Search results for "Archaeological evidence"
showing 10 items of 10 documents
Estrazione e raffinazione dello zolfo e paesaggio nella Sicilia romana tra IV e VI d.C.
2016
Sulphur was important in several fields: military, tanning, wool’s disinfection and many other activities. Nevertheless, the largest quantity of sulphur was used in agriculture, particularly in viticulture as it was used to combat fungal diseases especially in wine production areas. Sicily, and in particular the area surrounding Agrigento, was the main site of sulphur extraction. This built strong relationships with Rome and other agricultural centres in the Mediterranean Sea. Very important among the historical sources and the archaeological evidence are the so called Tabulae sulphuris, concerning the sulphur exploitation at the Agrigento’s area. Recent finds and studies gave a new chronol…
Phoenician and Punic Sites in Sicily
2013
A survey of Phoenician and Punic archaeological sites and monuments in Sicily. An update of recent excavations and finds.
Fuel For Lamps: Organic Residues Preserved in Iron Age Lamps Excavated at the Site of Sahab in Jordan
2017
Five Iron Age ceramic lamps from a tomb at the site of Sahab in the south-eastern part of central Jordan were analysed using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The results of this study provide data on the type of fuel used in three of these lamps. The study proposes that animal fat, possibly of ruminant origin, was used in three Early Iron Age II lamps. The material used in the other two Iron Age I lamps could not be determined due to the absence of diagnostic biomarkers. The data obtained from the lamps can be put in conjunction with the archaeological evidence on the availability of domestic animals and, most probably, use of their products at the site of Sahab during the Ir…
The burial of Bad Dürrenberg, Central Germany: osteopathology and osteoarchaeology of a Late Mesolithic shaman's grave
2006
The isolated burial of Bad Durrenberg is one of the richest Mesolithic graves in Europe. Although it was excavated in the 1930s, new spectacular anthropological and archaeological evidence has emerged during a recent re-study. Firstly, we present here the results of an anthropological re-evaluation of certain features of the skull base and the foramen magnum. Our work has clearly established that the observable features are caused by an anatomical variation that also includes an atlar anomaly. This developmental variation possibly caused various neuropathological symptoms. The Bad Durrenberg burial consequently represents a unique case of the possible interpretation of abnormal behaviours i…
Ancient pigs reveal a near-complete genomic turnover following their introduction to Europe
2019
International audience; Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by ∼10,500 y before the present (BP) in the Near East, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggests that pigs arrived in Europe alongside farmers ∼8,500 y BP. A few thousand years after the introduction of Near Eastern pigs into Europe, however, their characteristic mtDNA signature disappeared and was replaced by haplotypes associated with European wild boars. This turnover could be accounted for by substantial gene flow from local Euro-pean wild boars, although it is also possible that European wild boars were domesticated independently without any genetic contribution from the Near East. To test these hyp…
Beyond the grave: variability in Neolithic diets in Southern Germany?
2006
Abstract Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses were undertaken on human and faunal remains from two Neolithic sites in Southern Germany; the LBK settlement at Herxheim and the middle Neolithic cemetery at Trebur. Stable isotope data were used to reconstruct the diets of individuals buried at these sites and to look at dietary variation between groups classified by their sex, age, grave goods and cultural affiliation. Overall there was surprisingly little variation in the diet between the groups, as described by the stable isotope analysis, despite significant differences in the composition of grave goods. Also surprising, considering the archaeological evidence for extensive grain cul…
8000 years of coastal changes on a western Mediterranean island: A multiproxy approach from the Posada plain of Sardinia
2018
Abstract A multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental investigation was conducted to reconstruct the Holocene history of coastal landscape change in the lower Posada coastal plain of eastern Sardinia. In the Mediterranean region, coastal modifications during the Holocene have been driven by a complex interplay between climate, geomorphological processes and human activity. In this paper, millennial-scale human-sea level-environment interactions are investigated near Posada, one of the largest coastal plains in eastern Sardinia. Biostratigraphic and palynological approaches were used to interpret the chrono-stratigraphy exhibited by a series of new cores taken from the coastal plain. This new study elu…
Historical mining and smelting in the Vosges Mountains (France) recorded in two ombrotrophic peat bogs
2010
Two peat sequences were sampled in the vicinity of the main mining districts of the Vosges Mountains: Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines and Plancher-les-Mines. Lead isotopic compositions and excess lead fluxes were calculated for each of these radiocarbon-dated sequences. Geochemical records are in very good agreement with the mining history of the area, well known over the last millennium. Except for an anomaly corresponding to the Middle Bronze Age which has not yet been resolved, there is no clear geochemical evidence of local metal production in the Vosges before the 10th century as excess lead deposition archived between 500 BC and 500 AD is attributed to long-range transport of polluted particul…
Las ánforas de Brindisi en Hispania Citerior. Pautas de distribución y consumo
2017
La presencia del ejército romano republicano en la Hispania Citerior ha sido difícil de reconocer en el pasado debido al error en la interpretación de algunos yacimientos y la falta de investigación sobre el tema. En los últimos años, se han realizado nuevas investigaciones sobre yacimientos romanos republicanos identificando pequeñas fortificaciones militares y asentamientos civiles itálicos relacionados con el ejército. Uno de los fósiles directores presentes en todos estos yacimientos es la cerámica itálica tanto fina como común y las ánforas. Precisamente, las ánforas de la Apulia constituyen uno de los fósiles directores poco estudiados; este artículo pretende llenar este vacío y mostr…
Strength of pre-Roman amphorae: Comparison of the different types
2015
Abstract Given that amphorae were used for storage or for long and/or short distance transport, they must have been able to retain their content and, at the same time, be able to resist important load during transport. This paper concerns aspects of the techno-functionality of pre-Roman Iberian amphorae. The basic performance requirement concerned here is the mechanical strength (transverse rupture strength: TRS). Strength is related to the adequacy for storage or short and/or long distance transport that, up to now, is only assessed by typological identification or archaeological evidence. Experimental implementation on actual archaeological material has confirmed that strength increased w…