Rural Archaeology

"This article focuses on the social organization of Iron Age II villages in ancient Israel. Based on the analysis of houses size, size and distribution of agricultural-industrial installations, the presence of terrace systems, storage facilities and other elements such as a boundary wall, several conclusions are presented.
The basis social units were large extended families that dwelled together. These families were organized in larger kingship groups (probably lineages) which, to some extent, were probably responsible for production and storage facilities and can be seen as "corporate groups". The lineage frequently comprised an entire village, but in some cases several lineages constituted a settlement. In any event, in light of the archeological evidence it seems that there was a forum responsible for decisions-making on the village level, even when the village was larger than the lineage.
These conclusions are compared with the biblical/historical data concerning the organization of the "traditional Israelite society" and are examined in light of our knowledge of similar societies throughout the world and in the ancient Near East.
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This article presents a review of the data collected from the palynological analysis of six sites situated on the southern edge of the Armorican Massif (coastal Vendée, Western France). A multi and interdisciplinary approach, involving branches as diverse as archaeology, history, geography, geomorphology, sedimentology, climatology and the natural sciences, enabled us to gain an understanding of the evolution of vegetation and coastal ecosystems from the end of the Preboreal period to the present, and to see whether this evolution was due to the combined influence of climate and geomorphology of the environment or due to the influence of natural factors, human-induced processes or interaction between these components.
Since the Preboreal, the coastal area has undergone significant geomorphological changes through a succession of marine transgressions and regressions. Coastal valleys filled up rapidly to the Atlantic and the progressive development of dune ridges led to the clogging of lagoons, resulting in the present day tidal marshes. On the first hillsides of the coastal area, and with improvement in climate conditions, a woodland environment rapidly appeared which had distinctive features related to the proximity of the ocean. These data reinforce the research already carried out on the subject and help in an understanding of the evolution of coastal and continental ecosystems. From the end of the Mesolithic period this woodland ecosystem saw clearance activities which were sometimes followed by the cultivation of such plants as cereals or walnut. The discovery of this type of occurrence is not an isolated case in continental Europe. However, the date of these occurrences raises numerous questions about the earliest stages of neolithization, about the diffusion of agricultural knowledge and the factors leading to this diffusion.

Studying textile production in the middle Guadiana basin between the seventh and fifth centuries BC, this article reveals the significance of textiles for the development and change of economic complexity in rural societies in Iron Age south-western Iberia. Textiles were at the very heart of the economic transformation of the area in this period. The functional properties of textile tools and their implications for manufacturing different types of threads and woven textiles show that in the seventh and sixth centuries BC the production of textiles was household-based and mostly for self-consumption. From the late sixth century and especially in the fifth century BC, however, the increasing specialisation of textile production and the appearance of workshops heralded new economic relations. By examining textile production and artisans’ skills and knowledge, this study reconsiders our understanding of craft production, societal change, and economic complexity among the rural societies of Iron Age Iberia.

We present an interdisciplinary method for establishing date ranges of farm sites (A.D. 800–present) and reconstructing regional settlement dynamics. An experimental field strategy was designed to refine estimates regarding the ages of individual farmsteads based on historical data and physical and historical geography. Archaeological test pitting was employed to recover settlement debris in carefully selected locations. In the course of one week, we investigated 13 farm sites and were able to refine age estimates using artifactual evidence. The field strategy is applicable in situations where concentrations of settlement debris related to farm sites are buried under younger sediments.

"Much discussion has focused on the ability of archaeology (and archaeologists) to identify, on the basis of material culture, ethnic groups. According to Colin Renfrew ‘the most problematic of all the concepts which we have tended to use is that of ‘a people’’.  Much of the discussion of this subject in the Syro-Palestinian archaeology has concentrated around the identification of the ‘Israelites’. Most of this discussion has focused on Iron Age I (the period of Settlement), in an attempt to identify the similarities and differences between the various ethnic groups which existed in the Land of Israel at this time.
The present article will discuss the ethnicity of the inhabitants of Northern Israel during the Iron Age II. The departure point of this article is the rural sector, which did not receive much attention by the ‘Tell minded’ archaeological research, but, for reasons given below, seems to hold the key to the attempt to identify ethnic groups in ancient Israel.
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The dynamics of innovation and change had received a great deal of attention over the years. Many studies have examined the causes and mechanisms of cultural change, as well as its consequences. Innovation, in particular, had received much attention. Using the Israelite Iron Age village as a test-case, the present paper analyzes these dynamics in a traditional society, and examines the apparent tension between conservatism and innovation within the context of Iron Age Israel.

In ancient Greece, the harvest was a time of high stress and intense labour, when farmers engaged in continuous work to reap, transport, and process their agricultural yields. For the harvest to be successful, not only did the individual need to be prepared for hard work, but they were reliant on their local agrarian community to offer support and share labour demands. As such, the harvest was an opportunity for workers to experience shared labour and express physically the ideals of hard work, reciprocity, and connectivity.
By considering the mechanisms of agriculture in ancient landscapes, along with measuring the physical stress this had on the individual, and the means by which workers could come together to share labour, this article examines the lived experience of ancient farmers during this crucial period of the agricultural calendar, in order to better understand the immaterial aspects of connectivity and community interaction in the ancient countryside.

En este trabajo se presentan las últimas novedades sobre el estudio del aprovisionamiento de grano y otros productos agrícolas en las ciudades hispanorromanas. Se pretende abordar la cuestión del abastecimiento, superando la visión que nos ofrecen las fuentes literarias, y centrando su atención en los restos materiales que mejor nos informan sobre la producción, el almacenaje y la redistribución de los alimentos, es decir, los horrea y graneros conservados tanto en el territorio como en el núcleo urbano de las antiguas ciudades romanas. La reinterpretación y análisis de los testimonios epigráfi cos nos permiten además presentar nuevos planteamientos sobre la gestión del cereal y otros productos alimentarios en las ciudades hispanorromanas.

New elements concerning human impacts on the Vendee coast at the end of the Mesolithic period.

A pollen analysis undertaken on coastal mud flats (Biltard beach, Bretignolles-sur-Mer, Vendee. western France) has revealed elements concerning human impacts at the end of the Mesolithic period, around 6900 BC, through the presence of Cerealia type and ruderals. These new findings concerning the early appearance of taxonomic groups connected with agriculture are to be added to many others already found in the Loire Valley and the Armorican structure in western France. Erring on the side of caution, and however problematical these results are, we once again venture the hypothesis of the early spread of agricultural techniques via a southern current.

Une analyse poIlinique menee sur une vasiere littorale fossilisee (piage du Biltard, Bretignolles-sur-Mer, Vendee, France) revele des elements d'anthropisation des la fin du Mesolithique, aux alentours de 6900 avoI.-C, par la presence de Cerealia type et de ruderales. Cette nouvelle constatation d'apparition precoce de taxons lies a I'agriculture, s'ajoute a de nombreuses autres dejt realisees dans Ie Val de Loire et Ie Massif armoricain. Avec precaution, et aussi problematiques que soient ces resultats, nous reposons l'hypothese d'une diffusion precoce des techniques agricoles via un courant meridional.

The following article summarizes our current knowledge of the history of Tell Mulabbis (in modern Petah Tikva). As a key archaeological site in the Yarkon River basin, it was inhabited during the Roman, Byzantine, Early Islamic, Crusader, Mamluk and Late Ottoman periods. Based on the published results of recent excavations, older scholarship, and hereto-unnoticed written evidence, the article examines and interprets Mulabbis's material culture within the broader contexts of the region's historical geography. Although possessing important advantages like access to water and arable land, the site was inhabited only intermittently due to malaria and changing economic and political circumstances. Within the framework of Ottoman Archaeology, the article suggests the need to pay closer attention to 'recent' archaeological layers. For example, the few Ottoman material remains published so far, testify to continued cultural exchange and economic ties between Mulabbis, the mountainous interior, and the southern parts of Palestine.

The Version of Record of this manuscript has been published and is available in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly since June 20, 2019: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00310328.2019.1621734

In the spring of 1992, Burney and Associates of Boulder, Colorado, conducted archaeological investigations at the mining camp town site of Hedges in eastern Imperial County, California. The site represented a population of Mexican laborers and their families, as well as the influences of Anglo-American company management. Architectural data indicated that construction methods reflected the use of both the traditional Hispanic and the blending and adaptation of Mexican-Sonoran and Anglo-American architectural traditions. In communities like Hedges, where the vernacular architectural customs of the Sonoran Desert met those of the American East, the inventory of available folk design solutions increased dramatically for all residents. Although representing two distinct societies and cultures, the fundamental principles of both were embodied in long-standing customs. Efficiency and adaptability determined house form. These solutions embodied the essence of folk architecture. Through economy and innovation, design and materials were adapted to meet the builders’ specific needs.

The rural sites of the Middle Bronze Age have not received much scholarly attention. A number of sites were excavated over the years, however, and the accumulating data allows a discussion of Middle Bronze Age rural communities. An analysis of the archaeological evidence indicates that the villages can be divided into two main groups. An in-depth examination of the archaeological data, in light of ethnographic and historical data, suggests that these villages should be interpreted as belonging to the following types: A few villages, exhibiting a surprisingly high standard of living, should be viewed as ‘independent’ villages. Other villages were ‘owned’ by a person/family or by an institution. The latter is divided into two subtypes depending on whether the landlord was present or absent. In the first, poor dwellings were the norm, but one can identify an outstanding structure, greatly surpassing the rest, that hosted the landlord. The second type is characterized by poor standards of living throughout the site, as all the surpluses were sent outside and left the village.

Ever since the 1970s, archaeology continuously enlarged its fields of inquiries, most notably moving away from site-based studies into territorial approaches. While Anglo-American specialists have started to focus on material gathered « off-site » during surveys and generally interpreted as traces of manure application, French scientific teams made little use of this type of element in their studies of land use. The present article thus aims at replacing the practice of manuring in the wider context of soil improving operations and their material traces. Using literary sources, and data from archaeological digs and from iconographical sources, one can prove that the practice of applying manure in which household waste was included leads to the off-site harvesting of pottery shards. Identifying these agrarian manuring episodes is particularly useful when dealing with the issues linked to the evolution of agrarian pressure on the ecosystem.

Resumen: Los sistemas agrícolas presentes en el yacimiento de La Orden-Seminario (Huelva, España) se basan en unas tipologías de huellas de cultivo que permiten ser interpretadas como testimonios materiales de prácticas viticultoras según las diferentes evidencias manejadas. Las viñas documentadas por nosotros forman campos o parcelas de cultivo definidos a partir de la asociación espacial de tipologías de plantación homogéneas, uno de cuyos atributos compartidos es el de disponerse formando alineaciones longitudinales (liños) a base de zanjas o de fosas distribuidas en paralelo y con rangos de separación estandarizados. Gracias a las superposiciones reiterativas que se producen entre las huellas de diferentes sistemas y su interestratificación con estructuras de hábitat o industriales, cuya cronología se escalona a lo largo de la mayor parte del I milenio a.C., puede establecerse una secuencia relativa basada en esas relaciones de antero-posterioridad. Los materiales aparecidos en el relleno de las huellas de cultivo y la cultura material contenida en las estructuras asociadas, permiten calibrar en fases de uso o periodos de vigencia ante quem y post quem a todo o parte de los cinco sistemas que presentamos.

Abstract: Agricultural systems present in La Orden-Seminario site (Huelva, Spain) are based on some types of traces of cultivation which can be interpretated as evidence of viticultural practices according to the different evidence managed. The vineyards documented by us form fields or plots defined from the spatial association of homogeneous planting typologies, one of whose attributes shared is the available forming longitudinal alignments on the basis of ditches or trenches distributed in parallel and with standardized separation ranges. Thanks to the repetitive overlapping that occur between the footprints of different systems and its inter-stratification with habitat or industrial structures, whose chronology is spread throughout the greater part of I millennium BC, a sequence based on these antero-after relations can be inferred. The archaeological material appearing in the filling of the cultivation footprints and the material culture contained in associated structures, allow calibrate in phases of use or periods of validity ante quem and post quem all or part of the five systems we present.

Si les mobiliers de l'Antiquité tardive sont désormais bien définis à Lyon/Lugdunum, en revanche ceux des campagnes environnantes restent encore à analyser. En effet, aucune synthèse n'a été réalisée à ce jour sur les mobiliers archéologiques tardoantiques découverts dans la région lyonnaise, que ce soit pour les céramiques, le verre, l'instrumentum ou les monnaies. Or, grâce au développement de l'archéologie préventive, ces dernières années, de nombreux gisements ruraux de l'Antiquité tardive ont été mis au jour. Il s'agit de sites localisés principalement dans l'Est lyonnais. Le corpus choisi se compose de neuf ensembles, présentant des données quantitatives assez variables. La relecture de cette documentation a tout de même permis d'établir un premier état de réflexion sur les différents mobiliers en usage dans les campagnes lyonnaises de la fin du iii e au v e siècle. Elle démontre ainsi que le monde rural intègre parfaitement les différents réseaux d'échange, non seulement de proximité, mais également de longue distance, au milieu desquels Lugdunum reste l'épicentre. Cette vitalité économique s'insère paradoxalement dans une période caractérisée traditionnellement par des troubles politiques et socio-économiques.

[ES] Ponencia presentada con el mismo título al Coloquio Internacional: Arqueología de las aldeas en la Alta Edad Media (Vitoria-Gasteiz, 20-21 noviembre 2008). La propuesta que allí mostramos se basaba en el estudio de los paisajes rurales a través de la Arqueología del Espacio Construido, sublínea de investigación desarrollada en el LaPa (Laboratorio de Patrimonio) del CSIC en la que se fusionan los planteamientos teórico-metodológicos de la Arqueología del Paisaje, la Arqueología Rural y la Arqueología de la Arquitectura. Desde ella se entienden las manifestaciones de la cultura material en clave espacial, temporal, funcional, social y simbólica, a partir de su análisis estructural. Su aplicación nos ha permitido llegar a conocer, entender e interpretar las diferentes formas de ocupar, construir y gestionar el paisaje rural. En este texto se presenta un análisis de una serie de yacimientos cuyo eje vertebrador es el Camino Meridional que desde Ourense se dirige hacia Santiago de Compostela, y en los que están representadas distintas formas de ocupación del espacio tanto agrario como doméstico o monumental.

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Since the founding excavation of the deserted village of Rougiers in Provence, medieval archaeological research concerning the transformation of both settlements as entities and settlement patterns has never ceased evolving and new territories have been explored. The aim of this paper is to lay out the newest research in this field for the South of France by looking at the problems raised by the occupation of roman villae after the 5th century, by exploring the progressive territorialization of rural settlements during the early Middle Ages and by studying the appearance in the years 450 to 550 of numerous perched and fortified sites, absent in the written sources. Instead of the typological forms adopted by rural settlements often studied in and of themselves, the advancement of medieval archaeology incites researchers to untangle the skein of medieval socio-spacial connections and question the relationship between the men and the spaces they lived in, from the sites to the region as a whole.
In this, the archaeology of local areas explores the legacies and the dynamics of the settlements which, in the long run, became the historical basis of the small territories created around a castle, a church, or a village, and which lead to the current network of 36 683 «communes», a French administrative specificity which never fails to surprise in the modern european landscape.

The study presented here is part of a wider context of historical ecology and rural archaeology research projects carried out by the Laboratorio di Archeologia e Storia Ambientale (LASA, Dafist-Distav) of Genoa University. In particular, our contribution is focused on the reconstruction of agricultural practices connected to the historical transformation of breeding systems in the Ligurian and north-eastern Italian mountains since the second half of XIX century. The close connection between changes in agricultural systems (including animal breeding) and the overall settlements’ and inhabitants’ historical
transformations is also underlined.
The different methodologies are illustrated by two case-studies belonging to transhumance movements widespread in the Ligurian landscape. The first one, Casanova di Rovegno, was characterised by wooded-meadow pastures used during the summer season, while the second one, Riomaggiore, allowed to document evidences of sweet chestnut grove utilised for winter pastures.
Based on the discussion of the case studies, this contribution will
problems connected to the identification of specific markers (archaeological and palynological) of pastoral practices, and of the suitable exchange between the several sources of investigation taken into consideration.

Preventive archaeology and evolution of the vegetation landscape from the Iron Age to the Middle Ages in Gâtinais: highlighting hemp culture and retting activities (Courcelles and Sceaux-en-Gâtinais, Loiret, France)

During the construction of the Highway A19, preventive archaeological excavations were carried out in the Gâtinais and two of them were completed by paleoenvironmental studies. The first site is located in the valley of the Rimarde (Courcelles, Loiret). The samplings were taken from a site near a Neolithic occupation, funeral circles of the Late Bronze Age and a Carolingian necropolis, but the sedimentary sequence only starts during the Iron Age. It is a very open landscape, dominated by agro-pastoral practices which display a major expansion and diversification in the late Roman Empire (cereals, hemp and walnut), and then have their peak in the Early Middle Ages. During Central Middle Ages, rye and flax cultivation appears in the agricultural landscape. The second boring is located between the Maurepas brook (Sceaux-du-Gâtinais, Loiret) and a Gallo-Roman route and remains of buildings. From the beginning of the Iron Age, agricultural and pastoral activities are important. First, the ripisilvae vegetation is maintained and then suffers significant cuts in late Roman Empire. This phenomena is probably in correlation with the strong development of agricultural activities, particularly the cultivation of hemp, and the retting practices. With the distinct decline of these textile activities, the site is invaded by sedge meadow and becomes peaty.

Dans le cadre de la construction de l’autoroute A19, des fouilles archéologiques préventives ont été menées dans le Gâtinais et deux d’entre elles ont été associées à des études paléoenvironnementales. Le premier site se localise dans la vallée de la Rimarde (Courcelles, Loiret). Les prélèvements jouxtent une occupation du Néolithique ancien, des cercles funéraires de l’Âge du Bronze final et une nécropole carolingienne, mais la séquence sédimentaire ne débute qu’au cours de l’Hallstatt. Le paysage est très ouvert, dominé par les pratiques agro-pastorales qui connaissent un important essor et une diversification au Bas Empire (céréales, noyer et chanvre), puis leur apogée au Haut Moyen Âge. Au Moyen Âge Central, la culture du seigle et celle du lin apparaissent dans le paysage agricole. Le second sondage se localise près du ruisseau de Maurepas (Sceaux-du-Gâtinais, Loiret), aux abords d’une voie et de restes de bâtiments de l’époque gallo-romaine. Dès le début de l’Âge du Fer, la céréali- culture et les activités pastorales sont très présentes. La végétation de ripisylve, d’abord entretenue, subit ensuite des coupes importantes au Bas Empire, probablement en relation avec le fort développement des activités agricoles, notamment celui de la culture du chanvre, et des pratiques de rouissage. Avec le net recul de ces activités chanvrières, le site est envahi par la cariçaie et devient tourbeux.

The farmsteads excavated around Iron Age Jerusalem differ from all other farmsteads in the kingdom of Israel and Judah in one major respect. While other farmhouses were part of an enclosed complex, the farmhouses around Jerusalem were located in the midst of the agricultural area, and although there were other structures in the vicinity, they were not part of a single, walled, complex. There can be two functional reasons for surrounding a farm complex with walls: (1) Security; (2) Guarding livestock.
The answer as to why do the farmhouses in the Jerusalem area differed from others appears to lie with the proximity of these farms to the urban center of Jerusalem. Jerusalem grew significantly in size and in the number of inhabitants during the 8th-7th centuries BCE. The area of the walled city reached 60 ha. and the entire area, including unwalled neighborhoods, probably reached 100 ha. It seems that the hinterland became densely settled in tandem with the expansion of the urban center. It appears that by the late Iron Age, the area surrounding Jerusalem was full of agricultural sites, mainly farmsteads, that constituted the city’s agricultural hinterland. The situation of one farmstead bordering another, and even towns and villages, reduced the threat of thieves and robbers to a minimum (or, conversely, reflects a reality in which such a threat did not exist). The dense settlement had another important result. It forced a maximization of the use of land, and therefore intensive agriculture. This probably reduced grazing to a minimum. Clearly, the two main theoretical reasons for the existence of walled complexes -- security problems and functioning as animal pens – did not apply the dense settlement around Jerusalem during the 8th-7th centuries BCE, and hence its different form.

Archaeology and history of an uncertain space: temporary cultivation between collective practices and private appropriation (Basque Country,15 th-20 th c.) Starting from a methodological introduction on the role of archaeology in the multidisciplinary context of off-site research, the paper aims to reflect on the possible dialogue between history and archaeology and their contribution to the study of historical ways of management and appropriation of collective resources. The discussion is focused on some results of a Marie Curie IEF research project devoted to the archaeology of common-lands in the mountains of Southern Europe, and aims at analyzing the changes, in the long duration, of what has been defined as the more impressive – ritual and concrete – possession act: temporary cultivation. Through the comparison of the archaeological and documentary evidences of temporary cultivation from a well defined area of the Basque Country (the eastern Álava plateau), this paper tries to bring out the issues generated by the combination of such different documentary series and to outline some of the results (or research paths) derived from this comparison.

Romanisation was a gradual and complex phenomenon. It is often investigated in urban settings where Roman power was ostentatious. Where the process has been examined in rural contexts, research has focused primarily on the most prominent production and land management facilities, such as villae or centuriations. More rarely is use made of the overall dynamics of the rural structures under study and of the system of settlement through which urban and rural areas interact in synergy. It is this last approach that is highlighted in this study.

A brief overview of the 'Mapping the civitas Tungrorum' project from the Gallo-Roman Museum Tongeren and Ghent University (2017-2018) is provided of this first step towards collecting the archaeological record within the territory of the Roman civitas Tungrorum. Details are provided on the chronological and geographical extent, recorded data and source, the structure and the visualization potential of the geodatabase.

In the second half of the 19th century, the area known as Lezíria, in Portugal, started to use portable steam and traction engines in agricultural production. Out of more than a hundred original examples, all of them manufactured in England, little more than a dozen survive today, with different levels of preservation. This article studies these for the first time through an archaeological perspective, identifying their use and importance in different agricultural activities in the production of goods such as olive oil.

El presente artículo versa sobre el mundo rural romano, y en concreto retoma la investigación de uno de los yacimientos más significativos de la Península Ibérica, el conocido como la Villa Romana de Bruñel (Quesada, Jaén). Dicha entidad constituye un magnífico conjunto arqueológico de gran valor histórico, olvidado con el paso del tiempo, donde se ha podido constatar una presencia ibérica que se remonta al siglo IV a.C. y una posterior ocupación romana, la cual se extiende desde el siglo II d.C. al IV d.C., y que se materializa en un tipo de entidad constructiva concreta, la uilla.

The present article introduces the reader to the rural roman world and it specifically resumes the investigation of one of the most significative sites of the Iberian Peninsula, known as the roman uilla of Bruñel (Quesada, Jaén).  This entity constitutes a magnificent archeological ensemble of great historic value that has been forgotten with time´s passing. It is here where it has been possible to verify an Iberian presence that goes back to the fourth century A. C. and a later roman occupation that stretches on from the second century B.C. to the fourth century B.C. and that materializes into a distinct type of constructive unit, the uilla.

La prospection systématique sur sol nu réalisée à l’échelle micro-régionale permet de détecter à la fois les vestiges d’habitats disparus, mais aussi des éléments erratiques, souvent difficiles à interpréter. Certains y voient la trace matérielle de pratiques d’épandages agraires, mais de telles propositions sont encore discutées. Nous proposons trois études de cas sur le territoire biturige, où le mobilier hors-site d’époque romaine a fait l’objet d’une analyse spécifique, permettant de nourrir la réflexion sur cette délicate question.

Le site de La Gramière fait partie d'une série de villas du Gard rhodanien qui ont bénéficié d'études détaillées entre 1995 et 2005. Ce site présente de nombreux points d'intérêt, grâce à son niveau de conservation exceptionnel. Il comporte notamment un grand bâtiment agricole de la fin de l'Antiquité à la morphologie originale, dont la vocation sera discutée dans l'article. Par ailleurs, le site a livré des traces explicites de constructions du haut Moyen Âge qui autorisent à suivre l'évolution de la trame d'occupation du VIe au Xe s. L'étude de la faune (macrofaune, ichtyologie) permet d'apprécier les mutations de l'alimentation carnée et interroge sur les formes d'élevage pratiquées dans l'exploitation. L'analyse carpologique propose des pistes quant à la gestion des espaces agricoles dépendant de l'établissement.

MA Thesis, December 2020

This study combines long-term settlement data with short-term excavation data to explore the conditions that led late prehistoric communities in Iberia’s southwest to aggregate during the Late Bronze Age [LBA]. This long-term approach involves the application of geographic information systems [GIS] to identify settlement patterns in the Central Alentejo from the Late Neolithic [LN]/Chalcolithic to the Late Bronze Age (ca. 3500 – 800 BCE). In the Serra d’Ossa microregion of the southwest there are 176 sites that date to the Neolithic/Chalcolithic, only two that date to the EBA/MBA, and 27 that date to the LBA. This shift is directly related to the Chalcolithic “collapse” that occurred in the mid/late third millennium BCE, influenced by both sociocultural and environmental factors. The LBA of the southwest has long been defined by the emergence of a new culture associated with a concern for defensiveness and warriorship, represented on stone stelae by warrior iconography, and by the emergence of large-fortified upland sites that appear during this period. A distinct lack of small-scale settlement data has previously led to insufficient interpretations and characterizations of the period. In turn, this thesis incorporates short-term data from excavation at the large-fortified upland site of Castelo Velho da Serra d’Ossa, the one excavated example of such a site in the Serra d’Ossa microregion and one of the few excavated LBA sites in the wider southwest. The short-term excavation data are discussed in the context of the long-term settlement patterns to better characterize the LBA of the Iberian southwest, a period previously underrepresented in the region. The central focus of study is to investigate the emergence of these settlements (up to 15 ha in size) and the communities that inhabited them; considering the processes underpinning place-making and aggregation both locally and within its broader prehistoric context.

Please follow this link to an Open-Access copy of the thesis: http://hdl.handle.net/11375/26709

This paper reports early Byzantine carvings and inscriptions that were found in a survey of the eastern vicinity of Ankara/Ancyra in Galatia. Some fluted column capitals can be attributed to liturgical furnishings of early Christian churches. Some weights for wine presses are likewise decorated with Christian symbols and inscriptions. A cluster of finds from Kalecik/Malos echoes the fourth-century Life of St Theodotus of Ancyra. The symbol of a coiled snake refers to an ancient healing tradition that was originally associated with Asklepios, but appears to have continued in Christian times. Overall, the finds confirm the area’s ancient, and modern, reputation for wine making and show that healing cures were also provided. The formal repertoire and style of the carvings differ from other parts of the early Byzantine empire and lend additional distinction to central Anatolia as an early Christian Kunstlandschaft in its own right.

This report concerns an archaeological investigation in the centre of the village of Hummelo in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. In addition to settlement remains from different periods, dozens of graves from the former cemetery of a predecessor of the current church have been excavated. Skeletal material from at least 113 individuals was found and analysed.

This preventive archaeological excavation allows us to discover 4,000 square metres of this occupation created by the Gallic generations of the 3rd century BC and occupied until the 8th century AD, probably without interruption. The core of the settlement is delimited by a moat 2 to 4 m wide and 1.50 to 2.00 m deep. The part of the enclosure explored contains a single building, the construction of which probably dates back to the origins of the settlement in the 3rd century AD. The layers of sediment that gradually accumulate in the ditch provide the most important information: horse skull and ox skull, finely decorated ceramic vessels and weapons. The latter, all made of iron, are deformed by blows or twisting. They are reminiscent of the Latin shrines known elsewhere, where the abundance of weapons undoubtedly testifies to the warlike orientation of the cults. Nevertheless, the layout of the entrance to the north and not to the west, which is moreover out of line with the only recognised building, is more in keeping with the diversity of the habitat plans. Numerous examples of well-to-do dwellings are listed in the Senon territory. The presence of mutilated weapons is less frequent, but discoveries are currently multiplying, in the form of small ensembles similar to the one buried at Semoine.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

completed without the help and generosity of my uncle and aunt, Larry and Judi Miles, who graciously let me dig up their yard. I owe many thanks to Amanda Carver and S. Homes Hogue for their significant contribution in conducting the faunal analysis for this report, and to Andrew V. Martin for volunteering his time and expertise to take a look at the prehistoric lithics. Tanya and Jennifer Faberson were very helpful in providing me with some much needed experience and information regarding the analysis of historic materials. I am also extremely grateful to Beth McCord for helping me process and interpret my resistance data. I also must thank my amazing friends and colleagues who made the trip down to the farm to assist with the fieldwork: Michael Lautzenheiser,

The aim of this study is to introduce the rural area of Karadiğin Hill, which is located in the northeast of Kremna ancient city in Central Pisidia, and provide information about rural settlements in the region, while evaluations were made on the architectural features of the houses in the settlement and different suggestions are presented. As a result of this study, it has been shown for first time that a rural settlement organization was formed in the central Pisidia. The new findings helped to understand the formation of Roman settlements with rural areas mainly in the 2nd century AD. When looking at the settlement order of Karadiğin Hill, it is noteworthy that it consists of rectangular, one-room simple hybrid spaces. This model mainly constitutes the building block of rural settlements in Central Pisidia. In fact, the Roman rural settlements have been a follow up of the rural settlement model that has been going on since the Iron Age with minor changes. The topographic structure that characterizes the settlement order made it compulsory for the rural population to cluster on high rocky hills close to the valley slopes or agricultural lands. The documented findings at Karadiğin Hill reveal that olive and olive oil production was a favorable occupation in the region; and it seems that olive-olive oil production is popular in rural areas similar to Karadiğin Hill geomorphology (e.g. İnarası, Hisarköy Asartepe), whereas in regions such as Karapınar Asartepe and Kumaryaylası, grape-wine production is preferred. As a result of our long-term studies in the region, it was determined that the urban population and rural population dispersed at the same rate during the Roman period.

El conocimiento que tenemos de la dieta y la agricultura islámicas en al-Andalus se basa en fuentes textuales y arqueológicas, tan complementarias como, a veces, discordantes. Sin embargo, los datos que documentan de manera directa, a través de restos biológicos, para comprender las prácticas agrarias y agropastorales en las áreas rurales seguían siendo escasos. Nuevas investigaciones arqueobotánicas llevadas a cabo en los asentamientos medievales de Albalat, en Extremadura, y Las Sillas, en Aragón, ofrecen una aproximación acerca de unas prácticas agrícolas en zonas alejadas de centros urbanos dinámicos y que no son conocidas por su gran productividad agrícola. Los estudios carpológicos realizados en estos dos yacimientos han permitido extraer restos de distintos contextos arqueológicos: domésticos, como serían hogares y hornos, almacenes, cocinas o patios, y artesanales-fraguas-. Estos, juntos con otros estudios publicados, ofrecen una primera lectura de la variedad de plantas consumidas/cultivadas-cereales, legumbres, frutas, plantas aromáticas-, y de los usos agropastorales pasados en los márgenes de al-Andalus.


The knowledge we have of Islamic diet and agriculture in al-Andalus is mostly based on textual and archaeological sources that can be as complementary as, sometimes, contradictory. Nonetheless, data documenting directly agricultural practices, with the help of bioarcheological studies, remain scarce in rural areas. New archaeobotanical researches led on the medieval settlements of Albalat, in Extremadura, and Las Sillas, in Aragon, offer a new opportunity to document agricultural practices in these areas, located far away from dynamic urban centers and from the ones well known for their agricultural production. The studies led in both sites enabled the extraction of carpological remains from different types of contexts, such as domestic ones -kitchens, ovens, storage and patios- and craft ones (forge).  These, together with other published studies, allow addressing the question of the past diversity of consumed/cultivated plants - cereals, vegetables, fruits, aromatic plants-, and of the type of agricultural practices that existed at the margins of al-Andalus.

Until recently in Croatian archaeology, research of medieval rural settlements was very rarely a subject of scientific interest. Over the past 15 years, extensive protective excavations have been carried out intensively on the routes of future motorways. Large areas have now been explored, which has led to new and more-accurate insights into medieval rural settlements, but there is still a need for the systematic publication of research. The settlements are dated from the Early Middle Ages to the Early Modern Age. Dispersed and nucleated settlements prevailed among the several types of rural settlements during the reigns of the Árpád and Angevin dynasties. This paper discusses the transformation of rural settlements in Slavonia with reference to numerous examples. An earlier group of dispersed settlements, dated from the 10th to 13th centuries, was characterized by occasional dispersed structures, a small number of pits, and hearths. The buildings are characterized as dwellings and/or working buildings. They were built in the form of huts with steep roofs. Settlements dated from the 13th and 14th centuries to the first half of the 16th century show different features. They consist of larger dwellings with the remains of posts combined with postholes and hearths. Different types of settlements are represented among these buildings; from single-spaced structures that are reminiscent of earlier periods, to the multi-spaced buildings with house plots. This period is characterized by the development of a fixed plot system. Organized compact settlements replaced the former dispersed and isolated ones, and are connected to the reorganization of the field system. Settlements established during the 15th century have been recorded and their existence has been established, even after the Ottoman conquest of Slavonia. By the shape of the structures and their organization they indicate continuity from the Middle Ages.

Lately we have seen a growing academic interest in the early medieval countryside across the Iberian Peninsula. The data concerning the centuries between the dismantlement of the Western Roman Empire and the Muslim occupation is still scarce; however, several patterns start to emerge, forming a patchwork of shifting landscapes. This paper focuses on the results of recent field surveys and excavations, carried out within a research project on the territory of Castelo de Vide (Alentejo, Portugal). Present findings show evidence of a complex process of adaptation throughout the post-Roman centuries (AD 500‑800). The transition from medium-sized Roman villas to small-scale valley settlements results in noticeable changes in the management of local resources and economic activities. The new countryside is shaped through a network of small farmsteads in which production scale and focus shifts. Comparisons will be drawn between the Roman land-use model and the new settlement pattern. Based on the available archaeological evidence, it will be argued that in the period after the collapse of Roman imperial structures a new form of peasant community emerges.