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The network of roads, settlements and the distribution of the tumuli that constitute the unique cultural landscape of Central Anatolian are primary indicators of the determinacy of natural topography and water elements, as well as the spatial continuities that have been enduring since Antiquity. Ankara Tumuli can be defined within this framework as elements of a cultural landscape that has regional expanse. To properly evaluate the significance of the Ankara Tumuli visible in the city, they must not be viewed as merely isolated structures, but with careful consideration of their entire urban and regional context. Ankara Tumuli have been researched and documented since the end of the 19th century, with about twenty tumuli to the west of the city center being studied and excavated during the Republican era. Due to increasing urbanization after the 1950s, increasing numbers of tumuli in urban areas were either destroyed, or became forgotten as they lost their primary visual characteristics. Nevertheless, research conducted since the 2010s has used historical photographs and maps to recreate the original appearances of the tumuli, while documentary evidence has enabled previously unknown tumuli to be located. This study explores how Ankara tumuli were transformed from the 1930s due to urban development. This is the period within which, along with other environmental elements, the tumuli exhibited original formal features that can be seen and contribute to the today's urban spatial structures. The theoretical framework presented by the current landscape and conservation discourses; and exemplary cases of preserved tumulus areas; were therefore investigated in this context. Departing from the extracts, the transformation of tumulustopography- urbanscape relations was evaluated through a proposed urban experience route among the still visible Western Tumuli.

The present study approaches the micro-novel Dora Bruder by Patrick Modiano from the perspective of memory (and post-memory) which, through documentary work, restores the identity of the victims definitively annulled by the Nazi regime (victims who have no grave). Our hypothesis is that Modiano is building a literary cenotaph for Dora Bruder. For her part, Herta Müller tries, in at least two of her novels (The Land of Green Plums and The Appointment), to build for the victims of the Securitate (the Political Police in Communist Romania, during the neo-Stalinist regime under Nicolae Ceaușescu), a memorial, a literary tumulus. In this case, it is about victims who have a grave, but the author is building a second grave from an ethical point of view.

The network of roads, settlements and the distribution of the tumuli that constitute the unique cultural landscape of Central Anatolian are primary indicators of the determinacy of natural topography and water elements, as well as the spatial continuities that have been enduring since Antiquity. Ankara Tumuli can be defined within this framework as elements of a cultural landscape that has regional expanse. To properly evaluate the significance of the Ankara Tumuli visible in the city, they must not be viewed as merely isolated structures, but with careful consideration of their entire urban and regional context. Ankara Tumuli have been researched and documented since the end of the 19th century, with about twenty tumuli to the west of the city center being studied and excavated during the Republican era. Due to increasing urbanization after the 1950s, increasing numbers of tumuli in urban areas were either destroyed, or became forgotten as they lost their primary visual characteristics. Nevertheless, research conducted since the 2010s has used historical photographs and maps to recreate the original appearances of the tumuli, while documentary evidence has enabled previously unknown tumuli to be located. This study explores how Ankara tumuli were transformed from the 1930s due to urban development. This is the period within which, along with other environmental elements, the tumuli exhibited original formal features that can be seen and contribute to the today's urban spatial structures. The theoretical framework presented by the current landscape and conservation discourses; and exemplary cases of preserved tumulus areas; were therefore investigated in this context. Departing from the extracts, the transformation of tumulustopography-urbanscape relations was evaluated through a proposed urban experience route among the still visible Western Tumuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tarsus İlçesinin dağlık coğrafyasında 2016 yılından itibaren gerçekleştirilen yüzey araştırmalarında, daha önce örneklerini Dağlık Kilikia'nın doğusundaki coğrafyada tarım toprağının taşlardan arındırılması amacıyla toplandığı ve biriktirilerek bir araya getirildiği görülen taş tepelerine benzer yapılanmalar ile karşılaşılmıştır. Antik Tarsus kentinin hinterlandı içerisinde kalan coğrafyada tespit edilen taş yığma tepeler, Dağlık Kilikia örneklerinden farklı özelliklere sahiplerdir. En önemli ayırt edici özellik, yığma taş tepelerin yanında tarım arazilerinin bulunmamasıdır. Bu çalışma içerisinde Tarsus Hinterlandı Yüzey Araştırmaları kapsamında özellikle Sağlıklı Mahallesi'ndeki Roma Yolunun yakın çevresinde tespit edilen yığma taş tepeler incelenmektedir. Taş Yığma Tepeler, Kilikia Bölgesi'nde örnekleri bilinmeyen Tümülüs tipi mezarları ifade etmektedir. Söz konusu mezarların herhangi bir şekilde açık bir örneğinin tespit edilmemiş olması nedeniyle net bir tarih veya tarih aralığı önermek mümkün değildir. In the surveys carried out since 2016 in the mountainous geography of Tarsus, structures similar to stone 'hills' were encountered, examples of which are observed also east of Rough Cilicia. In Rough Cilicia the bedrock was broken to pieces and piled up in order to gain agricultural soil. But the stone 'hills' identified also in the hinterland of the ancient city of Tarsus have different characteristics from the examples in Rough Cilicia. The most important distinguishing feature is the absence of agricultural land next to the stone 'hills'. Within the scope of the 'Tarsus Hinterland Surveys', the stone 'hills' found in the immediate vicinity of the Roman Road, especially in the Sağlıklı District, are examined in this study. Stone 'hills' refer to Tumulus-type tombs, examples of which were yet unknown in the Cilician Region. Since none of these graves have been excavated yet, it is not possible to suggest a precise date or date range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study approaches the micro-novel Dora Bruder by Patrick Modiano from the perspective of memory (and post-memory) which, through documentary work, restores the identity of the victims definitively annulled by the Nazi regime (victims who have no grave). Our hypothesis is that Modiano is building a literary cenotaph for Dora Bruder. For her part, Herta Müller tries, in at least two of her novels (The Land of Green Plums and The Appointment), to build for the victims of the Securitate (the Political Police in Communist Romania, during the neo-Stalinist regime under Nicolae Ceaușescu), a memorial, a literary tumulus. In this case, it is about victims who have a grave, but the author is building a second grave from an ethical point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the beginning of March 2022, the specialists of the Vrancei Museum were asked by the Municipality of Vânători to carry out surface research for the identification and mapping of archaeological sites and historical monuments on the administrative territory of the commune, in the framework of the project "Updating of the General Urbanistic Plan of the commune of Vânători". As a result of this field research, five new archaeological sites have been identified on the territory of the commune: 1. "Crângul Petrești" (where a monetary hoard containing 91 Celtic coins of the type "Kreuzelreiter" C1-2, a Roman fibula of the strongly profiled type, a Roman sheath accessory and a Republican denarius have been discovered with the help of a metal detector); 2. "Movila Crângului" (a mound), 3. "Movila Bou" (a mound), 4. "La nord de Hârtopul din Sus" (a settlement with two habitation levels: Sântana de Mureș - Cerneahov and Early Medieval) and Point "Hârtop" (a settlement with three habitation levels: Hallstatt, "Sântana de Mureș - Cerneahov" and Early Medieval). A strong system of military fortifications built before the First World War has also been identified. Seven of the batteries that defended the fortified Focșani Front (Group VI Răsboieni, Group VII Furceni, Group VIII Petrești, Group IX Vânători, Group X Putna, Group XI Jorăști and Group XII Ștefan cel Mare) were located in the commune of Vânători. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Spal: Revista de Prehistoria y Arqueologia de la Universidad de Sevilla is the property of Spal. Revista de Prehistoria y Arqueologia de la Universidad de Sevilla 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.)

Mutaf Tepe Tumulus is situated in the city of Aydın's Çine district in Mutaf Tepe Location. In the historical process, the Karia Region BC VII-VI. century, remained under the rule of Lydia. With the defeat of the Lydians to the Persians in 546 BC, the Persian period began in Caria. When the Caria Region is examined in general, it is seen that the Persian and Lydian influence is less. Mutaf Tepe Tumulus, which is the subject of the study, is an important example of Lydian architectural features with Persian influence in the Inner Caria Region. Mutaf Tepe Tumulus, which is covered within the scope of the study, was first identified with the surveys carried out in 1996, but it was not shared with the scientific community as a comprehensive publication. Within the scope of the study, Mutaf Tepe Tumulus was compared with the tumuli in Lydia and Caria Region. The gable roof on the upper cover of the building has been used in the tumuli in the Lydian Region since end of the 6th century BC. Mutaf Tepe Tumulus was observed to have Lydian architectural influences due to the similarities of the wall blocks, cover of the gable roof at the top, double-winged door and "L" rotating blocks, and it was proposed to date the tumulus at the end of the 6th century BC to the beginning of the 5th century BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bronze cauldrons of the Scythian time are a rather rare find in the Northern Black Sea region, especially on its western borders. Scythian bronze cauldrons in the west area are concentrated in three main regions: Bukovina and Podillya (Iacobeni, Avrămeni, Ivane-Puste, Shvaikivtsy), the Lower Dniester (Răscăieții Noi, Nikolskoe, Dubăsari, Cioburciu), and the Lower Danube (Ograda, Castelu, Scorțaru Vechi, Mresnota Mogyla, Ostrivne). Some Scythian cauldrons have no reliable archaeological context. Nevertheless, in combination with the same “stray” finds like the Scythian statues, the finds of Scythian cauldrons mark the Scythian presence, most likely, not earlier than the late 6th century or even the turn of the 6th-5th centuries BC. There is a significant chronological difference between the northern (forest-steppe, Bukovina-Podillya) group of cauldrons and the southern (steppe, Lower Danube-Lower Dniester). At the same time, a chronological priority is characteristic of the first, where the cauldrons are known since the middle of the 7th century BC. Bronze cauldrons (with their carriers) penetrate the steppe region 150-200 years later, as well as the “military” burials that appear in the western steppe regions no earlier than the middle of the 5th century BC. Most of the burials with cauldrons (and, apparently, the stray finds) are dated back to the second half of the 5th century BC. Then, at the early 4th century BC their quantity is reduced and after the first quarter of the 4th century BC, they will completely disappear from the cultural practice of the population of the steppes of the North-Western Black Sea region.

The necropoleis of Knidos are relatively well-preserved compared to the necropoleis of Western Anatolia. In the eastern necropolis, hundreds of monumental tombs still exist, and one can observe numerous examples regarding the traditional tomb architecture of Knidos. The common characteristics of these tombs are the simple grave cells surrounded by walls, sometimes with "U" formed walls with one side open and enclosed mostly by four-sided walls. This traditional form in Knidos was referred to as temenos or peribolos type of tombs. As one of the circular walled Tumuli only represented with three examples in the Knidos necropolies, the Tumulus of Saranda and its findings constitute the subject of the study. According to the evaluations conducted on the burial findings, the circular wall, dromos, and two tombs at the center of the tumulus (Tombs II and III) must have been built in the second half of the 3rd century BC. The same area was used again as a second burial around the middle of the 2nd century BC or a little later. The last comprehensive construction and burial site in the Tumulus were built in the 2nd century AC. The form is the only difference between the circular walled tumuli and the traditional architecture of tombs in Knidos. Therefore, rather than the observed form of these walls, it's the meaning that they give to the tomb, which is important in the traditional tomb architecture of the city. Based on the circular walled tumulus, which is the subject of this article, it can be stated that although it is observed as a different tomb type, the same tradition continued in the necropolis of Knidos. Either in rectangular or in circular form, these walls aimed to separate the family graves from others and to bring a monumental view to these non-extravagant tombs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

War tools and equipment used by human beings as hunting, war and status indicators show cultural and periodic differences. However, combat vehicles are divided into two basic groups as defensive and offensive vehicles. Attack tools were used to eliminate the enemy and defensive tools were used to protect themselves, and they were constantly tried to improve. Despite the scarcity of excavations and surveys in Eastern Thrace, various tools for both attack and defense have been identified. It is seen that they were mostly left as grave gifts to the Tumuli, as well as settlements and singular finds. When we look at the war vehicles in Eastern Thrace, they consist of defense tools such as armor, helmet, shield and attack tools such as swords, spearheads, arrowheads and slingshots. One of the most common uses from the region is the arrow and spear tip. The most common tools are armor and shield. Although the earliest finds are Kozman Deresi clouds, historically it is seen that the finds are concentrated especially in two date ranges. The first group is from the 4th century BC, and the second group is from the 1st-2nd century AD. century between. If we look at the time periods in which these two time periods are concentrated, the first corresponds to the period of Macedonian and the second Roman imperial domination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of TÜBA-AR: Turkish Academy of Sciences, Journal of Archaeology is the property of Turkish Academy of Sciences 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.)

Copyright of Arkeoloji Dergisi is the property of Ege University 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.)

Copyright of Itobiad: Journal of the Human & Social Science Researches / İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Itobiad: Journal of the Human & Social Science Researches 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.)

Copyright of CEDRUS is the property of Mediterranean Civilisations Research Institute 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.)

Copyright of CEDRUS is the property of Mediterranean Civilisations Research Institute 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.)

Copyright of CEDRUS is the property of Mediterranean Civilisations Research Institute 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.)

The paper will refer only to one of period of Hallstatt, Middle Hallstatt, an important period of the first Iron Age – that form with Late Hallstatt a unity called by historian the protohistory of the Dacians – bringing important transformations recorded in the human beings’ habitat. The settlements and buildings of the entire Bronze Age reflect the continuation of migrations, though limited, by their sedentarization, but also the fortification of some settlements which became real centres of unions of tribes. The characteristic to the mentioned period is continuity (and then the ending) of the process of unification of the Thracian tribes, a process began in Early Hallstatt. The collision of tribes needed the amplification of settlements, but also of the fortifications and also, step by step, the extending of the Greek urbanism implemented in today’s Dobrogea by the Greeks who started colonies here, the Scythian-Greek incluences are to be found in the Late Hallstatt and in other areas on the nowadays territory of our country. The specificity of settlements and buildings of the cultures from the beginning of Hallstatt on the territory of our country will be studied in their evolution towards the next phase – of the second period of the Iron Age: Latène.

Tanqasi village lies on the left side of the river Nile, about 17 km downstream from Merowe city. A large tumuli field is located some kilometers southeast of the village toward the edge of the Bayuda Desert. It contains no less than 250 tumuli of various size and form of superstructure, varying from very large to very small, but only four of these have been excavated so far (three in 1953 and one in 2006). A new study program, starting in 2018 within the frame of the Early Makuria Research Project, has now explored five more tombs located in different parts of the cemetery, providing a broad chronological sequence from late to terminal Meroitic.

In October 2020, the Institute of Archaeology and the Šibenik City Museum continued the excavation of the site of Mukoše near Goriš that was discontinued in 2002. The site, previously considered to be a tumulus around 35 m in diameter and 4 meters in height, conceals several meters high remains of a structure under the collapsed material, time of origin or the original function of which are still not known. The base of the structure consists of a rectangle around 18.70 x 19.25 m, with two smaller apses on one side and one larger apse on all the other sides. The inner walls of the structure can also be noted. After the structure had already collapsed, multiple graves were buried in the collapsed portion, probably at the beginning of the early modern period. The main goal of this year’s short excavation was to clear out the dense vegetation that had grown on it, gain insight into the floor plan of the structure, to the extent it was possible to do so, excavate visible graves, and document the findings in drawing and photos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan has many unexcavated tumuli, most of which were buried along with artifacts of precious cultural heritage. For such a tumulus, it is essential to understand how changes in its exterior environment affect its interior environment, and how those interior changes affect the deterioration of the relics buried in the stone chamber. In this study, an underground space was constructed in the forest of the Katsura Campus of Kyoto University to simulate the environment of an unexcavated tumulus, and long-term monitoring was implemented in the simulated stone chamber, including the temperature, humidity, water potential, wetness, and oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations, along with metal corrosion tests. This article is focused on environmental monitoring, and the results demonstrate that the simulated tumulus has the general characteristics of the hygrothermal environments of an unexcavated tumulus that has small temperature fluctuation and near-saturation humidity. The ceiling of the simulated chamber condensed significantly from October to April, which is related to the variations of the ceiling and floor temperatures. Also, the wetness of the walls in the simulated chamber was affected by rainfall. The oxygen concentration in the simulated stone chamber varied in the range of 13%–19% in 2015, and the variation of carbon dioxide concentration in the simulated stone chamber was contrary to the oxygen concentration and varied in the range of 3%–9% in 2016. The oxygen concentration in the stone chamber was similar to that in the surrounding soil that decreased at times of rainfall, contrary to the fluctuations in the soil water content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mrozewicz Leszek, Mogontiacum: czynniki rozwoju (Mogontiacum: the development factors). The history of Mogontiacum spans the period from 17/16 BCE to the end of the fourth century CE. It was a strong military base (with two legions stationed there in the first century) and a major settlement centre, though without municipal rights. However, the demographic and economic development, as well as the superior administrative and political status enabled Mogontiacum to transform -- in socio-economic and urbanistic terms -- into a real city. This process was crowned in the latter half of the third century with the construction of the city walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latest excavation of a late-Orientalizing tomb, located in the area of Colombaie on the southern side of Volterra and partially known since the early twentieth century, has allowed to identify a circular base built with blocks of stone and filled with earth and a pile of small-sized stones. This construction can be interpreted as a mound with a diameter of more than seven meters, placed to protect a hypogeic quadrangular chamber covered with a false dome. The discovery enables to revise the role played by Volterra in the dynamics of diffusion of tumuli in northern Etruria in the late seventh and early sixth century BC. This place indeed seemed excluded from the adoption of such funerary monuments, widely attested in its territory (especially in the Cecina valley, but also in Valdera and Valdelsa): on the contrary, Volterra also received and adapted to local traditions that kind of monumental grave, typical of this part of the Etruscan region in the Orientalizing period. The building technique used in the Colombaie tumulus reveals relations in particular with the coastal towns (Populonia and Vetulonia) and shows the existence of a complex cultural network that involves also the internal districts, such as the Chianti area and the territory of Florence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The renewed interest in the funerary structures commonly known in literature as “circle tombs” – a circular or pseudo- circular funerary spaces bounded by a ditch or a stone circle or lacking a defined perimeter with one or more graves arranged according to various solutions –, presented the starting point for the study of the phenomenon in its consolidated area of diffusion: central Italy between the Late Bronze Age and the Late Archaic Age. At the moment, the study is limited exclusively to the cases that present a ring of stones. Until now, the particular emphasis laid on the ring of stones has favored a definition of a single type of grave at the expense of a unitary reading of the funerary space. However, this study established a distinction between single and collective tumulus tombs and noted a marked differentiation of tombs adopted in relation to the funerary structures, which is very often characterized by a mound of earth or stones. Thus, it seems more appropriate to speak of a widespread phenomenon of monumentalization united by a similar visual code, but articulated in different ways and in local specificities. It is therefore important to overcome the definition of circle tomb in favor of tumulus tomb bound by a ring of stones by specifying the type of tomb adopted. In particular, a review of the Etruscan cases offers a more complex picture than the one outlined so far, with single and collective tumulus tombs articulated in different types, redefining the idea of monumentalization of the funerary space in Etruria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Thiasos is the property of Edizioni Quasar di Severino Tognon s.r.l. 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 various prehistoric periods, the territory of Vojvodina became the target of the migration of steppe communities with eastern origins. The oldest of these movements are dated to the late Eneolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age. There are at least two stages among them: I – dated to the end of the fourth millennium BC / beginning of the third millennium BC and II – dated from 3000 to 2600 BC and combined with the communities of the classical phase of the Yamnaya culture. The data documenting these processes have been relatively poor so far – in comparison with the neighboring regions of Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. A big drawback was the small number of systematically excavated mounds, providing comprehensive data on the funeral ritual of steppe communities. This poor database has been slightly enriched as a result of the design of the National Science Centre (Cracow, Poland) entitled "Danubian route of the Yamnaya culture". Its effect was to examine the first two barrows located on the territory of Bačka – the western region of Vojvodina. Currently, these burial mounds are the westernmost points on the map of the cemeteries of the Yamnaya culture complex. Radiocarbon dates obtained for new finds, as well as for archival materials, allow specifying two stages of use of cemeteries of Yamnaya culture: I – around 3000–2900 BC and II – around 2800–2600 BC. Among the finds from Banat, there were also few materials coming probably from the older period, corresponding to the classical phase of Baden – Coţofeni I–II. The enigmatic nature of these discoveries, however, does not allow to specify their dating as well as cultural dependencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Aulacoseira is cosmopolitan and often abundant in fresh waters. In Costa Rica, freshwater diatom surveys have been restricted to flowing waters, aside from our own explorations. Among sediment samples from some 90 lakes we have encountered an undescribed species which we herein propose to name Aulacoseira umanai Haberyan sp. nov. In this species, the face of larger valves often bears ridges and tubercles (knobs); separation spines are short (<2.3 µm) and longer spines are absent. The ringleiste is thick, solid, and very wide. This, in combination with its short collum, distinguishes A. umanai from many other species of the genus. Aulacoseira umanai is abundant in the surficial sediments of multiple glacial lakes that are over 3450 m in elevation on Cerro Chirripó; it is also abundant in glacial-age deposits in La Chonta bog (2310 m a.s.l.). It seems to have evolved from an ancestor that resembled A. alpigena; the locality of this event is unknown but was likely to have been a high-altitude lake in the Central American isthmus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of CEDRUS is the property of Mediterranean Civilisations Research Institute 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.)

The monumental tumulus Yığma Tepe is an important part of the cityscape of the ancient city of Pergamon. The tumulus construction is estimated in the Hellenistic period, the internal structure and exact purpose have been unknown so far. Its height of 32 m and diameter of 158 m make the deep interior of the tumulus practically inaccessible for excavations. Therefore, we applied a combination of geophysical measurements and archaeological sondages to explore the structure of the Yığma Tepe. The investigations centre on P‐wave refraction soundings. They were carried out to clarify the stratigraphic structure and soil composition as a prerequisite for a better understanding of construction techniques, building history and soil deposition. Interactive seismic raytracing, traveltime tomography and visco‐elastic forward modelling were applied to derive a three‐dimensional seismic velocity model, which was validated by excavations and soil analysis, historical records and additional geoelectric measurements. Our results reveal that the tumulus is composed of three layers, each about 10 m thick, separated by first‐order seismic discontinuities which were locally verified. These layers form a stack of conical disks, the interfaces of which define two internal plateaus. The analysis of soil samples showed that the seismic velocity increase at the interfaces is likely to be caused by anthropogenic compaction applied to soils showing increased fractions of silt and clay. By combining topographic data with results from seismic and geoelectric sounding on the tumulus, the surrounding trench and the unaltered surrounding area, we show that the tumulus was built almost completely from the surrounding soils and that 17% of its original volume was displaced by destruction and erosion. Based on this mass balance the strongly destroyed and eroded original surface of the tumulus and its surrounding trench is reconstructed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological site of Jankovačka Dubrava – Velika Međa is located at the western entrance to the village of Stari Jankovci near Vinkovci. One part of the site lies in the woods of Jankovačka Dubrava and the other lies on the arable land near the riverbed of what used to be a paleostream. The site has been known for more than a hundred years; it was first explored by the National Museum of Zagreb in 1878 and 1879. On that occasion, they described five large tumuli: four in the woods and one in the neighbouring field. Later papers dated the tumuli to the prehistoric period. Because of intensive cultivation of the land next to the woods, Vinkovci Municipal Museum undertook a magnetometric survey together with Eastern Atlas Ltd. in 2015 to verify whether the slight elevation on the field hides the remains of a tumulus. When the results were positive, they started systematic excavations. During the three seasons of excavations, from 2017 to 2019, it was confirmed that the tumuli were from the Roman period. The excavations of tumulus 1 uncovered two large burial chambers and two central cremation graves. The explored chamber contained a two-wheeled Roman carriage with two horses, while the central cremation graves were robbed. Around tumulus 1 there were cremation and inhumation graves from late antiquity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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From the perspective of a general inventory of megalithism in Cameroon, an interdisciplinary team has been studying since 2006 the origins, forms and territorial distribution of these stone structures. While in some areas such as the Mandara Mountains and the upper Benoue Valley, this type of production participates in a still alive ethnology, in other regions such as Adamawa, islamization has precipitated a rapid abandonment of megalithic traditions, yet classified among the oldest known in Cameroon. This is reflected in the Grassland where construction traditions have gradually disappeared under the influence of westernization, although the ancient heritage still serves as an active reference point for current ritual activities. Historical archaeology, comparative ethnology, ethnolinguistics, phenomenology of image and ethnobotany are all methodological approaches that have enabled us to trace the origins of megaliths, compare their technical manufacturing processes, grasp the sense that the elements take, both in languages, visual perceptions and collective memories, and in a cosmology where the plant kingdom occupies a fundamental place.

Stone architectures of the Senegambian megalithism have long been considered as an autonomous entity in a sector of the African continent where adobe constructions are traditionally favoured. Our knowledge of these monuments has been deeply modified by ten years of archaeological research on the World Heritage site of Wanar (Senegal). This paper review these new elements in their regional context, integrating available data about protohistoric funerary monuments in Senegal as well as in Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone and even sometimes more widely. The authors have demonstrated – in a more systematic way than in previous work – that several features of the Senegambian funerary customs can find an echo in the West African ethnological record.

Field investigations in Somaliland, quite scant but done as early as the xixth century, have allowed to evidence structures devoted mainly to funerary purpose. Briefly described in the literature, they provide nonetheless some typological and chronological indications. Surveys and excavations between 2002 and 2005 have also contributed to check the presence of numerous megalithic monuments with variable morphology. Review of previous work done by our predecessors added to our own research makes it possible to propose a preliminary typology – with four main types of monuments – and a tentative long-term chronology of the various forms of monuments. This chronological discussion will take into account the funerary steles formerly described or recently studied in a larger geographical area, extending on the whole Horn of Africa.