Middle Helladic Tombs at Nydri Plain, Lefkas Island. An Archaeological and Paleoanthropological Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 43-59
Author(s):  
Vivian Staikou
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Palaeolithic ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Middle Helladic

The prehistoric record of Lefkas and the smaller neighboring islands is fairly extensive. The oldest archaeological material dates back to the Middle Palaeolithic period. The Neolithic period is also attested by archaeological finds in five caves. Even though Early (EH) and Middle Helladic (MH) periods have been known since the 1920s due to Dőrpfeld’s excavations, the archaeological data from the Late Bronze Age are scarce. A small Mycenaean tholos tomb has been excavated at Agios Nikitas, while several LH tumuli have been unearthed at the neighboring Meganissi Island.

Surface surveys in the northern Troad and the identification of Çiğlitepe as ancient Arisbe

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 129-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurettin Arslan
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Western Anatolia ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Sea Of Marmara ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Ancient City

AbstractThe region known as the Troad in western Anatolia is famed not only as the setting of Homer's Iliad but also for the Hellespont strait (modern Çanakkale Boğazı) linking the Sea of Marmara to the Aegean. In addition to large cities such as Sigeum, Abydus and Lampsacus, ancient writers also mention smaller cities located on the Hellespont. In this article, the location of the ancient city of Arisbe, presumed to have existed between Abydus and Lampsacus, is examined in the light of new archaeological data. Between 2002 and 2010, the author conducted surveys in the northern Troad. These surveys revealed an ancient settlement with archaeological material belonging to the Late Bronze Age, late Geometric, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods. The location of this settlement, the archaeological data and information from ancient literary sources all indicate that this site should be identified as Arisbe.

scholarly journals THE BEGINNING OF THE IRON AGE AT ARSLANTEPE: A 14C PERSPECTIVE

Radiocarbon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Federico Manuelli ◽  
Cristiano Vignola ◽  
Fabio Marzaioli ◽  
Isabella Passariello ◽  
Filippo Terrasi
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
High Precision ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Archaeological Data

ABSTRACT The Iron Age chronology at Arslantepe is the result of the interpretation of Luwian hieroglyphic inscriptions and archaeological data coming from the site and its surrounding region. A new round of investigations of the Iron Age levels has been conducted at the site over the last 10 years. Preliminary results allowed the combination of the archaeological sequence with the historical events that extended from the collapse of the Late Bronze Age empires to the formation and development of the new Iron Age kingdoms. The integration into this picture of a new set of radiocarbon (14C) dates is aimed at establishing a more solid local chronology. High precision 14C dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and its correlation with archaeobotanical analysis and stratigraphic data are presented here with the purpose of improving our knowledge of the site’s history and to build a reliable absolute chronology of the Iron Age. The results show that the earliest level of the sequence dates to ca. the mid-13th century BC, implying that the site started developing a new set of relationships with the Levant already before the breakdown of the Hittite empire, entailing important historical implications for the Syro-Anatolian region at the end of the 2nd millennium BC.

Late Bronze Age Apsidal and Oval Buildings in Greece and adjacent areas

1989 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
pp. 269-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mazarakis-Ainian
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Building Plans

Apsidal and elliptical buildings are characteristic of rural societies. In Greece their tradition goes back to the late Neolithic period. Apsidal houses become common in the EH and especially the MH periods, while oval buildings do not occur as often. It is generally acknowledged that curvilinear plans went out of fashion at the end of the MH period and that they reappeared in the beginning of the EIA. This statement is fundamentally correct for rectangular constructions prevail throughout the Mycenaean era. Yet an attentive survey of LBA sites in Greece proves that curvilinear buildings were still constructed in certain regions. A rapid review of these sites could be beneficial, for it might help in elucidating some of the reasons of the resurgence of these particular building plans shortly after the final collapse of the Mycenaean civilization.

scholarly journals Micromorphological and Chemical Features of Soils as Evidence of Bronze Age Ancient Anthropogenic Impact (Late Bronze Age Muradymovo Settlement, Ural Region, Russia)

Geosciences ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Golyeva ◽  
Olga Khokhlova ◽  
Marina Lebedeva ◽  
Nickolay Shcherbakov ◽  
Iia Shuteleva
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Soil Morphology ◽  
Cultural Layer ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Ancient People ◽  
Chemical Properties Of Soils ◽  
And Chemical Properties

In some cases, the human impact on ancient landscapes has been so profound that local soils still remain significantly affected even after hundreds and thousands of years after ending impact. We studied the Late Bronze Age Muradymovo settlement located in the Urals, Russia, aiming to estimate the consequences of the ancient people’s activity on the environment. Despite the present humid climate, the modern soils inside the cultural layer of the study site contain more than 27% of gypsum at a depth of just 10 cm from the surface, and a microrelief of the study site is typical of a gypsum desert. The nearby background Chernozems are gypsum-free to a depth of 2 m. According to the archaeological data, the ancient people belonged to the ‘Srubno-Alakul’ archaeological culture (1750–1350 years B.C. cal (calibrated years before Christ)) and had a tradition of building their houses from gypsum rocks. At the present time, this area is still unsuitable for human settlement. The properties of modern soils inside the cultural layer of the study site are directly affected by the Late Bronze Age human activities. It has been identified on soil morphology, micromorphology, and chemical properties of soils developed inside the cultural layer of the settlement.

scholarly journals ‘LITERACIES’ – 60+ YEARS OF ‘READING’ THE AEGEAN LATE BRONZE AGE

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-137
Author(s):  
JOHN BENNET
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Linear B

Abstract Inaugurated in January 1954, the ‘Minoan Linear B Seminar’ explored the information emerging from Ventris' decipherment of Linear B in 1952. The new academic discipline of ‘Mycenaean Studies’ rapidly moved on from questions influenced by the field's ‘pre-history’ dating back a further 60 years to Evans' first publication on Aegean scripts. Intense philological and epigraphical research in the 1950s and 1960s laid the foundations for comparative study of the Mycenaean palatial societies, while a greater appreciation of archaeological data and contexts moved interpretation on in the 1980s and 1990s. Building on this tradition, Mycenaean studies currently needs more documents to sustain a ‘critical mass’ of researchers and, ideally, a new Ventris to unlock the Aegean scripts that remain undeciphered.

At the crossroads: prehistoric settlement in the Maeander valley

2007 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 87-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Western Anatolia ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Geographic Context ◽  
Settlement Dynamics ◽  
Permanent Settlement ◽  
Over Time

AbstractThe Maeander river (modern Büyük Menderes Nehri) provides the longest natural route through the mountains of central western Anatolia to link the Aegean basin to inner Anatolia, and research suggests that permanent settlement within the river's catchment had begun at least tentatively by the Late Neolithic period. However, the limited amount of archaeological research in the region has restricted our understanding of the inhabitants' settlement histories and intra- and inter-regional cultural contacts during prehistory. This paper seeks to understand better the nature of settlement dynamics and cultural interactivity from the Neolithic period through to the Late Bronze Age in this region by reviewing the available literature within a broad geographic context encompassing western Anatolia and the Aegean, neighbours whose archaeological evaluations have largely been conducted in isolation from each other. The evidence suggests that these early communities interacted with each other and inter-regionally with fluctuating intensities during prehistory, with the interior remaining more traditionally Anatolian, while the lower, coastal area experienced increasing interaction with and influence from Aegean cultures over time. The lower valley also displays a relatively static number of prehistoric sites in contrast to the middle and upper regions, where more dynamic and largely parallel settlement histories are seen.

Contributions to a Study of the Belgae

1956 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 249-256
Author(s):  
C. A. Ralegh Radford
Keyword(s):  
Full Advantage ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Wide Area ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
The South ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Present Essay

The Belgae have, in the last generation, played an increasingly important part in the archaeology of Britain in the pre-Roman Iron Age. In general the term has been confined to the two groups of invaders, who practised cremation and whose cemeteries have been traced over a wide area in the south-east and south of England. Beyond this area Belgic influence, in various forms, has been postulated in a number of districts. The Belgic origin of the invaders who practised cremation is not in doubt and it would be superfluous at this stage to argue the case once more. The nature of the Belgic influences traced beyond the area of the cremation cemeteries is more debatable, but the present essay is not intended to enter into that question. It is concerned with an earlier period and earlier invasions, which also have a right to be termed Belgic. The ultimate origin of the Continental Belgae will not be discussed, nor do the invasions considered necessarily cover all those settlements to which the term Belgic should be applied. As will be seen the traditional Irish accounts appear to demand a Belgic settlement in Britain at a date earlier than the oldest groups now identified. This is a question that can hardly be discussed to full advantage until a far wider conspectus of archaeological material is available both on the Continent and in these islands. In the meantime the question of a Belgic invasion of Britain in the Late Bronze Age is one that must remain open.

Coordination of Biblical and Scientific Information

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. O. Emery ◽  
David Neev
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Egyptian History

Much knowledge of biblical events is from narratives of ancient oral tradition that justify analysis and respect because they may reflect genuine and unique historical information. The problems involved with such study are demonstrated by descriptions of three different events related in the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah, Jericho, and the narrative of Noah’s Flood. All three are associated with two processes: geologictectonic activity of vast areas with resulting submergence of soils or destruction of settlements. The first two tell about tectonism within the Dead Sea region at south basin and Jericho where many sites are identifiable. The Sodom and Gomorrah event could have happened only at the end of Early Bronze III, as implied from archaeological chronology and outline of the biblical story. The same could be true also for Jericho if not for a significant difference in chronology of the two stories. Expulsion of rebellious Asiatic tribes from Egypt is recorded in Egyptian history to have taken place during the 13th century B.C. At least some of these seminomadic ex-slaves reportedly invaded Canaan from the east near the end of the Late Bronze age (Kenyon, 1979, pp. 205, 210) and conquered Hazor and other cities. No archaeological data were found to indicate the existence of defense walls or of a large densely populated city at Jericho during Late Bronze so the question of conquest remains open. Invasions by nomadic tribes from the east and conquests of Jericho had occurred earlier—for example, 1,000 years prior to the end of Early Bronze III (Kenyon, 1979, p. 91). Evidence for collapse of Jericho’s defense walls during earthquakes and for fires during conquests in late Early Bronze III were found by archaeologists. The importance of the capture of Jericho after the Exodus was so great for Judaic history that the story may have been enhanced by inclusion of information from earlier oral traditions of the Sodom and Gomorrah earthquake.

Evaluating the influence of climate on the Late Bronze Age collapse in the eastern Mediterranean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Bowler ◽  
Tamar Hodos ◽  
Matthew Bosomworth ◽  
Matthew Jacobson ◽  
Melanie Leng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Cave Environment ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Impact

<p>During the 13th and 12th centuries BCE (3.25-3.05 kyrs BP), the prosperous and globalized Late Bronze Age (LBA) world system came to an abrupt end in the eastern Mediterranean (EM). During this time, the EM witnessed the demise of powerful and well-established empires and state systems, including the Hittite empire in Anatolia and the Mycenean palace system in the Aegean (Yakar, 2006; Deger-Jalkotzy, 2008). The end of the LBA also saw the destruction and abandonment of numerous urban centres such as Mycenae, Troy, Ugarit, across an area of approx. 6 million km<sup>2</sup> (Knapp and Manning, 2016). The causes of this widespread and critical transition in the EM’s history, often referred to as the LBA “collapse”, have been debated for several decades and remain contentious. Notably, the idea of climate change in the form of widespread drought has been postulated, with the suggestion of a 3.2 kyrs BP ‘megadrought’ event presented in the last decade (Kaniewski et al. (2013; 2015; 2017; 2019a). This PhD project addresses the climate hypothesis, by examining whether climate may have acted as a contributing factor for the LBA collapse and subsequent transition into the Early Iron Age (EIA).</p><p>In order to provide a comprehensive assessment of palaeoclimatic conditions during the LBA/IA transition, a review of all existing palaeoenvironmental  records that cover the interval 3.5-2.5 kyrs BP across the EM has been undertaken. As part of this assessment, this study also presents new high-resolution multi-proxy stalagmite records covering this time interval from Kocain and Sofular Caves in Turkey. In total, 83 records were entered into a database for assessment in order to select the key hydroclimatic proxy records to be examined in this study. The resulting assessment of the remaining 14 highly resolved records from across the EM has not provided strong evidence of a major synchronous and widespread climatic event suggestive of the supposed ‘3.2 megadrought event’. Instead, the results of this study present a highly complex picture of palaeoclimatic conditions between 3.5-2.5 kyrs BP, which is partly related to site and sample-specific factors (e.g. chronological uncertainties, cave environment) and the high degree of regional climatic variability. However, a period of increasingly arid conditions from approx. 3.3-3.1 kyrs BP is apparent in several records including Anatolian records from Uzuntarla, Sofular and Kocain Caves. Future work by this team will specifically assess this aridity evidence in the Anatolian stalagmite records, with the aim to further improve the temporal resolution and chronologic control of these records. Additionally, future work will also integrate our palaeoclimatic findings with associated archaeological evidence. Engagement with the archaeological material is critical as integrated studies can provide us with more nuanced discussions, which are needed to capture the true complexity that surrounds both the archaeology and palaeoclimatic reconstruction for this period. Significantly, this archaeological engagement therefore allows us to more accurately assess the impact that increasing aridity and possible drought events may have had on the agriculturally dependent societies of the LBA in Anatolia. </p>

scholarly journals Evidence of a homestead from the Late Bronze Age at the Ruda site (Northern Poland) based on archaeopedological studies

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-81
Author(s):  
Maciej Markiewicz ◽  
Anna Rembisz-Lubiejewska
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Phosphorus Content ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Organic Carbon Content ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Northern Poland ◽  
Cultural Layers

Abstract Based on archaeological data and pedological analysis, an attempt was made to reconstruct the functional pattern of a farmstead from the Late Bronze Age at the Ruda site (Northern Poland). Late Bronze Age human activity in the area and immediate vicinity of the homestead led to changes in the chemical properties of the soils. Different values of phosphorus and organic carbon content in the features and cultural layers may help interpretation of the past spatial development and use of the studied households. The areas with the highest concentration are linked with places of intense economic activity, and the small increase in the phosphorus content in the soil from the homestead may suggest a relatively short exploitation of this place, which would correspond with the small number of artefacts from that area. Features similar to the presented Late Bronze Age homestead have not been recorded before in the Polish territory. Analogous spatial assumptions are known from the Carpathian Highlands as well as from the north (German and Scandinavian territories).

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