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The article presents archaeological investigations in the Sacharewo region in the Białowieża Forest in eastern Poland. Finds from the Iron Age and the Roman period suggest a possible revival of settlement between the 1st century BC and the 5th/6th century AD. The study includes geoarchaeological analyses, archaeobotanical investigations, and radiocarbon dating, which identify a stable settlement region. The finds show cultural influences during the Roman period, including the Hatched Pottery Culture and the Wielbark Culture. [Extracted from the article]

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Largescale excavation at the Iron Age and Roman period Pungrt hillfort (8th century BC to 2nd century AD) has revealed a distinctly urban character of the settlement in its best-preserved Late Hallstatt phase from the 6th to 4th centuries BC. This study provides an important contribution to the understanding of the settlement’s internal organization and its socioeconomic development. By examining the previously unaddressed phenomena of settlement nucleation, population aggregation and urbanism along with the possibility of earlystate formation, the paper broadens the narrative on the fundamental social and political development in the southeastern Alpine region during the Early Iron Age and contributes to the wider field of early urbanism research.

The economic development of societies in Gaul during the Second Iron Age and the Roman period relied on agricultural system transformations. Hundreds of carpological studies carried out in the northern half of France over the last four decades have thoroughly documented the evolution of crop production and farming practices during this period. The increase in agricultural production required to sustain urbanization and trade expansion led to a diversification of cropping systems, resulting in the emergence of extensive systems. Weed ecological studies have shown how fertilization methods for cultivated soils changed between the earlier Gallic period, when highly fertile soils were common, and the Roman period, with a diversification of situations. This insight is only relevant on a global scale and required a more in-depth analysis. The present study investigates organic fertilization techniques at the crop scale, through nitrogen isotope analyses (δ15N), which are used as an indicator of soil fertility and the use of fertilizing organic matter (such as manure). The study was conducted on a sample of 124 crop remains, consisting of 6,490 archaeological cereal grains (emmer wheat, spelt wheat, free-threshing wheats and hulled barley) recovered from 68 archaeological sites located across the northern half of France, dating between the 6th century BC and the 5th century AD. To evaluate δ15N values of archaeological cereals in terms of fertilization, we compared published experimental data of modern cereals (grown under different fertilization regimes) for temperate Europe with published and new isotopic analyses of archaeological deer bone collagen from northern France as a proxy for wild unfertilised flora. Discriminant analysis and ordinal logistic regression were used for the classification of archaeological grain δ15N values by degree of fertilization. The results show that field fertilization was a common practice in Gaul, generally on a moderate scale. However, variations are observed in fertilization use within farms, with some intensively fertilized fields and others with less or no fertilization at all. In addition, regional differences emerged, particularly in the chalky Champagne region, where farmers used significantly less fertilizer than in other regions. Chronological trends over the studied period remain unclear. Disparities in the fertilization levels of different cereal species are noted. The δ15N values show considerable variations in soil fertility for barley and spelt, while fertilization regimes for free-threshing wheats and emmer only diversified during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. These observations concur with the extensification of cultivation as inferred from carpological and weed ecology studies. Interspecific variations can also be seen in treatments applied to free-threshing wheats, which were fertilized much more commonly than the other three cereals from the 1st c. BC/1st c. AD, when these crops were in full expansion.

This paper presents an archaeozoological dataset listing numbers of identified fragments for domestic cattle, sheep/goat, pig and horse from archaeological sites in the Netherlands dating from the Bronze Age to the Early Medieval period (c. 2000 BC – AD 1050) [1]. In addition to fragment numbers per species, the geo-referenced dataset includes chronological information, site descriptions, and bibliographic references. Data were collected from tables listing numbers of bone fragments per animal species as found in published and unpublished reports.Number of identified bone fragments per animal species form the most basic archaeozoological information. They can be used to reconstruct animal husbandry and human dietary practices in the past. The dataset can therefore be used in spatio-temporal studies of animal use and management across c. 3000 years.

The paper presents the results of the archaeological survey of the southeastern slopes of Mt. Kosmaj, conducted by the Belgrade City Museum (archaeological collection of the Museum of Mladenovac). This survey focused on prehistoric and Roman sites, while medieval ones were presented and published in detail in 2020. Twenty-six sites were discovered, one of which was dated into the Early Neolithic, seven into the Bronze Age, five into the Early Iron Age, two into the Late Iron Age, and 11 into the Roman period. Most sites are located on mild slopes above the valleys of smaller watercourses (streams and rivers), or elevations and next to water sources following geographically most accessible communication routes. Based on the surface findings, namely, fragments of pottery and parts of building material, i.e. stone and adobe in the case of prehistoric sites, and stone, brick, and adobe in the case of Roman sites, remains of settlements were found in all the discovered archaeological sites. Among the discovered archaeological sites, the multi-layered site of Brljočevac represented a specific archaeological site in terms of its geographical position and size. The site of Brljočevac is located at the foot of the hill of Košutica on a dominant, high, fan-shaped plateau. During the archaeological survey carried out in 2022, Trench 1 was placed on the edge of the site, along the northern side of the rocky road, and on the surface of a previously registered partially destroyed architectural construction. In Trench 1 (dimensions: 5 m x 1 m), remains of Building 1 were discovered. Building 1, with its preserved irregularly shaped part, was dug into a light brown, archaeologically sterile soil layer. The excavated part of Building 1 was filled with a layer of grey-brown colour, containing a large amount of crushed clay, ash, pottery fragments, animal remains, and several larger stones attached to the building's structural elements. Based on the geographical position and chronologic determination, it was most likely a fortified settlement type from the transition period of the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age that was discovered at the site of Brljočevac. The archaeological material dated into the Early and Late Iron Age from the archaeological sites at the south-eastern slopes of Mt. Kosmaj is analogous to those from the wider area of the Central Balkans and the Serbian part of the Danube region, and the Great Morava basin. It can be hypothesised that the population of the Late Iron Age remained in the settlements after the Roman conquest and during the 1st century. At the site of Vodice, between the villages of Velika Ivanča and Pružatovac, along with pre-Roman autochthonous pottery, lead slag was found, which can be associated with Roman mining activities at Metalla Tricornensia (Mt. Kosmaj). The beginning of mine exploitation is roughly dated into the 1st -- end of the 1st century, i.e. during the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan (98--117). From the 2nd century, there was a complete dominance of provincial Roman material culture. The characteristics of the provincial Roman culture can be seen from mobile archaeological findings from the sites of Jablanica 2 in Pružatovac, Reka--Selište in Amerić and Livade in Velika Ivanča. During the 3rd and the 4th century, a larger number of sites probably represented smaller or larger agricultural farms. This is confirmed by the findings of iron agricultural tools at sites in Velika Ivanča. The accidental finding of a millstone from Amerić, at the foot of the hill of Košutica, is brought into connection with household activities. The only craft activity was confirmed at the site of Milatovica, where the existence of Late Antique pottery kilns for the production of vessels, sometimes with glazed surfaces, was registered. The south-western area of Mt. Kosmaj is already well-known in the archaeological and historical literature due to numerous Roman period sites, linked to the exploitation of silver and lead ores, and the remains of Medieval monasteries, churches, and Late Medieval settlements and necropoles. The results of this research provide insight into the archaeological heritage of the south-eastern slopes of Mt. Kosmaj, and contribute to the archaeological map of the broader area of this mountain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Animal management is shaped by its environmental and landscape context, but these factors are rarely investigated quantitatively in zooarchaeological studies. Here we aim to examine the relationship between trends in zooarchaeological data and environmental and climatic dynamics between the Middle Bronze Age and Late Antiquity in lowland northern Italy (Po–Friulian Plain). This region provides an ideal test case to investigate the impact of landscape variables (precipitation, solar irradiance, elevation, soil characteristics) and climate evolution due to the area's relatively homogenous topography and climatic conditions. This study presents a new elaboration and visualisation of zooarchaeological data from northern Italy, investigates correlations between these data and landscape variables, and contextualises trends in relation to regional environmental and climate proxies at two scales. This analysis reveals a shift towards more heterogeneous livestock on a regional level during the Late Iron Age and Roman period, and strong evidence for a correlation between cattle representation and local soil characteristics at a site-level during the Bronze Age. Consideration of climate data shows little relationship between species representation, livestock body size, and climate proxies, indicating that human social dynamics rather than climate change were the primary driver to changes in animal management on the regional macro-scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anatolia witnessed an increase in mobility and interaction during the Iron Age. Peoples from Southeastern Europe and Southwest Asia migrated into and across Anatolia. At the same time, under the influence of expanding and competing polities, trade and military mobility reinforced supra-regional networks across land and sea. Little is known about how animal husbandry practices in Iron Age Anatolia changed in the face of these large-scale movements of people and goods. Especially little understood remains how past mobility and connectivity influenced pig husbandry, as pigs are generally considered rather immobile animals, and Iron Age animal mobility studies tend to focus on pastoralist practices (e.g. Hammer and Arbuckle, 2017). Yet, pig husbandry practices are highly plastic, and may have changed dynamically along with evolving economic and socio-cultural circumstances during the first millennium BC. In addition, palaeogenetic studies provide evidence that durign the Iron Age pigs with European lineages appeared and subsequently spread over Anatolia (Ottoni et al., 2013) suggesting pigs may have been actively incorporated in trade and mobility. Building on these two observations, this paper explores pig husbandry practices over the course of the Anatolian Iron Age (1200–600 BCE) by (1) discussing diachronic change in relative abundance of pigs and mortality patterns over different sites in first millennium BC Anatolia; (2) investigating whether the introduction of European pigs in Anatolia coincided with noticeable phenotypic changes in pig populations by looking at pig biometry using the R package zoolog. Primary data from various key sites are presented (Troy, Klazomenai, Gordion, Kerkenes, Kinet Höyük) alongside a meta-analysis of published zooarchaeological data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gilgal Rimonim is an enclosure located in the hilly region of southeastern Samaria on the northern bank of Wadi al-Makuk, 11 km west-northwest of Jericho. It belongs to a group of Iron Age sites termed "foot-shaped enclosures" and identified by Adam Zertal as the biblical "Gilgal" sites. The site was probed in 2015 and 2021, and the results of the renewed excavation, including new dates for the architectonical features at the site, are presented here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the first results of the Ancient Hillforts Survey, a large-scale lidar-based analysis and ground-truthing aimed at creating a representative and comparative dataset of hillforts in Italy unbiased by site location or vegetational canopy. An analysis of 15,300 km2 spanning Campania, Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, and Apulia detected 305 new suspected hillforts. The area was visually interpreted using image blends of lidar visualizations (VAT method) based on in-house-generated digital terrain models. Interobserver and intraobserver interpretational biases were tested and CORINE Land Cover data used to evaluate the representativeness of the legacy data compared with the new dataset and to estimate the number of sites for no-data areas. The results from the Daunian mountains (Apulia) are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in advancing knowledge of historically under-surveyed areas and in addressing long-term debates. Here, the data showed a novel hillfort system interpretable as Samnite, dating between the 6th and 3rd century b.c. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb / Vjesnik Arheološkog Muzeja u Zagrebu is the property of Archaeological Museum in Zagreb and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In Mayen the production of lava rotary querns of ‘Iron Age type’ continued from the late La Tène period into Julio-Claudian times. The lower quernstone possessed a domed grinding face and the upper stone was double concave in section. While the surfaces of these querns are usually pecked, late examples show a segmented radial grooving on the grinding surfaces. Handle sockets with elbow-shaped (L-shaped) perforation were already an innovation of the late Iron Age. Since Augustan times ‘typical Roman’ hand-mills were the main product of the Mayen quarries. They had a meta with a flat conical grinding surface and a catillus with a broad raised rim. The active surfaces were grooved for functional reasons. However, the upper side of the catillus and the sides of upper and lower stones were grooved for decoration, making these rotary querns a characteristic ‘branded’ product. Most of the ‘Iron Age type’ quernstones of Early Imperial times are known from the Low Countries where they go under the name of Brillerij-type. A survey of these quernstones reveals several examples found to the southeast of this region. Even after the typical Roman hand mills became the dominant form, some ‘vintage’ Iron Age type querns were still produced for a special clientele. Though, so far, virtually no closely dated specimens are known from contexts after the Batavian revolt.

The Frontier Studies is an international research project centred on the city of Ohrid and its environs, located on the northern shore of the homonymous lake at the present frontier of Albania and the Republic of Mac‑ edonia (FYROM). Since its establishment in 2017, the project has been undertaken as a cooperative effort between researchers from Charles University in Prague and the Archaeological Museum of Macedonia. The aim of the first season was an extensive, trial field survey to unlock the historical landscape and to evaluate the dynamics of the habitation patterns in the region diachronically

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It has been said that the Roman Empire was one of the greatest empires of antiquity. At its height, it spanned the entire Mediterranean basin, from the Iberian Peninsula to the Near East, each territory contributing with its customs and specificities. In this melting pot, dietary preferences were modified, diversified and, sometimes, replaced. With this paper, we aim to study Roman dietary patterns in Tunisia, an area that has been the object of little academic scrutiny and for which only a few studies are available. We investigate this topic with an archaeozoological approach. The relative frequency of taxa, body part representation and kill‐off patterns of faunal remains from 16 pre‐Roman and Roman Tunisian sites shows that, in Tunisia, dietary patterns were modified as a result of the Roman conquest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sotin is a site on a high loess plateau along the Danube and the first Roman military fort downstream from Teutoburgium (Dalj) on the Danube limes. Traces of Roman Sotin have been known since the 19th century, when the first finds began to arrive in museums, primarily in the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, then the National Museum. Numerous finds from excavations and field surveys were collected over the decades. Rescue excavations, usually during infrastructure works, were performed by the employees of Vukovar Municipal Museum. From 2008 to 2018, the Institute of Archaeology undertook targeted excavations in the area of Sotin to locate a Bronze and Iron Age cemetery. Over a period of several years, excavations on seven different locations uncovered the traces of ancient Sotin and other finds. This paper presents the preliminary topographic findings on Sotin in Roman times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Western Europe, the transition from the middle Iron Age to the early Roman period implied changes in livestock practices, with the emergence of a specialized and selective animal husbandry. These changes have been related in Italy and south of France with changes in livestock management involving their mobility between ecologically complementary areas. The study of this question in the Iberian Peninsula has only been partially investigated through palaeoenvironmental analyses, and the information about the origin and significance of this phenomenon is very scarce. To shed new light on this topic we used an archaeozoological approach, with the application of geometric morphometrics. They were used to study size and shape variability in sheep astragali from 9 sites dating from the middle Iron Age to the early Roman period (5th c. BC–3rd c. AD) and located on the Pyrenees and on the north-eastern Iberian coast as a case study. The results we obtained, combined with Number of Identified Specimens (NISP) and kill-off patterns, showed local specificities in terms of breeding methods and sheep morphologies between the two areas during the middle Iron Age. On the contrary, sheep with similar size and the implementation and development of similar sheep husbandry practices in the Pyrenees and the north-eastern Iberian coast were documented during the early Roman period. These results suggest the existence of livestock links between these two areas during the Roman period, that could be involved a possible movement of sheep between the lowlands and the Pyrenees for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological excavations undertaken on the site of Srednje polje - Vašarište in Sotin in 2018 explored three trenches with a total surface area of 392.5 m2. Trenches 25, 26, and 27 included the area of a Dalj group cemetery from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The explored graves can be dated to phases II and III according to C. Metzner Nebelsick, i.e. to Ha B3 and Ha C1-C2. Roman remains were found in a part of a ditch that probably ran next to a road going along the Danube from Sotin towards Ilok. The discovered early medieval working area with a furnace shows that the settlement also grew towards the south-eastern part of Vašarište. The position of the explored trenches in Vašarište (2008, 2011-2018), considering the exploration area exceeding 5.300 m2, makes it possible to examine the stratigraphic layers from the Copper Age to the modern period. The finds from the site of Srednje polje - Vašarište are parts of a Copper Age settlement and pits from the Late Bronze Age. There are numerous Roman structures: the excavations uncovered pits from the 2nd century, remains of a Roman road, and a part of a cremation cemetery that stretched along the road. The same site was inhabited in the Early Middle Ages, when the infrastructure of the settlement on Vašarište included the foundations of regular rectangular structures, probably working areas, next to furnaces. There are fewer structures from the Late Middle Ages, but there are numerous modern ditches, which often damaged older complexes. Still, what makes the site on Vašarište stand out is the discovery of a large number of Dalj group cremation graves from the end of the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Early Iron Age places Sotin among the largest explored sites from that period in the middle Danube area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The settlement area of the Ohrid region extends on the shores of a homonymous lake shared between the Republics of Northern Macedonia and Albania. Despite its mountainous framing, the geographical setting of the Ohrid region provides the broadest accessible link between the Aegean and the Adriatic regions in the southern Balkans and was, vice versa, an eminent pre -condition for the formation of supra -regional networks in the past. Placed on this communication route, which is embodied by the widely known Via Egnatia, the region represented an important hub in the cultural connectivity between the Aegean, the Adriatic see, and the Balkans. As a response to the lacking of systematic investigations, this paper presents a reconstruction of the pre- and protohistoric habitation in the region. Reviewing past archaeological discoveries and recent data collected during the first two field seasons conducted within the frame of the project Frontier Studies, this paper focuses on the settlement organisation and traces its development as well as corresponding phenomena, such as connectivity and response to environmental changes, diachronically from the Neolithic down to Late Antiquity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We try to understand in which way the Porto do Touro was occupied and gave support to the navigation on a large diachrony that lasted from the Iron Age to the Modern Age. This location is flanked by the Espigão das Ruivas, an archaeological site where ceramic fragments from the Iron Age, the Roman Period and the Middle Ages were discovered, as well as the ruins of a stone structure, although there is no exact knowledge of its role.

Cornia Nou es un yacimiento situado en el extremo oriental de Menorca. En él se ha podido documentar, a partir de las dataciones absolutas y el estudio de los materiales cerámicos, una secuencia cronológica que se sitúa entre el Calcolítico y el siglo XIII d.C. En este trabajo se exponen los datos arqueológicos y paleoambientales correspondientes a las diferentes fases de ocupación.The settlement of Cornia Nou is situated in the eastern side of Minorca. A long chronological sequence in this site, dated from the Chalcolithic to the 13th century AD, has been recorded based on radiocarbon dating and the typological study of the ceramics. Here the archaeological and paleoenvironmental data of the different occupation phases are described.

Abstract The Roman conquest of Gaul is usually perceived as the trigger of morphological changes in livestock and, more widely, the origin of an important agropastoral evolution. However, recent studies suggest that the economic transition between the Iron Age and Roman periods occurred much earlier than previously thought and was partially disconnected from Italy. This article, based on the morphometric analysis of pig teeth and bones, sheds new light on this transition. It reveals a more complex agropastoral change process, in two distinct phases, from the Middle La Tène period and after the creation of the Roman Empire. Moreover, it identifies two large economic models, around the Mediterranean platform and in the temperate part of Europe, with different paces of change, production objectives, and agricultural and market strategies. Highlights • Gallic agriculture and economy changed drastically between the 4th and 2nd c. BC. • Gallic economy experienced a second change just after the Roman conquest. • Two major economic models: in Celtic Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea. • Great regional diversity of economic behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will examine settlement location during the Iron Age in the northeast part of the Netherlands, an area shaped by Pleistocene geology. In recent years, a number of Late Iron Age/Early Roman settlements situated on the low lying slopes of sand ridges and nearby stream ridges revealed traces of an earlier Iron Age occupation. Palynological data revealed that this part of the landscape was used by humans before it was transformed into an area of settlement. An analysis of excavation data from two key sites at Denekamp-De Borchert and Groningen-Helpermaar, as well as other known sites, lead to the conclusion that the transformation of ‘peripheral landscapes’ into permanent settlement locations was preceded by a phase of arable cultivation which left no trace of permanent habitation. It is also suggested that the impact of human behaviour on the natural landscape in the Early and Middle Iron Age was much bigger than previously anticipated. When excavating this type of settlement areas dating to the Late Iron Age, archaeologists must be aware that only of a small group of archaeological features exist. The proposed model for the choice of settlement location may be more widespread, because of similarities in landscape between the study area presented here and other landscapes in Northwest-Europe (e.g. parts of Germany and Denmark). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable archaeobotanical datasets describe cereal cultivation in north-eastern France, from the Iron Age to the Roman period. This study aims to complement these by using stable isotope analysis on charred cereal grains. Soil fertility was investigated through δ15N and δ13C analyses of 1480 charred cereal grains, dated from the Late La Tène to the Late Antiquity periods. In the Île-de-France, charred grain Δ13C values suggested good hydric conditions, with drier episodes in the 1st and 3rd century AD; while in Champagne, the lower Δ13C values for spelt reflect the lower water holding capacity of the chalky soils. A wide range of cereal δ15N values (0.8-8.7‰) implies a wide range of soil fertility conditions. Jouars-Pontchartrain and Palaiseau (Île-de-France) yielded the highest cereal δ15N values, whereas Acy-Romance (Champagne) delivered among the lowest. From these three sites, the δ15N values of red deer bone collagen were used to estimate the reference δ15N values for unmanured plants. Unlike in Acy-Romance, there were significant differences in Palaiseau and Jouars-Pontchartrain, indicating that the cultivated cereals inherited their high δ15N values from manured soil. At Jouars-Pontchartrain, the δ15N value (almost 9‰) suggested a high trophic level manuring source, possibly from pig and/or human faeces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Roman Pottery Studies is the property of Casemate Group and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Zooarchaeological research has begun to expose the long and complex history of the pig in the southern Levant. In this paper, we present the first large-scale synthesis of biometrical data from pigs and wild boar in the southern Levant from sites dating from the Paleolithic through the Islamic period. We show broad morphological change over this multi-millennium period. We find the first evidence of morphological change associated with domestication in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (c. 7000-6400 cal. BC), at the site of Motza. This date is contemporaneous with the first evidence from kill-off patterns and relative abundance data indicating management of morphologically wild boar. Taken together, we argue for a process of local pig domestication. We also present tentative evidence for increased body size correlating with the genetic replacement in the Iron Age, when European-derived mitochondrial haplogroups replaced those of local origin. Finally, the data indicate variability in tooth size in the Roman period (c. 63 BCE – 330 CE), suggesting the exploitation of different populations of pigs. The data suggest sophisticated management techniques underwrote the upsurge in pig husbandry in the Levant in the Classical period. • We present a large biometrical database of pig remains from the southern Levant from Paleolithic to Islamic period. • Earliest morphologically domestic pigs from Tel Motza in Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (c. 7000-6400 cal. BC). • Tentative evidence for increased body size in pigs correlating with the genetic replacement in 1st millennium BC. • High variability of pig biometrics in Roman period indicating multiple populations exploited in this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of 22 figured Phoeno-Punic and Roman terra-cottas, of high relevant archaeological and patrimonial values, have been studied. The samples were recovered in the Roman Theatre of Malaga (Spain). A thorough analysis including stereomicroscopy, elemental analysis by WDXRF, mineralogical analysis by XRPD coupled with the Rietveld method, and SEM, has been carried out. Highly diluted fused glass beads probed to be enough for the X-ray fluorescence analyses, minimizing the damage to the samples. For selected samples, in addition to the classical use of the Rietveld method, the G-factor external-standard approach has been employed to get full quantitative crystalline and amorphous phase analysis. The analytical results allow proposing a local regional provenance for the main part of the samples, being a relevant data for several artifacts, not contextualized due to stratigraphic alterations in the site. In addition, some relevant samples, for instance a theatrical mask fragment (TRC005), are likely foreign. The overall amorphous is not negligible in phase quantification, accounting for up to 50 wt %. Technologically, all terra-cotta samples are similar, made of calcareous clays, fired at ~700-950 ºC.Se han estudiado 22 terracotas figuradas feno-púnicas y romanas, de alto valor arqueológico y patrimonial. Las muestras proceden de las excavaciones del Teatro romano de Málaga (España). El análisis realizado incluye estereomicroscopía, análisis elemental mediante WDXRF, análisis mineralógico cuantitativo mediante el método de Rietveld de los datos de XRPD y SEM. Para minimizar el daño realizado a las muestras, se prepararon perlas muy diluidas, que han demostrado ser suficientes para los análisis de fluorescencia de rayos-X. Para muestras selectas, además del análisis usual mediante el método de Rietveld, se ha utilizado el método del estándar externo mediante el factor-G para obtener análisis cuantitativos de fases cristalinas y amorfas. Los resultados analíticos permiten proponer una procedencia local/regional para la mayor parte de las muestras, siendo esta información de gran interés para algunas piezas descontextualizadas debido a alteraciones estratigráficas en el yacimiento. Adicionalmente, algunas piezas relevantes, como un fragmento de máscara teatral (TRC005) son posiblemente piezas de importación. La cuantificación de la fracción amorfa indica que la magnitud de ésta no puede ser despreciada en las cuantificaciones, llegando a ser cercana al 50 wt %. Tecnológicamente, todas las terracotas son muy similares, fabricándose en arcillas calcáreas cocidas entre unos 700 y 950 ºC.

This article presents the results of interdisciplinary analysis of samples from the Czarnówko archaeological site in northern Poland, reporting the first radiocarbon dates for the site in comparison with its relative chronology. The site is of high importance because of its scale and opulence of artifacts. It was used for over 900 yr, from the 7th century BC up to the 3rd century AD, by populations of different cultures (the Lusatian, Pomeranian, Oksywie, and Wielbark). Samples of charcoal, wood, and textile were collected from different features, most of them from burials. Charcoal was taken from cremation pits, while wood was sampled from coffins in skeletal burials. Among samples collected during archaeological excavations in 2008 and 2010, 20 were chosen for 14C dating and macro- and microscopic observations. Images taken using a scanning electron microscope revealed the microstructure and preservation level of the specimens. An emphasis was also placed on geomorphological and geological research of the site area to gain information about the environmental conditions influencing the samples’ preservation state, e.g. pH, type, origin and permeability of sediment, and accumulation of organic matter. The obtained calibrated 14C ages are in agreement with the relative chronology based on the typology of artifacts and stratigraphic site reconstructions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In order to study ethnicity through Archaeology, the first challenge is to fully understand what that form of identity is and how it works. In recent years scholars have started to overcome the ‘introduction to ethnicity’ syndrome —whereby recent anthropological developments are acknowledged and then disregarded when carrying out the analysis—, shedding light on new perspectives which enlighten our understanding of ethnic identity. In this paper, we not only revise these new approaches, but offer two novel case-studies: the Treveri from Late Iron Age Gaul and the Igaeditani from Roman Lusitania.

We try to understand in which way the Porto do Touro was occupied and gave support to the navigation on a large diachrony that lasted from the Iron Age to the Modern Age. This location is flanked by the Espigão das Ruivas, an archaeological site where ceramic fragments from the Iron Age, the Roman Period and the Middle Ages were discovered, as well as the ruins of a stone structure, although there is no exact knowledge of its role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In Western Europe, at the turn of our era, the emergence of the Roman economic and agropastoral model is considered as the trigger for morphological changes experienced by livestock. This assumption is now undermined, reviving questions of the origin and mechanism of these changes as well as the influence of Gaul's agricultural particularities in the process. To investigate this question we used a geometric morphometric approach to study the phenotypic relationships of almost 600 dental remains of pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) from 11 Gallic and Italian sites, and pinpoint evidence of Roman or indigenous signature on the livestock. The comparison of these different samples allowed us to demonstrate that the link between the Roman and Gallic pigs is weak, and, more importantly, that each of the two territories seem to follow its own livestock management model. Furthermore, each region or settlement within Gaul adopted their own particular pastoral or supplying strategies; apart from two urban sites of central Gaul which showed clear phenotypic relationships with southern populations. These results suggest that the pigs' morphology depended mainly on agricultural and economic characteristics of the different territories, within Gaul and Italy, except perhaps on some urban sites with different supply strategies. It seems, therefore, that the changing economic environment impacted both provinces independently, or at least differently, since it cannot be excluded that there may have been some commercial relationships between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrids of horse and donkey, which have been valued in the Mediterranean basin since the Iron Age, became integrated into the animal world north of the Alps in the course of Romanization. Until now, however, their true contribution to the economic and military life in the northern Roman provinces Raetia , Noricum and Upper Pannonia (southern Germany, eastern Switzerland and Austria) has remained unknown in the absence of robust identification methods based on morphometric approaches. We confronted morphological identification of 405 equid specimens collected in the Late Iron Age (Celtic) (∼2nd – 1st century (c.) BCE) and Roman (∼1st – 5th c. CE) archaeological contexts with their ancient DNA signatures. Our multi-method study demonstrates that although ancient DNA and morphological approaches (including standard osteomorphology and geometric morphometrics) provide overall >85% matching results, in the case of hybrid animals, the extent of overlap with ancient DNA drops to ≤52%. Out of five skeletal elements studied here (mandibular premolars and molars, metapodials, humeri and tibiae), only premolar mandibular teeth (P 3 , P 4) provide good enough accuracy in hybrid classification (89%) based on geometric morphometrics, making it the preferred element and method in future zooarchaeological studies, when ancient DNA data is not available. Moreover, our data show that, although not yet present in the preceding Iron Age, one in six equids in Roman times is a mule, suggesting a strong Mediterranean influence on the use of equids in daily life north of the Alps. • A multi-method approach is used to classify central European (pre-)Roman equids. • Morphological classification of P3 and P4 as hybrid largely fits aDNA results. • Morphological and geometric morphometric results are only partially congruent. • All three methods confirm the role of mules in Roman military and civil economy. • The climate north of the Alps helps explaining mules of Mediterranean origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the summer of 2011, a geophysical survey with subsequent magnetic anomaly testing was conducted in Northwest Iberia, in the province of Galicia, Spain, the most extensive evaluation of its kind to be performed on a Castro Culture hill fort with distinct Bronze and Iron Age occupations. The investigation focused on determining the spatial extent, occupation, and use of the multicomponent Bronze and Iron Age hill fort site(s) of Castros de Neixón. A Geoscan Research FM36 Fluxgate Gradiometer was used successfully to measure and identify magnetic anomalies interpreted as potential archaeological features within the occupation areas. Over 400 monopole and dipole magnetic anomalies were detected, many of which have been interpreted as representing pits, ditches, palisades, hearths and a possible corral. A parallel defensive ditch with zig-zag entrance was located north of the occupation at Castro de Neixón Grande. Subsurface testing of a promising monopole anomaly revealed a large storage pit with artifacts dating to the Castro period. New research since the 1990s has opened up traditional discussions linking the characteristic architecture of defensive walls and round structures (after which the Castro Culture was named) to a warrior-elite society, to more complex interpretations related to the intensification of agriculture and corresponding increase in sedentism. These new interpretations integrate domestic and agricultural features into Castro subsistence practices, including storage pits. Our results support these interpretations, revealing the extent to which storage pits are a dominant feature type at Castros de Neixón. Future research and subsurface excavations directed at understanding under-investigated features located via geophysical survey techniques at sites like Castros de Neixón may clarify questions surrounding Castro Culture social organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 87Sr/86Sr isotopic analysis was performed on 95 cattle teeth from the Iron Age and Roman rural site of Owslebury (Hampshire). This constitutes one of largest strontium (Sr) isotopic projects in Roman archaeology and the first ever dealing with Iron Age cattle. The Sr isotopic signal of Middle Iron Age cattle is consistent with a local Sr signature, while in the Late Iron Age and, even more so, in both Roman phases cattle were introduced to the site from a greater variety of geographic areas. Although it is not possible to track down the exact origin of these introduced cattle, some must have travelled substantial distances (70 km and more). The widening of the market illustrated by our study is consistent with artefactual evidence from the site, indicating an increase in trade in the Late Iron Age, which is further emphasised in the Roman period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]