolis, commonly called bulls.

Atakum Arkeoloji Araştırmaları: Kamaz Vadisi ve Çevresinin Tarih Öncesi

We identified many archaeological localities as a result of the intensive archaeological surveys in and around Kamaz Valley (Atakum/Samsun). We reached conclusions regarding prehistoric periods in Dombalaktepe, Gucuktepe, and Kümbettepe settlement mounds. The existence of original culture in the coastal part of the Samsun Region is one of the question marks in our research, and the dates when the settlement started and what kind of process it underwent was our other question. The response from a small number of settlement mounds and a limited number of surface finds has led us to ask new questions and discuss the available data with temporary suggestions. Accordingly, based on its current appearance, the area, which is not rich in raw materials, appears to be the land of a transhumance community, which prefers a farmer/gatherer lifestyle and makes livestock and hunting. A small number of chipped stone finds confirm this. Its potteries, on the other hand, are a little more complex; Dark Faced Burnished/Unburnished Ware, which includes red-black groups, makes up the dominant majority. White paint ornaments on black face ware, called "White-Painted Pottery", whose traditional origins and development we have seen in the Aegean and Western Anatolia, offer relatively more custom comparisons. Other than these, examples with chaff-face pottery and impressed pot base reflect traditions that refer to early times. Compared to Ware groups, vessel forms are harder to characterize. Yet we have indirect evidence to look for all this chronologically in the LC and beginning of EBA period.

A Photogrammetry-Assisted Methodology for the Documentation of Complex Stratigraphic Relationships

ABSTRACTAt Tell Yunatsite, a prehistoric settlement mound located in the Upper Thracian plain of Bulgaria, stratigraphic relationships between archaeological deposits are incredibly complex. Such complexity then prompted our exploration into developing a new methodology for the documentation of complex stratigraphic relationships. Here, we present the results of a new photogrammetry-assisted methodology that was developed to compensate for the shortcomings of currently utilized stratigraphic documentation methods, such as the Wheeler-Kenyon box grid and the Harris Matrix. First, using a UAV drone, we produce a high-resolution photogrammetric model of the entire site. Second, with structure from motion photogrammetry, we produce 2.5D models of excavation units in stratigraphic succession. Finally, utilizing GIS and Blender (a 3D computer graphics software application), we digitize the horizontal extents of each archaeological deposit and “fill” the space between their successive surfaces (from top to bottom) until a faithful 3D model of each deposit is generated. These deposit models are then combined and rendered simultaneously to form 3D block models of the excavation units that may, in turn, be cross-sectioned in any direction to view stratigraphic relationships in virtual profile.

Monitoring as a tool to evaluate preservation possibilities. Results from the CULTCOAST project

The CULTCOAST research project has installed environmental monitoring equipment at two cultural heritage sites in northern Norway: one at the coal mine site of Hiorthhamn on Svalbard, one at the settlement mound site Sjåberget on Andøya in Nordland County. Both these coastal heritage sites are situated north of the Arctic circle, in the areas most impacted by climate change. Whereas the global temperature increase since 1970 is just above 1°C, in Svalbard the increase is now 4°C. This is the first example of using this specific type of sensors to monitor the ongoing changes and their possible impacts on preservation of heritage sites.

New insights into the geological evolution of palaeorivers and their relationship to the Indus Civilization and Early Historic settlements on the plains of Haryana, NW India

Abstract The Quaternary sediments and landscapes of the plains of northwestern Haryana and the ancient settlement mounds distributed across them have great potential to reveal the history of the evolution and disappearance of palaeorivers and their relationship to the Indus Civilization and Early Historic periods in NW India. There are numerous palaeochannels in Haryana, and their distribution and burial in the subsurface creates difficulties for accessing the archives and proxies necessary for developing insight into the timing of river flow and shift, and its relationship to settled populations. This paper investigates the deep and shallow subsurface sedimentary lithology of an area around Sirsa that is close to the course of the modern Ghagghar River. The paper presents additional age constraints provided by dates from the site at Rakhigarhi and examines a sedimentary substrate of a new archaeological mound situated on a palaeochannel identified at a mound near Dhir village. New AMS radiocarbon dates of drifted charcoal from natural and cultural strata suggest human activity and/or natural burning in this region as early as 10 405–10 190 cal years BP (8455–8240 cal years BC). The substrate sediments recorded at the Dhir mound indicate flooding events after the urban phase of the Indus Civilization.

A remote sensing-based survey of archaeological/heritage sites near Kandahar, Afghanistan through publicly available satellite imagery.

Due to its conflict-ridden recent history, it has been difficult to launch major archaeological projects and advanced field research in Afghanistan during the last forty years. Lately, the proliferation of remote sensing methods, especially the increasing availability of satellite imagery, has allowed generating a much-needed impetus for documentation and monitoring of the heritage in Afghanistan. In this study, we present novel site data obtained through an examination of publicly available satellite imagery in the southwestern region of Kandahar. The sites presented here consist of a multitude of cultural heritage such as settlement mounds, architectural remains, religious monuments, fortresses, and traditional water management systems. We also discuss the advantages, as well as the drawbacks of remote sensing surveys for archaeological research in Afghanistan, and share our data to be employed in further research and cultural heritage management in the region.

Delineation of the Acemhöyük settlement mound in Turkey using 2-D and pseudo-3-D VLF imaging

Delineation of the Acemhöyük settlement mound in Turkey using 2-D and pseudo-3-D VLF imaging

A Bit of Assyrian Imperial Culture

Abstract A key find from the 2018 excavations at the settlement mound of Gird-e Rūstam (Gird-i Rostam) in the easternmost part of the Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq, directly on the border with Iran, is an inscribed pottery sherd that can be assigned to the Neo-Assyrian period, more specifically the late 8th or 7th century BC. Albeit small, the sherd certainly belongs to a “carinated bowl”, which is a typical wine-drinking vessel of that time, and preserves a few signs of a cuneiform inscription in Akkadian language and Neo-Assyrian script. It is suggested that the reconstructed text contains mention of the local toponym Birtu-ša-Adad-remanni “Fortress of Adad-remanni”. This place is located in the border region between the Assyrian Empire and the kingdom of Mannea, which raises the possibility that Gird-e Rūstam could be identified with Birtu-ša-Adad-remanni.

Agricultural diversification in West Africa: an archaeobotanical study of the site of Sadia (Dogon Country, Mali)

While narratives of the spread of agriculture are central to interpretation of African history, hard evidence of past crops and cultivation practices are still few. This research aims at filling this gap and better understanding the evolution of agriculture and foodways in West Africa. It reports evidence from systematic flotation samples taken at the settlement mounds of Sadia (Mali), dating from 4 phases (phase 0=before first–third century AD; phase 1=mid eighth–tenth c. AD; phase 2=tenth–eleventh c. AD; phase 3=twelfth–late thirteenth c. AD). Flotation of 2200 l of soil provided plant macro-remains from 146 archaeological samples. As on most West African sites, the most dominant plant is pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum). But from the tenth century AD, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and African rice (Oryza glaberrima) appear in small quantities, and fonio (Digitaria exilis) and barnyard millet/hungry rice (Echinochloa sp.), sometimes considered weeds rather than staple crops, are found in large quantities. Some samples also show remains of tree fruits from savannah parklands, such as baobab (Adansonia digitata), marula (Sclerocarya birrea), jujube (Ziziphus sp.), shea butter (Vittelaria paradoxa) and African grapes (Lannea microcarpa). Fonio and Echinochloa sp. cultivation appears here to be a later addition that helped to diversify agriculture and buffer against failures that might affect the monoculture of pearl millet. This diversification at the end of the 1st millennium AD matches with other evidence found in West Africa.

Saurbekken – a discussion of food subsistence strategies

The zooarchaeological material from the North Norwegian settlement mound known as Saurbekken is examined using the number of identified specimens. The aim is to gain knowledge about food subsistence strategies at the site, food subsistence strategies through the ages, and whether the settlement took part in the preparation and/or export of stockfish. Based on available material from Saurbekken, the main staple was fish from around AD 1000 to AD 1300, with a seeming change from fish during the last 50 years of settlement, towards an economy more predominantly based on mammals. Based on the evidence at hand, fish was an important part of the diet for the occupants as Saurbekken, but as the amount of material recovered from the excavation produced a small sample size, it was not possible to infer if the inhabitants partook in the stockfish industry.

Mapping buried paleogeographical features of the Nile Delta (Egypt) using the Landsat archive

Abstract. The contribution highlights the use of Landsat spectral-temporal metrics (STMs) for the detection of surface anomalies that are potentially related to buried near-surface paleogeomorphological deposits in the Nile Delta (Egypt), in particular for a buried river branch close to Buto. The processing was completed in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) for the entire Nile Delta and for selected seasons of the year (summer/winter) using Landsat data from 1985 to 2019. We derived the STMs of the tasseled cap transformation (TC), the Normalized Difference Wetness Index (NDWI), and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). These features were compared to historical topographic maps of the Survey of Egypt, CORONA imagery, the digital elevation model of the TanDEM-X mission, and modern high-resolution satellite imagery. The results suggest that the extent of channels is best revealed when differencing the median NDWI between summer (July/August) and winter (January/February) seasons (ΔNDWI). The observed difference is likely due to lower soil/plant moisture during summer, which is potentially caused by coarser-grained deposits and the morphology of the former levee. Similar anomalies were found in the immediate surroundings of several Pleistocene sand hills (“geziras”) and settlement mounds (“tells”) of the eastern delta, which allowed some mapping of the potential near-surface continuation. Such anomalies were not observed for the surroundings of tells of the western Nile Delta. Additional linear and meandering ΔNDWI anomalies were found in the eastern Nile Delta in the immediate surroundings of the ancient site of Bubastis (Tell Basta), as well as several kilometers north of Zagazig. These anomalies might indicate former courses of Nile river branches. However, the ΔNDWI does not provide an unambiguous delineation.

Settlement mound Tepecik and the Karaz culture in Eastern Anatolia

The longevity of the Kura-Araxes culture is an archaeological phenomenon in the Caucasus and Near East. Over the course of a millennium, this culture spread from its origins in Eastern Anatolia, the Transcaucasia and northwest Iran to Southeastern Anatolia, northern Syria, Palestine and Israel. Named after the settlement mound Karaz near Erzurum, the Karaz culture is a widely established Turkish term for the Kura-Araxes culture. In Palestine and Israel, this culture is called Khirbet-Kerak. Apart from the striking small finds and special architectural features, it has a special pottery with characteristics that remained almost uniform in its area of distribution. Situated in the Altınova plain in Eastern Anatolia, Tepecik was also home for this significant culture. Today, this settlement mound lies under the waters of the Keban Dam in Elazığ. Yet its strategic location on a tributary of the Euphrates enabled the emergence and development of various cultures. At this settlement, archaeologists documented the Karaz culture that occurred in an almost unbroken cultural sequence from the Late Chalcolithic up to the beginnings of the Middle Bronze Age. Thus, Tepecik is one of the most significant prehistoric settlements within the distribution area of the Kura-Araxes/Karaz/Khirbet Kerak culture in the Near East. This paper presents the Karaz pottery from Tepecik as well as the possible development of the Karaz culture in the course of the Early Bronze Age at this settlement.
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The Development of the Southeast Lower Town of Sirkeli Höyük

AbstractThe site of Sirkeli Höyük in the province of Adana in modern Turkey is one of the largest settlement mounds in Plain Cilicia. In 2012, a geophysical survey revealed that the ancient settlement was not confined to thehöyük, but also encompassed an extensive lower town to the southeast of the main mound. To gain information on the dating and development of this part of the settlement, an excavation area (“Sector F”) was opened at a spot where the magnetometry survey suggested the presence of a city gate. Since then, archaeological work in this area has continuously produced new discoveries that help us understand how this residential area and its inhabitants developed throughout the periods of its occupation. Especially the Iron Age (Neo Cilician period) levels, which cover approximately the 11th–7thcenturies B.C., provide important information on how this urban center of the Neo Hittite kingdom Hiyawa/Que changed over time and to which extent historical events impacted the people living in one of its residential areas. This contribution discusses the stratigraphic sequence, the pottery, and the archaeobotanical remains discovered in Sector F during the 2013–2019 campaigns, and concludes with a synthesis of the development in this area from a historical perspective.

Pietrele: așezările neolitică și eneolitică de pe malul „Lacului Gorgana” (5200–4250 î.hr.). Cercetările desfășurate până în anul 2014 / Pietrele: the Neolithic and Eneolithic settlements on the shore of “Lake Gorgana” (5200–4250 BC). The excavations up to 2014

The 10 m high Copper Age settlement mound of Pietrele-Măgura Gorgana, situated close to the Danube was part of a large settlement system spread over the whole Westpontic region during the 5th millennium BC. The mound was the outstanding part of a far more complex and larger flat settlement as we now know thanks to geomagnetic prospections and subsequent excavations. Only recently it became evident that the oldest parts of the flat settlement belong to the late 6th millennium. Around 1000 years settlement history (5200– 4250 BC) offers insight into one of the most dynamic periods in human history coined by first metallurgical activities. During the settlement period a lake covered huge parts of the floodplain. It provided not only a considerable part of the diet, but ensured continuous and extensive regional exchange. Sedimentological and paleo-ecological research gave evidence that the paleo-lake started to exist from early to mid-Holocene onward until it was subdivided in smaller lakes by prograding branches of the Danube about 1000 years ago. The ecological conditions within the lake changed considerably, which can be deduced from geochemical, paleobotanical and micro-faunistic analyses and which might be attributed to human impact during the settlement period. This was corroborated by studies on the former landscape around the settlement mound of Pietrele and the geomorphological processes induced by land use and settlement activities.