Raking over the Ashes—The Analysis of the LBA Ashmounds from NE Romania (original) (raw)
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The prehistoric settlement in located north of the municipality of Alioș (Timiș County), on the right slope of Alioşu Valley. The site is little known and has been analyzed from the perspective of the structures visible on site and of the materials collected from the surface. Our research is based not only on focused on-site investigations, but also on aerial photography, Structure from Motion, and magnetometric surveys. These sets of methods have led to a more nuanced picture of the inner structure of this settlement and of the natural environment in the proximity of the site. The survey of 4.6 hectares from the area of the plateau has led to the identification of an extended settlement that had developed south of the fortification that dominates Alioşu Valley. The second structure identified in the central area of the plateau is published here for the first time. It covers an area of 0.5 hectares and no acceptable analogies have been yet identified. A number of artifacts provide chronological indications: numerous pottery fragments and the Hajdúsámson-type shaft‑hole axe, all recovered during field researches. These artifacts date the site to stage MBA II (Reinecke A2; approximately 1950-after 1700 BC).
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This paper draws attention to the unexploited potential of cartographic material related to Ploies ßti city, Romania, from the oldest reports to the modern. The cartographic document may bring valuable, more often than not original, information in order to improve understandings of behavioural patterns and the evolution of prehistoric communities. The study of the distribution and dynamics of burial mounds (tumuli) associated with the Bronze Age, within the perimeter of Ploies ßti city and its metropolitan area, is one of the first applications of this kind of analysis made in Romania, and succeeds in showing the importance of using direct or indirect data from this category of cartographic documents for archaeological studies. Moreover, it demonstrates that, because geosystems and social systems are not static in space and time, a diachronic cartographic study provides the opportunity for a phenomenological focus on the evolutional issues of tumulispatiality, boundaries, distances and density.
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An archaeological geophysics survey was conducted on the early neolithic site of Movila lui Deciov, in the Province of Banat, Romania. Magnetometry and electromagnetic terrain conductivity were used for the main prospection effort, and a test of electrical resistivity imaging was conducted on a selected profile. In addition, magnetic susceptibility measurements were obtained from excavation pit samples.The magnetic survey was successful in determining the extent of the site, in delimiting zones rich in structures and artefacts, and in confirming the presence of a ditched enclosure that could be the earliest known in the region. The electromagnetic survey was limited by a lack of resolution of electrical property contrast. Detailed joint modelling of the magnetic and electrical response of the subsurface was used to confirm that electrical resistivity imaging can provide depth information to complement magnetic mapping.One of very few reported in Romania, this survey paves the way for an increased use of geophysical techniques in the cultural heritage management of this country. From a methodological viewpoint, this work further demonstrates the potential of electrical resistivity imaging in archaeology Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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The characterization of prehistoric human behavior in terms of habitation practices using GIS cartography methods is an important aspect of any modern geoarchaeological approach. Furthermore, using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys to identify archaeological sites with temporal resolution during the spring agro-technical works and automated mapping of the geomorphological features based on LiDAR-derived DEM can provide valuable information about the human–landscape relationships and lead to accurate archaeological and cartographic products. In this study, we applied a GIS-based landform classification method to relief characterization of 362 Late Bronze Age (LBA) settlements belonging to Noua Culture (NC) (cal. 1500/1450-1100 BCE) located in the Jijia catchment (NE Romania). For this purpose, we used an adapted version of Topographic Position Index (TPI) methodology, abbreviated DEV, which consists of: (1) application of standard deviation of TPI for the mean elevation (DEV) around each analyzed LBA site (1000 m buffer zone); (2) classification of the archaeological site’s location using six slope position classes (first method), or ten morphological classes by combining the parameters from two small-DEV and large-DEV neighborhood sizes (second method). The results indicate that the populations belonging to Noua Culture preferred to place their settlements on hilltops but close to the steep slope and on the small hills/local ridges in large valleys. From a geoarchaeological perspective, the outcomes indicate a close connection between occupied landform patterns and habitation practices during the Late Bronze Age and contribute to archaeological predictive modelling in the Jijia catchment (NE Romania).
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In this paper, we will focus on aspects of the spatial organisation of the settlement remains, since new magnetometer data is available that allows for the first time a comparison of the intensity of habitation at both these sites and of the internal organisation of their Late Bronze Age occupation. It will become clear, that even in the same micro-region and during broadly the same period, there may be considerable variability. Our data clearly indicate that both sites were more or less densely occupied by closely comparable household units, thus discouraging (for the Ier valley) interpretations that focus on strongly hierarchical structures or functions other than settlement and daily life, including agriculture and household-based production. Between them, however, Căuaş and Andrid show indications of rather different notions how social space should be organised.
Măgura" Uroiului (Hunedoara County, Romania). An Archaeological Site from the perspective of Landscape Archaeology. The archaeological site of "Magura Uroiului" (Hunedoara County) is one of the most complex sites in Romania due to its geomorphologic qualities and continuously habitation from prehistory through the Middle Ages. It is a hill with volcanic origin and a series of natural platforms. It was a favorable place both for military fortifications, for civil settlements, and also for quarrying stone. In 2008 a wide-landscape archaeology study was started that includes a detailed digital cartography of the terrain and a 3D reconstruction of the whole archaeological complex and a paleomorphology study. Integrated remote sensing methods (satellite images analysis and geophysical prospects) were used. The first step was a detailed topographical measurement of the site's surface with the help of a total station (over 100 hectares) in order to reveal all micro-relief details, both natural and manmade. The second step was the editing of GIS spatial data, 2D and 3D graphic reconstructions. The third step was the analysis of the geomorphologic evolution of the terrain, the identification and interpretation of man-made features, the recognition of the ways of human intervention in the environment and of the causes and effects generated in the local ecosystem. The fourth step was a interdisciplinary analysis combining remote sensing and geophysical prospects in order to establish the exact inhabited areas, fortification system, road network, etc. Our study is meant to be a multidisciplinary analysis and aims to establish the relationship between man and environment, the difficult part being the extraordinary complexity of this site and its dimensions.