Excavation of two burnt mounds and a wooden trough near Ryeriggs, Fochabers, Moray

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Gary Savory
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Excavation

The remains of two burnt mounds were identified and later excavated at Ryeriggs, Moray during an archaeological watching brief undertaken by CFA Archaeology Ltd in April 2016 ahead of works for the installation of an HVDC cable between Port Gordon and Blackhillock Substation in Moray. The subsequent archaeological excavation revealed a wooden trough underneath the deposits of one of the burnt mounds, the timbers of which were dated to the Early Bronze Age. This is the first such feature which has been excavated in Moray.

An Early Bronze Age Cremation Cemetery at Beggarwood Lane, Basingstoke, Hampshire

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-35
Author(s):  
Ray Kennedy ◽  
Richard Massey ◽  
Sharon Clough ◽  
Katie Marsden ◽  
E R McSloy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Unknown Function ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
Related Material ◽  
Single Feature ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Field Boundaries ◽  
Excavation Area

An archaeological excavation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in February 2016, on land at Beggarwood Lane, Basingstoke, Hampshire. The excavation area was targeted on archaeological features identified by evaluation.<br/> Excavation identified a small Early Bronze Age cremation cemetery, comprising twenty-three pits containing deposits of cremated bone or pyre debris, seven of which were associated with urns. The identified vessels included both collared urn and 'food vessel' types, which are well-represented in cremation cemeteries of this date elsewhere in Hampshire. Cremated human bone was recovered from only nine features, of which three were associated with urns and six were unurned.<br/> Two pits contained possible evidence of post settings, and a small number of undated features had no association with cremation-related material, and were of unknown function.<br/> A single feature, of Roman date, contained a deposit of iron nails which, together with charred plant remains, suggested settlement or agricultural activity in proximity to the site. A number of ditched field boundaries of post-medieval date were identified during the evaluation.<br/> The Early Bronze Age cremation cemetery represents a rare example of its type in southern England, and one of at least regional importance.

scholarly journals Early Bronze Age Strata at Tell Ghanem Al-Ali Along the Middle Euphrates in Syria: A Preliminary Report of 14C Dating Results

Radiocarbon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-392
Author(s):  
Toshio Nakamura ◽  
Mitsuo Hoshino ◽  
Tsuyoshi Tanaka ◽  
Hidekazu Yoshida ◽  
Takeshi Saito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Preliminary Report ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
Euphrates River ◽  
Age Limit ◽  
Sediment Layers ◽  
Building Level

We collected charcoal fragments during an archaeological excavation at the Tell Ghanem al-Ali site, located on the lowest terrace of the middle Euphrates River, and measured their radiocarbon ages with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Two trenches, Square-1 and Square-2, were dug on the slope of the tell; 8 building levels were detected in the Square-2 trench. In total, 31 charcoal samples were collected from the 2 trenches, and their calibrated ages ranged from 3100–2900 cal BC at the lowest building level to 2400–2050 cal BC at the uppermost layers of the mound, and concentrated in the period 2650–2450 cal BC. The pottery fragments collected on the surface of the mound before the excavation survey was started, as well as those collected from the sediment layers during the excavation, were assigned on the basis of typological sequences to the Early Bronze Age (EB)-III and EB-IV periods. Thus, the concentrated dates (2650–2450 cal BC) obtained by 14C dating are consistent with the age estimated by archaeological contexts. However, the oldest dates of the lowest level (level-7) go back to 3100–2900 cal BC, and these dates may suggest the existence of the human residence prior to the EB period at the site, and may therefore lead to a revision of the oldest age limit of the EB period currently accepted in the region.

Two Early Helladic II terracotta rollers from Asine and their glyptic context

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 81-96
Author(s):  
Michael Lindblom ◽  
Gullög Nordquist ◽  
Hans Mommsen
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Chemical Characterization ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
The Third ◽  
Archaeological Perspective

Two Early Helladic II terracotta rollers from the Third Terrace at Asine are presented. The objects, used to impress relief decoration on pithoi and hearths, are unique in that no other examples are known from the Early Bronze Age Aegean. Their origin is discussed based on chemical characterization and their depositional contexts are reviewed from an archaeological perspective. Although there are no known impressions from these rollers on pithoi and hearths at Asine, it is shown that their owners surrounded themselves with different objects featuring similar glyptic impressions. Two such impressions find identical parallels at Tiryns and the combined evidence strongly suggest that Asine was the home for one or several potters who produced Early Helladic impressed hearths and pithoi.

Dairy Queen. Churns and milk products in the Aegean Bronze Age

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 205-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah P. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Dairy Products ◽  
Near East ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Specific Function ◽  
Milk Products ◽  
The Third ◽  
Household Processing

This article assembles examples of an unusual vessel found in domestic contexts of the Early Bronze Age around the Aegean and in the Eastern Mediterranean. Identified as a “barrel vessel” by the excavators of Troy, Lesbos (Thermi), Lemnos (Poliochni), and various sites in the Chalkidike, the shape finds its best parallels in containers identified as churns in the Chalcolithic Levant, and related vessels from the Eneolithic Balkans. Levantine parallels also exist in miniature form, as in the Aegean at Troy, Thermi, and Poliochni, and appear as part of votive figures in the Near East. My interpretation of their use and development will consider how they compare to similar shapes in the archaeological record, especially in Aegean prehistory, and what possible transregional relationships they may express along with their specific function as household processing vessels for dairy products during the third millennium BC.

Pictures and people. Seals, figurines and Peloponnesian imagery

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 185-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Weiberg
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Initial Description ◽  
Seal Impressions ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
Coastal Settlement

The point of departure for this paper is the publication of two Early Helladic sealing fragments from the coastal settlement of Asine on the north-east Peloponnese in Greece. After an initial description and discussion they are set in the context of sealing custom established on the Greek mainland around 2500 BCE. In the first part of the paper focus is on the apparent qualitative differences between the available seals and the contemporary seal impressions, as well as between different sealing assemblages on northeastern Peloponnese. This geographical emphasis is carried into the second part of the paper which is a review and contextualisation of the representational art of the Aegean Early Bronze Age in general, and northeastern Peloponnese in particular. Seal motifs and figurines are the main media for Early Helladic representational art preserved until today, yet in many ways very dissimilar. These opposites are explored in order to begin to build a better understanding of Peloponnesian representational art, the choices of motifs, and their roles in the lives of the Early Helladic people.

The bronze headbands of Prehistoric Lofkënd and their Aegean and Balkan connections

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 33-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
John K. Papadopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
Young Females ◽  
The Many ◽  
Votive Offerings

This paper begins with an overview of the bronze headbands from the prehistoric (Late Bronze to Early Iron Age) burial tumulus of Lofkënd in Albania, which were found among the richest tombs of the cemetery, all of them of young females or children. It is argued that these individuals represent a class of the special dead, those who have not attained a critical rite de passage: marriage. In their funerary attire these individuals go to the grave as brides, married to death. The significance of the Lofkënd headbands is reviewed, as is their shape and decoration, but it is their context that contributes to a better understanding of Aegean examples, including the many bronze, gold, and silver headbands found in tombs from the Early Bronze Age through the Early Iron Age, as well as those dedicated as votive offerings in sanctuaries. In addition to discussing the evidence for headbands in the Aegean and much of southeast Europe, this paper also attempts to uncover the word used in this early period in Greece for these distinctive items of personal ornament. In memory of Berit Wells.

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