Challenging the Traditional Chronological Framework of Funerary Rituals in the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt Region: 14C Results from the Site of Lummen-Meldert (Belgium)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (02) ◽  
pp. 461-468
Author(s):  
Guy De Mulder ◽  
Guido Creemers ◽  
Mark Van Strydonck
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Size Number ◽  
Specific Category ◽  
Dating Methods ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Absolute Dating ◽  
Middle Iron Age

Archaeologists tend to use typochronological frameworks to date their sites. These are based on the appearance of certain cultural markers such as grave types or houseplans. In the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt region, a chronological framework is used for the cremation cemeteries from the Middle Bronze Age until the Late Iron Age based on the size, number, and presence of different types of cremation graves. Radiocarbon dating of cremated bone from the small cemetery at Lummen-Meldert dates this site to the Late Bronze Age. These results challenge the hypothesis that small cremation cemeteries with mostly “unurned” graves date to the Middle Iron Age. The cremation graves without an urn and grave goods are a specific category that has to be dated by absolute dating methods such as14C. The results also suggest a connection with the funerary traditions in the Atlantic region.

Challenging the Traditional Chronological Framework of Funerary Rituals in the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt Region: 14C Results from the Site of Lummen-Meldert (Belgium)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy De Mulder ◽  
Guido Creemers ◽  
Mark Van Strydonck
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Size Number ◽  
Specific Category ◽  
Dating Methods ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Absolute Dating ◽  
Middle Iron Age

Archaeologists tend to use typochronological frameworks to date their sites. These are based on the appearance of certain cultural markers such as grave types or houseplans. In the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt region, a chronological framework is used for the cremation cemeteries from the Middle Bronze Age until the Late Iron Age based on the size, number, and presence of different types of cremation graves. Radiocarbon dating of cremated bone from the small cemetery at Lummen-Meldert dates this site to the Late Bronze Age. These results challenge the hypothesis that small cremation cemeteries with mostly “unurned” graves date to the Middle Iron Age. The cremation graves without an urn and grave goods are a specific category that has to be dated by absolute dating methods such as 14C. The results also suggest a connection with the funerary traditions in the Atlantic region.

scholarly journals Early human impact on soils and hydro-sedimentary systems: Multi-proxy geoarchaeological analyses from La Narse de la Sauvetat (France)

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 1780-1800
Author(s):  
Alfredo Mayoral ◽  
Salomé Granai ◽  
Anne-Lise Develle ◽  
Jean-Luc Peiry ◽  
Yannick Miras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Societal Factors ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

We analysed the late-Holocene pedo-sedimentary archives of La Narse de la Sauvetat, a hydromorphic depression in the southern Limagne plain (central France), where chronologically accurate studies are scarce. The multi-proxy geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental analysis of two cores from different areas of the basin was carried out through sedimentological, geochemical, micromorphological and malacological investigations. Integration of these datasets supported by a robust radiocarbon-based chronology allowed discussion of socio-environmental interactions and anthropogenic impacts from Late Neolithic to Early Middle Ages. Until the Middle Bronze Age, there was no clear evidence of anthropogenic impact on soils and hydro-sedimentary dynamics of the catchment, but two peaks of high alluvial activity probably related to the 4.2 and 3.5 kyr. BP climate events were first recorded in Limagne. Significant anthropogenic impacts started in the Late Bronze Age with increased erosion of the surrounding volcanic slopes. However, a major threshold was reached c. 2600 cal BP with a sharp increase in the catchment erosion interpreted as resulting from strong anthropogenic environmental changes related to agricultural activities and drainage. This implies an anthropogenic forcing on soils and hydro-sedimentary systems much earlier than was usually considered in Limagne. These impacts then gradually increased during Late Iron Age and Roman periods, but environmental effects were certainly contained by progress in agricultural management. Late Antiquity environmental changes are consistent with regional trend to drainage deterioration in lowlands, but marked asynchrony in this landscape change suggests that societal factors implying differential land management were certainly predominant here.

scholarly journals Orientations of Late Neolithic to Bronze Age and Iron Age Long Cairns in Coastal Finland

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (1 and 2) ◽  
pp. 73-86
Author(s):  
Mariana P. Ridderstad
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Cultural Continuity ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Western Coast ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

In this study, the orientations of c. 138 long cairns located in coastal Finland were measured and examined, along with other properties of the cairns. The length of the cairns varies from a few metres to almost 50 m. The dominant color of the stones in most of the cairns is red, and they were usually built on locally elevated terrain, e.g. on ridges, rocky outcrops or small islets on the ancient shore. It was found that in the category of long cairns there were several different types of elongated cairns: the ‘simple’ and curved long cairns, some of which were attached to round cairns; the rectangular cairns with one or more central chambers; the very large rectangular cairns; and two different types of ship-formed cairns, Type 1 and Type 2, the latter of which was a previously an unrecognised type of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age long cairn. The comparison of the orientations of the cairns of different types and locations suggest that there was some cultural continuity between the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age cultures on the western coast of Finland. However, based on the present analysis, this continuity does not seem to have extended beyond the Middle Bronze Age. It is also suggested that the appearance of the Type 2 ship-formed cairn in the Ostrobothnia region in the Late Neolithic may have resulted from outside cultural influences, perhaps from the earliest contacts with the central ideologies of the Nordic Bronze Age.

A Preliminary Investigation of Two Prehistoric Cave Sites in Southern Albania

2009 ◽  
Vol 104 ◽  
pp. 9-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.D. Francis ◽  
D.J. Bescoby ◽  
I. Gjipali
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
The North ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Trading Networks ◽  
The Town

In this article we describe the evaluation of two prehistoric sites situated within the coastal zone of south-western Albania, originally investigated by the Italian prehistorian Luigi Cardini in 1939. The first is a cave site in the town of Himara; the second a rock-shelter at Kanalit in the Acroceraunian Mountains to the north. Investigations at both locations revealed stratified evidence of prehistoric activity dating from the mid-Holocene. At Kanalit, an extensive lithic assemblage provided evidence for the exploitation of the adjoining coastal lowlands during the Mesolithic, while at Himara, a largely unbroken sequence of deposits records often intensive human activity at the cave from the Early Bronze Age. Radiocarbon dates have provided a significant independent chronological marker for Early/Middle Bronze Age horizons. The ceramic evidence indicates a predominance of local influences, the site not becoming part of wider trading networks until the late Iron Age, c. seventh to sixth centuries BC.Σε αυτό το άρθρο πραγματευόμαστε τη σημασία δύο προϊστορικών θέσεων, οι οποίες βρίσκονται στην παράκτια ζώνη της ΝΔ Αλβανίας. Οι θέσεις αυτές είχαν αρχικά ερευνητεί από τον Ιταλό προϊστορικό αρχαιολόγο Luigi Cardini το 1939. Η πρώτη θέση αφορά ένα σπήλαιο στην πόλη της Χειμάρρας και η δεύτερη μία βραχοσκεπή, στη θέση Kanalit, στα Ακροκεραύνια όρη προς βορρά. Έρευνες στις δύο θέσενς αποκάλυψαν στρωματογραφημένες ενδείξεις προϊστορικής δραστηριότητας, που χρονολογούνται από το μέσο Ολόκαινο. Στη θέση Kanalit ένα ευρύ σύνολο λίθινων αντικειμένων παρέχει στοιχεία για την εκμετάλλευση των γειτονικών παράκτιων πεδινών περιοχών κατά τη Μεσολιτική περίοδο. Στο σπήλαιο της Χειμάρρας μία σειρά από αδιάσπαστες, στο μεγαλύτερο μέρος τους, αποθέσεις μαρτυρεί συχνά έντονη ανθρώπινη δραστηριότητα από την Πρώιμη Εποχή του Χαλκού. Οι ραδιοχρονολογήσεις παρέχουν ένα σημαντικό ανεξάρτητο χρονολογικό δείκτη για τους ορίζοντες της Πρώιμης/Μέσης Εποχής του Χαλκού. Η κεραμική φανερώνει την επικράτηση τοπικών επιρροών, με τη θέση αυτή να μην λαμβάνεν μέρος στα ευρύτερα εμπορικά δίκτυα πριν από την όψιμη Εποχή του Σιδήρου, περίπου τον 70 – 60 αιώνα π.Χ.

Hot Stone Technology at Bucklers Park, Crowthorne, Berkshire: The Use and Re-use of a Persistent Place During the Bronze and Iron Ages

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Helen Chittock ◽  
Robert Masefield ◽  
Enid Allison ◽  
Anne Crone ◽  
Derek Hamilton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Organic Material ◽  
Remote Area ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Iron Age

Archaeological investigations at Bucklers Park in Crowthorne have revealed a window onto a significant later prehistoric place, which was used and revisited over 1700 years between the Early Bronze Age and later Iron Age (c. 1800–100 bc). Activity on site was based around the heating of water using fire-heated flint, producing three mounds of fire-cracked flint and burnt organic material. These ‘burnt mounds’ are known across later prehistoric Britain and Ireland, but the ways they may have been formed are uncertain, and they are arguably under-discussed in southern Britain. Whilst water was initially drawn from a stream, a series of wells were established at the site between the Middle Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, one of which contained a well-preserved log ladder. These wells were revisited and recut over long periods of time and during the Middle Iron Age the site’s function shifted dramatically when a roundhouse was constructed. The long-term use of the site, its excellent organic preservation, dating, and its location in a remote area on the Bagshot Heath, make it significant. This paper summarises the findings from the excavations, discussing the formation of the site in the context of wider research on later prehistoric burnt mounds.

scholarly journals Clay Figurines from Sirkeli Höyük

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moira Looney
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Final Phase ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Master's Thesis ◽  
Terracotta Figurines ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Temporal Dispersion

Sirkeli Höyük is a settlement mound in the cilician plain near Adana, Turkey. It was first excavated in the 1930s by John Garstang. Work there was resumed in the 1990s by Barthel Hrouda and Horst Ehringhaus, and then again from 2006 until the present day; initially by the Universities of Tübingen and Çanakkale and subsequently (2011 onwards) by the Universities of Bern and Çanakkale. My Master’s thesis focused on the terracotta figurines unearthed during the excavations from 1992 onwards. Its aim was to construct a classification for the material from Sirkeli Höyük, which I documented, classified and catalogued according to their shape. I did not create a completely new classification, but rather tried to build on work form A. Pruss and H. Goldmann, who’s approaches I adapted to suit the material from Sirkeli Höyük. The terracotta figurines found to date span the following epochs: the Hellenistic period, the Iron Age, the Late Bronze Age, and the Middle Bronze Age. The first aim of my PhD is to construct a working typology for these terracotta figurines by clearly defining the criteria of each of the different types. In a second phase I intend to elaborate my existing comparison of the material from Sirkeli Höyük and figurines from other excavations in the cicilian plain, to document their geographical distribution and diversity. The final phase will be an evaluation of the temporal dispersion of differing styles with a view to determining the extent of any extra-regional influences.

Late Mesolithic, Middle Bronze Age and Late Iron Age/romano-british Activity at Crowdhill, Fair Oak, Eastleigh

2021 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-65
Author(s):  
Andrew B Powell ◽  
Alistair J Barclay ◽  
Elina Brook ◽  
Dana Challinor ◽  
Phil Harding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Cereal Grain ◽  
Ceramic Building Material ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Ceramic Building ◽  
Late Prehistoric Period ◽  
Hazelnut Shells

Nine areas, totalling 1.3ha were excavated after evaluation and desk-based assessment at land near Crowdhill, Eastleigh (NGR 448830 119560). Features were densest in Areas 1 and 2, with evidence dating from the Palaeolithic to the early Romano- British period. Three pieces of flint from a Long Blade assemblage were recovered, probably from a small localised scatter. A core tool rough-out, probably for a Mesolithic tranchet axe, was found in a pit with charred hazelnut shells from which two radiocarbon dates were obtained. Two cremation graves, each containing urned deposits, and an urned 'cenotaph' provide information about the inhabitants of the area although contemporary settlement evidence is lacking. By the Late Bronze Age there was evidence for settlement in the form of a pit containing flint-tempered pottery, worked flint and burnt flint along with charred cereal grain. A radiocarbon date was obtained on charred cereal grain from this pit confirming its age. There was sparse evidence for occupation in the late prehistoric period but by the early Romano-British period a number of ditches and intercutting pits as well as artefactual material (pottery, ceramic building material, fired clay and saddle quern fragments) indicates the presence of a small rural settlement in the vicinity of the site.

Absolute Dating of the Gihon Spring Fortifications, Jerusalem

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 1171-1193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Regev ◽  
Joe Uziel ◽  
Nahshon Szanton ◽  
Elisabetta Boaretto
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Water Source ◽  
The Other ◽  
Iron Age Ii ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Absolute Dating

AbstractOne of the most impressive structures in Jerusalem’s ancient landscape is the tower that was built to surround and protect the Gihon Spring, Jerusalem’s perennial water source. The structure, first discovered by Reich and Shukron (2004), encompasses the cave in which the spring sprouts from, with walls 7 m thick built of large boulders. The Spring Tower, along with the other features relating to it, were all attributed to the Middle Bronze Age II, based on their architectural and stratigraphical relationship, the type of architecture, and the pottery found. In the continued excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority along the outer, eastern face of the Spring Tower, it was noted that at least the northeast side of the tower was not built on bedrock, but rather on layers of sediment, which were sealed by the massive boulders at the base of the tower. In order to provide an absolute dating for the structure, two sections were sampled for radiocarbon (14C) dating beneath the foundation stones at two locations. Scenarios for the construction of the tower during Middle Bronze Age (MB) and Iron Age II are considered, based on the new 14C data, yielding a series of dates, the latest of which falls in the terminal phases of the 9th century BCE, alongside previous excavation data.

scholarly journals On the influence of Vatin and Verbicioara cultures in the finds of the Gamzigrad cultural group

Starinar ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Kapuran
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Small Area ◽  
Ceramic Materials ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Iron Age ◽  
The Bronze Age

The Timocka Krajina region has not been sufficiently investigated archaeologically, which coupled with the fact that a very small number of metal finds and remains have been discovered, makes the reconstruction of the start and end of the Bronze Age that much more difficult. Identification work in the area around Romuliana on two occasions in 2001 and 2008 led to the discovery of another 10 predominantly multi-layered sites dating back to the Bronze Age, of which 7 are highland settlements while 3 are lowland settlements located in the immediate vicinity of the Timok river or its tributaries. The discovered sites 1. Varsari, 2. Djokin Vis, 3. Kravarnik, 4. Mustafa, 5. Nikolov Savat, 6. Njiva Zore Brzanovic, 7. Petronj, 8. Potes-Petronj, 9. Strenjak and 10. Zvezdan; bare the characteristics of the material culture of the ?Gamzigrad group? of the Middle Iron Age. Besides known ceramic forms and characteristic ornamentation of this culture, there is a visibly strong influence of the Vatin (Crvenka-Cornes?i) and Verbicioara elements to a greater extent, and Paracin cultural elements to a lesser extent. Given that this material was collected during identification work, we are now aware of the stratigraphic relations between these elements, and have devoted more attention to common characteristics and interconnections from which certain conclusions can be drawn. Based on the finds from archaeological sites that have been excavated it can be concluded that the distribution of sites with Gamzigrad cultural characteristics is limited to a very small area, i.e. only to the vicinity of the Crni Timok river. Nearly at all sites, both highland and lowland, Vatin and Verbicioara elements are strongly visible on the ceramic materials. The geographic position of the Crni Timok, which is located in the area where the Paracin, Vatin and Verbichoar cultures connected and overlapped, could contribute to shedding light on the origin and characteristics of this phenomenon of the Middle Bronze Age in Eastern Serbia.

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