Organic resource exploitation at urbanised Tell Koubba II in Early Bronze Age Levant

Tell Koubba II is an Early bronze age costal site situated in modern day Lebanon. It was constructed during the Early Bronze Age II and is suggested to be a product of first urbanization related changes that were being observed in nearby costal sites of Tell Fadous-Kfarabida and Byblos. During Urbanisation these sites experienced eventful trade within levant and as far as Ancient Egypt, trade was immensely influential factor in adaptation of changes that resulted in urbanization landscape. Tell Koubba II is postulated to function as agricultural and agricultural product management site, possibly managing organic products related to trade and domestic use. During urbanization period, combed vessel especially storage and transport related vessels originating from Lebanese costal sites appear within levant and in foreign lands indicating at their connection with trade. These vessels are also found in Tell Koubba II in significant amount. It is unknown what kind of products were being stored in these vessels, especially as they could be linked to processing of organic substances that were important for the ancient people of first urbanized settlements of the region. Organic residue analysis (ORA) was conducted on different vessel types to identify the organic exploitation practices at tell Koubba II in different phases related to urbanization in the Early Bronze Age.

Remains of a sacred past: archaeometric characterization of protogeometric to archaic ceramics from the Sanctuary of Apollo Pythios in Gortyn, Crete (Greece)

This research aims to analyze the ceramic material recovered in 2019 from the sanctuary of Apollo Pythios in Gortyn, Crete (Greece), dated from the Protogeometric to the Archaic period. An archaeometric analysis was performed on 46 ceramic sherds, consisting on a petrographic characterization through optical microscopy applied in 17 of the samples (corresponding to the coarse grained material) and chemical analysis through X-Ray Fluorescence to identify the major and trace elements of 20 of the samples. Moreover, all the samples were characterized in terms of mineralogical composition through X-Ray Powder Diffraction. The results were statistically treated and combined with the material’s typo-chronological data and with the macroscopic analysis of the fabric. From this multi-analytical research, it was possible to evaluate the continuities and discontinuities in the paste preparation from the Protogeometric to the Archaic period , potentially hinting into changes in local production techniques, cultural and social dynamics useful not only for understanding the evolution of the sanctuary of Apollo but also for the formation of the city of Gortyn itself.

What is a gram worth? Evaluating minimal and common sample sizes in palaeoproteomic research

The number of studies employing palaeoproteomic analysis and other biomolecular research methods to investigate archaeological materials has surged in the last decade. These methods have proven incredibly useful for improving our understanding of the past and have enabled new research questions to be asked. However, biomolecular methods usually come with a price; requiring a destructive sample to be taken as well as substantial analytical costs. There have been recent efforts to improve the accessibility of biomolecular analysis by developing high-throughput workflows and minimally invasive sampling techniques, yet these are often associated with a diminished success rate in obtaining data or provide less detailed data than their more destructive alternatives. In essence this creates a tradeoff between quality of data and destructiveness.
Here I discuss a recent study comparing various minimally invasive and destructive sampling techniques for the palaeoproteomic analysis of bones, as well as other minimally invasive sampling protocols described in the literature to evaluate when destructive sampling might be appropriate and in what cases minimally invasive sampling should be applied.

Provenance of archaeological artefacts of the pre-Hispanic Nahuange y Tairona societies, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

Two hidden book treasures

In 1710 magister Hans Schenke found a book in a cavity in a wall of the Nidaros cathedral, Trondheim, Norway. It turned out to be a well-preserved, richly illuminated bible from the Middle Ages. It is one of the few books related to the catholic church that survived the iconoclasm after reformation in Norway. It is reported as the oldest liturgic manuscript in Norway, and it is described as “Norway’s most beautiful book”.

How were all the gorgeous illuminations in medieval manuscripts manufactured? A little booklet housed by the City Archive of Cologne helps us to understand the techniques of illumination-making better. It contains recipes on producing pigments and dyestuffs, gives instructions how to use different colours in illuminations, and presents original samples, demonstrating the described colours and painting techniques.

In the oncoming lecture, history and content of the two books will be presented as well as analytical studies on their materiality.

The multi-proxy study of cremations: the cemetery of Los Milanes (Almeria, Spain)

Unbroken tradition. The handmade pottery in Roman Thrace

In the early Iron Age (ca. 1100 BC) several distinctive vessel shapes of handmad pottery emerged in Thrace, marking the continuation of its long-standing tradition in the area The same forms persisted throughout the Roman period even when Roman wheel-made coarse ware became prevalent. The handmade pottery had been found across a broad region encompassing modern southern Romania, Bulgaria, northern Greece, and European Turkey. The pottery is often seen as evidence of the continuation of the Thracian tradition and commonly interpreted as a proof of local communities coexisting on the same settlements with the Romans during the 1st –4th c. AD.

Representative samples of the handmade pottery from three sites all dated to the 2nd –4th c. AD were examined to trace their possible place of origin, distribution in the area, technology of production and usage. Different analytical methods were combined, including ceramic petrography, WD-XRF and XRD analyses, lipid analysis, computed tomography and 3D scanning. The fabrics were compared to geological samples from a broad area stretching over 40 km. The results of the combined analyses disclosed three main fabrics and three main areas of their possible origin, same technology of production and meat-based content. The pottery seems to be at least partially traded, and a question arose if the pots themselves were the main article of the trade, or, if they could have been used as containers e.g. for marinated meat produced and distributed by the local communities.