Search Results (8)

Khirbat Iskandar is an Early Bronze Age (ca. 3800-1950 BCE) mound in the Madaba Governorate of Jordan. Until a decade ago, it was better known as a key site for the non-urban Early Bronze IV period (ca. 2500-1950 BCE), but is increasingly emerging as a signature site for the urban Early Bronze II-III period (ca. 3050-2500 BCE). The contour of the tall site is shaped by the presence of buried fortifications that were investigated in the north-western sector of the mound, where a long sequence of rebuilds was recognized, but were exposed to and impacted by modern construction activities along the southern and south-eastern areas prior to being recorded. There, due to erosion and weathering, the stone fortifications dating to the first half of the Early Bronze III (ca. 2850-2650 BCE) fell down. In this paper, we report on our strategies to assess threats, document damages, sustainably stabilize, and consolidate the collapsed ancient fortifications in the 2023 field season at Khirbat Iskandar. At the same time, we discuss the conceptual/methodological and practical challenges of identifying best practices in the conservation and preservation of antiquities that collapsed prior to being excavated. We conclude with some thoughts on how to build on these actions to efficiently present the archaeology and cultural heritage at protohistoric sites, like Khirbat Iskandar, and to make it accessible for the local and the international communities. Full article

As a result of new discoveries, there is a greater opportunity for development and investment in the Al-Arraba EL-Madfuna region of Abydos, Sohag Governorate, Egypt, which benefits tourism and increases the national economy. The Coptic monastery, which was originally established by Apa Moses, the patriarch of the Coptic Church during the ancient Roman Empire, has vanished inside the current market on this site, along with numerous tombs. As a result, the primary goal of this work is to prospect on this site for these potential archaeological features. Ground magnetic and ground-penetration radar (GPR) surveys were employed for discovering these archaeological issues. This work was done in coordination with the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Ground magnetic and GPR surveys were implemented using the G-857 proton-precession magnetometer and GSSI SIR 4000 with a 200 MHz antenna. The data were processed and interpreted using Geosoft Oasis Montaj and REFLEXW v.5.8 software packages. The magnetic data were filtered to separate the shallower anomalies representing the archaeological remains from those of the deeper ones. Butterworth high pass filter, first vertical derivatives, analytical signal, and tilt derivative were employed to carry out the processing stages. The results were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to describe these anomalies and determine their locations, geometrical shapes, and depths. The source parameter imaging technique and 3D Euler deconvolution were used to calculate the depths. The analysis of magnetic maps shows that the study site is characterized by a number of anomalies that occur and have geometric squares and rectangle shapes with depths ranging from 0.7 m to ≈4 m. Some of these anomalies are related to potential archaeological objects. GPR findings reveal considerably scattered hyperbolas along several profiles, which may indicate the presence of potential buried objects. The integration of magnetic and GPR results showed that there is some consistency in the identification of the locations of the likely buried archaeological objects and their depths (0.7 to 3 m) for the majority of the discovered targets. The findings of this study suggest excavating at this location and relocating the market in order to protect the buried antiquities from being lost to be safeguarded as a tourist destination target. Full article

We present the first evidence of surface rupture along the causative fault of the 14 January 1703 earthquake (Mw 6.9, Italian central Apennines). This event was sourced by the ~30 km-long, Norcia fault system, responsible for another catastrophic event in Roman times, besides several destructive earthquakes in the last millennium. A dozen paleoseismological excavations have already investigated the surface ruptures occurred during the Holocene along the Cascia-Mt Alvagnano segments, as well as along secondary splays close to the Medieval Norcia Walls. Remarkably, the master fault bounding the Norcia-Campi basins have never be proved to rupture at the surface. An antique limekiln that was improvidently set across the main fault scarp provides the amazing evidence of an abrupt offset in the 1703 earthquake, which likely occurred during a liming process of carbonate stones. Obviously, the limekiln became useless, and was progressively buried by slope debris. The amount of the offset and the kinematics indicators surveyed in the site allow the strengthening of our knowledge on the seismogenic potential of the Norcia fault system, on its geomorphic rule, and on its impact on the human activities. Full article

Among all geophysical techniques, electrical resistivity and magnetic surveying as an integrative approach has been used widely for archaeological prospection at different scales of investigations. In this study, DC resistivity (1D vertical sounding and/2D/3D ERT) and magnetic surveys (total and gradient) as a multi-scale approach was applied in a highly terraneous archaeological site (Tell) with a case study to characterize and image the various archaeological assets at different depths with different spatial resolutions. Four critical zones of great interest within the considered Tell were surveyed. At the heart of the study area, three layers were depicted clearly from 1D resistivity sounding. A thick conductive zone of mostly clay is sandwiched between two resistive layers. The topmost layer contains construction debris (dated back to the Islamic Era), whereas the deeper layer could be related to Gezira sand on which the probable Pharaonic temple was constructed. A long 2D ERT profile using Wenner Beta (WB) and Dipole–Dipole (DD) arrays with a 5-m electrode spacing identified shallow high resistivity anomalies that could be related to construction ruins from fired bricks. Additionally, it succeeded in imaging the turtleback-shaped deeper resistive layer of mostly sand. At an elevated rim to the east and west of the Tell, total and vertical magnetic gradient maps clearly delineated different archaeological structures: the walls of the rooms of ancient Islamic settlers and the walls of water tanks from the Byzantine Era. Magnetic modeling assuming 2.5-dimensional magnetic models constrained by the 2D ERT inversion models could be used to create a realistic representation of the buried structures. Toward the northern part of the Tell, the joint application of the quasi-3D ERT inversion scheme and the magnetic survey revealed an anomaly of a well-defined geometric shape of an archaeological interest thought to be a crypt or water cistern based on nearby archaeological evidence. The overall results of the geophysical survey integrated with the image of some partially excavated parts provided the archaeologists with a comprehensive and realistic view of the subsurface antiquities at the study area. Full article

Geophysical prospecting methods have been extensively used to outline buried antiquities in terrestrial sites. Despite the frequent application of these mapping and imaging approaches for the detection of archaeological relics in deep-water marine environments (e.g., shipwrecks), the aforementioned processes have minimal contribution when it comes to understanding the dynamics of the past in coastal and shallow aquatic archaeological sites. This work explores the possibilities of multicomponent geophysical techniques in revealing antiquities that have been submerged in diverse shallow coastal marine environments in the eastern Mediterranean. A group of four sites in Greece (Agioi Theodoroi, Olous, Lambayanna) and Cyprus (Pafos) spanning from prehistory to Roman times were chosen as test sites to validate the efficiency of electrical resistivity tomography, magnetic gradiometry, and ground penetrating radar methods. The comprehensive analysis of the geophysical data completed the picture for the hidden archeological elements in all the sites. The results manifest the significance and the potential of these methods for documenting and understanding the complex archaeological sites encountered in the Mediterranean. In view of climate change and the risks related to future sea level rise and erosion of low-level coastal areas, the results of this work could be integrated in a strategic framework to develop an effective interdisciplinary research model that can be applied to similar shallow water archaeological surveys, thus substantially contributing towards cultural resources management. Full article

The interdisciplinary field of archaeometry covers a wide range of subject categories and disciplines in relation to science and humanities. It is a well-established academic field of study and accredited part of higher education. Since its inception, the nomenclature designation of archaeometry signifies the appropriate methodology applied to archaeological materials and questions emerging from this field, regarding monuments, artifacts, and the reconstruction and management of landscape bearing cultural assets. The measurements of tangible culture denote significant information, such as chronology, authenticity, technology, characterization, provenance, discovering buried antiquities, ancient-day life activities, and three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions and modelling; furthermore, proxy data collected from environmental dynamic non-liner perturbations, which link local ecosystems with dwellings, are gathered by academia to study the past. The traditional rooting signifies the cultural legacies of people, which define the human desire and the confidence of memory and future trends. Beyond the mere study of the past, archaeometry’s role increasingly proves affinity to prosperity, if properly managed. The major archaeometrical contributions in cultural heritage and archaeology in general are reviewed herein, and we present the policies that could develop archaeometrical data into a sustainable stage of local, regional, and national economic development. Τhe United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conventions for the documentation and protection of cultural heritage via new technologies and archaeometry are reviewed and connected to development strategies and sustainable development goals. Full article

It is well known that nowadays as well as in the past the vast majority of human habitation and activities are mainly concentrated in littoral areas. Thus the increased attention to coastal zone management contributed to the development and implementation of shallow-water mapping approaches for capturing current environmental conditions. During the last decade, geophysical imaging techniques like electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) have been used in mapping onshore buried antiquities in a non-destructive manner, contributing to cultural heritage management. Despite its increased implementation in mapping on-shore buried archaeological remains, ERT has minimal to non-existent employment for the understanding of the past dynamics in littoral and shallow off-shore marine environments. This work presents the results of an extensive ERT survey in investigating part of the Hellenistic to Byzantine submerged archaeological site of Olous, located on the north-eastern coast of Crete, Greece. A marine area of 7100 m² was covered with 178 densely spaced ERT lines having a cumulative length of 8.3 km. A combination of submerged static and moving survey modes were used to document potential buried and submerged structures. The acquired data from the marine environment were processed with two-dimensional and three-dimensional inversion algorithms. A real time kinematic global navigation satellite system was used to map the visible submerged walls and compile the bathymetry model of the bay. The adaptation of ERT in reconstructing the underwater archaeological remains in a shallow marine environment presented specific methodological and processing challenges. The in situ experience from the archaeological site of Olous showed that ERT provided a robust method for mapping the submerged archaeological structures related to the ancient built environment (walls, buildings, roads), signifying at the same time the vertical stratigraphy of the submerged sediments. The inherent limitation of employing ERT in a conductive environment is counterbalanced by the incorporation of precise knowledge for the conductivity and bathymetry of the saline water in the modelling and inversion procedure. Although the methodology definitely needs further refinement, the overall outcomes of this work underline the potential of ERT imaging being integrated into wider shallow marine projects for the mapping of archaeological sites in similar environmental regimes. Full article

Techniques were implemented to extract anthropogenic features in the desert region of North Sinai using data from the first- and second-generation Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR-1 and 2). To obtain a synoptic view over the study area, a mosaic of average, multitemporal (De Grandi) filtered PALSAR-1 σ° backscatter of North Sinai was produced. Two subset regions were selected for further analysis. The first included an area of abundant linear features of high relative backscatter in a strategic, but sparsely developed area between the Wadi Tumilat and Gebel Maghara. The second included an area of low backscatter anomaly features in a coastal sabkha around the archaeological sites of Tell el-Farama, Tell el-Mahzan, and Tell el-Kanais. Over the subset region between the Wadi Tumilat and Gebel Maghara, algorithms were developed to extract linear features and convert them to vector format to facilitate interpretation. The algorithms were based on mathematical morphology, but to distinguish apparent man-made features from sand dune ridges, several techniques were applied. The first technique took as input the average σ° backscatter and used a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derived Local Incidence Angle (LAI) mask to exclude sand dune ridges. The second technique, which proved more effective, used the average interferometric coherence as input. Extracted features were compared with other available information layers and in some cases revealed partially buried roads. Over the coastal subset region a time series of PALSAR-2 spotlight data were processed. The coefficient of variation (CoV) of De Grandi filtered imagery clearly revealed anomaly features of low CoV. These were compared with the results of an archaeological field walking survey carried out previously. The features generally correspond with isolated areas identified in the field survey as having a higher density of archaeological finds, and interpreted as possible islands of dry land, which may have been surrounded by lagoons, rivers, and swamplands in antiquity. It is suggested that these surrounding areas may still have a higher water content, sufficient to be detected in processed Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery. Full article