Bronze Age Archaeology

Chapple, R. M. 2011 'Review: Past Times, Changing Fortunes: Proceedings of a Public Seminar on Archaeological Discoveries on National Road Schemes, August 2010' Blogspot post

by Robert M Chapple

Eine Knochenpfeife der Noua-Kultur aus Rotbav, „La Pârâuţ“?

by Oliver Dietrich

Marisia XXX, 2010, 41-44.

A bone whistle from Rotbav, „La Pârâuţ“?
The article presents a bone object discovered in the 2009 excavations in... more A bone whistle from Rotbav, „La Pârâuţ“?
The article presents a bone object discovered in the 2009 excavations in the Bronze Age settlement at Rotbav, „La Pârâuţ“, Braşov county. The discovery can be attributed stratigraphically to the Noua Culture. It can be described as a bone tube with two sets of same shaped, corresponding holes. Both ends of the tube are open and one of them is polished to obtain a sharpened rim which has exactly the same diameter all way round. Only a few analogies can be named for the object, which hint to a function as a simple whistle. On the other hand the possibility that the object has a function as part of the horsegear can not be ruled out completely, as the orifices have similarities to those of psalia of the Noua Culture.

Chapple, R. M. 2011 'Review: Of Troughs and Tuyères: The archaeology of the N5 Charlestown Bypass' Blogspot post

by Robert M Chapple

Chapple, R. M. 2012 'Corrstown: A Coastal Community. Excavations of a Bronze Age village in Northern Ireland: Review' Blogspot post

by Robert M Chapple

Chapple, R. M. 2011 'Review: Creative Minds: Proceedings of a Public Seminar on Archaeological Discoveries on National Road Schemes, August 2009' Blogspot post

by Robert M Chapple

Chapple, R. M. 2011 'Irish National Strategic Research (INSTAR) Programme- Findings From the First Phase 2008-2011. Review' Blogspot post

by Robert M Chapple

Chapple, R. M. 2011 'Irish Copper Age houses in a radiocarbon landscape: a reply to Dr Charles Mount' Blogspot post

by Robert M Chapple

M. Mehofer, Die Kammhelme vom Typ Pass Lueg. Archäologische und archäometallurgische Untersuchungen zur spätbronzezeitlichen Handwerkstechnik / The crested helmets of the Pass Lueg type. An archaeological and archaeometallurgical study on Late Bronze Age craftsmanship; in: A. Lippert (ed.), Die zweischaligen ostalpinen Kammhelme und verwandte Helmformen der späten Bronze- und frühen Eisenzeit, Archäologie in Salzburg 6, Salzburg 2011, 119–130.

by Mathias Mehofer

Recently the fragment of a bronze helmet with embossed ornaments was found at the Northern foot of the high ridge of the Alps. Already in 1838 a hoard with bronze mining picks, a winged axe as well as copper cakes were found at the mountain pass of Lueg which forms the entrance into the Alpine area from the Northern Salzburg flatlands. Half of another crested helmet of the same type belonged to a large hoard in Moosbruckschrofen at the Pillersattel mountain pass, discoverd in 2001. Metallurgical investigations prove that the copper used for all three helmets comes from sulfidic ores close to the Mitterberg area in Mühlbach-Bischofshofen, where mining was in process during the Bronze Age. This gives reason for the assumption that there were various producing workshops which were in close contact with each other. (With a summary in english language at the end of the document)
Keywords: Archaeometallurgy, Archaeometry, Bronze Age, defensive armour, helmet

Schutzwaffen aus Metall, wie etwa Helme, werden aufgrund ihrer relativen Seltenheit im Vergleich zu anderen... more Schutzwaffen aus Metall, wie etwa Helme, werden aufgrund ihrer relativen Seltenheit im Vergleich zu anderen Bronzeobjekten als etwas Besonderes betrachtet. Im Rahmen der archäologischen Interpretation können ihnen ganz unterschiedliche Bedeutungen zugewiesen werden, manchmal steht ihre „Prestigefunktion“ im Vordergrund, manchmal dominieren die funktionalen Aspekte. Die grundlegende Aufgabe eines Helms ist es, die schneidende Wirkung einer Angriffswaffe zu neutralisieren sowie die dabei auftretende Energie eines Schlages oder Hiebes abzufedern. Zum einen absorbiert das Metall durch Deformation einen Teil der Schlagenergie, zum anderen muss die restliche Energie und eine dadurch hervorgerufene Verformung durch ein darunter liegendes elastisches Material (Leder, Textil, etc.) aufgenommen werden. Die metallische Oberfläche eines Helms wie auch seine Form bieten reichlich Möglichkeit, ihn mit Verzierungselementen zu versehen, die weit über die eigentliche Schutzfunktion hinausgehen. Dies ermöglicht es dem Besitzer eines solchen Helms, durch eine besondere Gestaltung verschiedenste Bedeutungsinhalte zu transportieren und für sein Umfeld sichtbar zu machen. Dieser Symbolgehalt der Objekte, sei es die Verzierung, die Form oder auch der Kontext, in dem sie benutzt und genutzt werden, hat einen nicht unwesentlichen Einfluss auf ihr Erscheinungsbild und damit auf ihre Konstruktion, wie die folgenden Untersuchungen zeigen. Der Neufund eines bronzenen Helmfragments des Kammhelmtyps Pass Lueg im Anlauftal/Bundesland Salzburg ermöglichte es nun, im Rahmen eines Forschungsprojektes diese Helme archäologisch und archäometallurgisch zu untersuchen.

Le détroit de Bunifaziu et les rapports corso-sardes du Bronze ancien au début de l’âge du Fer

by Kewin Peche-Quilichini

Ethno-web 2010

Etudes céramiques du rempart de plateau de Vix - Bardel, Moreau, Kasprzyk 2011 -

by Bardel David

Bardel et al. 2011 : BARDEL (D.), MOREAU (C.), KASPRZYK (M.) – Etude de la céramique néolithique, protohistorique et antique du rempart de plateau Saint-Marcel. In : CHAUME (B.), MORDANT (C.).(éd.) — Le complexe aristocratique de Vix. Nouvelles recherches sur l'habitat, le système de fortification et l’environnement du mont Lassois. Dijon : éditions universitaires dijonnaises(Art, archéologie et patrimoine), 201, p. 235 – 288.

Eine Sichel mit breitem Querwulst aus Rotbav „La Pârâuţ”. Einige Gedanken zum Gebrauch früher Bronzesicheln in der Wietenberg-Kultur.

by Oliver Dietrich

Banatica 20/1, 2010, 49-66.

The article discusses some of the earliest known bronze sickles in southeastern Europe starting from a piece from... more The article discusses some of the earliest known bronze sickles in southeastern Europe starting from a piece from Rotbav, Transylvania, which so far was attributed mistakenly to the LBA.

Depósitos con fauna en yacimientos del Bronce Medio en la Cuenca del Tajo.

by Corina Liesau von Lettow-Vorbeck

Liesau C. y Blasco, Mª C. (2006)
IV Congresso de Arqueología Peninsular. Faro, Universidade do Algarve: 81-92.

This paper presents the preliminary results o a pit located in a ditched enclorure settlement in the valley of the... more This paper presents the preliminary results o a pit located in a ditched enclorure settlement in the valley of the Jarama river (San Fernando de Henares, Madrid). The contents of the pit revealed an important deposit of faunal remains of the main domestic species, with special emphasis on the cattle related to articulated bone findings and number of individuals. The characteristics of smashed pottery findings and differential skeleton representation of the domestic animals seem to indicate a ritual act of the deposit during the Middle Bronze Age occupation.

Aughertree Fell: Cumbria

by Kate Lancelott Beddoes

A Non-invasive Archaeological Investigation into the Prehistory of Aughertree Fell.

Draft only.

This dissertation attempted to build on: a previous desk-based study of the published caucus by (Beddoes 2009);... more This dissertation attempted to build on: a previous desk-based study of the published caucus by (Beddoes 2009); previous artefactual studies by Longworth (1984) and Bellhouse (1992), and landscape studies by Bellhouse (1967), Higham (1978; 1982), Higham & Jones (1985), Bewley (1994) and the Skiddaw Mapping Project 2000 (SMP 2000).

The aim was to conduct a non-invasive study of Aughertree Fell during the prehistoric period by focusing on non-destructive techniques, drawing upon recent theories of prehistoric theories landscape and settlement, to understand better how people have dwelt over millennia on Aughertree Fell.

The methodologies used were: a museum-based study that photographs artefacts, and catalogues or makes notes from the paper archives held by Tullie House Museum in Carlisle; an aerial interpretive map and an unstructured walkover survey, with the aim of making a preliminary gazetteer of landscape features. The results were presented in each chapter, followed by varying degrees of discussion from the specific to the general.

The extent of the environs chosen for this study are bounded by tributaries of the River Ellen and based on Spratt’s (1981) model of Bronze Age estates (Kitchen 2001:113).

Errata:
p.3: Unlabelled black circle, bottom right corner of local environs map should read "Baggra Yeat" (tr. "Barrowgate").

p32-37, Figs.12-17: "Unknown" illustrations by Anne Hallam.

Understanding the productive economy during the Bronze Age through archaeometallurgical and palaeoenvironmental research at Kargaly (Southern Urals, Orenburg, Russia)

by Pedro Díaz-del-Río

Díaz-del-Río, P.; López, P.; López, J.A.; Martínez-Navarrete, M.I.;; Rodríguez, A.L.; Rovira, S.; Vicent, J.M.; Zavala, I. de 2006. Understanding the productive economy during the Bronze Age through archaeometallurgical and palaeoenvironmental research at Kargaly (Southern Urals, Orenburg, Russia). Beyond the Steppe an the Sown: Proceedings of the 2002 University of Chicago Conference on Eurasian Arcahelogy / edited by D. L. Peterson, L. M. Popova an A. T. Smith, 2006, p. 343-357

This contribution addresses the metallurgy of Kargaly (the most important Bronze Age mining district in the Eurasian... more This contribution addresses the metallurgy of Kargaly (the most important Bronze Age mining district in the Eurasian steppes) and its environmental impact. Our analyses of ancient copper slag demonstrated that metallurgical techniques were primitive. Smelting experiments evaluated charcoal consumption and the efficiency of copper recovery (the main factors governing models of copper production’s environmental impact). Our palaeoenvironmental research sampled and radiocarbon-dated archaeological sites and natural deposits and contextualized that evidence by studying the present-day landscape. We combined study of the pollen rain with mathematical modelling of the landscape using satellite imagery, geographical information systems, and global positioning technology.

Geophysical survey in the Bronze Age Settlement from Medieșu Aurit-”Ciuncaș”, Satu Mare County

by Dan Stefan

Co-authored with Liviu Marta, published in Archaeology: making of and practice. Studies in honor of Mircea Babeş at his 70 anniversary, Piteşti, 2011, p. 363-371.

The path and structure of the fortification system defending the Bronze Age settlement from Medieșu Aurit-”Ciuncaş”... more The path and structure of the fortification system defending the Bronze Age settlement from Medieșu Aurit-”Ciuncaş” were recognized by means of magnetic and topographic surveys. The fortification system comprised a large ditch, with a maximum width of 25 m in the north-western side and narrower in the south-eastern side, surrounding a total surface of 4600 square meters (with approximately 15% larger than in the present), surface which functioned as an “acropolis”. In the light of previously presented results it is obvious to emphasize that the investigated fortification system is more than a natural channel of the Șeinel river.
Other archaeological structures, located at small depths and generating strong magnetic variations, were highlighted in the exterior of the Bronze Age settlement. Most probably, these structures were burnt and should be related with the unfortified sector of the Bronze Age settlement, or with older remains of a Neolithic habitation.

Battisti M., 2004, "Un piccolo villaggio di 4000 anni fa costruito sulla nuda roccia", Novità dagli scavi ai Pizzini di Castellano (Bronzo Antico), in Il Comunale, n.39-40, anno XX, giugno-dicembre 2004, pp. 17-28

by Maurizio Battisti

Battisti M., Marconi S., 2004, "La fauna dell’insediamento dei Pizzini di Castellano (TN) e l’allevamento nell’Italia nord orientale nel corso dell’antica età del bronzo", in Padusa, Anno XXXIX Nuova Serie, 2003

by Maurizio Battisti

CARATTERISTICHE DEL PALEOAMBIENTE E MODALITÀ DI SFRUTTAMENTO DEI VEGETALI. In: Martinelli M.C. (a cura di), 2011, Il villaggio dell’età del Bronzo di Portella nelle isole Eolie (scavi 2006- 2008), Rebus Edizioni, 234- 241.

by angela stellati

Co-authored with Girolamo Fiorentino, Giampiero Colaianni, Anna Maria Grasso.

Matić, Uroš. 2011. Dupljajska kolica i tela koja nešto znače. Genero: časopis za feminističku teoriju 14 (2010): 129-159.

by Uroš Matić

Refuge or dwelling place? The MBA fortification wall of Roca (Lecce, Italy): the spatial and functional analysis of Postern C

by Teodoro Scarano

published in: Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche LXI 2011, 95-122

The Bronze age site of Roca is a long-lived coastal settlement
ever protected by a large fortification wall,... more The Bronze age site of Roca is a long-lived coastal settlement
ever protected by a large fortification wall, which was repeatedly destroyed, rebuilt and restored over the centuries between the Middle and Final Bronze Ages. The analysis of the remains of the Late Apennine (MBA) fortifications have revealed a plan of the enceinte with a monumental main entrance and at least five postern gates. The defensive wall was destroyed by a great fire, probably subsequent to a siege, which caused the collapse
of the stonework structures, and burned down the settlement almost completely. The excavation of the rubble filling from the posterns’ long corridors and the Monumental Gate showed that the original contents of these spaces were sealed in their functional situation as it was shortly before the destruction. The most extraordinary discovery came from Postern C: several vessels were grouped in three different areas. In a fourth zone, at the western end of the corridor, another group of vessels was associated to seven complete human skeletons, two adults, a juvenile and four children. Apparently, during the siege the members of this group had taken refuge within the corridor and finally tried to hide behind a heap of vessels. Unfortunately, they all died from asphyxia caused by the fire set to the fortification wall. The archaeological record from Postern C provides a unique possibility to correlate the quantitative, qualitative and spatial data relative to the artifacts assemblages, with the human group which had brought in those objects in order to survive in that space, had planned their spatial distribution, and had used them.