scholarly journals Systematic 14C Dating of a Unique Early and Middle Bronze Age Cemetery at Xeropigado Koiladas, West Macedonia, Greece

Radiocarbon ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Maniatis ◽  
Ch Ziota
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
Entire Period ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
Important Place ◽  
Entire Area ◽  
Long Period ◽  
The People ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

Systematic radiocarbon dating was performed on a unique EBA-MBA cemetery at Xeropigado Koiladas situated at the edge of the Kitrini Limni basin in the Kozani area, northwest Greece. It was found that this cemetery had a particularly long period of use of ~700 yr (between about 2420 and 1730 BC), which is especially pronounced if compared with the relatively small number of burials totaling 222. The dating revealed no spatial differentiation with time; the entire area of the cemetery was used throughout the time. There is a tendency of the dates to concentrate mostly in the time ranges 2200–2030 and 2000–1850 BC, which may tentatively suggest a more intense use of the cemetery during these periods. The results from multiple or consequent burials revealed that this cemetery was a landmark visible to the people of that time for at least 500 yr, if not for the entire period of its use. Some of the graves were built on top of, or adjacent to, older ones without disturbing the old burials. This implies that the Xeropigado cemetery was an important place of reference for at least 25 generations! No settlements have been found yet in the area that could be associated with the Xeropigado cemetery. Some synchronizations with various other sites in west Macedonia, for which 14C dates are available, are presented.

scholarly journals Chronostratigraphic Sequence of Santuario Della Madonna Cave (Calabria, Southern Italy): AMS Radiocarbon Data from a New Excavation Area

Radiocarbon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 408-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Calcagnile ◽  
V Tinè ◽  
G Quarta ◽  
M D'Elia ◽  
G Fiorentino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Statistical Tools ◽  
Ams Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Radiocarbon Data ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Excavation Area

The Santuario della Madonna Cave, located near Praia a Mare (Cosenza), along the northwestern coast of Calabria (southern Italy), has an impressive stratigraphy, with occupation phases spanning from the late Paleolithic to the advanced phases of the Middle Bronze Age. Recently, a new excavation area has been opened in the cave from which shortlived vegetal remains were sampled and submitted for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating. The aim of this study was to define an accurate chronology of the different cultural aspects and to explore the potentialities resulting from application of advanced statistical tools for 14C data analysis in such a context.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon dating of the bronze age bone pins from Eurasian steppe

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Shishlina ◽  
Johan Plicht ◽  
Elya Zazovskaya
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
The North ◽  
Eurasian Steppe ◽  
Culture Formation ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Bronze Age

AbstractBone catapult and hammer-headed pins played one of very specific roles in funerary offerings in the Bronze Age graves uncovered in the Eurasian Steppes and the North Caucasus. Scholars used different types of pins as key grave offerings for numerous chronological models. For the first time eight pins have been radiocarbon dated. 14C dating of bone pins identified the catapult type pin as the earliest one. They marked the period of the Yamnaya culture formation. Then Yamnaya population produced hammer-headed pins which became very popular in other cultural environments and spread very quickly across the Steppe and the Caucasus during 2900–2650 cal BC. But according to radiocarbon dating bone pins almost disappeared after 2600 cal BC.

An Archaeological Investigation of Early Mineworkings on Copa Hill, Cwmystwyth: New Evidence for Prehistoric Mining

1988 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 329-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Timberlake ◽  
Roy Switsur
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Archaeological Investigation ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Mine Workings ◽  
Prehistoric Mining ◽  
The Hill ◽  
New Evidence

In September 1986 a small excavation was done by S. T. to investigate an area of primitive-style mine-workings on Copa Hill, Cwmystwyth, Dyfed (SN816756). A small opencast and several overgrown tips associated with pebble hammers occur where the copper-rich Comet Lode outcrops on the brow of the hill. Copa Hill is within an area of seventeenth–twentieth-century lead-mine workings which extend for 1.2 km along the N side of the Ystwyth Valley (fig. 1). Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from within one of the tips suggests that mining commenced in the middle Bronze Age.

scholarly journals The Arrival of Steppe and Iranian Related Ancestry in the Islands of the Western Mediterranean

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel M. Fernandes ◽  
Alissa Mittnik ◽  
Iñigo Olalde ◽  
Iosif Lazaridis ◽  
Olivia Cheronet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
African Ancestry ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Balearic Islands ◽  
The People ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Reported Data ◽  
Number Of Individuals

A series of studies have documented how Steppe pastoralist-related ancestry reached central Europe by at least 2500 BCE, while Iranian farmer-related ancestry was present in Aegean Europe by at least 1900 BCE. However, the spread of these ancestries into the western Mediterranean where they have contributed to many populations living today remains poorly understood. We generated genome-wide ancient DNA from the Balearic Islands, Sicily, and Sardinia, increasing the number of individuals with reported data from these islands from 3 to 52. We obtained data from the oldest skeleton excavated from the Balearic islands (dating to ∼2400 BCE), and show that this individual had substantial Steppe pastoralist-derived ancestry; however, later Balearic individuals had less Steppe heritage reflecting geographic heterogeneity or immigration from groups with more European first farmer-related ancestry. In Sicily, Steppe pastoralist ancestry arrived by ∼2200 BCE and likely came at least in part from Spain as it was associated with Iberian-specific Y chromosomes. In Sicily, Iranian-related ancestry also arrived by the Middle Bronze Age, thus revealing that this ancestry type, which was ubiquitous in the Aegean by this time, also spread further west prior to the classical period of Greek expansion. In Sardinia, we find no evidence of either eastern ancestry type in the Nuragic Bronze Age, but show that Iranian-related ancestry arrived by at least ∼300 BCE and Steppe ancestry arrived by ∼300 CE, joined at that time or later by North African ancestry. These results falsify the view that the people of Sardinia are isolated descendants of Europe’s first farmers. Instead, our results show that the island’s admixture history since the Bronze Age is as complex as that in many other parts of Europe.

scholarly journals Re-Evaluation of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Chronology of the Western Belgian Urnfields Based on 14C Dating of Cremated Bones

Radiocarbon ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 499-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy De Mulder ◽  
Mark van Strydonck ◽  
Mathieu Boudin ◽  
Walter Leclercq ◽  
Nicolas Paridaens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
Occupational History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One

The urnfields in western Belgium have been studied since the second half of the 20th century. Most of these studies, as well as the excavations themselves, date from before the last quarter of the 20th century, except for the urnfields at Velzeke and Blicquy, which were excavated recently. The chronology of these cemeteries was largely based on typochronological studies of pottery. Other funeral gifts, like bronze objects in the graves, are rather exceptional. The typochronology was worked out in a comparison with the framework of neighboring regions and central Europe. There was a need, then, for a chronology based on absolute dates. This was only possible by radiocarbon dating of the cremated bones. Tests on duplicate samples, like cremated bone in context with charcoal or 2 depositions of cremated bones within 1 urn, have shown that the results are reproducible and that there is no discrepancy between the charcoal and the cremated bone dates.The results of the 14C dating project on the cremated bones of the 2 urnfields at Velzeke and the one at Blicquy are promising. The interpretation of the occupational history of both sites at Velzeke can be revised, and the currently accepted ceramic sequence for this period needs reworking. In addition, the chronological framework of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age is open for discussion. It seems plausible that the urnfield phenomenon starts earlier in western Belgium than previously expected. These dates can also contribute to the discussion about the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Dating the “Wilderness of Zin”

Radiocarbon ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 481-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik J Bruins ◽  
Johannes van der Plicht
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Archaeological Survey ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Iron Age I ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Desert Regions ◽  
Vexed Question ◽  
The 19Th Century

An important archaeological survey was conducted by Leonard Woolley and T E Lawrence in 1914 on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund in the Negev and northeastern Sinai deserts—the “Wilderness of Zin.” The region of Ain Kadeis, associated by some scholars in the 19th century with biblical Kadesh-Barnea, received much attention in their survey and discussions. Concerning the vexed question of Kadesh-Barnea, Woolley and Lawrence gave their preference for the nearby Ain el Qudeirat Valley, and in particular the ancient tell. Their survey contributed significantly in the shaping of scholarly opinion on the matter, even until today. But modern surveys and excavations failed to identify any archaeological remnants of the 2nd millennium BCE in the above regions, thereby putting the above associations in question. The Middle Bronze Age II, Late Bronze Age, and Iron Age I that cover this millennium are considered missing in the area in archaeological terms. However, our research reveals that archaeological remains of the 2nd millennium BCE do exist in the region, as determined chronologically by radiocarbon dating. A geoarchaeological approach is required to investigate terraced fields in wadis, which contain a unique record of human activity in these desert regions.

Cultural Continuity and Social Resistance: The Chronology of Megalithic Funerary Practices in Southern Iberia

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Aranda Jiménez ◽  
Águeda Lozano Medina ◽  
Marta Díaz-Zorita Bonilla ◽  
Margarita Sánchez Romero ◽  
Javier Escudero Carrillo
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Cultural Continuity ◽  
Complex Issue ◽  
Social Resistance ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Biographical Approach ◽  
Southern Iberia ◽  
The Bronze Age

Inspired by the biographical approach to the study of material culture, a radiocarbon dating programme was undertaken to explore the chronology and temporality of the megalithic monuments in south-eastern Iberia. Instead of one or two dates per tomb, the normal way of approaching this complex issue, we carried out a complete radiocarbon dating series of single tombs based on human remains. We focused our attention on four tholos-type tombs in the cemetery of El Barranquete (Almería, Spain). According to the new radiocarbon series modelled in a Bayesian framework, four main conclusions can be drawn: that the cemetery shows a very long period of funerary activity, which began in the late fourth millennium and ended in the last centuries of the second millennium calbc; that continuity of ritual practices attained an unexpected importance during the Bronze Age; that interments, which fall into cultural periods that would be unthinkable if only the typological properties of the grave goods were considered, occurred; and that each tomb had a complex and very different biography.

scholarly journals A Massive, Late Neolithic Pit Structure associated with Durrington Walls Henge

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Gaffney ◽  
Eamonn Baldwin ◽  
Martin Bates ◽  
C. Richard Bates ◽  
Christopher Gaffney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Geophysical Survey ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
The North ◽  
Surface Diameter ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Formed Part ◽  
Geophysical Anomalies ◽  
Degree Of Similarity

A series of massive geophysical anomalies, located south of the Durrington Walls henge monument, were identified during fluxgate gradiometer survey undertaken by the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project (SHLP). Initially interpreted as dewponds, these data have been re-evaluated, along with information on similar features revealed by archaeological contractors undertaking survey and excavation to the north of the Durrington Walls henge. Analysis of the available data identified a total of 20 comparable features, which align within a series of arcs adjacent to Durrington Walls. Further geophysical survey, supported by mechanical coring, was undertaken on several geophysical anomalies to assess their nature, and to provide dating and environmental evidence. The results of fieldwork demonstrate that some of these features, at least, were massive, circular pits with a surface diameter of 20m or more and a depth of at least 5m. Struck flint and bone were recovered from primary silts and radiocarbon dating indicates a Late Neolithic date for the lower silts of one pit. The degree of similarity across the 20 features identified suggests that they could have formed part of a circuit of large pits around Durrington Walls, and this may also have incorporated the recently discovered Larkhill causewayed enclosure. The diameter of the circuit of pits exceeds 2km and there is some evidence that an intermittent, inner post alignment may have existed within the circuit of pits. One pit may provide evidence for a recut; suggesting that some of these features could have been maintained through to the Middle Bronze Age. Together, these features represent a unique group of features related to the henge at Durrington Walls, executed at a scale not previously recorded.

Radiocarbon Dating of the Transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age in Northeastern Syria

Radiocarbon ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 953-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafał Koliński ◽  
Tomasz Goslar
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Cereal Grains ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Residual Material ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Multi Phase ◽  
The Bronze Age

ABSTRACTThe paper presents radiocarbon (14C) dates of samples collected from the Bronze Age cultural strata (VI–II) excavated within Sector P, Tell Arbid, Khabur Triangle, northern Mesopotamia. These strata contain objects (remains of a caravanserai, pits, graves, pottery kilns, and multi-phase houses) representing the periods of Early Jezirah 4-5, and Old Jezirah I-II. 14C dating of these strata was especially important because of a clearly visible period of abandonment of the area at the onset of 2nd millennium BC, recorded on all Khabur Triangle sites studied so far, and because of the questionable reliability of the chronology derived from scarce historical sources. Of the 29 samples of cereal grains, 9 appeared to contain residual material, while Bayesian-analyzed 14C ages of the remaining 20 allowed us to say that, at the turn of the 3rd millennium BC, Tell Arbid was abandoned later than other sites in the area, and that it was occupied over a distinctly longer period during the early 2nd millennium.

Excavations at a Multi-period Site at Greenbogs, Aberdeenshire, Scotland and the Four-post Timber Architecture Tradition of Late Neolithic Britain and Ireland

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 135-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Noble ◽  
Moira Greig ◽  
Kirsty Millican ◽  
Sue Anderson ◽  
Ann Clarke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Common Element ◽  
Timber Structures ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Human Bones ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Age Features

This report outlines the unexpected discovery of a group of Late Neolithic structures at Greenbogs, Monymusk in Aberdeenshire, along with a series of later prehistoric features in the mid-1990s. Recent radiocarbon dating shows that two four-post timber structures found here date to the period 2890–2490 calbc. These were found in association with a range of other features including an oval structure and diffuse areas of burning. The closest parallels for the four-post structures can be found in a slowly growing body of Late Neolithic timber structures, some being interpreted as roofed dwellings and others as roofed or unroofed monuments. This article places the Greenbogs structures in their wider context, identifies a number of unexcavated parallels in the aerial record and addresses the nature of the four-post structures found across Late Neolithic Britain and Ireland and suggests that four-post structures were a more common element of Late Neolithic architecture than previously identified. A common building type appears to have been shared across large areas of Britain and Ireland in a variety of contexts, from the seemingly mundane to the more ‘charged’, as part of elaborate monument complexes. The later prehistoric features identified at Greenbogs include a concentration of Middle Bronze Age features including graves containing cremated human bones, one with an upright urn, and a number of Iron Age pits and other features.

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