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Recent Excavations (recent + excavation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	50%
Earth and Environmental Science	50%

Selected Abstracts

The Thaikkal-Kadakkarappally Boat: an Archaeological Example of Medieval Shipbuilding in the Western Indian Ocean

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 2 2004
Victoria Tomalin
Recent excavations at Kadakkarappally in Kerala, south-west India, have unearthed the remains of an iron-fastened boat, believed to predate the earliest known records for the use of iron in South Asian boatbuilding. The design departs significantly from the traditional view of Indian watercraft, although the use of locally available timber and the suitability of the design for use in the backwaters that characterise the region suggest that it was built and used in India. This is the first excavation of its type to take place in Kerala and contradicts the belief, widely held in Kerala, that the survival of organic remains has been negated by the tropical climate of the region. © 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society [source]

A funerary rite study of the Phoenician,Punic necropolis of Mount Sirai (Sardinia, Italy)

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
G. Piga
Abstract A recent excavation in the Phoenician,Punic necropolis of Mount Sirai, located in the southwestern part of Sardinia, Italy, has brought to light a number of tombs contextually attributed to a period from the early 6th to early 5th century BC, which is simultaneous with the beginning of the Carthago influence in Sardinia. Among the interred burials recently brought to light, the skeletal remains, sometimes of two superposed bodies, are found in a primary position and with fine anatomic connection. Some of the bones were visually stained, suggesting they were possibly subjected to fire treatment. In order to ascertain more objectively whether the bodies were subjected to burning, the bones from all the tombs were investigated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy techniques. After excluding the role of important diagenetic effects, from line broadening/sharpening analysis of hydroxylapatite in the bones according to the Rietveld method, it was evaluated that the bodies were probably subjected to a temperature regime from 300 to 700°C. These data were supplemented and confirmed by an analysis of the splitting factor (SF) of apatite phosphate peaks in the infra-red spectrum of the bones. Our results indicate the existence of a rite intermediate between incineration and inhumation. This sort of ,semi-combustion', perhaps limited to the period of the early 5th century BC, appears to be peculiar just to this site. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

An East Cretan LM IA Vase at Knossos

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 3 2001
Mervyn Popham
A fragment of a jug published from recent excavations at Palaikastro in E. Crete resembles very closely, in its decoration of double-axes and in its size and shape, a bridge-spouted jug from Evans's excavation in the House of the Frescoes at Knossos. The excavators, who noted the resemblance, were concerned about the date of the vase, LM IA: but implications go beyond this chronological aspect. Stylistically, the lavish use of subsidiary white paint for details of the decoration is without parallel at Knossos. This is, however, a feature of the E. Cretan style where it was practised extensively. These provide firm grounds for believing that the vase found at Knossos is an import from the area of Palaikastro. As such, it is not unique, since similar imports (though few) have been identified in Central Crete, and some others can be added to them. This evidence testifies to hitherto undocumented interrelations between the two regions of the Island at the LM IA stage. [source]

Multi-temporal geophysical survey of a Roman bath complex in Montegrotto Terme (Padova, northern Italy)

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 3 2007
E. Finzi
Abstract Between 2000 and 2005, several geophysical surveys were carried out by the staff of the Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, on the site of the Terme Neroniane in Montegrotto, near Padova, covering a whole complex of Roman spa buildings. This work represented a good opportunity to compare the effectiveness of various techniques (ground-penetrating radar, magnetic gradiometry and electrical resistivity tomography) and to seek the reasons for differing results. Depth, contrast between composition of the geological background and building materials, good state of structural preservation, and the lack of settlement following the Roman age supported experimental results. Old and more recent excavations, conducted in parallel with the University of Padova surveys, enabled continual comparisons between geophysical models and evidence from the site. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]