scholarly journals Remote sensing in the study of Late Bronze Age settlements in North-Western Crimea

Author(s):  
Tatiana Smekalova ◽  
Maja Kashuba

The article is devoted to the results of applying a comprehensive interdisciplinary methodology combining remote sensing methods, GIS, geophysical and archaeological research the Late Bronze for revealing and investigation of the Late Bronze Age settlements in the North-Western Crimea. The discovery of these settlements causes a certain difficulty, since they are buried under a layer of soil and do not have direct visual signs. A comprehensive step-by-step method of non-destructive remote sensing was developed, including the analysis of high-resolution satellite images in the Google Earth Pro resource, identifying promising areas by plant and landscape features, creating GPS routes for ground reconnaissance, geophysical surveys (magnetic and electromagnetic) on promising areas for identifying Late Bronze Age settlements, GPS mapping of surface material, point archaeological sounding. All the results obtained are placed in a special geo-information system, the substrate layers of which are detailed topographic, soil, geological, hydrogeological, digital relief maps. As a result, 48 new settlements of the Late Bronze Age were identified, including 19 settlements with double stone pens. These pens were first discovered only with help of remote sensing methods, especially magnetic surveying. The final answer about the existence and layout of the settlement of the Late Bronze Age before the archaeological excavations is given only by magnetic and electromagnetic surveys. The GIS created on the monuments of the Late Bronze Age in the North-Western Crimea will serve both scientific purposes and to preserve the cultural heritage of the Republic of Crimea, which is especially important in conditions of rapid economic development of land and the construction of trunk roads.

Author(s):  
Hugo Aluai Sampaio

New interpretations to a selected set of “hoards” of palstave axes with two rings from the North-western Iberia are proposed. This task was based not only on morphological study of these objects but also on their spatial contexts of deposition. The morphological (dimensions and weight) variations observed among the objects of a same deposit allow us to consider its formation by unique and individual objects. This reveals the use of different casting molds and alloys and, hypothetically, distinct production origins. At the same time, the distribution of different sets appears to have relations with natural circulation corridors (rivers basins and ridges areas). These were routes known and used since long ago, which certainly promoted more than occasional encounters between distinct human groups.


2020 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 175-245
Author(s):  
Vassilis L. Aravantinos ◽  
Ioannis Fappas ◽  
Yannis Galanakis

Questions were raised in the past regarding the use of Mycenaean tiles as ‘roof tiles’ on the basis of the small numbers of them recovered in excavations and their overall scarcity in Mycenaean domestic contexts. The investigation of the Theodorou plot in 2008 in the southern part of the Kadmeia hill at Thebes yielded the single and, so far, largest known assemblage per square metre of Mycenaean tiles from a well-documented excavation. This material allows, for the first time convincingly, to identify the existence of a Mycenaean tiled roof. This paper presents the results of our work on the Theodorou tiles, placing emphasis on their construction, form and modes of production, offering the most systematic study of Mycenaean tiles to date. It also revisits contexts of discovery of similar material from excavations across Thebes. Popular as tiles might have been in Boeotia, and despite their spatially widespread attestation, their use in Aegean Late Bronze Age architecture appears, on the whole, irregular with central Greece and the north-east Peloponnese being the regions with the most sites known to have yielded such objects. Mycenaean roof tiles date mostly from the mid- and late fourteenth century bc to the twelfth century bc. A study of their construction, form, production and contexts suggests that their role, apart from adding extra insulation, might have been one of signposting certain buildings in the landscape. We also present the idea that Mycenaean tile-making was guided by a particular conventional knowledge which was largely influenced by ceramic-related technologies (pottery- and drain-making). While production of roof tiles might have been palace-instigated to begin with, it does not appear to have been strictly controlled. This approach to Mycenaean tile-making may also help explain their uneven (in terms of intensity of use) yet widespread distribution.


1935 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Drew

From the southern end of the main mass of the Dorset chalk hills an extension runs eastward. This, tapering as it proceeds, forms the narrow ridge of the Purbeck Hills, and, after a break caused by the waters of Poole Bay, is continued by the downs of the Isle of Wight. To the north it is bounded by the valley of the River Frome and Poole Harbour. To the south the sea is nowhere more than a few miles away, and in places it has eaten deeply into the chalk ridge itself.


2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vakhtang Licheli

Abstract The settlement and necropolis of Grakliani Hill are located in Central Transcaucasia, Georgia. Excavations of the settlement on the eastern slope and the necropolis on the south-western part of the hill demonstrated that the site had been occupied between the Chalcolithic and the Late Hellenistic periods. The most interesting remains of buildings belong to 2nd and 1st millennium BC. Several sanctuaries of this period were excavated. A monumental altar was discovered in the eastern part of the settlement. The altar was located in the north-western corner of a building. On its eastern side there was an ash pit with a platform along the northern wall. The platform was used for placing offerings, including a South Mesopotamian seal. An architectural complex of the following period (450-350 B.C) was discovered in the western part of the lower terrace. It consisted of three main rooms and three store-rooms. Burials of various periods were discovered in the western part of the hill’s southern slope. The earliest one is a pit-burial dating to the Early Bronze Age, the latest one belongs to the 2nd century BC. After analyses of the finds several directions of cultural and commercial links were identified: Colchis, Persia, Phoenicia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Asia Minor.


1994 ◽  
Vol 89 ◽  
pp. 217-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bouzek

This article brings a reassessment of the survey of relations published in the author's 1985 book. The discrepancy in chronology seems now to be much nearer to a solution: more material evidence is known from the frontier area and from the Balkans in general, thus enlarging the documentation of the extent of Mycenaean influence in the north, and also clarifying the situation in Late Mycenaean times, when various northern influences were felt in Mycenaean Greece. The crisis at the end of the Aegean Bronze Age was connected with an influx of new populations, though substantial local traditions were also retained. The joint efforts of tradition and innovation prepared the further development of Greece.


1963 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 326-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Coles

One of the features of the Irish Late Bronze Age is the appearance of wind instruments, commonly called ‘Trumpets’, often found in groups and only rarely in association with other material. Being conical and curved, these are therefore members of the horn family, to which the other large musical group of the Bronze Age, the north Europeanlurer, also belong.The Irish horns have attracted the attention of antiquarians for over 100 years, with the principal collection and listing of these beginning in 1860. Evans devoted a section of his 1881 book to the ‘trumpets’, and was followed by Day, Allen and Coffey. The latest treatment, which brought together most of the previous lists of horns, was by MacWhite in 1945. All of these later works were primarily concerned with the typology of the horns, and attention was paid neither to their actual production nor to their music. In the present study, all previously published horns have been examined where possible, as well as a number of unpublished finds, and an attempt will be made not only (i) to describe the typological variations and dating of the horns, but also (ii) to discuss their production as objects from Late Bronze Age workshops and (iii) to consider for the first time their musical potential.


Author(s):  
P. Upadhyay ◽  
D. Uniyal ◽  
M. P. S. Bisht

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> The North-Western Indian States and the North-Eastern Indian States of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) are rich of various temperate horticulture fruits such as the Apple, Pear, Peach, Plum, Apricot, Sweet Cherry and Sour Cherry. These horticulture fruits are majorly grown in North-western region comprising of Jammu and Kashmir (J&amp;amp;K), Himachal Pradesh (H.P.) and Uttarakhand (U.K.). These states of IHR share the same type of geographical and climatic condition and having nearly common flora and fauna. Out of the various horticulture temperate fruit crops apple and apricot have the potential to make a positive impact on economy of these states. Hyper-spectral remote sensing due to its capability of identifying the small variations within a particular feature (or land cover) is an important tool for discriminating or mapping the specific land cover among the various existing classes. Contrary to multispectral remote sensing, it is not only capable of mapping the vegetation class among the various classes in the land but also has the potential to discriminate within the different classes of vegetation as well as diseases identification within a class. This specific class level discrimination of vegetation is an important tool for mapping. In hyper-spectral remote sensing this variation is observed through the possible discrimination of spectral signatures of various vegetation classes. Thus, due to its fine spectral bands this type of remote sensing data has the potential to map the horticulture crops. However, the processing of hyper-spectral data always require the in-situ measurements or existing spectral library. Such a type of spectral library is never generated for the horticulture crops of IHR. This can be further useful for identifying the disease affected crops and input for developing model for estimation of biophysical and biochemical parameters. Therefore, in this study, a need for the development of spectral library for temperate horticulture crop has been highlighted. Further, a methodology for the processing of hyperspectral data has also be proposed.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 410-426
Author(s):  
Martina Blečić Kavur ◽  
Boris Kavur ◽  
Ranko Starac

The hoard from Moravička Sela in Gorski Kotar (Croatia), discovered thirty years ago, is a medium-sized hoard with a mixed composition, containing typologically different and differently preserved objects. With its defined, most likely reduced inventory, we have acquired a smaller number of tools and weapons, half products and items of symbolic importance. Its place of discovery could be included in the distribution of the hoards of the II Late Bronze Age horizon on the broader territory of Caput Adriae and its hinterland in the 13th and early 12th century BC. Its composition reflects, in particular, the cultural connections ranging from the south-eastern Alpine region to the wider Pannonian and Carpathian area. Therefore, the hoard from Moravička Sela can be interpreted as a materialized act of precisely determined cultural knowledge from a broader but contemporary cultural network of meaning.


Author(s):  
Hajara A. Garba ◽  
Vincent N. Ojeh ◽  
Elizabeth Elijah ◽  
Bishop E. Ayeni

A Campus guide map for Taraba State University Jalingo was produced. The data source for the study includes satellite images of the study area and field survey using a GPS device to collect coordinates of major ground control points. This research incorporated the use of geospatial techniques and functionalities such as georeferencing, digitizing and geo-database creation to generate a campus guide map. The findings of this study reviewed that most of the structures and roads are not adequately labeled or named for easy navigation. The study also showed that development is confined mostly to the North Western and southwestern part of the campus.           We recommend structural planning and spatial development within the campus land cover in the future.  


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha Scherer ◽  
Benjamin Höpfer ◽  
Katleen Deckers ◽  
Elske Fischer ◽  
Markus Fuchs ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper aims to reconstruct Middle Bronze Age (MBA) land use practices in the north-western Alpine foreland (SW Germany, Hegau). We used a multi-proxy approach including the biogeochemical proxies from colluvial deposits in the surrounding of the well-documented settlement site of Anselfingen and offsite pollen data from two peat bogs. This approach allowed in-depth insights into the MBA subsistence economy and shows that the MBA in the north-western Alpine foreland was a period of establishing settlements with sophisticated land management and land use practices. The reconstruction of phases of colluvial deposition was based on ages from optically luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dating from multi-layered colluvial deposits and supports the local archaeological record with the first phase of major colluvial deposition occurring during the MBA followed by phases of colluvial deposition during the Iron Age, the Medieval period, and modern times. The onsite deposition of charred archaeobotanical remains and animal bones from archaeological features, as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), charcoal spectra, phytoliths, soil microstructure, urease enzymatic activity, microbial biomass carbon (Cmic) and heavy metal contents, were used as proxies for onsite and near-site land use practices. The charcoal spectra indicate MBA forest management which favoured the dominance of Quercus in the woodland vegetation in the surrounding area north of the settlement site. Increased levels of 5ß stanols (up to 40 %) and the occurrence of pig bones (up to 14 %) support the presence of a forest pasture mainly used for pig farming. In the surrounding area south of the settlement, an arable field with a buried MBA plough horizon (2Apb) could be verified by soil micromorphological investigations and high concentrations of grass phytoliths from leaves and stems. Agricultural practices (e.g. ploughing) focussed on five stable cereal crops (Hordeum distichon/vulgare, Triticum dicoccum, Triticum monococcum, Triticum spelta, Triticum aestivum/turgidum), while the presence of stilted pantries as storage facilities and of heat stones indicate post-harvest processing of cereal crops and other agrarian products within the settlement. In the area surrounding the settlement, increased levels of urease activity, compared to microbial biomass carbon (up to 2.1 µg N µg Cmic−1), and input of herbivorous and omnivorous animal faeces indicate livestock husbandry on fallow land. The PAH suites and their spatial distribution support the use of fire for various purposes, e.g. for opening and maintaining the landscape, for domestic burning and for technical applications. The offsite palynological data support the observed change in onsite and near-site vegetation as well as the occurrence of related land use practices. During the Early and Middle Bronze Age fire played a major role in shaping the landscape (peak of micro-charcoal during the MBA) and anthropogenic activities promoted oak dominated forest ecosystems at the expense of natural beech forests. This indicates a broader regional human influence in the north-western Alpine foreland at low and mid altitude inland sites during the Middle Bronze Age.


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