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 “ marais ” et “ marécages ” : indices géoarchéologiques et paléo-environnementaux

Les fouilles du “ Carreau du Temple ”, effectuées en 2011, ont permis d’étudier une séquence pédo-sédimentaire préservée sous les vestiges d’une occupation qui débute au xiie s. avec le développement de l’Enclos du Temple. L’emplacement du site correspond à un domaine de transition géomorphologique entre une montille à faible relief (le quartier du Marais) et un paléochenal de la Seine qui ceinture la rive droite. La séquence de sol, qui correspond à un horizon organique homogène à l’échelle du site, a fait l’objet d’une étude paléo-environnementale (sédimentologie, micromorphologie, paléobotanique) afin de déterminer son origine et son mode de mise en place. Les principaux résultats indiquent que le site est dépourvu de marqueurs de milieu palustre, tandis que la séquence présente tous les indices d’une anthropisation intense liée à une activité agricole du Moyen Âge, d’abord céréalière puis essentiellement maraîchère. Ce résultat s’accorde avec les vestiges identifiés sur le site et confirme les observations pédo-sédimentaires faites en plusieurs endroits de la rive droite et en particulier dans le quartier du Marais. L’absence de marqueurs palustres relativise fortement l’image d’une rive droite insalubre et marécageuse, associée à une toponymie qui semble essentiellement hériter d’une occupation céréalière et maraîchère 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 “Enclos du Temple”. The site is located in an area of geomorphological transition between a relief characterised by shallow ancient dunes (the “Marais”, “swamp” 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

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 ‘geoarchaeology in action’ 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