scholarly journals Advances in Archaeological Soil Chemistry in Central Europe

Author(s):  
Roderick Salisbury ◽  
◽  

Analytical technologies for the evaluation of archaeological soils have developed rapidly in recent decades, and now support a range of innovative research and interpretations of archaeological sites and landscapes. Established methods, including phosphates and multi-element ICP-MS/OES, have provided interpretations of the use of space within settlements and houses, and the function of specific archaeological features. Recently, portable X-Ray Fluorescence has been introduced to archaeological soil science, but published results have generated knowledge gaps. The correspondence between archaeological geochemical anomalies and specific human activities is partly dependent on geology (including sediment type and relative acidity and permeability of the soil), topography, and formation processes, as well as influence of human activities. At the same time, which elements, and fractions of elements, are measured is largely dependent on instrument parameters and extraction methods. This paper provides an overview of archaeological soil chemistry in Central Europe, and the current state-of-the-art, followed by an assessment of future developments in archaeological soil chemistry, molecular biogeochemistry, and the significance of geoarchaeology in multi-disciplinary research.

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibylle Wolf ◽  
Nicholas J. Conard ◽  
Harald Floss ◽  
Rimtautas Dapschauskas ◽  
Elizabeth Velliky ◽  
...  

Abstract While the earliest evidence for ochre use is very sparse, the habitual use of ochre by hominins appeared about 140,000 years ago and accompanied them ever since. Here, we present an overview of archaeological sites in southwestern Germany, which yielded remains of ochre. We focus on the artifacts belonging exclusively to anatomically modern humans who were the inhabitants of the cave sites in the Swabian Jura during the Upper Paleolithic. The painted limestones from the Magdalenian layers of Hohle Fels Cave are a particular focus. We present these artifacts in detail and argue that they represent the beginning of a tradition of painting in Central Europe.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 107-116
Author(s):  
Abhijeet Thapa

Community has been much of a striking terminology these days when associated with heritage management. Communities living nearby heritage sites, while at one hand are agents of conservation, on the other hand are sources of destruction in heritage sites and agents of risks. As such, this research unfolds the contested roles of local people for taking ownership of heritage management, understanding heritages, transmitting oral intangible values and valuing destination image at Kichakbadh Province -1, Nepal. The research, aimed at studying heritage management issues around the site has been supplemented by multiple field visits, numerous questionnaires and interviews with locals, visitors and experts. This article chiefly deals with the second phase of author’s exploration carried out on an annual fair called Maghe Purnima at Kichakbadh in 2019. While science of archaeology restricts human activities in conserved places, large fairs are held in archaeologically sensitive areas of Kichakbadh posing threats to archeological wealth there. To utter dismay, archaeological crimes are still common in many sites at Kichakbadh. Multiple field-visits, questionnaire with the stakeholders, visitors and community during the fair reveal that minimal traces of community and state level endeavors to conserve the sites do not meet the vast rescue requirements that Kichakbadh is actually in need of.


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 453 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.D Mourtzas

Sea level changes during the Upper Holocene submerged the coasts of Kea in three different phases about 5.50m, 3.90m and 1.50m respectively below the contemporary sea level thus causing sea transgression along the shores of Kea, which varied from 8m to 78m depending on the coastal morphology. These changes caused the alteration of the earlier morphology at coastal archaeological sites of the Island, as the prehistoric settlement of Ayia Irini and Classical period port of Karthaia, as well as, submerged under the sea areas of coastal human activity during antiquity, as the ancient schist quarry at Spathi bay. The study of historical, geomorphological and sedimentological data indicative of previous sea levels allow the paleogeographical reconstruction of the coasts during the period of human activities in these areas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 2657
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Stereńczak ◽  
Rafał Zapłata ◽  
Jarosław Wójcik ◽  
Bartłomiej Kraszewski ◽  
Miłosz Mielcarek ◽  
...  

The Białowieża Forest (BF), a unique ecosystem of historical significance in central Europe, has a long history of assumed human settlement, with at least 200 known archaeological sites (until 2016). This study uncovers new evidence of the cultural heritage of this unique forest area using Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) technology combined with traditional archaeological field assessment methods to verify the ALS data interpretations and to provide additional evidence about the function and origin of the newly detected archaeological sites. The results of this study include (1) a scientific approach for an improved identification of archaeological resources in forest areas; (2) new evidence about the history of the human use of the BF based on ALS data, covering the entire Polish part of the BF; and (3) an improved remote sensing infrastructure, supporting existing GIS (Geographic Information System) systems for the BF, a famous UNESCO Heritage site. Our study identified numerous locations with evidence of past human agricultural activities known in the literature as “field systems”, “lynchets” and “Celtic fields”. The initial identification included more than 300 km of possible field boundaries and plough headlands, many of which we have verified on the ground. Various past human activities creating those boundaries have existed since the (pre-) Roman Period up to the 13th century AD. The results of this study demonstrate that past human activities in the Polish part of the Białowieża Forest had been more prevalent than previously believed. As a practical result of the described activities, a geodatabase was created; this has practical applications for the system of monument protection in Poland, as well as for local communities and the BF’s management and conservation. The more widely achieved results are in line with the implementation of the concept of a cultural heritage inventory in forested and protected areas—the actions taken specify (built globally) the forms of protection and management of cultural and environmental goods.


Antiquity ◽  
1949 ◽  
Vol 23 (90) ◽  
pp. 58-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Bradford

It is widely known that war-time air photography has led to the discovery of many new archaeological sites of importance in Mediterranean lands. Many hundreds of tumuli have been added to the list, at such famous Etruscan cemeteries as Cerveteri and Tarquinia and complete systems of Roman land-partition by Centuriation have been identified round the coloniae of Iader and Salonae, on the shores of Dalmatia. But by far the most notable discoveries of all are those on the Foggia Plain, in the Province of Apulia, in Southeast Italy. Great numbers of Prehistoric, Roman, and Medieval sites are being identified, and some preliminary results have already been published in ANTIQUITY(' Siticulosa Apulia ', December 1946). Select examples were exhibited at the Classical Conference at Oxford and at the British Association Meeting, in 1948, and again for several months this year, in the Ashmolean Museum. These were chosen from a number which it was fortunately possible to acquire for the University of Oxford, now housed at the Pitt Rivers Museum, where they are being studied in detail. This collection was based on vertical photographs taken by the Royal Air Force, and oblique photographs taken by Major Williams-Hunt and myself (which were the first to reveal this dense concentration of sites, spread more thickly on the ground than almost anywhere else in Europe). This heavy concentration is of much more than local importance. During the last few years I have examined many thousands of air photographs of Southern and Central Europe taken at various seasons, in the course of my research. While these provide much interesting data and give us, as it were, an illustrated ' Domesday ' survey of Europe in the middle of the 20th century (of capital value to Anthropology), in no other area has there as yet been anything approaching the quantity of crop-marks, grass-marks, soil-marks and earthworks which have come to light in Apulia. There are various reasons for this and a detailed account must await a later report. For our present purposes, it will be enough to single out one or two areas, for comparison.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1195 ◽  
Author(s):  
María José Aliaño-González ◽  
Tristan Richard ◽  
Emma Cantos-Villar

Grapevine canes are viticulture waste that is usually discarded without any further use. However, recent studies have shown that they contain significant concentrations of health-promoting compounds, such as stilbenes, secondary metabolites of plants produced as a response to biotic and abiotic stress from fungal disease or dryness. Stilbenes have been associated with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties and they have been tested as potential treatments of cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and even cancer, with promising results. Stilbenes have been described in the different genus of the Vitaceae family, the Vitis genera being one of the most widely studied due to its important applications and economic impact around the world. This review presents an in-depth study of the composition and concentration of stilbenes in grapevine canes. The results show that the concentration of stilbenes in grapevine canes is highly influenced by the Vitis genus and cultivar aspects (growing conditions, ultraviolet radiation, fungal attack, etc.). Different methods for extracting stilbenes from grapevine canes have been reviewed, and the extraction conditions have also been studied, underlining the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. After the stilbenes were extracted, they were analyzed to determine the stilbene composition and concentration. Analytical techniques have been employed with this aim, in most cases using liquid chromatography, coupled with others such as mass spectrometry and/or nuclear magnetic resonance to achieve the individual quantification. Finally, stilbene extracts may be applied in multiple fields based on their properties. The five most relevant are preservative, antifungal, insecticide, and biostimulant applications. The current state-of-the-art of the above applications and their prospects are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tonu Tonutare ◽  
Gert Kaldmae ◽  
Tiina Köster ◽  
Kadri Krebstein ◽  
Ako Rodima

<p>Due to increase of fertilizers prices and tightening of environmental protection requirements the need for efficient use of fertilizers has increased. At moment over the word huge number of different methods for determination of soil plant available phosphorus (PAP) are in use. Due to unequal extraction ability of extractants have each method own specific gradation to evaluate the soil P class. Allmost all widely used PAP extraction methods are developed in last century, mostly more than fifty years ago and often there is not possible to found information how the P status classes and fertilizer recommendations are determined for each method is determined.</p><p>The content of PAP in soil is difficult to estimate because soil pH has a strong effect to soil  - solution chemistry. Therefore extracting  soils with higly buffered solutions as for example Mehlich 3 can give overestimated results. The acidic Mehlich  3 extactant can solubilize relatively insoluble Ca- Fe- and Al phosphates. Also the AL (acetate-lactate) method uses the buffered extraction solution and may influence the amount of extracted PAP. The most realistic conditions for PAP extraction can give the extraction solution which mimic the soil environment that has actively growing roots. </p><p>The aim of our research was to investigate the extraction of PAP with extragent similar by chemical composition to soil solution with root exudates proposed by Haney et al (2010).  The obtained results were compared with Mehlich 3 and AL methods results.    </p><p>Ref.: Haney, R.L., Haney, E.B., Hossner, L.R., Arnold, J,G. 2010. Modification to the New Soil Extractant H3A-1: A Multinutrient Extractant. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 41:1513-1523.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadezhda Kecheva

This article provides an overview of the current state of archaeological archiving in Bulgaria. It briefly outlines the legislation that regulates archaeological fieldwork activities. Although the national legislation regulates the non-destructive and destructive activities equally, differences occur owing to the existence of the 'Archaeological Map of Bulgaria', a national 'sites and monuments' type of archaeological information system. Currently, online storage of brief data and information is possible for different archaeological sites. Its next version will be based on GIS and geographic features that allow storage of raw field survey data. According to the regulations, paper/digital reports of all fieldwork activities are collected yearly and copies of all of them are stored at the 'Scientific Archive' section at the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Although their digitisation is still in the early stages, the good news is that the centralised archaeological workflow regulates their storage in one place, which makes them more easily accessible. The annual publication of the 'Archaeological Discoveries and Excavations' series, with summaries for all fieldwork activities in the year, is also very useful for keeping track of the archaeological work and results.


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