SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATIONS IN THE CORE AND PERIPHERY OF ANCIENT TULA

This article presents the results of an integrative program of salvage archaeology in response to two comprehensive modern construction projects within the limits of the Early Postclassic city of Tula, Hidalgo. Exploratory excavation at eleven different localities encountered remains of residential compounds and other prehispanic structures in all localities, collectively spanning the Epiclassic through Late Postclassic periods and yielding extensive ceramic, lithic, and faunal remains from domestic and ritual contexts including over 250 human and animal burials that included evidence of contact with other areas of Mesoamerica. Some 36 radiocarbon dates were obtained from ceramically dated contexts that span c. 1,000 years of occupation and support the current ceramic phase chronology for Tula.

Terracotta oil lamps from the excavation at the Bey 004 site (Beirut, Lebanon)

The excavation of site Bey 004 in the urban center of Beirut was done as part of a major salvage-archaeology operation in the 1990s, in reparation for the redevelopment of the city after the Lebanese Civil War. War destruction had given archaeologists the opportunity to investigate the topography, history and everyday life of Beirut over the millennia since its establishment and before a new city would be built on top of the ruins in the 21st century. Terracotta oil lamps, like tableware, are a sensitive guide to the passage of time and cultures, spanning the ages the 5th century BC through the 9th century AD, from Persia to Islam. The article reviews the assemblage from the Bey 004 site, broken down by a local site typology that reflects major periods of occupation, and relates it to existing typologies of ancient Near Eastern lamps from the Canaanite to the Islamic.

Salvaging, Transplantation and Reconstruction of Heritage Sites, Techniques and Problems: A Study of the Submerged Temple of Bilaspur District in Himachal Pradesh

The work of safe removal of cultural heritage sites and ancient monuments of any region is known as ‘salvage archaeology’, and the work of relocating the sites and monuments is known as ‘transplantation’ of the sites and monuments. Before a monument is transplanted physically, it is primarily studied in detail for its constructional style and methods of bonding the different materials used, the type of foundation orientation and the setting of the monuments, that is, its environment.