157 research outputs found
GĂOARCHĂOLOGIES DES CONTEXTES URBAINS : MIEUX COMPRENDRE LES MODALITĂS DE LâARTIFICIALISATION DES GĂOSYSTĂMES
Een archeologische evaluatie en waardering van Celtic Fields in het Kolisbos (Neerpelt, provincie Limburg)
Umm Huwaiwitat: a Neolithic site near Petra, Jordan
Studies of the rural landscapes around the Nabataean/Roman city of Petra in Jordan have tended to assume a developmental trajectory based on that of the urban centre. Recent archaeological investigations at the site of Umm Huwaiwitat, however, shed light on the longer-term histories of human occupation and land use in the region north of Petra. Excavation has revealed Late Neolithic deposits formed by the burning of animal dung and the disposal of ash. These deposits underlie walls, today serving as agricultural terraces, which date to at least the Early Bronze Age. Umm Huwaiwitat therefore provides a microcosm of the long-lived and constantly reworked agricultural landscapes of the Middle East
Le site du Carreau du Temple (Paris) entre â marais â et â marĂ©cages â : indices gĂ©oarchĂ©ologiques et palĂ©o-environnementaux
Les fouilles du â Carreau du Temple â, effectuĂ©es en 2011, ont permis dâĂ©tudier une sĂ©quence pĂ©do-sĂ©dimentaire prĂ©servĂ©e sous les vestiges dâune occupation qui dĂ©bute au xiie s. avec le dĂ©veloppement de lâEnclos du Temple. Lâemplacement du site correspond Ă un domaine de transition gĂ©omorphologique entre une montille Ă faible relief (le quartier du Marais) et un palĂ©ochenal de la Seine qui ceinture la rive droite. La sĂ©quence de sol, qui correspond Ă un horizon organique homogĂšne Ă lâĂ©chelle du site, a fait lâobjet dâune Ă©tude palĂ©o-environnementale (sĂ©dimentologie, micromorphologie, palĂ©obotanique) afin de dĂ©terminer son origine et son mode de mise en place. Les principaux rĂ©sultats indiquent que le site est dĂ©pourvu de marqueurs de milieu palustre, tandis que la sĂ©quence prĂ©sente tous les indices dâune anthropisation intense liĂ©e Ă une activitĂ© agricole du Moyen Ăge, dâabord cĂ©rĂ©aliĂšre puis essentiellement maraĂźchĂšre. Ce rĂ©sultat sâaccorde avec les vestiges identifiĂ©s sur le site et confirme les observations pĂ©do-sĂ©dimentaires faites en plusieurs endroits de la rive droite et en particulier dans le quartier du Marais. Lâabsence de marqueurs palustres relativise fortement lâimage dâune rive droite insalubre et marĂ©cageuse, associĂ©e Ă une toponymie qui semble essentiellement hĂ©riter dâune occupation cĂ©rĂ©aliĂšre et maraĂźchĂšre de ses sols.The excavations of the Carreau du Temple, Paris, France, undertaken in 2011, provided the opportunity to study a pedo-sedimentary sequence preserved in the ruins of an occupation that began in the twelfth century with the development of the âEnclos du Templeâ. The site is located in an area of geomorphological transition between a relief characterised by shallow ancient dunes (the âMaraisâ, âswampâ in French) and a paleochannel of the right bank of the river Seine. The sediment sequence, which corresponds to a homogeneous organic horizon extending across the site, was the subject of a paleo-environmental study (sedimentology, micromorphology, paleobotany) aimed at determining both its origin and evolution. The principal results found no markers indicating a wetland environment; however, extensive evidence of intensive human activity related to agricultural practices from the Middle Ages was identified, including evidence for both cereal and more specifically, vegetable production. This result agrees with the archaeological remains identified at the site and confirms the pedo-sedimentary observations made in several places along the paleo-channel, and in particular in the Marais. The absence of wetland markers that would normally indicate a marshy right river bank calls into question the toponymy of the place - the Marais - which is a name usually associated with unsanitary, swampy conditions; the evidence found, in fact indicates that this was a zone of varied agricultural production
Tectonics and fluvial dynamism affecting the Tiber River in Prehistoric Rome
Geomorphological investigations in Rome\u2019s river valley are revealing the dynamism of the prehistoric landscape. It is becoming
increasingly apparent that paleogeographic conditions that defined Rome in the historical era are the product of changes
since the Bronze Age, which may be the result of local fault activity in addition to fluvial dynamism. Through a dedicated
borehole chronostratigraphic study, integrated by 14C and archaeological dates, and paleomagnetic investigations, we offer
here new evidence for fault displacement since ca. 4500 years/BP. We present the failure of the sedimentary fabric of a clay
horizon caused by liquefaction processes commonly linked with seismic shaking, interpreting an (ca. 4 m) offset to signify
the existence of a fault line located at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. In addition, we show evidence for another (ca. 1 m)
offset affecting a stratigraphic horizon in the river channel, occurring along another hypothesized fault line crossing through
the Tiber Valley. Movement along this fault may have contributed to a documented phase of fast overflooding dated to the
sixth century BCE which eventually led to the birth of the Tiber Island. The most plausible scenario implies progressive
deformation, with an average tectonic rate of 2 mm/year, along these inferred fault lines. This process was likely punctuated
with moderate earthquakes, but no large event necessarily occurred. Together, the available evidence suggests that during
the early centuries of sedentary habitation at the site of Rome, active fault lines contributed to significant changes to the
Tiber River valley, capable of challenging lowland activities
Analisi micromorfologiche nelle Valli Grandi veronesi: processi formativi del record archeologico e dinamiche pedo-alluvionali alla fine dell'EtĂ del Bronzo.
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Challenges of geoarchaeology in wetland environments
Geoarchaeological research captures dimensions of the past at an unprecedented level of detail and multiple spatial and temporal scales. The record of the past held by soils and sediments is an archive for past environments, climate change, resource use, settlement lifeways, and societal development and resilience over time. When the McDonald Institute was established at Cambridge, geoarchaeology was one of the priority fields for a new research and teaching environment. An opportunity to develop the legacy of Charles McBurney was bestowed upon Charles French, whose âgeoarchaeology in actionâ approach has had an enormous impact in advancing knowledge, principles and practices across academic, teaching and professional sectors. Many journeys that began at Cambridge have since proliferated into dozens of inspired geoarchaeologies worldwide. This volume presents research and reflection from across the globe by colleagues in tribute to Charly, under whose leadership the Charles McBurney Laboratory became a beacon of geoarchaeology
MIS 9 to MIS 5 terraces along the Tyrrhenian Sea coast of Latium(central Italy): Assessing interplay between sea-level oscillations and tectonic activity
We present a review of the geomorphology of the Tyrrhenian Sea coast of central Italy integrated by a novel
structural-geomorphological study coupled with statistical analysis of topographic culminations and comparison
with a Digital ElevationModel, aimed at reconstructing a suite of paleo-surfaces corresponding to remnant portions
of marine terraces.We performed geochronological, sedimentological, micromorphological and mineralogical investigations
on the deposits forming the different paleo-surfaces between Civitavecchia and Anzio towns, in order
to provide chronostratigraphical, paleogeographical and paleoenvironmental constraints. Using the newly achieved
dataset we correlate these paleo-surfaces with the coastal terraces formed during past sea-level highstands, as recognized
by previous studies, and we refine their correlation with the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) timescale.
In particular, we have extended our geomorphological analyses landward in the area between the Tiber River
mouth and Anzio, in order to include the oldest paleo-surface developed above the deposits of the last large explosive
eruption at 365\ub14 ka in the Colli Albani Volcanic District. Results of this study allowus to recognize a set
of higher paleo-surfaces at elevation ranging 108 thought 71 m a.s.l., which we interpret as one tectonically
displaced, widespread coastal terrace originated during theMIS 9.1 highstand.We correlate the previously identified
paleo-surfaces of 66\u201362ma.s.l. and 56\u201352ma.s.l.with the equivalent coastal terraces developed during the
sea-level highstands of sub-stages 7.5 and 7.3/7.1. Moreover, based on data from literature on relative elevation
of maximumsea level during the highstands ofMIS 11 through MIS 5.1,we assess the regional uplift and the concurrent
tectonic displacements that have occurred since 900 ka in this area
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