Late Bronze Age, Early Iron Age

I. Moschos, Evidence of Social Re-organization and Reconstruction in Late Helladic III C Achaea and Modes of Contacts and Exchange via the Ionian and Adriatic Sea

by Ioannis Moschos

Published in E. BORGNA – P. CÀSSOLA GUIDA (eds.), Dall’Egeo all’Adriatico: organizzazioni sociali, modi di scambio e interazione in età postpalaziale (XII-XI sec. a.C.) / From the Aegean to the Adriatic: Social Organisations, Modes of Exchange and Interaction in Postpalatial Times (12th–11th B.C.), Atti del Seminario internazionale (Udine, 1–2 dicembre 2006) / International Workshop (Udine, December 1st–2nd 2006), Studi e ricerche di protostoria mediterranea 8, Rome 2009, pp. 345-414.

I. Moschos, Western Achaea During the Succeeding LH III C Late Period – The Final Mycenaean Phase and the Submycenaean Period

by Ioannis Moschos

Published in S. DEGER-JALKOTZY – A.Ε. BÄCHLE (eds.), LH III C Chronology and Synchronisms III. LH III C Late and the Transition to the Early Iron Age, Proceedings of the International Workshop held at the Austrian Academy of Sciences at Vienna, February 23rd and 24th, 2007, DenkschrWien 384 = Veröffentlichungen der Mykenischen Kommission 30 gemeinsam mit SCIEM 2000, Wien 2009, pp. 235-288.

Un habitat de l’âge du Bronze à Castidetta-Pozzone (Sartène)

by Kewin Peche-Quilichini

Co-authored with J. Cesari & P. Nebbia
Stantari, 29, 2012, pp. 55-56

La maison 6 de Cuciurpula (Sorbollano - Serra-di-Scopamena) et l'émergence des villages "ouverts"

by Kewin Peche-Quilichini

Stantari, 29, 2012, pp. 64-65

Tim Kerig/Jutta Lechterbeck (2004) Laminated sediments, human impact, and a multivariate approach: a case study in linking palynology and archaeology (Steisslingen, Southwest Germany). Quaternary International 113 (2004) 19–39.

by tim kerig

Quaternary International 113 (2004) 19–39

Situated in the Alpine Foreland, Lake Steisslingen provides sediments covering the last 16,000 sidereal years. The... more Situated in the Alpine Foreland, Lake Steisslingen provides sediments covering the last 16,000 sidereal years. The exceptional
value as an environmental archive is due to large laminated sections, found in several long cores. Counting of organic varves allowed
the establishment of a detailed varve-based age model. A high-resolution pollen analysis for the period 5457 BC to 813 AD was
carried out and compared with an archaeological mapping of a 5km radius around Lake Steisslingen. The combined interpretation
of the palynological and archaeological evidence facilitates a reconstruction of the settlement history and the evolution of the
landscape over the last eight millenia. Several important aspects of vegetational and settlement history are illuminated: The
mathematical ordination method of correspondence analysis is used to extract the main dimension of explanation from the pollen
data. A single curve is generated and thought to reflect human impact. The validity of this assumed proxy is tested against the
vegetational and archaeological evidence of the micro-scale area since Neolithic times. From the Steisslingen example, we conclude
that human impact is the most important and, in a mathematical sense, continuous factor in vegetational development of those
landscapes, which are settled since prehistoric times.

A possible multiperiod ritual site in the river Ljubljanica. In: TEEGEN, Wolf-Rüdiger (ed.). Studien zur Lebenswelt der Eisenzeit : Festschrift für Rosemarie Müller, (Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, Bd. 53). Berlin: De Gruyter, 2006, p. 7-17.

by Andrej Gaspari

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

The Multiple Temporalities of a Burial Monument: The Tumulus at Hrib

by Adrienne Frie

Published in Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology 4(1): 129-143 (May 2012)
Copyright ©2012 by Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

Tumuli are often analyzed as a coherent whole in the hope of discerning patterns that indicate social processes... more Tumuli are often analyzed as a coherent whole in the hope of discerning patterns that indicate social processes inhered in the monument. However, in the search for patterning too often the mound is analytically flattened, and examined as if it was created all at once with a coherent plan. In the following, I will focus on the tumulus at Hrib, an Iron Age tumulus in the Bela krajina region of Slovenia, and undertake a multiscalar analysis that considers temporal distinctions, interment ritual, grave goods, and gender to draw more nuanced conclusions about the social activities that led to the formation of this tumulus. The first level of analysis is the scale of individual ritual, where choices about how to appropriately dispose of and adorn the body are negotiated. Second is the social context of death and burial, which takes place at an intra-generational scale – that is, how death may resonate with the living community, and how the social relations of the living are affected by death. The final scale is the consideration of the tumulus as a whole at a multi-generational scale, and how cemeteries are places with continuous social impact, even when distinct memories of those interred have faded. This shift in the scale of analysis of the tumulus at Hrib illuminates that social distinctions were marked according to an external/internal binary, where material culture and social practices, including grave goods and funerary ritual, expressed social differences internally, while the external appearance of the mound projected unity.

The Multiple Temporalities of a Burial Monument: The Tumulus at Hrib

by Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

By Adrienne C. Frie

Published in Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology 4(1): 129-143 (May 2012)
Copyright ©2012 by Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

Tumuli are often analyzed as a coherent whole in the hope of discerning patterns that indicate social processes... more Tumuli are often analyzed as a coherent whole in the hope of discerning patterns that indicate social processes inhered in the monument. However, in the search for patterning too often the mound is analytically flattened, and examined as if it was created all at once with a coherent plan. In the following, I will focus on the tumulus at Hrib, an Iron Age tumulus in the Bela krajina region of Slovenia, and undertake a multiscalar analysis that considers temporal distinctions, interment ritual, grave goods, and gender to draw more nuanced conclusions about the social activities that led to the formation of this tumulus. The first level of analysis is the scale of individual ritual, where choices about how to appropriately dispose of and adorn the body are negotiated. Second is the social context of death and burial, which takes place at an intra-generational scale – that is, how death may resonate with the living community, and how the social relations of the living are affected by death. The final scale is the consideration of the tumulus as a whole at a multi-generational scale, and how cemeteries are places with continuous social impact, even when distinct memories of those interred have faded. This shift in the scale of analysis of the tumulus at Hrib illuminates that social distinctions were marked according to an external/internal binary, where material culture and social practices, including grave goods and funerary ritual, expressed social differences internally, while the external appearance of the mound projected unity.

Бронзовый гравированный умбон из Западной Грузии // Международная научная конференция «Археология, Этнология, Фольклористика Кавказа», Сборник кратких содержаний докладов, Тбилиси-Гори-Батуми, 27-30 сентября 2010 года. стр. 262-264

by Ana Cheishvili

Археологические материалы Кобанского могильника из коллекций Савойского музея города Шамбери (Франция) // Международная научная конференция «Археология, Этнология, Фольклористика Кавказа», Тбилиси, 25-27 июня 2009 года. стр. 288-291

by Ana Cheishvili

Cheishvili Ana - Une collection archéologique du Caucase du Nord au Musée savoisien, in: L'Histoire en Savoie - Bulletin annuel de la Société Savoisienne d'Histoire et d'Archéologie. Chambéry. décembre 2008. p.4-8

by Ana Cheishvili

Le site de La Rochette à Mauron (Morbihan, France) : les multiples occupations d'un promontoire

by Klet Donnart

TINEVEZ J.-Y., QUESNEL L., MARCOUX N., DONNART K., BARDEL V., GAUTIER M., BERNARD V., FONTUGNE M., VAN DER PLICHT J. et OBERLIN C. (2011) - Le site de La Rochette à Mauron (Morbihan) : les multiples occupations d’un promontoire, Revue Archéologique de l’Ouest, n° 28, p.71-148.

Découvert par prospection aérienne en 1992, le site de La Rochette révèle un ensemble de cinq fossés barrant un relief... more Découvert par prospection aérienne en 1992, le site de La Rochette révèle un ensemble de cinq fossés barrant un relief de promontoire dominant la vallée de l’Yvel. Face à l’indigence du matériel archéologique datant, dix-sept datations par le radiocarbone viennent étayer l’attribution chronoculturelle des quatre principales occupations mises en évidence. Une première fréquentation, au Néolithique ancien, se résume à cinq foyers en cuvette groupés au nord-est du site. Au Bronze final, le large fossé interrompu constitue un imposant barrage très structuré abritant une série de petits bâtiments régulièrement disposés en arc de cercle. Le premier âge du Fer est marqué par l’implantation d’une palissade sur laquelle s’adossent de petits bâtiments et un large fossé ceinturant la pointe du promontoire au sud. Après un hiatus de plusieurs siècles, la partie sud est réinvestie par une imposante enceinte en bois protégeant une maison sur poteau. L’ensemble est bien daté (radiocarbone et dendrochronologie) du haut Moyen Âge, fin VIIe-VIIIe siècle apr. J.-C.

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The site of la Rochette was discovered by aerial photography in 1992. Due to a lack of good dating material, seventeen radiocarbon dates contribute to the chronocultural determination of the four principal occupation phases revealed on the site. The first traces of early Neolithic occupation are limited to five shallow hearths grouped on the north-east of the site. During the late Bronze Age, the wide interrupted ditch forms a well structured fortification, protecting behind its inner earthen rampart a series of small buildings placed in an arc. The early Iron Age is marked by the construction of a palisade backed by small wooden buildings and by the excavation of a wide ditch enclosing the southern end of the promontory. After a gap of several centuries, the southern part of the site is re-occupied by a huge wooden enclosure protecting a post-build house. The whole is precisely dated, by radiocarbon and dendrochronology, to the Early Mediaeval period, late VIIth-early VIIIth century AD.

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

by Robert M Chapple

Some iron age and early roman finds from Stari grad above Unec (Notranjska, Slovenia). V: TIEFENGRABER, Georg, KAVUR, Boris, GASPARI, Andrej (eds.). Keltske študije II : papers in honour of Mitja Guštin, (Protohistoire Européenne, 11). Montagnac: Éditions Monique Mergoil, 2009, p. 315-329.

by Andrej Gaspari

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

CALL FOR PAPERS - Craft and People - Conference at the British Museum 1-2 Nov 2012

by Sara Strack

Call for papers for upcoming conference at the British Museum, 1-2.11.2012:
CRAFT AND PEOPLE - Agents of Skilled Labour in the Archaeological Record
Organized by Sara Strack, Marion Uckelmann, and Ben Roberts

Premiers travaux à Cuciurpula (Sarra di Scopamena – Surbuddà ; Corse-du-Sud)

by Kewin Peche-Quilichini

Co-authored with T. Lachenal
TRJCA 2008

L’opération à Cuciurpula, principal sommet de la bordure méridionale du plateau du Cuscionu, dans le massif montagneux... more L’opération à Cuciurpula, principal sommet de la bordure méridionale du plateau du Cuscionu, dans le massif montagneux du centre sud de l’île, a consisté à documenter toutes les principales phases d’occupation du massif :
- étude des charbonnières des XVIIIe/XIXe siècles et post-1950 ;
- collecte de mobilier, étude du bâti et relevé des structures présentes sur le secteur sommital occupé par un complexe castral médiéval ;
- prospection-inventaire de la Punta di Cuciurpula et du secteur plan de Pianu Suttanu ;
- sondage de 1 m² dans l’abri 1 ;
- sondage de 4 m² dans la structure « Cuciurpula 1 ».
Ces deux excavations ont permis de mettre en évidence une phase d’occupation intense du versant méridional au cours du premier âge du Fer, vers les VIIIe/VIe siècles. A cette époque, ce secteur est aménagé sur une vingtaine d’hectares par la mise en place d’un système de terrassements dont le but est d’aplanir les terrains pour permettre l’implantation de structures aux soubassements faits de gros blocs. Ces structures, dont on estime le nombre originel à près d’une quarantaine, sont de forme allongée (environ 11 m de long sur 3 m de large) et présentent un côté court absidial. A l’opposé, se situe probablement l’accès à l’espace interne. L’évaluation réalisée dans l’une d’entre elles a permis de reconnaître plusieurs niveaux de sol construit (chapes d’argiles parementées de tessons) et des négatifs de poteaux porteurs. Le mobilier recueilli renvoie aux productions de type « Nuciaresa-Cumpulaghja » et à son vaisselier où est bien représenté le décor « en grain de riz ». Le matériel livré par l’abri appartient également à cette ambiance chronologique et culturelle. Même si la fonction des diverses structures, supposées contemporaines, reste à déterminer avec certitude (habitations d’un vaste village ?), l’opération offre déjà de précieuses informations quant à la connaissance des dynamiques sociales, culturelles et chronologiques de l’âge du Fer dans l’espace intérieur montagnard du sud de la Corse.

"Ashmounds" of the Noua culture, as places for work and feast

by Laura Dietrich

This artikel offers a new view on the so called ashmounds oft he late bronze age Noua-culture (Romania, Moldawia and... more This artikel offers a new view on the so called ashmounds oft he late bronze age Noua-culture (Romania, Moldawia and west Russia). Ashmounds are round heaps with a diameter of 25-30 m formed of grayish sediments. They were believed to be burnt houses or waste dumps.
These remarks are based on excavation, which took place between 2005-2009 in a bronze age settlement at Rotbav, south-eastern Transsylvania (Romania). Here, an ashmound dating in the 14th century calBC was excavated.
The ashmound is a special, colectively used place at the boundary of the settlement. Chemical analysis proofs that the sediment it is constituted of is no ash, but a mixture of earth and burnt lime (CaO). A mixture of burnt lime and water ist historically and ethnographically known to have been used used for the tanning of leather. Further, numerous crenated scapulas, objects known from ethnographic contexts as tools for the scraping of leather, have been found numerously in the ashmound, while they lack in the settlement. A multitude of animals bones indicates that the ashmound was also the place for killing animals. In the ashmound, only bones of old animals were found, the younger individuals being present in the settlement near the houses. Obviously older, full grown animals with a maximum size of hides, were selected for killing. In proximity of the ashmound many needles of bone were discovered, indicating it as the place, where leather was manufactured to clothes.
The ashmound of Rotbav seems to have been also a place for feasting. Utilitarian pottery found here in high numbers was probably used for the preparation of meals for feasting. Special vessels like the kantharoi (lacking from the settlement, but being a common grave good) hint at the aspect of festive drinking. The special role oft he ashmounds is further enhanced by the appearance of depositions of animal skulls or metal objects occurring on some sites.