scholarly journals A stratigraphic sequence of six thousand years : Preliminary report on the rescue excavation at the site of the former Óbuda Distillery (BUSZESZ)

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Gábor Szilas ◽  
Tibor Budai Balogh ◽  
Barbara Hajdu ◽  
Viktória Kisjuhász ◽  
Adrienn Pap ◽  
...  

Árpád period pit houses with a stone oven, Roman period brick graves and public baths, debris from Middle Bronze Age buildings, an Early Bronze Age cemetery, and Late Copper Age clay pit complexes – the thousands of archaeological features that appeared one below the other in a several metres thick stratigraphic sequence, and the nearly thousand boxes of finds are only one side of the coin. The other is represented by the constant roar of the machines, the deafening noise and the dust clouds from the pneumatic drill, the rhythmical sound of the suburban railway, the hubbub of construction workers, and the tight archaeological deadlines. At the site of the former Óbuda Distillery, during the almost three years of test and rescue excavations, we have encountered nearly all known elements of urban archaeology. We also appreciate that, in spite of the difficulties, we were given a unique, extraordinary and perhaps unparalleled opportunity. The site, after all, lies at the edge of the historical cores of the Roman Military Town and medieval Óbuda. The excavation site is noteworthy not only in terms of its vertical but also its horizontal extent. Following the highly informative period of fieldwork, hopefully we can begin the analysis as soon as possible, through which we may understand, step by step, the significance of this special place, where, until now, there lay the stratigraphic sequence of six thousand years of human presence.

1963 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 258-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Britton

This paper is concerned with the earliest use in Britain of copper and bronze, from the first artifacts of copper in the later Neolithic until the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age, as marked by palstaves and haft-flanged axes. It does not attempt to deal with all the material, but instead certain classes of evidence have been chosen to illustrate some of the main styles of workmanship. These groups have been considered both from the point of view of their archaeology, and of the technology they imply.Such an approach requires on the one hand that the artifacts are sorted into types, their associations in graves and hoards studied, their distributions plotted, and finally a consideration of the evidence for their affinities and chronology. On the other hand there are questions also of interest that need a different standpoint. Of what metals or alloys are the objects made? Can their sources be located? How did the smiths set about their work? Over what regions was production carried out? If we are to understand as much as we might of the life of prehistoric times, then surely we should look at material culture from as many view-points as possible—in this case, the manner and setting of its production as well as its classification.


2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Agre

Es werden die Ergebnisse der Ausgrabung an einem Grabhügel „Lozianska Mogila” in den Jahren 2007 und 2009 vorgestellt. Insgesamt 21 Gräber wurden darin entdeckt, die sich auf drei stratigraphische Schichten verteilten. Der erste Hügel barg zehn Bestattungen, die in die frühe Bronzezeit datieren. Vier Gräber wurden während der mittleren Bronzezeit in diesen Hügel eingelassen. Über sie wurde eine weitere, die zweite Aufschüttung errichtet. In sie wurden die weiteren sechs mittelbronzezeitlichen Gräber eingetieft. Eine längere Zeit wurde der Grabhügel danach nicht mehr belegt. Erst in der Eisenzeit wurde ein weiteres Grab errichtet, das mit einer dritten und letzten Aufschüttung überdeckt wurde. Jede Bestattung wird innerhalb eines Kataloges in dem Artikel beschrieben.Die Kennzeichen der Bestattungssitten und der Grabkonstruktionen werden zusammen mit den Beigaben getrennt für die frühe und die mittlere Bronzezeit besprochen. Von besonderem Interesse ist dieCet article présente les résultats de fouilles entreprises en 2007 et 2009 dans le tumulus de « Lozianska Mogila » sur le territoire de la Bulgarie moderne. Vingt-etune sépultures et trois niveaux stratigraphiques ont été découverts. Le tumulus le plus ancien contenait dix sépultures du Bronze Ancien. Quatre sépultures du Bronze Moyen ont été insérées dans ce tumulus. Un second niveau a recouvert ces quatre sépultures et six autres sépultures du Bronze Moyen ont taillé ce niveau. Une sépulture datant de l’âge du Fer fut ajoutée après une longue période d’abandon et ensuite recouverte d’une troisième et dernière couche de terre. Chaque ensemble funéraire fait l’objet d’une description détaillée et les aspects caractéristiques des sépultures du Bronze Ancien et Moyen, leur construction, les rites funéraires ainsi que l’inventaire du mobilier sont présentés. Une datation radiocarbone obtenue pour la tombe no. 14 est d’intérêt particulier : une date de 2888–2676 cal BC nous permet de l’attribuer à la phase Bronze Ancien II (en termes de chronologie relative bulgare). Nous accordons aussi une attention particulière à la dernière sépulture du tumulus, datée de la première moitié du IVe siècle av. J.-C. sur la base de trouvailles semblables en Bulgarie méridionale.The results of excavations in 2007 and 2009 of the “Lozianska Mogila” barrow in present-day Bulgaria are presented here. Twenty-one graves were discovered in the barrow and a stratigraphic sequence of three layers was observed. The earliest barrow contained ten graves dated to the Early Bronze Age. Four burials of the Middle Bronze Age were dug into this early tumulus. A second layer was then heaped on these four graves and six other graves dating to the Middle Bronze Age were cut into it. After a longer period of disuse another grave was built in the Iron Age and then covered by the third and last layer. The article contains a detailed description of each grave complex. Characteristic aspects of the burial rites and grave construction as well as the inventory of the Early and Middle Bronze Age complexes are discussed in turn. The radiocarbon date obtained for grave no. 14, with a time span of 2888–2676 cal BC is of particular interest and corresponds to its archaeological attribution to the Early Bronze Age II (in terms of Bulgarian relative chronology). Special attention is also given to the latest grave in the barrow, which parallels in southern Bulgaria would date to the first half of the 4


Author(s):  
Mohammed Alkhalid

 In the field of Syrian and Mesopotamian studies we must deal with many changes affecting the urban complexity and the socio-political and economic systems. In Syria, two major regional changes have been identified: one is the collapse of the Uruk system and the beginning of the second urban revolution, the other is the end of the Early Bronze Age and the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age cultures during the late third/early second millennium B.C. The terms “transition” and “collapse” are largely used in the definition of those two historical events.Many reasons could cause the collapse of any civilization: to explain the nature of any collapse we must look at the characteristics of the period that followed it. This paper will deal with the archaeological evidence from the late third and early second millennium B.C. in northern inner Syria to illustrate, on the one hand, the reason of that collapse and, on the other hand, to show how such a collapse affected the developmental trajectories of the urban systems.  


2021 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 109-128
Author(s):  
Bela Dimova ◽  
Margarita Gleba

The aim of this report is to provide a summary of the latest developments in the textile archaeology of Greece and the broader Aegean from the Neolithic through to the Roman period, focusing in particular on recent research on textile tools. Spindle-whorls and loomweights appeared in the Aegean during the Neolithic and by the Early Bronze Age weaving on the warp-weighted loom was well established across the region. Recent methodological advances allow the use of the physical characteristics of tools to estimate the quality of the yarns and textiles produced, even in the absence of extant fabrics. The shapes of spindle-whorls evolved with the introduction of wool fibre, which by the Middle Bronze Age had become the dominant textile raw material in the region. The spread of discoid loomweights from Crete to the wider Aegean has been linked to the wider Minoanization of the area during the Middle Bronze Age, as well as the mobility of weavers. Broader issues discussed in connection with textile production include urbanization, the spread of different textile cultures and the identification of specific practices (sealing) and previously unrecognized technologies (splicing), as well as the value of textiles enhanced by a variety of decorative techniques and purple dyeing.


Author(s):  
Tünde Horváth

Our survey should by necessity begin earlier, from the close of the Middle Age Copper Age, and should extend to much later, at least until the onset of the Middle Bronze Age, in order to identify and analyse the appearance and spread of the cultural impacts affecting the Baden complex, their in-teraction with neighbouring cultures and, finally, their decline or transformation. Discussed here will be the archaeological cultures flourishing between 4200/4000 and 2200/2000 BC, from the late phase of the Middle Copper Age to its end (3600 BC), the Late Copper Age (ending in 2800 BC), the transi-tion between the Copper Age and the Bronze Age (ending in 2600 BC), and the Early Bronze Age 1–3 (ending in 2000 BC), which I have termed the Age of Transformation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Vianello ◽  
Robert Howard Tykot

A systematic study on obsidian tools in Calabria and Sicily carried out by the authors have revealed the uniqueness in the patterns of production, exchange and consumption of Lipari obsidian. The study has concentrated on the Middle Neolithic primarily, with other Neolithic and Bronze Age contexts recognised at a later stage in the research since many contexts, especially in Sicily, have been excavated by pioneering archaeologists, some over a century ago, or were mislabelled. The chronology is Early Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, with very few materials dating Middle Bronze Age. A review of chronological contexts is in progress, which spans from the 6th millennium BC to the end of the 2nd millennium BC. The typology of obsidian tools is very homogenous, the vast majority of used tools are small blades, bladelets and sharp flakes; there is negligible variance across time; and Lipari obsidian is preferred over other sources. The patterns of the exchanges are also unique, revealing two major types of redistribution of obsidian, one particularly intriguing because it is quite organized with a single source in Lipari, prominent and reminiscent for its stability and reach of Bronze Age redistribution dynamics associated with hierarchical societies. We present here some observations on patterns substantiated by the archaeological record, and consider possible scenarios that can explain them. This work provides an update on progressing research and reveals aspects that will need further investigation, focusing on the patterns identified so far and possible explanations. More work is certainly needed to produce a working model, but the unusual patterns deserve some attention on their own, unencumbered by an overarching explanatory model. In particular, we want to assess the Neolithic redistribution pattern suggestive as typical of hierarchical polities, and contextualize it to the specific situation of Neolithic Lipari.


Author(s):  
Peter S. Wells

This chapter analyzes the pottery of late prehistoric Europe. Jars, bowls, and cups were the three main categories of pottery vessels that were in use in the Early Bronze Age. Bowls and cups were decorated differently from jars, and their surfaces were finished differently. Jars are the only category that had a purposely roughened surface. Bowls and cups were polished smooth. And jars are the only category within which each individual vessel was distinguished from every other by the pattern of its ornament. From the latter fact, it is argued that jars in the Early and Middle Bronze Age were individualized in a way that bowls and cups were not; each was deliberately made different from all others in order that the household that owned it could mark it as its own, and perhaps even use it to display to others in the community that it had abundant stores of grain.


Author(s):  
Joanna Brück

In 1960 a rock climber found a small Middle Bronze Age pot wedged in a cleft in the rock halfway down the eastern face of Crow’s Buttress, a granite outcrop on the southern edge of Dartmoor in Devon (Pettit 1974, 92). The Middle Bronze Age was a period during which extensive field systems were constructed on Dartmoor (Fleming 1988). As we shall see later in this chapter, these have often been thought to indicate the intensification of agriculture and an increasing concern to define land ownership in response to population pressure (e.g. Barrett 1980a; 1994, 148–9; Bradley 1984, 9; Yates 2007, 120–1; English 2013, 139–40). Such models imply the commodification of the natural world: the landscape is viewed primarily as a resource for economic exploitation. Yet this small pot calls such assumptions into question, for it can surely be best interpreted as an offering to spirit guardians or ancestors associated with a striking natural rock formation. This hints at a quite different way of engaging with and understanding the landscape. In this chapter we will explore the links between people and landscape, beginning with the monumental landscapes of the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, moving then to consider what the appearance of field systems during the Middle and Late Bronze Age tells us about human–environment relationships during the later part of the period, and finally considering some of the ways in which animals were incorporated into the social worlds of Bronze Age communities. Funerary and ceremonial monuments of various sorts are the most eye-catching feature of the Early Bronze Age landscape and have dominated our interpretations of the period. By contrast, as we have seen in Chapter 4, settlement evidence of this date is relatively sparse. This, and recent isotope analyses of Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age inhumation burials (Jay et al. 2012; Parker Pearson et al. 2016), suggest a significant degree of residential mobility.


2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn M. Schwartz

At Umm el-Marra in western Syria, a sequence of Bronze Age ritual installations facilitates the investigation of how Syrian elites employed memory, ancestor veneration, and animal (and perhaps human) sacrifice to reinforce their position, and how others used countermemory to contest it. Relevant data derive from an Early Bronze Age complex of elite tombs and animal interments and a Middle Bronze Age monumental platform and shaft containing animal and human bodies deposited ritually. Analysis of the spatial landscape, with patterns of access or inaccessibility, facilitates additional insights, as does the consideration of the intentionality or lack of it in ancient references to the past.


2013 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 159-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Timberlake

Major investigations were undertaken of the Ecton Copper Mines, Staffordshire, following the discovery of hammerstones and a red deer antler tool dating to the Early Bronze Age during surface and underground exploration in the 1990s. Ecton Hill was surveyed, the distribution of hammerstone tools examined, and two identified sites of potential prehistoric mining close to the summit of the hill excavated in 2008 & 2009. Excavations at Stone Quarry Mine revealed noin situprehistoric mining activity, but hammerstones and Early Bronze Age bone mining tools from upcast suggest that an historic mine shaft had intersected Bronze Age workings at around 10–25 m depth. On The Lumb one trench revealed evidence for medieval lead mining, while another examined the lowest of four primitive mines associated with cave-like mine entrances along the base of a small cliff. Evidence for prehistoric mining was recorded within a shallow opencut formed by during extraction of malachite from a layer of mineralised dolomite. Traces of the imprint of at least 18 bone and stone tools could be seen and seven different types of working were identified. Most prehistoric mining debris appears to have been cleared out during the course of later, medieval–post-medieval prospection; some bone and stone tools were recovered from this spoil. The tip of a worn and worked (cut) antler tine point was the only such mining tool foundin situat this site but nine tools were radiocarbon dated toc.1880–1640 calbc. Bayesian modelling of the dates from both sites probably indicates mining over a much briefer period (perhaps 20–50 years) at 1800–1700 calbc, with mining at Stone Quarry possibly beginning earlier and lasting longer than on The Lumb. A single date from The Lumb suggests possible renewed mining activity (or prospection?) during the Middle Bronze Age. The dating of this mining activity is consistent with the idea that mining and prospection moved eastwards from Ireland to Wales, then to central England, at the beginning of the 2nd millenniumbc. At Ecton the extraction of secondary ores may have produced only a very small tonnage of copper metal. The mine workers may have been Early Bronze Age farmers who occupied this part of the Peak District seasonally in a transhumant or sustained way


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