The Antiquities of Transoxiana in the Light of Investigations in Uzbekistan (1985-1990)

1996 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
G.A. Pugachenkova
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Wall Painting ◽  
Classical Period ◽  
Urban Forms ◽  
Great Mother ◽  
The North ◽  
Mother Goddess

AbstractThe archaeological study of pre-Islamic Uzbekistan (Bactria, Sogdiana) has been intensified since. World War II and this survey presents the most important recent results of this work. Bronze Age sites show a process of cultural change in Bactria, particularly the settlement of the area by farmers and the emergence in proto-cities of new urban forms of social organisation and systems of belief. The Iron Age sees the assimilation of new ethnic groups into the region, the expansion of a strong (Achaemenid) state, the development of defended cities and administrative centres and the beginnings of specialised craft industries. In the Classical period the Macedonian conquest brought about the sharp decline of existing urban centres, but the centralised states that followed were able to establish (e.g. through irrigation projects) new cities in new agricultural zones. Excavation into the lower levels of medieval cities has revealed several previously unknown ancient cities, many of which seem to have been derelict in the period before or during the Arab conquest. Bactrian cities of the Classical period have been shown to be extensive in area, well defended by strong walls and a citadel, and to have performed administrative, economic, religious as well as military functions. Cult buildings discovered show the presence of Avestan religion (although not the orthodox Zoroastrianism of Iran), cults of the Great Mother Goddess, and Buddhism (though limited to a few remarkable centres), and in the North of Sarmatian totemic cults using zoomorphic representations, finds of art, sculpture and wall-painting reveal a process in Bactria in which a native substratum was synthesized with Hellenistic, Indian and Sako-Sarmatian elements to produce work of high quality and originality. Epigraphical finds include ostraca, graffiti, inscriptions, and even papyri, representing scripts and languages from Bactrian to Pahlavi, to Greek and Latin. Finds of coins, including Greco-Bactrian and Parthian, help to date archaeological layers and produce accurate chronologies. Scholars from Uzbekistan have also contributed to the "Great Silk Road" programme, which is showing that routes crossing the region were formed in the 1st mill. B.C. and constituted a dense branched network by the end of the Classical period.

Bronze Age Barrows on Charmy Down and Lansdown, Somerset

1950 ◽  
Vol 30 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 34-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Williams
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
The South ◽  
Stream Flows ◽  
North East ◽  
The North

Charmy Down is a plateau three miles north-east of Bath (fig. 1, 1), east of the Bath-Tetbury road. About a square mile in extent it has a general height of well over 600 ft. To the north the scarp falls swiftly, on the east more gently, to the wooded valley of St. Catherine's Brook, a tributary of the Bristol Avon and the modern Somerset–Gloucester boundary. At the foot of the steep western scarp a second stream flows south to the Avon. On the south Chilcombe Bottom separates Charmy Down from Solsbury Hill, distinguished by its Iron Age earthwork. The underlying rock is oolite, a southward continuation of the Cotswold formation.

Excavations and Metal-working at Llwyn Bryn-dinas Hillfort, Llangedwyn, Clwyd

1992 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Musson ◽  
W. J. Britnell ◽  
J. P. Northover ◽  
C. J. Salter ◽  
P. Q. Dresser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Copper Alloy ◽  
Radiocarbon Date ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Metal Working ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Alloy Casting ◽  
The North ◽  
Local Evidence

Small-scale rescue excavations at Llwyn Bryn-dinas hillfort, on the Welsh Borderland, showed that the earliest fortification belonged to the late Bronze Age, with radiocarbon dates in the late 9th and 8th centuries be. A terrace, subsequently cut into the rear of the rampart to accommodate a metal-working floor, was associated with a radiocarbon date centred in the late 3rd century bc. Detailed analysis of the metal-working debris suggests that copper-alloy casting, iron forging and possibly bronze production were carried out within a single workshop. The finds include a distinctive form of handled crucible. The industry appears to have been fairly small-scale, of short duration, and probably only designed to meet the internal needs of the hillfort population. The excavation adds significantly to the local evidence for metal-working during the later prehistoric period. A distinctive zinc-impurity pattern in the copper alloy and raw copper, previously identified in material from other sites nearby, confirms the suggestion of an Iron Age bronze-working industry based on a specific metal source in the north Powys area. In addition, analysis of the iron-working debris suggests the exploitation of a distinctive local ore body. The metal-working activity appears to have come to an abrupt end, possibly with the enlargement or local repair of the rampart. Later phases of activity include a final occupation deposit with an associated radiocarbon date centred in the mid 2nd century bc.

Crete (Iron Age to Hellenistic)

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 68-76
Author(s):  
Matthew Haysom
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Classical Period ◽  
Opportune Time ◽  
Settlement Site ◽  
Archaeological Work ◽  
Main Period

This year, the newly-published material bookends nearly a decade of archaeological work on the island with ADelt covering work on Crete from 2001 to 2004 and the second volume of Archaiologiko Ergo Kritis showcasing work in the years immediately before 2010. Several of the more impressive discoveries from the beginning of the decade have been known to the wider archaeological community for some time, but their publication in ADelt allows us to discuss them in greater detail and in their broader context. Overall, this is an opportune time to look at how some of the fieldwork done between 2001 and 2010 might contribute to our view of post-Bronze Age Crete.The largest single contribution of the 2012–2013 reports to the Iron Age came in the form of the publication of the 2001–2004 seasons at the settlement site on Prophitis Elias hill near Smari (ID3655): an account that rounds out earlier notices for the 1999 and 2000 seasons (AR 53 [2006–2007] 107–08; ID1814). The site of Smari has entered the literature principally thanks to the megara with stone-lined hearths at their centre. The buildings have been interpreted as a ruler's dwelling, with some relationship to Cretan hearth temples, and as a locale for communal dining (Mazarakis-Ainian [1997] 220–21, 296; Prent [2007] 143; Sjogren [2007] 153; Wallace [2010] 112, 119). After a Middle Minoan occupation, the site's main period of use covers the whole of the Iron Age from Late Minoan IIIC through to the Orientalizing period, after which a small cult place remained in use through to the Classical period (fifth-to third-century BC figurines: Hatzi-Vallianou [2000]).

building techniques and materials, Roman

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger B. Ulrich
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Roman Architecture ◽  
The North ◽  
Mediterranean World

The inherent strengths, weaknesses, and availability of diverse Roman building materials governed the techniques used in construction and greatly influenced the final appearance of Roman architecture. Trace archaeological evidence exists of buildings and burials in Rome from the Italian Bronze Age (second millennium bce) or earlier, and substantial physical remains, in the form of Iron-Age huts and grave goods, roughly correspond to the Romans’ own belief of the foundation date of their city (traditionally 753 bce). Rome’s earliest builders sourced materials obtainable from the immediate environment and transformed them using practical knowledge. Within the span of a couple centuries, architectural design, implementation, and decoration reflect a broad interaction between Roman builders and their counterparts in the regions around central Italy (particularly Etruria to the north and Campania to the south) and also the wider Mediterranean world, particularly those areas where Greeks traditionally lived or had placed colonies. While southern Italy and Sicily represent the closest areas for the transmission of Greek ideas, Greek building practices on the Greek mainland and in Asia Minor also influenced Roman projects from the Archaic period onwards. As Rome grew wealthier and expanded abroad, patrons and builders imported marble to the capital from the Aegean, well before the discovery of more local, Italian sources. The importation of exotic stones grew exponentially over the period of the late Republic and the first two centuries of empire. The coloured marbles that embellished the buildings of Rome served as physical testimony to Rome’s control over the eastern Mediterranean. Nothing, however, was as transformative as the adoption of concrete in the late 3rd century bce, the mass production of fired brick, and the ensuing experimentation that resulted in the vaulted structures that have become the hallmark of Roman architecture.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Dating Shows an Early Appearance of Philistine Material Culture in Tell es-Safi/Gath, Philistia

Radiocarbon ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 825-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yotam Asscher ◽  
Dan Cabanes ◽  
Louise A Hitchcock ◽  
Aren M Maeir ◽  
Steve Weiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts

The Late Bronze Age to Iron Age transition in the coastal southern Levant involves a major cultural change, which is characterized, among other things, by the appearance of Philistine pottery locally produced in styles derived from outside the Levant. This transition in the coastal southern Levant is conventionally dated to the 12th century BC, based on historical and archaeological artifacts associated with the Philistine pottery. Radiocarbon dating can provide a more precise independent absolute chronology for this transition, but dating for the period under discussion is complicated by the wiggles and relatively flat slope in the calibration curve, which significantly reduce precision. An additional complication is that the stratigraphic record below and above the transition at this site, as well as at most other sites in the region, is far from complete. We thus used a variety of microarchaeological techniques to improve our understanding of the stratigraphy, and to ensure that the locations with datable short-lived materials were only derived from primary contexts, which could be related directly to the associated material culture. The 14C dates were modeled using Bayesian statistics that incorporate the stratigraphic information. Using this integrative approach, we date the appearance of the Philistine pottery in Tell es-Safi/Gath in the 13th century BC.

scholarly journals Application of Image Analysis for the Identification of Prehistoric Ceramic Production Technologies in the North Caucasus (Russia, Bronze/Iron Age)

Heritage ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 2327-2342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ki Suk Park ◽  
Ralf Milke ◽  
Erik Rybacki ◽  
Sabine Reinhold
Keyword(s):  
Image Analysis ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Ceramic Production ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Archaeological Ceramics ◽  
The North ◽  
Production Technologies

The recent advances in microscopy and scanning techniques enabled the image analysis of archaeological objects in a high resolution. From the direct measurements in images, shapes and related parameters of the structural elements of interest can be derived. In this study, image analysis in 2D/3D is applied to archaeological ceramics, in order to obtain clues about the ceramic pastes, firing and shaping techniques. Images were acquired by the polarized light microscope, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and 3D micro X-ray computed tomography (µ-CT) and segmented using Matlab. 70 ceramic sherds excavated at Ransyrt 1 (Middle-Late Bronze Age) and Kabardinka 2 (late Bronze–early Iron Age), located in in the North Caucasian mountains, Russia, were investigated. The size distribution, circularity and sphericity of sand grains in the ceramics show site specific difference as well as variations within a site. The sphericity, surface area, volume and Euler characteristic of pores show the existence of various pyrometamorphic states between the ceramics and within a ceramic. Using alignments of pores and grains, similar pottery shaping techniques are identified for both sites. These results show that the image analysis of archaeological ceramics can provide detailed information about the prehistoric ceramic production technologies with fast data availability.

Курган ямной культуры на южном берегу р. Егорлык

2020 ◽  
pp. 10-31
Author(s):  
Erdni A. Kekeev ◽  
◽  
Maria A. Ochir-Goryaeva ◽  
Evgeny G. Burataev ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Eastern Slope ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Excavation Work ◽  
The Bronze Age

The article presents materials from the excavation work of the mound 1 from the Egorlyk group. The mound was formed over two burials of the Yamnaya culture of the early Bronze Age era. The only inlet burial was placed in the center of the mound during the transition period from the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. The discovery of this monument is significant because it is the first monument of the Bronze Age explored on the north-eastern slope of the Stavropol height, in-between the rivers Egorlyk and Kalaus and bounded from the east by the lake Manych.

The Early Iron Age Urban Forms of Cyprus

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Iacovou
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Urban Settlement ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Urban Forms ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Power Centers

This chapter examines the local conditions, traditions, and forms of urban settlement in Cyprus during the Iron Age. It explains that almost to the very end of the Middle Bronze Age, Cyprus had remained a closed rural society, though it was by then completely surrounded by Mediterranean urban states and it was only by 1100 BC that new social and economic structures started to dictate the establishment and development of new population and power centers. The archaeological evidence of 800–600 BC stands testimony to the culmination of a long process of social evolution and urbanization.

Samos

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clyde E. Fant ◽  
Mitchell G. Reddish
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Fine Arts ◽  
Aegean Sea ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Asia Minor ◽  
Western Turkey ◽  
Naval Power ◽  
The North

The island of Samos, one of the most pleasant of all the Greek islands, played an important role in both Greek and Roman history. The significance of Samos was due to its strategic location and its fame from three sources: the Great Temple to Hera, one of the most renowned in the ancient world; the Tunnel of Eupalinus, one of the great engineering feats of antiquity; and two of its most famous citizens, the moralist Aesop and the mathematician Pythagoras, of Pythagorean theorem fame. Samos is located only 1 mile from the shore of western Turkey. It received its name, according to Herodotus, because of its mountainous terrain. Samos means “high land” and seems to have been derived either from the Phoenician word sama or from the Ionian word samo, both of which have the same meaning. (Another island to the north has a similar name, Samothrace, which means the samos of nearby Thrace.) This relatively small island, 14 miles wide and 27 miles long, shows evidence of occupation at least as early as the 4th millennium B.C.E. Later, abundant evidence attests to further occupation in the Early Bronze Age by the Mycenaeans. Likewise, the Ionians established colonies on the island during the early Iron Age and it subsequently became a great naval power. Sometime during the 8th century B.C.E., Samos obtained land on the opposite coast of Asia Minor, which led to ongoing conflict with neighboring Priene. The most famous, and infamous, ruler of Samos was Polycrates, the tyrant who ruled from approximately 550 B.C.E. until 522 B.C.E., when he was lured to Asia Minor and subsequently crucified by the Persians. During his reign, according to Strabo, the naval fleet of Samos became the first to rule the Aegean Sea since the days of the Minoan civilization. Polycrates established a cultured court, encouraged fine arts, and invited the famous hydraulics engineer Eupalinus of Megara to construct the great water tunnel that became known as the Tunnel of Eupalinus. Other public works projects included the construction of great walls around the city.

Changing social inequality from first farmers to early states in Southeast Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (47) ◽  
pp. e2113598118
Author(s):  
Mattia Fochesato ◽  
Charles Higham ◽  
Amy Bogaard ◽  
Cristina Cobo Castillo
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Rice Farmers ◽  
Early States ◽  
The North ◽  
Agricultural Revolution ◽  
Phase Sequence ◽  
Wide Range

When the first rice farmers expanded into Southeast Asia from the north about 4,000 y ago, they interacted with hunter-gatherer communities with an ancestry in the region of at least 50 millennia. Rigorously dated prehistoric sites in the upper Mun Valley of Northeast Thailand have revealed a 12-phase sequence beginning with the first farmers followed by the adoption of bronze and then iron metallurgy leading on to the rise of early states. On the basis of the burial rituals involving interment with a wide range of mortuary offerings and associated practices, we identify, by computing the values of the Gini coefficient, at least two periods of intensified social inequality. The first occurred during the initial Bronze Age that, we suggest, reflected restricted elite ownership of exotic valuables within an exchange choke point. The second occurred during the later Iron Age when increased aridity stimulated an agricultural revolution that rapidly led to the first state societies in mainland Southeast Asia.

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