Enzo Cocca - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Enzo Cocca

Western part of the tower (Sectors 5-6-7)……………………………………………………………………………. 7-11 Sector 5………………………………... more Western part of the tower (Sectors 5-6-7)……………………………………………………………………………. 7-11 Sector 5…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11-16 Sector 6………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17-21 Perimeter wall……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22-30 N-E side of the tower (Sector 4)…………………………………………………………………………………………… 31-35 Inner part of the tower (Sector A)……………………………………………………………………………………….. 36-39 Collected finds…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 39 Pottery…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 39-44 Stone tools……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The extensive investigation carried out between November 2017 and the end of January 2018 at the ... more The extensive investigation carried out between November 2017 and the end of January 2018 at the UNESCO site of Al-Khutm (Bat) has allowed us completely to expose an important tower dated back to the end of the third millennium BC. The excavation revealed the good state of preservation and monumentality of the complex, unique among the towers so far investigated in Oman. The tower was covered by a deposit of collapsed stones several metres deep, which had hidden the tower until recent times. Among the significant results of this season is the exposure of the tower wall reaching a height of c.4 m and a perimeter wall 2.3 m in height, surrounding the western side of the tower. The excavation has also revealed the presence of several structures located inside the tower, including a deep well found in the central corridor. The sloping profile of the substratum and the monumental architecture of both these structures testify to the monumentality of the tower. Preliminary analysis of stratigraphic data and associated pottery suggests dating the construction of the tower to the late Umm an-Nar period and to a second, Wadi Suq, period featured by constant rebuilding. The present article outlines the preliminary results of the two excavations seasons.

The Eritrean coastal site of Adulis has been known to archaeologists since the second half of the... more The Eritrean coastal site of Adulis has been known to archaeologists since the second half of the 19 th century. At the beginning of the 20 th century, the Italian archaeologist Roberto Paribeni conducted extensive excavations in different areas of the site which uncovered the remains of monumental buildings, churches and houses, as well as rich deposits of related material culture. Since then, archaeological investigations have been limited to the activities of Francis Anfray in 1961-62 and to a survey conducted by the University of Southampton in 2003-04. Our team's first excavations in stratified deposits began in 2011, and soon revealed a complex chronological sequence of great importance for the understanding of the cultural history of the southern Red Sea region and the Horn of Africa. The project's main efforts were directed towards the identification of the main phases of occupation at Adulis, the establishment of a typological sequence of pottery, and the analysis of architectural change. Résumé Le site côtier d'Adoulis en Erythrée est connu depuis la seconde moitié du 19 ème siècle. Au début du 20 ème siècle l'archéologue italien Roberto Paribeni a mené des fouilles dans les différentes zones du site et découvert des constructions monumentales, des églises, des maisons et un abondant matériel archéologique. Par la suite, les travaux archéologiques ont été limités aux fouilles de Francis Anfray en 1961-62 et à une prospection menée par l'Université de Southampton en 2003-04. Les premières fouilles en stratigraphique ont commencé en 2011, révélant dès le début la complexité de la séquence chronologique et son importance pour la compréhension de l'histoire culturelle de la région. Les efforts ont été principalement dirigés vers la reconstruction de la séquence typologique de la céramique, l'observation des différentes techniques de construction employées au cours du temps et l'identification des principales phases d'occupation.

The extensive investigation carried out in recent years at the UNESCO site of Al-Khutm (Ibri, Oma... more The extensive investigation carried out in recent years at the UNESCO site of Al-Khutm (Ibri, Oman) has allowed to uncover the monumental remains of a tower dated back to the third millennium BC and to collect an abundant ceramic assemblage from the associated soil deposits. Eighteen selected pottery samples have been investigated using a multi-analytical approach including microfocus X-ray computed tomography, X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and prompt gamma activation analysis to analyse the vessel-forming technique and to characterise their micro-structure, mineralogical and chemical composition to recognise possible local vs. non-local raw materials. The results provided new insights on ancient manufacturing processes and revealed that most of the vessels were locally produced exploiting raw materials from the surroundings of the site with the exception of a fragment of a black slipped jar. The chemical results suggest that the latter was imported from the Indus area in nowadays Pakistan. This evidence integrates our knowledge about the presence of this type of vessels in Oman and confirms the involvement of inland centres like Bat and Al-Khutm into a large-scale exchange system.

In September 2015 a team of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and of the Uni... more In September 2015 a team of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and of the Università di Napoli „L'Orientale“ started an underwater survey in the area comprised between Yanbu and Umm Lajj on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. The main focus of the survey was to identify the location of an 18 century merchantman wrecked at a reef to the north of Umm Lajj, off the Saudi coast. The wreckage area extends about 40 m in length and 12 m in width. Parts of the hull and of the cargo are exposed and are clearly visible. The presumed stern area is characterised by the presence of a large mound of around one thousand jars. Surveying methods included the use of video recording and 3D reconstruction methods. Meanwhile, handmade measurements and drawings have been used for small objects, such as single pottery artefacts and isolated elements of the hull. A 3D survey of the wreckage area has been conducted by simply using an underwater camera. The images have been processed w...

The project “PyArchInit- python for archaeology” began in 2005 with the aim of develop ing a phyt... more The project “PyArchInit- python for archaeology” began in 2005 with the aim of develop ing a phyton’s plug-in for the open source software Qgis. PyArchinit comes mainly from the needs, ever more present in the archaeology community, to computerize the archaeological records using software, which handle alphanumeric, multimedia and topographical data in a single solution. This package aims to meet the requirements with a unique solution that guarantees over time stability, development, easy installation and update. The final goal is the creation of GIS platform with a high i nteroperability between different operating system, in which alphanumerical table, GIS geometries and multimedia data are within a single system. This allows to keep as much as possible the integrity of the raw data, providing to the archaeologist both a very fast and robust approach and, in meantime, it is an open system to changes and customizations by other developers. The database management system of archae...

Archeologia e Calcolatori, 2013

The Adulis Project started in 2011, directed by the Ce.RDO in collaboration with the Centre for G... more The Adulis Project started in 2011, directed by the Ce.RDO in collaboration with the Centre for GeoTechnologies of the University of Siena and the National Museum of Eritrea. The project aims to investigate and promote the cultural heritage of the ancient port site of Adulis, one of the most important archaeological sites in Eritrea and East Africa. The paper presents the results of the first two campaigns. First of all, we analyzed the satellite imagery to identify traces of buried archaeological elements. Then, three excavation areas were opened to unearth some of the structures already identified in the excavations of the last century, as well as to investigate the stratigraphy of the site in areas where archaeological excavations have never been conducted. In conclusion, a GPS survey was conducted on the whole area to elaborate a detailed map of the site, to create a DEM and to position all the archaeological structures that are visible on the surface. All the stratigraphic, top...

In this project was been created and implemented an archaeological GIS system, called PyArchInit,... more In this project was been created and implemented an archaeological GIS system, called PyArchInit, which allows to manage and organize data in one geodatabase with open source software (Mandolesi, Cocca 2013). Therefore the data organized, classified and themed allow quick management of archaeological data. These data analyzed and processed are made accessible through a system that allows webGIS sharing and publishing. The research is subdivided into two parts. The first part of research concerns the informatics aspect and this implements the second part of research: the archaeological aspect. The informatics aspect allow the management and communication of archaeological data. The second line of research, which concerns the archaeological aspect, takes as a case study the Grotta of Fumane. The first chapters of this work introduce the archaeoinformatics concept. Starting history of the studies in this area, through the role of information technology in archeology and motivating beca...

The Adulis Project started in 2011, directed by the Ce.RDO in collaboration with the Centre for G... more The Adulis Project started in 2011, directed by the Ce.RDO in collaboration with the Centre for Geotechnologies of the University of Siena and the National Museum of Eritrea. The project aims to investigate and promote the cultural heritage of the ancient port site of Adulis, one of the most important archaeological sites in Eritrea and East Africa. The first two fieldwork seasons revealed a detailed stratigraphic sequence and massive walls, which required a complex documentation, highlighting the need for a system for managing data in a GIS platform, in which to collect all the stratigraphic, topographic and cartographic data. In the early stage, the project team used a commercial GIS software, ESRI ArcGIS, but with the progress of the work, the team soon realized that the application did not meet the required needs. In particular, the high licensing costs made it problematic to install and share data within the research team, especially for the Eritrean colleagues. It was therefor...

Preface (by Alfredo and Angelo Castiglioni Directors of the Adulis Project) The Eritrean-Italian ... more Preface (by Alfredo and Angelo Castiglioni Directors of the Adulis Project) The Eritrean-Italian Archaeological Project at the site of the ancient Adulis started in 2011, following the meeting of Alfredo and Angelo Castiglioni, Research Centre of the Eastern Desert (hereafter CeRDO), with the Eritrean Authorities. That meeting with an institution internationally known-especially thanks to the research carried out by CeRDO in Sudanhad as its purpose the promotion of culture and tourism in Eritrea through the valorization of the archaeological heritage. The choice of CeRDO to engage in Adulis was motivated by the abandonment of excavations at the site after those carried out by Francis Anfray in the 1960s. Following preliminary meetings of Alfredo and Angelo Castiglioni with the partner institutions the strategic objectives of the project have been designed to: The Contribution … to the … Eritrean-Italian Archaeological Field Season at Adulis 508 5. offer training opportunities to the young Eritrean archaeologists and conservators; 6. involve the local communities and inform the public on the results of the archaeological research. The partner Institutions of the CeRDO include the Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale" (hereafer UNO),

The application of geophysical methods to investigate the near-surface soil layers containing ant... more The application of geophysical methods to investigate the near-surface soil layers containing anthropic manufactures has been recognized as an important element of archaeological research by the international community. Geophysics can be used to rapidly delineate the presence of archaeological buried structures without invasive and expensive stratigraphic excavation. In particular, resistivity surveying can be used to understand the geometry and the depth of the anthropic element buried in the subsoil, due to the different resistivity properties between the potential archaeological targets and the surrounding environment; by GPR methods it is possible to easily produce high definition maps of buried remains, thanks to the transmission of high frequency radar pulses from a surface antenna into the ground. Geoelectrical data are traditionally acquired with a galvanically-coupled resistivity system. The most practical difficulty is to emplace electrodes in the soil; this operation is ...

Analysis of spatial distribution of archaeological records integrated by geostatistical technique... more Analysis of spatial distribution of archaeological records integrated by geostatistical technique plays a primary role in prehistoric archaeology for a deeper knowledge of layers of human frequenting. In this work we present an approach by integrating statistics, database and GIS open source tools in an one-solution instrument based on QGIS desktop environment. Since archaeology is an intrinsically spatial discipline, we utilized a spatial quantitative approach like the multivariate geostatistics, which is typically dedicated to mining and environmental analysis, in order to the study of an important archaeological site in the northern Italy (Fumane cave, Verona, Italy), by managing the quantitative fieldwork information as regionalized variables. Therefore, we evaluating interesting spatial correlations by imposing linear coregionalization models on experimental semivariograms and cross-semivariograms, usual geostatistical tools. Besides, we make also spatio-temporal correlations a...

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2020

Journal of African Archaeology, 2014

Archeologia e Calcolatori, 2013

The Adulis Project started in 2011, directed by the Ce.RDO in collaboration with the Centre for G... more The Adulis Project started in 2011, directed by the Ce.RDO in collaboration with the Centre for Geotechnologies of the University of Siena and the National Museum of Eritrea. The project aims to investigate and promote the cultural heritage of the ancient port site of Adulis, one of the most important archaeological sites in Eritrea and East Africa. The first two fieldwork seasons revealed a detailed stratigraphic sequence and massive walls, which required a complex documentation, highlighting the need for a system for managing data in a GIS platform, in which to collect all the stratigraphic, topographic and cartographic data. In the early stage, the project team used a commercial GIS software, ESRI ArcGIS, but with the progress of the work, the team soon realized that the application did not meet the required needs. In particular, the high licensing costs made it problematic to install and share data within the research team, especially for the Eritrean colleagues. It was therefor...

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2020

Journal of African Archaeology, 2014

Archaeological research of UNO at Adulis has had as a goal, during the 2014 field season, to cont... more Archaeological research of UNO at Adulis has had as a goal, during the 2014 field season, to continue the setting of the chronological sequence started in 2011 (Zazzaro, Cocca and Manzo 2014), to better understand the connection among the town, the river and the sea, to investigate the local economy and trade networks through archaeological finds. At this aim, excavations started in 2011 in sectors 1 and 3 have been pursued. A new trench, sector 5, was opened to the South of the town, on the river edge, and a short - few hours survey - was conducted towards the coast for recording new archaeological evidence uncovered by the flood in November 2013.

in Garcea E.E.A. (ed.) Gobero: The No-Return Frontier: Archaeology and Landscape at the Saharo-Sahelian Borderland, Journal of African Archaeology Monograph Series 9 Africa Magna Verlag Frankfurt, pp. 195-207. , 2013

Each chapter in this volume has been subjected to independent peer review.