Archaeological Prospection at the Bavarian State Department of Monuments & Sites: Between archaeological research and day-to-day routine (original) (raw)
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Hungarian Archaeology Online Magazine, 2020
The Römisch-Germanische Kommission (RGK), the research institute of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) in Frankfurt has initiated countless new research methods since its foundation almost 120 years ago. The Technical Department established in 2010 was mainly engaged in archaeophysical surveys conducted over large areas and geomagnetic prospection involving the documentation of the variations in an area's magnetic field, a routine practice by then. Since then, its activities have expanded to include various non-invasive or minimally invasive analytical procedures for the examination of archaeological finds. Owing to experimentation with, and testing of, various new methods, our team has grown into a genuine competence centre during the past few years, an achievement that was fully recognized in 2019, when the department was renamed Department of Survey and Excavation Methodology (Referat für Prospek-tions-und Grabungsmethodik). In addition to our own excavations, field projects and archaeometric analyses, our centre is also involved in the research projects of our partners and we assist, to the best of our abilities, our external colleagues. Given the many diverse research methods utilising the new equipment of the RGK, in the following we offer an overview of our activities and the employed methods and procedures.
Journal Of Multidisciplinary Research: New Approaches and Data 1(1), 2024
Meanwhile, the Archaeological Prospection in Bavaria can look back on more than 40 years of continuous work all over the country, as the first attempts and surveys were already made in the late 1970s. Besides pure geophysics, we also routinely apply aerial archaeology and Airborne Laserscanning to detect and map historical monuments. For some years, our methods have been complemented by the use of drones to acquire photogrammetric 3D models of topographically visible sites. This led to one of the biggest archives of aerial archaeological photos as well as geophysical datasets worldwide. The paper will firstly present a brief introduction to all the methods that we are using. This is accompanied by a short history of their application to Bavarian Heritage Protection. Afterwards, all presented methods are shown in more detail based on practical survey results. This part also gives a short introduction into the range of archaeological sites in Bavaria dating from Neolithic to modern times.
Since 2010 the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (Germany) is able to purchase LiDAR data for different regions of interest. One of these areas are the Harz Mountains which are covered by forests up to 60 %. For this region a 2,160 km2 large DTM was generated. This is the basis for further investigations on archaeological and historical features covered by trees. Until yet it was possible to identify and digitalize more than 1000 archaeological sites. Some had already been discovered by systematic field surveys, others have been detected during the ongoing, systematic analyses of the DTM. Particularly, the emerging network of medieval settlement and economic structures seems to open a very promising field of research. Among others, hill forts, deserted villages, ridge and furrow, mine shafts and pits, charcoal kilns, defensive dikes and water reservoirs, dams, and ditches which are often integrated in a system of roads and lanes, could be identified. Pre- and early historic earthworks and burial mounds are represented, too. At first, all monuments are going to be digitalized and then will be analysed and interpreted. Eventually, it is planned to develop preservation strategies for these monuments in cooperation with the forestry offices.
2013
The objective of the research project “Archäoprognose Brandenburg” is to develop and compare methods of prediction for the mapping of potential archaeological sites for all prehistoric cultures in the state of Brandenburg. In archaeological heritage management it often turns out that only a fraction of archaeological sites is known to date. Different methods for drawing up predictive maps are evaluated, and as expected, the pattern of settlement structures and density of archaeological sites will change considerably. In addition to the cultural-historical relevance of this diachronic comparison, the heritage management potential will be useful for predicting archaeological sites and for the actual landscape-planning proceedings. This paper gives an overview of the nature of the problems encountered during the use of Geographical Information Systems for digitisation, analysis and visualisation and ways to overcome them, discussing both conceptual and practical aspects.
Large-scale Archaeology Projects in Saxony, Germany.
G. Blancquaert/F. Malrain/H. Stäuble/J. Vanmoerkerke (Hrsg.), Understanding the Past: A Matter of Surface-Area. Acts of the XIIIth Session of the EAA Congress, Zadar 2007. BAR Intern. Ser. 2194, 2011, 25-46., 2011
Archaeological research in the Lower Rhine, theory and practice
In recent years a framework within which theory and methods for prospection of archaeology in riverine contexts in the Netherlands are undertaken has been developed in order to manage archaeology during large scale dredging projects. Predictive modelling, based on physiography, archaeological sources, theories on the Maritime cultural landscape and historical geography, has proved to be an effective method in pinpointing potential archaeological findspots in riverbeds. A broad range of prospection methods, used to test these models shall be discussed below.
E&G Quaternary Science Journal, 2013
Excavations at the Gravettian site Grub/Kranawetberg from 1993 to 2011 exposed four archaeological horizons (AH) separated by sterile loess deposits. The lowest AH 4 contains a number of features, consisting of two hearths which both are surrounded by small pits. The overlying AH3 is separated from AH4 by 8 to 10 cm of loess. In AH3 there are no features. Above AH3 there are two more AHs (AH2 and AH1) with significantly lower find densities. Chronologically both AH4 and 3 are very close (Antl-Weiser et al., 2010) but there are big differences in the assemblages and the presence/absence of features. According to the present state of research the assemblages of the two AHs seem to reflect the presence of different groups using this territory possibly under changing environmental conditions. In 2010 and 2011 a series of samples for an IRSL-and OSL-dating program (Zöller et al., this volume) has been collected from two deep trenches in the east of the excavated area. Results suggest an occupation of AH4 to AH1 between 30ka BP and 27ka BP. The site gives an insight not only into an important part of the cultural development before the Last Glacial Maximum but possibly also into climatic changes during a longer time span of the Upper Pleniglacial period in this part of Austria. Das Inventar der archäologischen Horizonte 4 und 3 und das Lössprofil von Grub/Kranawetberg, einem Lagerplatz des Gravettien in Niederösterreich Kurzfassung: Die Ausgrabungen an der Gravettienfundstelle Grub/Kranawetberg bei Stillfried erbrachten vier archäologische Horizonte. Der unterste (AH4) enthält zwei Herdstellen, die beide von einer Reihe von Grübchen umgeben sind. Der darauf folgende Horizont (AH3) ist durch eine 8-10 cm mächtige Lössschicht von AH4 getrennt. In AH3 gibt es keine evidenten Strukturen. Über AH3 liegen zwei weitere archäologische Horizonte mit lediglich einigen verstreuten Funden. Chronologisch sind beide Horizonte zwar nahe beisammen, sie sind aber sehr unterschiedlich, was die Strukturen und das Inventar angeht. Zum gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt scheinen die beiden Horizonte die Anwesenheit von zwei Gruppen widerzuspiegeln, die dieses Gebiet möglicherweise unter sich ändernden Umweltbedingen nutzten. In den Jahren 2010 und 2011 wurde eine Reihe von Proben für IRSL und OSL Datierungen an zwei langen Profilen im Osten der ausgegrabenen Fläche genommen. So gesehen gibt der Platz nicht nur Einblick in einen bedeutenden Abschnitt der kulturellen Entwicklung vor dem Kältemaximum der letzten Eiszeit, sondern auch in die klimatischen Veränderungen des Hochglazial in diesem Teil von Österreich.