Archaeological Stratigraphy

SUMMARY: Chapter 4, in Renfrew & Bahn's textbook (Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice), covers archaeological dating methods and their applicability and limitations, including stratigraphy (relative dating), typologies (e.g., seriation), linguistic dating, climatic clues (e.g., ice & deep=sea cores), absolute dating (e.g., pollen; ancient calendars; tree-ring/dendrochronology; radiocarbon dating; potassium-argon dating; uranium-series dating; thermoluminescence dating; optical dating; electron spin-resonance dating; global events; etc.).  In my view, this is one of the best college textbooks available, and is invaluable for students, archaeologists, and the public in general, to obtain a top notch overview of approaching and interpreting the archaeological record; also including a case study on the instructor's work at a late Old Kingdom fort at Ras Budran, in South Sinai (Egypt).  REVISED: Feb. 2023.

Umhlatuzana rockshelter has an occupation sequence spanning the last 70,000 years. It is one of the few sites with deposits covering the Middle to Later Stone Age transition (~40,000-30,000 years BP) in southern Africa. Comprehending the site's depositional history and occupation sequence is thus important for the broader understanding of the development of Homo sapiens' behavior. The rockshelter was first excavated in the 1980s by Jonathan Kaplan. He suggested that the integrity of the late Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age sediments was compromised by large-scale sediment movement. In 2018, we initiated a high-resolution geoarchaeological study of the site to clarify the site formation processes. Here, we present the results of the excavation and propose a revised stratigraphic division of the Pleistocene sequence based on field observations , sedimentological (particle size) analyses, and cluster analysis. The taphonomy of the site is assessed through phytolith and geo...

Straordinario e plurimillenario libro di pietra, posto all’ingresso del porto di Trapani, vecchio forse più della città stessa, il castello della Colombaia di Trapani, fu oggetto nel 1993 di uno dei primi studi di archeologia dell’architettura in Sicilia, che ha consento di svelarne la ricchezza evolutiva. Benchè nell’edificio si sia ancora alla ricerca dei resti della cartaginese “Torre Peliade”, le analisi di “archeologia dell’architettura” permisero di comprendere le funzioni del Castello nei secoli ( fortilizio, faro, torre di difesa e di avvistamento, carcere regio e popolare, forse pure ospedale se non antico lazzaretto, deposito di munizioni, punto di trasmissioni radio… ) e di individuare i diversi corpi fabbrica costituenti il complesso.

The Colombaia Castle in Trapani is an extraordinary, multi-millennial stone book at the entrance to the port of Trapani, perhaps older than the city itself. In 1993, one of the first studies of architectural archaeology in Sicily revealed the richness of its evolution. Although the remains of the Carthaginian "Torre Peliade" are still being sought in the building, the "architectural archaeology" analyses made it possible to understand the castle's functions over the centuries (fortress, lighthouse, defence and watchtower, royal and people's prison, perhaps even a hospital if not an ancient lazaret, ammunition depot, radio transmission point...) and to identify the various buildings that made up the complex.

Archaeologically monitored topsoil stripping of the site of a waste water treatment works at Ballywilliam, Donaghadee, Co Down, led to the identification and excavation of a burnt mound and a number of associated pits. Some are interpreted as troughs, and one preserved evidence of having been wood-lined. Radiocarbon determinations indicate use in the Early Bronze Age.

Evaluation of individual soil horizons and sequences of soil horizons in archaeological studies is critical to the correct and meaningful interpretation of archaeological context. We focus on the evaluation of soils in the stratigraphic framework of an archaeological site and offer a guide to assist in the interpretation of context of cultural materials in specific master horizons. In the North American Stratigraphic Code, the formal pedostratigraphic unit, the geosol, by definition requires being overlain by a formally defined lithostratigraphic  or similar material unit. This criterion can rarely be met in shallow, mid-to-late Holocene settings. In addition, no subdivision of the geosol are recognized, a problem at the scale of archaeological excavation. Chronostratigraphic and pedostratigraphic units are often confused in concept. The main distinction between these two, critical to archaeology, is in their boundaries and in the subdivision into smaller units. Boundaries of chronostratigraphic units are synchronous and form isochrons, whereas boundaries of pedostratigraphic units are time-transgressive. Subdivision of chronostratigraphic units results in subunits that represent shorter periods of time than the larger unit and that lie in temporal succession with each other (i.e., they follow the Law of Superposition). When a pedostratigraphic unit is subdivided, logically into soil horizons, the individual horizons are not separate from the whole soil, or from each other in temporal framework. Each soil horizon has a unique set of properties and processes, and is separated in space, but not in time from adjacent horizons. The distinction between subdivision of chronostratigraphic and pedostratigraphic units is a fundamental difference between soil and sediments. The guide we present is based on pedogenic and geomorphic processes, both past and contemporaneous, occurring in specific master horizons.

The compatibility between radiocarbon-based and Egyptian historical chronologies, as demonstrated by the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU) lab under Christopher Bronk Ramsey, is used repeatedly to prove the accuracy of science- based dating, despite serious radiocarbon offsets from stratified settlement data. In the latter case, it is claimed that the excavators have misunderstood their contexts. Such argumentation ignores historical-chronology pegs such as dates from stelae, scarabs or ceramics—distorting or discounting hard data. Little thought has been given to this divergence. The following reasons, inter alia, may be suggested for the divergence of scientific and archaeological dating: in stratified settlements, the excavation of pits, particularly the construction of deep intramural tombs, and foundation ditches, may transport older material upward including charcoal, seeds and sherd material. In such cases, the median or mean value of a series of carbon dates would also incorporate residual seed and bone material, producing higher dates than contemporary samples taken from royal and non-royal funerary contexts, which are not subject to such upward shifting of material. As the mechanics of redistribution of materials are similar in most of the settlements, similar results are produced in contemporary settlements. In archaeology, one dates the context not by mean estimates, but by the youngest coherent find group. In the meantime another factor extending the carbon dates has been found. Thus far, the calibration curve was edited from decadal and semi-decadal measurements of tree-rings. Now the University of Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research has produced a new calibration curve based on annual tree-ring measurements for the time span between 1700–1500 B.C. which lowers f.e. the date of the Thera eruption from the mid to late 17th century and even beyond, as far as 1510 B.C. This would be much more compatible with the archaeological/historical chronology.

Es un texto sintesis de uno mayor, que comenta una pequeña historia de la estratigrafía arqueológica, contada particularmente desde tres supuestos y formas de pensamiento: la verticalidad (observación temporal), el contenido (sedimento) y la forma (interfacies).

A stratigraphic review of the Santimamiñe Cave strata was performed between 2004 and 2006 as part of an overall study, conservation and dissemination programme of this archaeological site. The stratigraphic survey conducted affected the innermost section of the antechamber and provided a 6 metre deep sequence with 27 stratigraphic units, divided into four sets based on geoclimatic and palaetnologic criteria. The lower set accommodates two levels with palaeontological content (Arb-o and Arg-o), developed during MIS 3-MIS 2, and dating from c. 27000 to 20000 BP. Above sits the flood level, a powerful layer of sterile silt and clay, deposited in all likelihood, during GI-2. The upper-meso level is characterised by the significant presence of cryoclastic processes, referring to Csn-Camr, Slnc and Arcp levels, formed during the Late Glacial Period (GS-2, GI-1d and GS-1). These three phases of climate worsening saw the first human occupation of the cave of Santimamiñe: late lower Magdalenian, late upper Magdalenian and Azilian, between c. 14700 and 10000 BP. Finally, the top level was deposited during the first half of the Holocene, with Mesolithic (very mild), Neolithic and Chalcolithic-Bronze occupation, between c. 7600 and 3700 BP. The present study rules out, at least in the area assessed, the existence of human occupation from the early and middle Upper Palaeolithic.

Advances in digital recording technology make it possible to document three-dimensional data during excavation. Yet this opens up the question: what do we do with this data? Is there an added value to recording 3D data that exceeds traditional 2D drawing approaches? Various 3D GIS workflows have been introduced over the years, yet little research has been done exploring the analytical possibilities of this approach. This thesis presents an effective workflow for creating a vector-based 3D GIS model that is capable of operating in the four subsystems of GIS: data entry, data storage, analysis, and visualization. Three excavation trenches from the Chalcolithic site of Chlorakas-Palloures, Cyprus are modeled using TS spatial data and 3D photogrammetry models. Moreover, three methods are introduced for modeling the volume of stratigraphic units using the capabilities of Esri ArcScene. This approach presents a significant advantage over 2D plan and section drawings in regards to stratigraphic analysis. The excavation database can be joined within the 3D GIS environment and easily queried, thus creating a complete 3D spatial database of all excavated materials. Using this method, it is possible to find spatial correlations between units in trenches that may have been excavated at different times. Furthermore, unit relations identified in the field can be visualized and verified in an intuitive, user-friendly interface. Along with being able to depict features and materials found within the interior of the trench, models can be cross-sectioned at any angle and in any direction to show the stratigraphic sequence. This is particularly helpful in aiding in the stratigraphic studies of Chalcolithic sites in Cyprus which have characteristically shallow occupation layers and are subject to extensive post-depositional processes. Stratigraphic analysis of the modeled trenches provides evidence of multiple occupation phases at the site, thus supporting the idea of dynamic settlement patterns during the Late Chalcolithic period in Cyprus. However, the ability to create a 3D GIS model is predicated on the quality and type of data recorded in the field. Volumetric modeling methods showed promise for depicting certain types of features, yet these must be improved in order to accurately represent the volume of all excavated units. An ideal documentation method is introduced that addresses these deficiencies and presents a means of capturing the volumetric data needed for creating a true 3D GIS model for stratigraphic analysis.

A complex stratigraphy of layers and walls reaching up to 6 m below the contemporary surface has been researched within the ensemble of rooms distinguished as House A. Its documentation and analysis became the basis for the reconstruction of changes taking place in the period from the ninth to the thirteenth century, in the house's layout, the features of building, and the function of particular parts of the house. The discussion of these issues is broken down into 12 periods-phases and sub-phases-distinguished based on the stratigraphy analysis of layers and architecture. The paper also presents radiocarbon-dating results, adopted here as the primary basis for the absolute dating of individual phases.

Alla periferia orientale della colonia romana di Eporedia (101-100 a.C.) la costruzione dell'anfiteatro comportò la demolizione di una preesistente villa suburbana. Il riesame delle strutture superstiti e l'approfondimento delle indagini mediante sondaggi stratigrafici hanno consentito di chiarire almeno nella parte conservata  lo sviluppo planimetrico della domus, di datare in età augusteo-tiberiana l'edificazione della stessa e, inoltre, di ricostruirne e attribuire a singoli ambienti gli apparati decorativi pittorici recuperati al tempo dello scavo dell'anfiteatro,  studiati e ricomposti da Christiane Delplace.  I dati stratigrafici e i materiali relativi hanno inoltre consentito di fissare all'età flavia l'edificazione dell'anfiteatro stesso.

This monograph focuses on one of the most interesting sections of the Main Forum of Ostia Antica, the ancient commercial port of Rome, during the 2nd-6th centuries AD. With a detailed 3D reconstruction of all collected information, it is possible to gain detailed insights into the development and destruction of the city centre during the transition from Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. The applied 3D volume map in this study makes this possible by combining 2D, 2.5D and 3D solid objects inside a real geo-space. It completes the 3D space, generally filled with hollow objects, with content. With this work, Undine Lieberwirth gives archaeologists a free and open ready-to-use tool. The resulting space-time model of archaeological stratigraphy, geophysics and pedology opens new perspectives on 3D documentation and 3D analysis of archaeological and archaeology-related data. Her intention is not only to preserve archaeological excavation data in the best way possible but also to prepare them for future 3D and 4D analysis. The digital 3D cartography offers the perfect framework for this. To represent these 3D models appropriately, the usual 2D images in this monograph are replaced with 8 videos.

Archaeologically monitored topsoil stripping at the site of Oakgrove Integrated College, Gransha, Co Londonderry, in 2002 led to the identification and investigation of a number of archaeological sites, including two areas of Early Neolithic activity and an Early Bronze Age burnt mound with troughs. Surface finds of Late Mesolithic and possibly Neolithic flint were also recorded.

Castro do Vieito is a settlement of a modest size, situated on the left bank of the Lima river estuary in the north west of Portugal. It was the target of a large scale archaeological rescue operation from 2004 to 2005, one coordinated by the present author. The enormous source of data, completely unpublished until today, that was provided by this unparalleled intervention, is explored here in such a way as to offer the reader a portrait of a village community which lived through the initial phase of the region’s integration within the Roman empire. Castro do Vieito’s setting on a nautical stopping point, close to one of the region’s largest mineral seams, makes it possible to understand the involvement of this settlement in the supply network of the drafted military that controlled the auriferous explorations situated upstream on the river Lima. This privileged relationship with the military occupation force means that this settlement is distinct in many aspects from the others that surrounded it and makes it important in terms of understanding the different dynamics involved in the interaction of the local populations with the Imperial Army. After a first chapter explaining the methodological problems connected with an intervention of this nature and size and spread, as well as the solutions developed to surpass the problems, the following four chapters portray different aspects of the daily life of this community.

In recent years there has been a growing interest in 3D acquisition techniques in the field of cultural heritage, yet, at the same time, only a small percentage of case studies have been conducted on the virtual reconstruction of archaeological sites that are no longer in existence. Such reconstructions are, at times, considered “artistic” or “aesthetic” endeavors, as the complete list of sources used is not necessarily provided as a reference along with the 3D representation. One of the reasons for this is likely the lack of a shared language in which to store and communicate the steps in the reconstruction process. This paper proposes the use of a formal language with which to keep track of the entire virtual reconstruction process. The proposal is based on the stratigraphic reading approach and aims to create a common framework connecting archaeological documentation and virtual reconstruction in the earliest stages of the survey. To this end, some of the tools and standards used in archaeological research have been “extended” to taxonomically annotate both the validation of the hypothesis and the sources involved. More resources (and a downloadable copy) at http://osiris.itabc.cnr.it/extendedmatrix/

Revisión del índice/resumen utilizado en clases y conferencias dadas a arquitectos, arqueólogos y restauradores sobre Arqueología de la Arquitectura. Corregido y ampliado con propuestas recientes. No se pretende un texto argumentado al detalle, sino un guion que, como tal, sirva de ayuda para acercarse por primera vez o para profundizar en el conocimiento de esta metodología de análisis del Patrimonio Arquitectónico. Texto inédito.

"In 2005, a fully backfilled 19.4 metres deep water well was found inside the Menga dolmen, causing an enormous surprise among the scientific community, as there was no knowledge of the existence of such structure, which is unparalleled. In this paper, the chronology of the infill of this well is investigated. First, we describe the early steps in the investigation of this megalithic monument in the 19th century, when
references to this well were made which were then forgotten throughout the 20th century. Next, we describe the stratigraphy and associated finds of the well and present the results of a Bayesian modelling of 14
radiocarbon dates obtained from short-lived samples (animal bones retrieved from within its infill). This evidence sets the ground for the discussion of a fairly robust hypothesis regarding the temporality of the
well’s backfilling process, which took place in the 18th century CE, as well as some informed speculations regarding the circumstances that may have led to it."

The data from recent excavations in the Oman peninsula, especially in the Ja’alan and the Jebel Qara (Sultanate of
Oman) enable us better to refine certain cultural entities and to define new ones, to help determine the chronology of a part of the late prehistory of south-eastern Arabia. To begin with, the “empty quarter of the early Holocene” is half
full: “Fasad facies” characterizes one of the earliest Holocene hunter-gatherers occupation in Oman (8000–7500 BC).
Today we possess data from several stratified sites, enabling definition of two quite distinct Neolithic techno-facies,
which appear in succession: the trihedral points facies between 6500 and 4500 BC, and the facies of  the points with diamond-shaped section between 4500 and about 3800–3700 BC.

El objetivo general es estudiar la estructura arqueológica de los sitios concheros a fin de interpretar la variabilidad que presentan y la correspondencia de esa variabilidad
con actividades o acciones sociales y/o procesos de formación del registro arqueológico. Este estudio se realizó a partir de dos enfoques complementarios. Por un lado, un enfoque de distribución espacial de concheros con énfasis en el registro de particularidades composicionales, estructurales y de preservación, y por otro lado, a partir del enfoque estratigráfico. Este último, aparece como necesario para la interpretación de las estructuras depositacionales de concheros
y de sus materiales componentes, así como para interpretar las historias formacionales de los depósitos, los agentes y los procesos involucrados.
Estos análisis permitieron inferir algunas de las actividades sociales que se llevaron a cabo en estos espacios, características de la gestión de los recursos por parte de los grupos humanos (especialmente los moluscos utilizados como
alimento) y la funcionalidad de los sitios. A partir del estudio integral u holístico de los materiales arqueológicos recuperados en las excavaciones y de una aproximación metodológica con énfasis en los estudios tafonómicos y de preservación de los restos arqueomalacológicos, se obtuvieron resultados que
permitieron discutir las historias formacionales de los concheros en la CNSC.
A partir de los estudios realizados se estableció que en los concheros se desarrollaron actividades culturales similares, tales como el procesamiento y consumo de recursos marinos y terrestres, la talla, manufactura y mantenimiento de instrumentos líticos, eventos de encendido de fuegos, trabajo sobre cuero, hueso y carne, entre otras. De esta manera, fue posible determinar que en los concheros se realizaron una serie de actividades específicas. Es por ello que a partir de las excavaciones y los muestreos realizados fue posible identificar que no existe una gran variabilidad intersitios en cuanto a la composición de los mismos. Los materiales que los componen, más allá de diferencias en cuanto a su cantidad, densidad, especies biológicas, materias primas, etc., son similares
entre los sitios estudiados.
Las evidencias mencionadas nos permiten definir a los concheros estudiados como sitios de actividades múltiples o bases residenciales en las cuales los grupos humanos habrían desarrollado diferentes actividades cotidianas relacionadas
con la subsistencia (explotación de recursos marinos y terrestres), el procesamiento de recursos y materias primas, eventos de encendido de fuegos, la producción y el mantenimiento de artefactos, entre otras.
En el marco de esta tesis los concheros fueron registrados en localidades arqueológicas ubicadas en la franja de litoral marítimo, en la Cuenca inferior de la ría Deseado y en lagunas cercanas a la costa.
Fue posible establecer diferencias estructurales, morfológicas, cronológicas, entre los sitios. Estas diferencias creemos que estarían relacionadas con la duración en la ocupación de los asentamientos, con el tamaño de los grupos y con la intensidad
en la explotación de los recursos en las bases residenciales.
La aproximación multidimensional a la problemática de estudio permitió elaborar una interpretación general acerca de múltiples aspectos de los sitios concheros (tales como la funcionalidad, estructura, composición, distribución
espacial, procesos de formación, cronología, entre otros). La imagen integral de los sitios concheros, generada a partir del empleo de diversas metodologías acordes a las escalas de análisis, permitió comprender aspectos de la vida de
las poblaciones que ocuparon esta área del litoral atlántico de la Patagonia en el pasado.

Ein Artikel zu Technikentwicklung "germanischer" freigeformter Keramik im 3./4. Jahrhundert sowie einer Auswahl spätantiker Keramik aus Befunden, die durch die Überdeckung durch eine münzdatierte Planierschicht offenbar genauer als bisher möglich datiert werden können.

Coin Finds from Recent Excavations at Carthage, from the Destruction in 146 BC to the Reign of Claudius.

Abstract: A survey of the coins from excavations in the Quartier Magon and the Quartier Didon south of Rue Ibn Chabâat, undertaken jointly by the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) in Rome and the INP in Tunis, and complemented by data from various international teams, prompts a discussion of the issues circulating in Carthage between the destruction of the city in 146 BC and the reign of Claudius. Most coins are from the Quartier Magon excavations, some from archaeological contexts dated on the basis of non-numismatic material. A number of pre-Augustan coins, from Cyrenaica, Massalia and other mints, suggest contacts with Italy, borne out by other archaeological evidence. These contacts reflect various moments in the city’s history, including the period after the foundation of the Caesarean colony in 44 BC. There is so far no evidence that Punic coins circulated in Carthage after 146 BC. The large number of early Imperial coins of the late Augustan period marks the flourishing of the Augustan colony around AD 10/15. In general, the coins of the local Carthaginian mint make up a substantial part of the city’s bronze coin stock, supplemented by a small number of coins from other mints. The North African mints closed under Tiberius, following which coins come mainly from Rome. Claudian quadrantes possibly reflect a pattern in the provision in small coins until now not known from anywhere outside central Italy, except Sicily.
Keywords: Carthage – coin finds – Augustus – Tiberius – quadrans