Nørreris Skov udgravningsrapport (excavation report): FHM5733 Nørreris Skov, Folby sogn, Sabro herred, tidl. Aarhus amt. Sted nr. 15.05.01. Sb.nr. 80.

Som en del af et forskningsprojekt om marksystemerne fra 1. årtusinde f.v.t, også kendt som oldtidsagre, gennemførtes i august 2016 en mindre undersøgelse af forekomsten i Nørreris ved Søften, nordvest for Aarhus. Formålet var primært, at tilvejebringe materiale til 14C- og OSL-datering for at undersøge, hvornår opbygningen af terrassekanter og skelvolde er påbegyndt og over hvor lang tid den var foregået. Desuden skulle der indsamles materiale til ICP-MS-analyse til belysning af dyrkningsaktiviteterne

Tårup Lund udgravningsrapport (excavation report): KTM840 Tåruplund, Frørup sogn, Vindinge herred, tidl. Svendborg amt. Sted nr. 09.06.06. Sb.nr. 63.

Som en del af et forskningsprojekt om marksystemerne fra 1. årtusinde f.v.t., som i litteraturen oftest benævnes oldtidsagre, gennemførtes d. 4. oktober 2016 en mindre undersøgelse af forekomsten i Tårup Lund på Østfyn. Formålet var primært at tilvejebringe materiale til 14C- og OSL-datering til afklaring af, over hvor lang tid opbygningen af terrassekanter og skelvolde var foregået

New Human-landscape Relations in the Face of Global Environmental Crises: A Governance Scoping Statement Based On the Danish Agri-food Transition

The current global crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, waterway pollution, and land-system change need far-reaching collective action, with major implications for future human-landscape relations. However, whereas there has been a radical acceleration in green solutions brought forward within science and technology, less attention has been paid to their social integration and long-term sustainability. Based on experiences with a large-scale Danish agri-food transition expert scenario exercise, this commentary scopes ideas for further research on how to accelerate a socially sensitive agri-food transition with clear visionary goals for radically new and sustainable human-landscape relations and forms of governance. We argue that this should be a process of making liveable landscapes, countryside spaces and cities, and one that 1) builds on trust, public embedment, and co-creation; 2) regards humans as part of nature; and 3) is inclusive and fair—locally and globally

Europe’s Early Land Allotment:Questions of Time, Scale and Stewardship

Early field systems, in some cases several millennia old, are tangible relicts of past large-scale processes of landscaping and land allotment in many regions across Europe. Yet our cultural landscapes, created in both the near and distant past, are disappearing fast and often irreversibly so, showing how the management and preservation of fieldscape heritage is a real and urgent issue for landscape conservation policy and practice. In this introductory chapter, we provide a conceptual framework for the study of later prehistoric land allotment in Europe, including a discussion of major methodological approaches, findings and future research priorities. We outline the main scope of this volume, followed by a series of summaries of the individual chapters and describe the cross-chapter themes and approaches. Moreover, we use this introductory chapter as an opportunity to critically evaluate the research field of prehistoric fieldscapes, its current state in European archaeology as well as its future challenges and perspectives

Palynological Sampling in Western Jutland 2021-22: Anthea Work Package #2

A palynological sampling programme was carried out in three areas of Western Jutland in 2021-22. Our goal was to collect new sediment samples from archaeological excavations and peat deposits to reconstruct patterns in past heathland use and development. The location of the case areas was determined by the potential of the sites for combination with existing palynological data (Solsø Hede) and/or archaeological data (the Vejen area). At Solsø Hede, a pollen core was obtained near Solsø. At Vejen, two separate sediment collections took place. To the north of Vejen, in Gammelby Mose, peat sediments were collected. To the south of Vejen, at Kongehøj, 15 samples were collected from a Bronze Age house floor plan. The sampling programme formed part of the research project called ANTHEA (Løvschal 2021), which focuses on the deep history of anthropogenic heathlands. The project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 853356)

Online Peer feedback: Anvendelsen af Peergrade i universitetsundervisningen

Peergrade is a digital tool that can be used to support peer feedback activities; This article describes the use of the tool in university teaching, more specifically in the subject Prehistoric Archeology II at Aarhus University. The activities were not compulsory, but the improved portfolio assignments were included in the students' individual exam portfolio, which was handed in prior to the oral examination in the subject. We describe the students experiences based on their responses to the questionnaire and participation in focus group interview. We describe recommendations for using peer feedback activity with Peergrade in university teaching.Peergrade er et digitalt redskab, der kan anvendes til at understøtte peer feedback aktiviteter. I denne artikel beskrives anvendelsen af redskabet i universitetsundervisning, nærmere betegnet i faget Forhistorisk Arkæologi II på Aarhus Universitet. Aktiviteterne var ikke obligatoriske, men de forbedrede portfolio-opgaver indgik i de studerendes individuelle eksamensportfolio, der blev afleveret forud for mundtlig eksamen i faget. Vi beskriver de studerendes oplevelser på baggrund af deres svar på spørgeskema og deltagelse i fokusgruppeinterview.  Vi slutter af med anbefalinger for brug af peer feedback aktiviteter med Peergrade i universitetsundervisning

Borum Eshøj Revisited: Bronze Age monumental burial traditions in eastern Jutland, Denmark

Borum Eshøj is one of the internationally most famous monuments from the Nordic Bronze Age, key to understanding burial customs, social identities and societies. Its uniqueness is reflected in its extraordinarily well-preserved oak log coffin burials, its landscape setting in a distinct barrow group and its complex monumental architecture. Since 1988, new investigations have been conducted at the barrow group, and in 2011, the remains of the classic Borum Eshøj were investigated. The new investigation reveals a monument with an extraordinarily long and complex use-life. It demonstrates a consecutive construction procedure with basic building principles which provide a basis for reinterpreting the barrow and suggesting an initial burial ground compounded beneath one large barrow construction phase. The kerbstones were constructed before the barrow was finished, and the barrow partly covers the kerbstone construction. In a larger perspective, the new  investigations indicate that Borum Eshøj, with its construction, use history and kerbstones, stands apart from the investigated local barrows on the Eshøj plateau, and closer parallels barrows situated at much larger distance such as Hohøj in Mariager Fjord

The Protected Burial Mound ‘Store Vejlhøj’, Vinderup, Denmark: First Results

An archaeological excavation of the protected burial mound Store Vejlhøj in northwestern Denmark was carried out in October-November 2021. The excavation formed part of the ERC-funded research project called ANTHEA, focusing on the deep history of anthropogenic heathlands. It was conducted by Aarhus University in collaboration with Holstebro Museum and Moesgaard Museum. The aim was to test a new method of sampling pollen data from different construction stages in a burial mound and comparing them with pollen data from nearby lake sediments with a view to improving our understanding of prehistoric anthropogenic heathland dynamics. Prior to the excavation, soil cores were collected from two nearby peat sediments as well as six burial mounds (including Store Vejlhøj) within a 1 km range of Lake Skånsø, where previous pollen analyses had been carried out. Based on these preliminary corings, Store Vejlhøj was selected for further archaeological investigation. A dispensation for excavating the protected mound was granted by the Danish Palaces and Culture Agency. The excavation was based on a 5 m long trench through the barrow, moving from its foot inwards. The surface vegetation and 40 cm topsoil were removed by an excavator, after which the remainder of the trench was manually dug in horizontal layers. Observation conditions were good. The excavation revealed a series of well-defined barrow construction stages, as well as unusually wellpreserved turf structures. Only two archaeological finds could be related to the barrow, both of which were later than its initial construction: a secondary urn in the top layer, and the base of a second urn at the foot of the mound. The burial mound was constructed using a minimum of three shells, which could be observed in the trench profile. Turfs were most probably collected locally in a landscape dominated by grass pastures, where no previous turf cutting had taken place. A total of 34 soil samples were collected for paleoecological analyses (pollen, Non-Pollen Polymorphs (NPPs), macrofossils) and geoarchaeological analyses (micromorphology, bulk samples). Preliminary pollen and macrofossil results from the burial mound revealed poor preservation conditions, which prompted a trench extension of 0.5 m by 0.2 m to find better preservation conditions. This extension resulted in the collection of a single final macrofossil sample, although there was no identifiable change in the in-situ preservation conditions. The dating results of the mound have not yet been completed and will be included as appendix 4-6 in 2023

Wide-scale subdivision and fencing of southern Kenyan rangelands jeopardizes biodiversity conservation and pastoral livelihoods : demonstration of utility of open-access landDX database

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : Publicly available datasets were analyzed in this study. This data can be found here: https://www.nature.com/articles/ s41597-021-01100-9.Globally, rangelands are undergoing rapid social-ecological changes, yet the scale of these changes is rarely measured. Fencing, sedentarization, and land conversion limit access by wildlife and livestock to vital resources such as water and seasonal forage, leading to rangeland degradation. In addition, these changes limit connectivity between wildlife sub-populations, triggering a spiral of decreasing biodiversity and weakening ecosystem function. Moreover, the combination of land privatization, sedentarization and fencing endangers pastoral livelihoods by reducing resilience to drought and diminishing livestock holdings per person. We provide a unique, urgent, and vital snapshot across >30,000 km2 of southern Kenya’s rangeland, covering four ecosystems renowned for their rich megafauna and pastoral people. We document and explore the drivers of extensive fencing (~40,000 km), the proliferation of livestock enclosures (>27,000), and the conversion of rangelands for cultivation (~1,500 km2). Our analyses were based on an open-access database recently synthesized for the region. Fencing is generally more prolific in areas that have been converted from community tenure to private title, especially where land values are raised by agricultural potential and proximity to Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. These factors drive the transfer of land ownership from traditional pastoralists to speculators, eventually resulting in the transformation of rangeland into agricultural, industrial and urban land uses. Space for wildlife (and traditional pastoralism) is limited on private, subdivided land, where livestock enclosures are at their highest density, and where there is less unfenced land and less untransformed land, compared to conservation areas and pastoral commons. Conflicting planning incentives, policies, and economic forces are driving unsustainable and potentially irreversible social-ecological transitions over unprecedented spatial scales. The lesson from southern Kenya is that a range of financial, policy and governance-related interventions are required to allow people and nature to coexist sustainably in African savannas.The Ralph Mistler Scholarship at WildCRU, VILLUM Investigator project “Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World”, funded by VILLUM FONDEN and Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), funded by Danish National Research Foundation as well as the Maasai Landscape Conservation Fund.https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/conservation-scienceam2023Mammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

The Aldersro wetland-settlement complex: Deposition and mortuary practices in Pre-Roman Iron Age, Eastern Jutland, Denmark

In southern Scandinavia, the Early Iron Age transition is characterised by radical ideological and organisational changes involving new material practices of sorting, delimiting, depositing and discarding artefacts, humans and nonhumans, in both wetlands and drylands. However, settlements and wetland areas are mostly excavated separately, and the deeper relationship between these practices and associated spheres remains somewhat inconclusive. Aldersro, Eastern Jutland, provides an exceptional opportunity to revisit this relationship. A juxtaposed settlement and wetland activity area spanning more than 1.4 hectares were excavated in 2002-2003. The excavations exposed the structural remains of houses, fences, storage buildings, pits and peat graves. Moreover, they disclosed extensive archaeological remains of more than 800 ceramic vessels, processed wood, stones, burnt organic material, human and animal bones subject to 14C, pollen, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, osteology, and ceramic analyses. The site has provided vital new insights into the diachronic dynamics of depositional and mortuary practices in the Early Iron Age. The highly fragmented remains of more than eight human individuals were mixed and deposited together with typical settlement debris, and would have been exposed right next to a settlement area