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Abstract
Nine unpublished obsidian artefacts (one cosmetics jar, two vessel fragments, and six eye inlays) from the Garstang Museum collection are presented, with the aim of patching gaps in the current record concerning their excavation contexts and material properties, which were presumably detailed in John Garstang’s now-lost excavation report/notes. The objects date to the Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom periods, and five objects were matched to those described in previous archival research on Garstang’s Abydos excavations. SEM-EDS was conducted to characterise the material compositions and make a preliminary assessment of the obsidian’s provenance. It is suggested that the obsidian for the three vessels (analyses on prepared surfaces) may have originated in the region of modern Eritrea and Ethiopia, but the eye inlays (non-destructive analyses on raw surfaces) could not be matched to any geological obsidian source, highlighting the difficulties with balancing object preservation and analytical quality in researching museum collections.
Abstract
Radiocarbon assay of charcoal from four sites in Nola, Central African Republic, provide new age estimates from the Sangha River Interval and doubles the number of radiocarbon dates from the center of this important and controversial biogeographical tract. The new age estimates mark the occupation of a village ~575 cal BP, two iron-smelting events about 1550 cal BP, and a ~2750–2520 cal BP iron production feature that represents one of the earliest smelting sites in the Congo Basin. Although the numbers of dated sites in the northcentral Sangha River Interval remain unfortunately small, most represent iron production loci that predate 1550 cal BP and suggest Nola supported widespread Early Iron Age smelting on the cusp of a proposed human population collapse. The extant record also indicates this profusion of smelting occurred hundreds of years before intensification in metallurgy in the neighboring Lobaye River basin.
Abstract
This article presents the results of a comprehensive investigation of Fårdrup and Valsømagle-type shafthole axes from Denmark and southern Sweden. The combination of artefact style and typology with trace element and lead isotope data in the analysis has provided new insights into the chronological relationship between these two axe types. This way, we open a new window to long-standing debates surrounding these artefact types. Did Fårdrup and Valsømagle type axes evolve parallel, or did they replace each other chronologically in evolutionary progression? The archaeometallurgical dataset presented in this article includes more than 70 axes. Four axes have been analysed for this article. This large set of data is then assessed against a background of metal analyses which trace the long and winding evolution of the use of bronze in Scandinavia c.2300–1400 BC. Combining these two datasets shows the provenance of the metals and, thus, provides insights into metallurgical developments at the onset of the Nordic Bronze Age (NBA, c.1600 BC). In particular, the shafthole axes offer new evidence of the use of a novel type of copper from the East Alpine region based on chalcopyrite ores. The first occurrences of this low-impurity copper in southern Scandinavia appeared around 1700 BC. However, it would eventually become dominant in c.1600 BC, when the local production of shafthole axes began. Significantly, a fraction of the shafthole axes – Fårdrup and Valsømagle-types alike – consist of low impurity copper most likely derived from the Italian Alps (Trentino), which was absent in earlier periods. By NBA II 1500–1300 BC, most metal objects can be related to this northern Italian copper. We interpret this in terms of chronology: Fårdrup (⁓Koszider) and Valsømagle (⁓Tumulus B1) consisted of similar types of copper, which had declined by the onset of NBA II, all indicating that Fårdrup and Valsømagle style objects flourished before the beginning of NBA II (c.1500 BC). The small influx of north Italian copper in the axes indicates that its arrival began before the breakthrough of NBA II. Therefore, while the results of the metal analyses cannot exclude chronological differences between the two shafthole axe types over the 16th century BC, it is probable that their timelines coincided. In summary, our results display correlations between societal developments and thresholds on the one hand and metal provenances and trade routes on the other.
Abstract
The 13 graves excavated in 1894 by Sam Wide at Aphidna only attracted sporadic attention during the first decades, even though he exposed unusually rich burials. However, over the last 20 years, there has been increased interest, but still with most focus on only one grave, Pithos Grave III. This article combines information from several sources to get a more comprehensive picture, including a thorough re-read of Wide’s original publication in German, an examination of his preserved correspondence and notes, also with a newly discovered original photo taken during the excavation. In addition, recent colour photos of the finds kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens are provided. This approach may, in a sense, be termed ‘archaeology in reverse’. Wide was a pioneer in Greek prehistoric studies and the first to identify a then-unknown phase between the Early and the Middle Bronze Age, based on the Aphidna finds. His detailed descriptions of the excavation, including the large bowls placed outside the pithos graves, also contribute to reconstructing burial rites. After 130 years, with many new contemporary sites now available, new insights into regional perspectives can be gained.
Abstract
Under the large ziggurat of Aššur, Iraq, two Baltic amber beads were found in a foundation deposit dating to c.1800–1750 BC. Thereby, they represent one of the earliest and remotest evidence of this material. Its extreme rarity in the Mediterranean and the Middle East before c.1550 BC and its restriction there to high-ranking sites could be explained by the fact that the Únětice culture and the Wessex culture controlled the exchange of this raw material. Probably, the amber finds in the south result from a directional exchange with at most only a few intermediaries, as other finds in Europe and the Middle East from the early 2nd millennium BC also indicate. The amber finds may thus represent gifts from well-travelled persons from central or western Europe to the elites in the south. However, after c.1550 BC the picture changes, and it is perhaps possible to speak of trade through which amber became available in larger quantities in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
Abstract
Copper alloy wire fragments were examined using XRF, optical light microscopy and SEM-EDS. The specimens come from archaeological excavations at Jebel Khalid in Syria, dating from the 3rd century BCE (the Hellenistic period) to the Roman period. Our results show that several techniques were employed to make the wires: forging, folding, strip twisting, and possibly ‘strip drawing’. We investigated the morphologies, treatments, and fabrications attributed to making wire from copper alloys compared to more ductile materials such as gold and silver. Evidence of extensive annealing and non-uniform, sub-round profiles, and uneven and faceted surfaces represent the challenges of working with the material. There is no obvious evidence of solid wire drawing. The metalworkers used different copper alloys to make wire, some with high levels of lead (Pb). Subtle joins were observed in some samples, whereas others had evident folds and directional structures. The findings contribute new evidence to enhance our understanding of base-metal wire development in antiquity.
Abstract
Until now, Šventoji in northwest Lithuania was considered the most northern site of the Neolithic Globular Amphora Culture (hereafter GAC; ca. 3400–2500 cal BC) in Europe. Recently, however, ceramics typologically resembling GAC ware were identified among the materials from the multi-period sites of Abora 1 and Iča in Latvia and further to the north from Tamula in southeast Estonia. Here we present the multi-disciplinary analyses of these ceramics, including their morphology, function and chronology, to ascertain whether they could represent sporadic migrations of GAC groups into the region or exchange and increasing social contacts with the indigenous hunter-gatherers during the period from ca. 3000–2600 cal BC. Overall, our results align with previous studies showing that GAC groups in the Eastern Baltic possibly reorientated their economy from animal husbandry towards fishing, as recently evidenced by the composition of zooarchaeological assemblages, and the organic residue analysis of ceramic vessels, which markedly differ from the GAC communities of Central Europe. Indeed, in several coastal and southern regions of Lithuania, it would appear that some GAC migrants replaced the indigenous Subneolithic forager groups, whilst in other areas, they had little to no impact on the local cultural and economic development.
Abstract
This article aims to illuminate how the management of drinking water and public health in Trondheim, Norway changed from 950 to 1777, from a private to public responsibility. A systematic analysis of five excavations in Trondheim shows that during the Middle Ages, only a few citizens had a well or a cistern on their property. This suggests that fetching water from above-ground sources was a regular practice. In the post-medieval period, this changed as the number of wells increased. However, the well water got polluted, and alternative water sources were too far away for the rising population. 18th-century political ideas emphasised how the citizens were now the state’s greatest resource, which prompted new mentalities on how authorities had to take care of the people. In 1777, the public authorities of Trondheim finally established a public water pipe system, ensuring clean water to its citizens.