New Multi-disciplinary Data from the Neolithic in Serbia. The 2019 and 2021 Excavations at Svinjarička Čuka

The excavations at Svinjarička Čuka in the South Morava Valley in Serbia are presented with new primary data from the field and related material and scientific analyses. Newly recovered architectural remains from the classical Starčevo period revealed a variety of domestic features, so far belonging to an earlier and later occupation phase at the river terrace dating between 5700/5600 and 5500 BC. Details of the stratigraphy and certain materials are presented for selected domestic contexts, including one potential ‘Starčevo house’. Archaeological and scientific analyses are discussed and contextualised within the Neolithisation process in the chapters on new radiocarbon data and their Bayesian modelling, pottery studies, chipped stones and their raw material analyses, grinding kits, animal remains, archaeobotanical results and charcoal analysis. The later occupation at the site is presented with new results for the Middle and Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, including domestic contexts, radiocarbon data and materials

New Muli-disciplinary Data from the Neolithic in Serbia. The 2019 and 2021 Excavations at Svinjarička Čuka

The excavations at Svinjarička Čuka in the South Morava Valley in Serbia are presented with new primary data from the field and related material and scientific analyses. Newly recovered architectural remains from the classical Starčevo period revealed a variety of domestic features, so far belonging to an earlier and later occupation phase at the river terrace dating between 5700/5600 and 5500 BC. Details of the stratigraphy and certain materials are presented for selected domestic contexts, including one potential ‘Starčevo house’. Archaeological and scientific analyses are discussed and contextualised within the Neolithisation process in the chapters on new radiocarbon data and their Bayesian modelling, pottery studies, chipped stones and their raw material analyses, grinding kits, animal remains, archaeobotanical results and charcoal analysis. The later occupation at the site is presented with new results for the Middle and Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, including domestic contexts, radiocarbon data and materials.Der Text bietet einen Überblick zu neuen Ergebnissen der Ausgrabungen und naturwissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen an der Fundstelle Svinjarička Čuka im südlichen Morava-Tal in Serbien. Kürzlich gefundene Architekturreste der klassischen Starčevo Kultur belegen eine Reihe unterschiedlicher Siedlungsbefunde, die sich bislang einer früheren und einer späteren Besiedlungsphase auf der Flussterrasse zuordnen lassen, die absolut zwischen 5700/5600 und 5500 calBC datiert werden kann. Die Stratigraphie und Aspekte des Fundmaterials ausgewählter Kontexte werden vorgestellt, darunter ein potentielles „Starčevo Haus“. Archäologische und naturwissenschaftliche Untersuchungen werden diskutiert und im Rahmen des Neolithisierungsprozesses kontextualisiert, mit Abschnitten zu neuen Radiokarbondatierungen und ihrer Bayesschen Modellierung, Keramikuntersuchungen, der geschlagenen Steinindustrie mit ihren Rohstoffquellen, Reibsteinen, den Faunenresten, den Ergebnissen von archäobotanischen und Holzkohleuntersuchungen. Die späteren Besiedlungsphasen des Fundplatzes werden mit neuen Ergebnissen zu Siedlungskontexten, Radiokarbondatierungen und Fundmaterial der mittleren und späten Bronzezeit und der frühen Eisenzeit vorgestellt

Developing a radiocarbon-based chronology for Tel Azekah: the first stage

Includes bibliographical references.1. Introduction -- 2. The radiocarbon approach to Southern Levantine chronology in historical periods -- 3. Background to Tel Azekah -- 4. Excavation and selection of samples for radiocarbon dating -- 5. Laboratory preparation and AMS measurement -- 6. Conventional and calibrated dates -- 7. Bayesian modelling -- 8. Comparison with radiocarbon data from other sites -- 9. Conclusions and future directions -- Appendices.The need for more systematic, integrated use of radiocarbon dating within excavations of ancient Near Eastern sites for historical periods is well recognised. This thesis presents the first stage in developing an independent radiocarbon-based chronology for the site of Tel Azekah, Israel. Fifteen short-lived samples collected over three excavation seasons have been dated, deriving from Middle Bronze through to Hellenistic contexts. The results of this initial dataset, together with radiocarbon-specific fieldwork, have contributed to developing an effective methodology and working procedures for ongoing research.Targeted collection of datable material commenced in the 2015 excavation season, facilitated by a field role specific to radiocarbon research.The first radiocarbon dataset for Tel Azekah focuses on the site’s peak period of occupation – the Late Bronze Age. A sequence of samples allowed a major public building to be dated close to the first half of the 12th century BCE, with comparisons drawn to radiocarbon-dated strata of other sites. The sequence offers excellent potential for improvement and expansion in future research. A tentative date for a Middle Bronze destruction was obtained, which is consistent with a wider regional pattern. This research has placed some initial ‘pegs’ for the site’s absolute chronology, and helped to set directions for the next stages of work. It has highlighted well the benefits of involving radiocarbon dating as an active part of archaeological interpretation.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xvi, 149 pages) illustrations, maps, plan

Towards a Radiocarbon-Based Chronology of Urban Northern Mesopotamia in the Early to Mid-Second Millenium BC: Initial Results from Kurd Qaburstan

Radiocarbon (C-14) data for 2nd millennium BC urban sites in northern Mesopotamia have been lacking until recently. This article presents a preliminary dataset and Bayesian model addressing the Middle and early Late Bronze Age (Old Babylonian and pre/early Mittani) strata of Kurd Qaburstan-one of the largest archaeological sites on the Erbil plain of Iraqi Kurdistan. The results place the large, densely occupied and fortified Middle Bronze Age city in the first part of the 18th century BC, an outcome consistent with the site's tentative identification as ancient Qabra. A long occupation gap (up to two centuries) probably ensued, before a smaller town confined to the high mound and part of the northeastern lower town resumed in the late 16th and early 15th centuries BC, possibly before this region became part of the Late Bronze Age kingdom of Mittani.ISSN:0033-822