Archaeology of Central Asia during the 1st millennium BC, from the Beginning of the Iron age to the Hellenistic period

The present volume edited by Johanna Lhuillier gathers contributions presented during the workshop “Archaeology of Central Asia during the 1st millennium BC” at the 10th ICAANE in Vienna in 2016. Designed to treat both the Iron Age and the Hellenistic period, it aims to embrace the diversity of current archaeological work led on the 1st millennium BC in Central Asia. The contributions are based on previously unpublished data and ongoing fieldwork, treating key aspects of the covered period, like chronology, the development of settlements and architecture, and the distribution and evolution of material culture. The volume casts new light on this challenging period by characterizing its cultural, socio-economical, and political transformations and focusing on broader interactions with neighbouring cultures.

Excavating Europe’s last fascist monument: The Valley of the Fallen (Spain)

Since 1945, most fascist monuments have disappeared or been deactivated in Western Europe. There is one in Spain, however, that remains fully operative: the Valley of the Fallen. The complex, devised by the dictator Francisco Franco, celebrates the Nationalist victory in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), keeps the bodies of thousands of victims of the conflict, as well as the leading fascist ideologue and the dictator himself, and provides a material narrative that exalts the dictatorship. With the advent of democracy in 1978, the Valley remained unchanged, untouchable, and an important focus for fascist and extreme right celebrations, both national and international. However, with the new progressive government that came to power in 2018, it has become the object of an ambitious program of resignification in which archaeology has an important role to play. In this article, I describe how archaeological work undertaken at the Valley of the Fallen is contributing toward destabilizing the dictatorial narrative by opposing the monumental assemblage of fascism to the subaltern assemblage of those who built it.

People, Animals, Protected Places, and Archaeology: A Complex Collaboration in Belize

The authors of this chapter direct the Stann Creek Regional Archaeology Project (SCRAP), featuring a multi-year, multi-site, multidisciplinary program of archaeological research along the south-eastern margins of the Maya Mountains, Stann Creek District, Belize. While we and our team members most frequently direct our academic efforts in an attempt to reconstruct and understand the complicated suite of developmental processes, experiences, and life histories of the inhabitants of this region more than 1000 years ago, this ancient past represents only one of the two dominant spatio-temporal and socio-political contexts with which we engage on a regular basis. In this chapter, we shift our focus to the interactions with present-day individuals, communities, and institutions that structure our archaeological work. For some perspective, we will discuss the history of the development of the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and connected forest reserves—totaling some 1011 km2 of nominally ‘protected’ space—and ongoing co-management organization and use relationships with adjacent Indigenous Maya communities. We frame this development within the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and supplement historical records with informally gathered impressions from local rights-holders and stakeholders, as well as through our own experiences and observations. We conclude by returning to the subject of our own operations within the region to highlight how SCRAP has attempted to learn from this history—particularly with respect to co-management and community engagement—and to propose areas for improvement.

Current State of Archiving Archaeological Reports in Bulgaria: still more physical than digital

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.

Digital Dutch Archaeology: Future perspectives

Digital archaeology in the Netherlands is connected with investments in a new large-scale and innovative Dutch research infrastructure for the next 10 years. Priorities are set to combine forces at a national level in order to contribute to the international position of the Netherlands as a 'knowledge country'. Researchers need to coordinate and collaborate even more to set up a FAIR enabling data infrastructure with limited resources. Regarding the archaeological discipline, the use of formal quality standards and legislation that certifies archaeological organisations to carry out archaeological work improves national collaboration and stimulates the digital workflow. DANS is the dedicated national repository for archaeology in the Netherlands and is launching the Data Station Archaeology, a repository meeting the latest technological standards. Finding and sharing data of high quality facilitates knowledge of archaeological discoveries; a flourishing open access trend in Dutch archaeology stimulates a strong growth in the use of data. To keep up with innovative developments, a growing community of archaeologists and other specialists are working together in international projects to secure the future of European Archaeology.

The studies on the Sungir Upper Paleolithic site in 2014–2015

The article is devoted to the results of archaeological excavations carried out on the Sungir in 2014-2015. The main purpose of these works was to obtain new data on the spatial structure of the cultural layer of the Sungir site. The relevance of these studies is caused by still unsolved question of whether Sungir can be considered as a site with a complex archaeological stratigraphy or the features of its spatial structure are only the result of natural postdepositional processes. Descriptions and characteristics of the stratigraphy of sediments, the spatial organization of the cultural layer, the species’ attribution and taphonomy of the faunal collection, the typology and technology of the stone industry, as well as new radiocarbon dating are given. It is noted that the excavations of 2015 were conducted on the peripheral part of the accumulations which were opened in the excavation unit III by O.N. Bader. Most of the animal bones found during excavations can be considered as belonging to species that the settlers hunted. The analysis of the stone inventory allowed us to identify the following production chains of manufacture: the production of large flakes, the production of blades, and the production of thin bifaces. The data obtained during the typological and technological study of blades and bladelets make it possible to suggest the existence of the fundamental differences between the Sungir industry and the industries of the Aurignacian technocomplex. Predominance of large flakes in the Sungir stone industry, as well as the characteristic techniques in bifaces production, which were recorded in the collection, allow us to consider so-called Streletskian culture as a more reasonable analogy to it. The stratigraphic position both of artifacts and accumulations of archaeological material, as well as the spatial context of the dated bone samples from reconnaissance trench No. 4 (2014), support the conclusion that the cultural layer of the Sungir site was formed in several stages. The results of archaeological work carried out on Sungir in 2014–2015 indicate the real perspectives for its further study. One of the urgent tasks facing the researchers of this outstanding site is the reconstruction of the spatial structure, including its archaeological stratigraphy.

Sanctuaries and cult places from the Roman conquest to Late Antiquity: a survey of recent work in Achaea, Epirus and the islands

This paper surveys archaeological work on Greek sanctuaries of the Roman period conducted over the past 20 years. Previously largely ignored or simply overlooked, in recent times the Roman phases of sanctuaries have seen a tremendous amount of excavation and research work, mirroring the increased interest in the archaeology of Roman Greece as a whole. In addition to brief presentatons of new and recent archaeological discoveries and material studies, this survey also aims to highlight the importance of current work based on the re-examination of sites excavated long ago and the contribution of various strands of archaeological evidence to an enhanced understanding of the history and function of Greek sanctuaries from the time of the Roman conquest to Late Antiquity.

Archaeological study of the Varzuga River

The Varzuga River on the northern shore of the White Sea is an important site for the archaeology of Russian Lapland. Here the archaeological study of this region began. The work provides a historiographical overview from the first finds in the XIX century to the excavations of 2009–2013, when two objects were examined: the fortification of the beginning of the XV century and the rural cemetery of the XIV–XVIII centuries. The reconstruction of a small rural fortress was made. We managed to find the first church of the village of the end of the XIV — beginning of the XV century. Interesting information about the late medieval burial rite has been obtained. Anthropological materials speak about the Karelian basis of the medieval population of the Terek coast. According to the results of archaeological work, it is clear that in the middle of the XIV century, a large Korela settlement with a church already existed on the site of the modern village.

Micromorphological Study of Site Formation Processes at El Sidrón Cave (Asturias, Northern Spain): Encrustations over Neanderthal Bones

El Sidrón Cave is an archaeological and anthropological reference site of the Neanderthal world. It shows singular activity related to cannibalisation, and all existing processes are relevant to explain the specific behaviour of the concerned individuals. This paper presents geoarchaeological data, primarily based on mineralogical and petrographic techniques, from an investigation of the nature of the encrustations or hard coatings that affect a large part of the Neanderthal bone remains and their relationship with the depositional and post-depositional processes at the archaeological site. Crusts and patina were found to be numerous and diverse, mainly composed of calcite and siliciclastic grains, with different proportions and textures. The analysis indicated different origins and scenarios from their initial post-mortem accumulation to the final deposit recovered during the archaeological work. The presence of micromorphological features, such as clotted-peloidal micrite, needle-fibre calcite (NFC) aggregates, clay coatings, iron–manganese impregnation, and/or adhered aeolian dust may indicate that a significant proportion of the remains were affected by subaerial conditions in a relatively short period of time in a shelter, cave entrance, or shallower level of the karstic system, prior to their accumulation in the Ossuary Gallery.