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Archaeological Survey (archaeological + survey)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Earth and Environmental Science	60%
Humanities and Social Sciences	40%

Selected Abstracts

Deep-water Archaeological Survey in the Black Sea: 2000 Season

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2004
Cheryl Ward
Recent archaeological survey by sidescan sonar and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) resulted in the discovery of one of the best-preserved seagoing ships from antiquity in the anoxic waters of the Black Sea. Three shipwrecks from the 4th to 6th centuries AD, with cargoes of shipping jars from Sinop, Turkey, were found at depths of about 100 m; the fourth sits upright on the sea-bed, buried to deck level in sediment. A description of each site and identification of visible site components is followed by a discussion of directions and possible implications of future research. © 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society [source]

A reconstruction of Quaternary pluvial environments and human occupations using stratigraphy and geochronology of fossil-spring tufas, Kharga Oasis, Egypt

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 5 2004
Jennifer R. Smith
We carried out a geologic survey and a preliminary archaeological survey of four fossil-spring tufa localities in Kharga Oasis, Egypt, to constrain the timing of pluvial episodes in the Western Desert, and to document prehistoric occupation contemporaneous with times of increased rainfall. Uranium-series dating of the tufas confirms that at least five episodes of tufa deposition are represented in Kharga, although not every event is represented at each locality. Across the region studied, tufas were most frequently deposited as part of a fluvial barrage system, characterized by terraced, vegetated pools impounded by arcuate tufa dams and separated by small waterfalls. Available water resources during pluvial phases would have included not only spring-fed streams but also small freshwater lakes. While Earlier Stone Age (ESA) and Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithic artifacts may be found either as surficial lags on tufas, or, less commonly, encased within tufas, Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic artifacts are generally found in or on silts within surface deflation depressions in the tufas, principally at Wadi Midauwara. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Fossils as Neolithic funereal adornments in County Kerry, south-west Ireland

GEOLOGY TODAY, Issue 4 2002
Patrick N. Wyse Jackson
Argument rages in the media on the effects of road-building on sites of archaeological importance. Certainly there have been many cases where sites of value have been lost, but others where sites of importance have been revealed that would probably have gone undetected for a considerable time, if not for ever. One example of a lucky discovery arose from a proposal to widen the road between the towns of Tralee and Killarney in County Kerry, south-west Ireland. A preliminary archaeological survey carried out along the route in 1996 revealed an area of exceptional archaeological richness. What was particularly surprising was that one feature contained a significant collection of fossils used for funereal or ceremonial purposes. [source]

Detecting small-scale targets by the 2D inversion of two-sided three-electrode data: application to an archaeological survey

GEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING, Issue 1 2001
M. Emin Candansayar
The detecting capabilities of some electrical arrays for the estimation of position, size and depth of small-scale targets were examined in view of the results obtained from 2D inversions of apparent-resistivity data. The two-sided three-electrode apparent-resistivity data are obtained by the application of left- and right-hand pole,dipole arrays that also permit the computation of four-electrode and dipole,dipole apparent-resistivity values without actually measuring them. Synthetic apparent-resistivity data sets of the dipole,dipole, four-electrode and two-sided three-electrode arrays are calculated for models that simulate buried tombs. The results of two-dimensional inversions are compared with regard to the resolution in detecting the exact location, size and depth of the target, showing some advantage for the two-sided three-electrode array. A field application was carried out in the archaeological site known as Alaca Hoyuk, a religious temple area of the Hittite period. The two-dimensional inversion of the two-sided three-electrode apparent-resistivity data has led to locating a part of the city wall and a buried small room. The validity of the interpretation has been checked against the results of subsequent archaeological excavations. [source]

Deep-water Archaeological Survey in the Black Sea: 2000 Season

Settlement history in the eastern Rub al-Khali: Preliminary Report of the Dubai Desert Survey (2006,2007)

ARABIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND EPIGRAPHY, Issue 1 2009
Jesse Casana
Regional archaeological survey in desert areas of Dubai, U.A.E., has identified numerous archaeological sites in this rapidly changing landscape. Subsurface geophysical surveys have been undertaken in concert with surface collection and test excavation to document the extent and chronology of each site. Contrary to expectations that deserts were permanently abandoned following the end of the mid-Holocene pluvial phase around 4000 BC, two sites, Al-Ashoosh and Saruq al-Hadid, show evidence of substantial occupation during the late third and early first millennia respectively. These findings suggest that the Rub al-Khali supported human settlement much later than is generally thought, challenging traditional understandings of the region's cultural and environmental histories. [source]

How effective is geophysical survey?

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 2 2009
A regional review
Abstract Geophysics is such an accepted part of British archaeology that its effectiveness seems obvious. Yet if there is no reason to doubt the benefits of geophysics why do some experienced archaeologists use it so rarely and why is it little used in some countries which, in other ways, have highly developed professional archaeology services? There are, often cheaper, alternatives for archaeological survey. Yet since the performance of different survey methods has rarely been studied systematically there is no objective basis on which to test which choices best meet archaeologists' needs. Moreover the geophysicists' understandable desire to present successful rather than unsuccessful surveys, and to discuss results in geophysical rather than archaeological terms, makes such assessment more difficult. Thus although geophysical surveyors have strong grounds to claim that their work benefits archaeology, those who pay for survey can reasonably ask that these benefits be clarified, quantified where possible, and compared with alternatives, such as aerial photography or surface artefact survey, so that they can make the best choices about its use. This paper summarizes a study of all the geophysical surveys carried out in the northwest of England before 2006. The study assessed the performance of geophysical surveys in archaeological terms and was centred on a detailed analysis of 35 sites for which there is good comparative excavation data or which have particularly illustrative case histories. The study concludes that, despite the doubts in this area, geophysics serves archaeologists well and provides greater certainty in both identifying where sites exist and where they do not exist than has been generally assumed. It therefore deserves more extensive and more rational use. Geophysics is, however, being underused because, although abundant, surveys are formulaic and commercial surveyors are rarely able to fit methodologies to sites by a programme of reflective project development. Thus, although currently effective, geophysics might be even more so if surveyors had the time and resources to do this and to answer more complex and specific questions. The paper considers how these findings relate to the use of geophysical survey in other countries. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

PROVENANCE STUDIES OF CHALCOLITHIC OBSIDIAN ARTEFACTS FROM NEAR LAKE URMIA, NORTHWESTERN IRAN USING WDXRF ANALYSIS

ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 1 2010
K. A. NIKNAMI
In 2005,2006 we initiated a major archaeological survey and chemical characterization study to investigate the long-term use of obsidian along the eastern shores of Lake Urmia, northwestern Iran. Previous research in the area suggested that almost all archaeological obsidian found in this area originated from the Nemrut Da, source located in the Lake Van region of Anatolia (Turkey). More recent research on obsidian artefacts from the Lake Urmia region has identified a significant number of obsidian artefacts with compositions different from the sources near Lake Van. This suggests that the obsidian artefacts are from a yet to be identified geological source, but possibly one that was not too distant. In order to advance our knowledge of Iranian obsidians and eventually refine provenance criteria we analysed obsidian from 22 Chalcolithic sites and some source areas. The compositions of both obsidian source samples and artefacts were determined using wave length dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (WDXRF). This paper presents results from the trace elemental analysis of both geological and archaeological obsidians, providing important new data concerning the diachronic relationship between lithic technology and raw material in the north-west of Iran. [source]

Quaternary paleoenvironments and potential for human exploitation of the Jordan plateau desert interior

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2005
Caroline P. Davies
The physical, chemical, numerical, and radiometric analyses of a 31-m sediment core from the Qa'el-Jafr basin provide an important record of Quaternary paleoenvironments for the Jordan Plateau and evidence for several significant changes in climate regime. Cluster and PCA analyses of the geochemical data support the designation of major sedimentation regimes identified by stratigraphic and sediment analyses. Multiple cycles of alluvial deposition, lacustrine units, and erosional unconformities characterize the deepest sediments, followed by a period(s) of intense evaporation. Radiocarbon ages of charcoal in the uppermost 7 m place the aeolian/alluvial phase between 16,030 ± 140 yr B.P. and 24,470 ± 240 yr B.P. Deflation processes may explain the lack of a Holocene sequence. Despite lacking radiometric ages for the lower sediments, the thickness and degree of calcium-carbonate cementation suggest considerable age for the basal sediments, which suggests that a very long terrestrial record of Quaternary climate changes has been preserved in the Jafr basin. This new record of paleoenvironments provides important context to the archaeological record of the Jordan Plateau during the Quaternary. Several archaeological surveys demonstrate extensive human exploitation of lakes and springs of the major wadis along the western margin of the Rift Valley. However, little is known of human exploitation of the desert interiors. Qa'el-Jafr sediments demonstrate significant lacustrine and high moisture phases sufficient for human exploitation of the eastern desert during the Pleistocene. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Archaeological site distribution by geomorphic setting in the southern lower Cuyahoga River Valley, northeastern Ohio: Initial observations from a GIS database

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 8 2004
Andrew Bauer
In this study, we compiled unpublished archival documentation of archaeological site locations from the southern part of the Cuyahoga River Valley in northeastern Ohio, USA, registered at the State of Ohio Historic Preservation Office into a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database. Using digitized soil shapefiles to generate a geomorphic data layer, we assessed the spatial and temporal distribution of 79 known archaeological sites by landform association. This digital compilation indicates that Woodland period, Late Prehistoric, and Historic sites occur in most geomorphic settings along the river valley. In contrast, Paleoindian and Archaic sites only occur on Wisconsinan cut terraces and in upland interfluve settings, indicating that most of these documented sites are in primary contexts and have not been reworked. We discuss the distribution of archaeological sites in the study region as a function of various factors, including cultural activities, taphonomic processes, landform development, and the nature and extent of the original archaeological surveys. Observed spatial patterns of known sites clearly reflect local geomorphological controls; artifactual contexts from the earlier prehistoric periods are underrepresented in the database. We conclude that additional site surveys, as well as the excavation and documentation of new sites in this part of Ohio, are required to understand local prehistoric economies and to ascertain patterns of culturally mediated land use. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]