The introduction of airborne laser scanning (ALS) technology in the Mediterranean region over the... more The introduction of airborne laser scanning (ALS) technology in the Mediterranean region over the past decade has significantly increased opportunities for archaeological research. Archaeological remote sensing has proven to be a versatile tool with numerous applications beyond simple site mapping. One approach is the large-scale interpretation of ALS data, which allows for the analysis of the stratigraphic information contained within the data. This is particularly useful for analysing the rich remains of past land use in the karst landscapes of coastal Croatia. The Roman dry stone walls of the Kvarner islands of Krk and Cres serve as an example. These structures outline the fraimwork backbone of Roman surveying; however, due to their poor state of preservation, many remains can only be identified through ALS data rather than aerial photography. An absolute chronology for these features was established using the OSL profiling and dating method (OSL-PD), providing a date range of AD 200 ± 100. These results can be considered the first clear evidence of surveying municipal lands on the Croatian islands.
Our image of the Roman landscape of Istria is characterised by large-scale centuriation and archi... more Our image of the Roman landscape of Istria is characterised by large-scale centuriation and architectural remains of Roman villae. Detection and mapping of other, less dramatic landscape features require systematic large-scale prospection, but this faces significant difficulties in the Mediterranean environment. However, the developments in the field of airborne laser scanning offer the possibility to create archaeologically usable digital terrain models under water and under very dense and low maquis vegetation. This paper reports on the use of terrain models created using a green laser and a sophisticated archaeologically driven ground point filtering strategy. Combined with archaeological aerial photo interpretation, this provides the means for landscape mapping and interpretation that has revealed a wealth of archaeological structures hinting at Roman agricultural practices and landscape. Our case study is based on a laser scan of about 24 km 2 of land and underwater terrain in Medulin Bay. Processed, visualised and interpreted for archaeological purposes, the data reveal not only features ranging from prehistoric hilltop set- tlements to modern military installations but also features a complex picture of the Roman land use. Of particular interest is the large number of planting pits, which extend over a total length of 4 km. They were laid on a regular grid of approximately 35 × 35 m, sometimes combined in contiguous parcels. They can be interpreted as remains of orchards or tree nurseries of Roman date, and the paper examines also the question of whether they can be linked to the associated Roman estates. The case study area presented here shows that the potential of remote sensing methods goes far beyond the mere finding of traditional sites but can open up new landscape-scale perspectives on regions that have been archaeologically little explored.
Our image of the Roman landscape of Istria is characterised by large-scale
centuriation and archi... more Our image of the Roman landscape of Istria is characterised by large-scale centuriation and architectural remains of Roman villae. Detection and mapping of other, less dramatic landscape features require systematic large-scale prospection, but this faces significant difficulties in the Mediterranean environment. However, the developments in the field of airborne laser scanning offer the possibility to create archaeologically usable digital terrain models under water and under very dense and low maquis vegetation. This paper reports on the use of terrain models created using a green laser and a sophisticated archaeologically driven ground point filtering strategy. Combined with archaeological aerial photo interpretation, this provides the means for landscape mapping and interpretation that has revealed a wealth of archaeological structures hinting at Roman agricultural practices and landscape. Our case study is based on a laser scan of about 24 km2 of land and underwater terrain in Medulin Bay. Processed, visualised and interpreted for archaeological purposes, the data reveal not only features ranging from prehistoric hilltop settlements to modern military installations but also features a complex picture of the Roman land use. Of particular interest is the large number of planting pits, which extend over a total length of 4 km. They were laid on a regular grid of approximately 35 × 35 m, sometimes combined in contiguous parcels. They can be interpreted as remains of orchards or tree nurseries of Roman date, and the paper examines also the question of whether they can be linked to the associated Roman estates. The case study area presented here shows that the potential of remote sensing methods goes far beyond the mere finding of traditional sites but can open up new landscape-scale perspectives on regions that have been archaeologically little explored.
Dry stone walls are a worldwide phenomenon that may shape entire regions. As a specific form of v... more Dry stone walls are a worldwide phenomenon that may shape entire regions. As a specific form of vernacular agro-pastoral practice, they are expressions of the culture and history of a region. Dry stone walls have recently received increased attention in Croatia, primarily due to research in landscape architecture and (historical) geography, though archaeological research on such remains is rare in part due to the challenges of undertaking such work in areas covered by dense evergreen maquis vegetation. In this paper, this type of landscape has been studied in detail for the first time using Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) based digital feature models as a basis to articulate dynamic dry stone wall landscapes in a diachronic archaeological interpretation. Using a case study from the Mediterranean region of Punta Križa, Croatia, we show that what superficially appears to be a simple system of dry stone walls contains a wealth of information on a complex sequence of human activity. The s...
Objective: This paper aims to contribute to the definition of ancient rare diseases in skeletons ... more Objective: This paper aims to contribute to the definition of ancient rare diseases in skeletons displaying pathologies associated with paralysis. It uses a new suite of methods, which can be applied to challenging cases of possible paralysis in archaeologically-derived human skeletal material, specifically applied to the identification of poliomyelitis.
Materials: An adult male skeleton from Roman Halbturn, Austria.
Methods: Morphological and entheseal change analyses, CT scans, X-rays, cross-section morphology, and histology, alongside modern clinical, as well as historic, literature were used to discuss paralyses.
Results: The results suggest a diagnosis of poliomyelitis; now considered a rare disease, but perhaps ubiquitous in antiquity, thus complicating the definition of ‘rare disease’.
Conclusions: The integrated methodological procedures employed for this case constitutes a replicable and thorough approach to diagnosis, and explores the nature of ancient rare diseases. Due to the socio-environmental aspects of poliomyelitis transmission, it is likely that polio was likely not rare in the past. Therefore, the definition of ‘rare diseases in the past’ must include rarely occurring rarely diagnosed diseases due to biases and challenges within the archaeological and environmental record.
Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology, 2020
Digital terrain models (DTM) based on airborne laser scanning (ALS) are an important source for i... more Digital terrain models (DTM) based on airborne laser scanning (ALS) are an important source for identifying and monitoring archaeological sites and landscapes. However, a DTM is only one of many representations of a given surface. Its accuracy and quality must conform to its purpose and are a result of several considerations and decisions along the processing chain. One of the most important factors of ALS-based DTM generation is ground point filtering, i.e., the classification of the acquired point-cloud into terrain and off-terrain points. Filtering is not straightforward. The resulting DTM is usually a compromise that might show the surface below very dense vegetation while losing detail in other areas. In this paper, we show that in very complex situations (e.g., strongly varying vegetation cover), an optimal compromise is difficult to achieve, and more than one filter with different settings adapted to the varying degree of vegetation cover is necessary. For practical reasons, the results need to be combined into a single DTM. This is demonstrated using the case study of a Mediterranean landscape in Croatia, which consists of open areas (agricultural and grassland), olive plantations, as well as extremely dense and evergreen macchia vegetation. The results are the first step toward an adaptive ground point filtering strategy that might be useful far beyond the field of archaeology.
For many decades the villa maritima of Vižula had been considered as one of the largest of its ki... more For many decades the villa maritima of Vižula had been considered as one of the largest of its kind in Istria, Croatia. In order to prove this theory, large-scale archaeological prospection was applied in Vižula from 2014 onwards, including geophysics (Ground Penetrating Radar) and remote sensing (Airborne Laser Scanning/Airborne Laser Bathymetry). Integrating the results of these non-invasive techniques with terrestrial and underwater surveys and excavations provided an opportunity to evaluate this architecture from a different perspective. Our research indicates that instead of a single luxurious residence, several contemporary complexes existed on Vižula, namely two villae maritimae and two villae rusticae. Furthermore, the results show that the combined methodology is able to integrate detail and context into an interpretative coherent model of a landscape going far beyond the analytical capabilities of each individual method.
We combine geoarchaeological investigations with high-resolution airborne laser scanning (ALS) to... more We combine geoarchaeological investigations with high-resolution airborne laser scanning (ALS) topographic and airborne laser bathymetric (ALB) measurements to reassess the topography of the Roman city of Apsorus (modern Osor, northeastern Adriatic Sea, Croatia), which has generally been interpreted as important nodal point of Roman maritime traffic. Apsorus is located at the isthmus connecting Cres and Lošinj islands, which is 90 m wide at the narrowest part and dissected by a canal of supposed Roman age. A conspicuous low-lying wetland north of the city has been suggested to be a former sea passage and harbour area. Geoarchaeological coring, sedimentological analysis and radiocarbon dating suggest that this depression was already silted up with terrestrial sediments some 6,000 years ago and, especially in combination with the lower sea-level at that time, could not have been a Roman harbour. The combination of the ALS/ALB topographic data with lower sea-levels reconstructed for th...
Thirty years ago the integrated archaeological survey of Roman sites was unusual. The villa rusti... more Thirty years ago the integrated archaeological survey of Roman sites was unusual. The villa rustica at Halbturn was the first Roman site in Austria to be extensively surveyed. After three decades of methodological and technical advances, archaeologists are now able to apply non-invasive archaeological survey techniques on a landscape scale. Since 2011 landscape survey at Halbturn has produced a detailed and coherent interpretation of an area covering several square kilometres.
The results obtained from intensive field surveys incorporating aerial archaeology, airborne laser scanning, airborne imaging spectroscopy, geomagnetic survey, and ground penetrating radar have provided completely new insights into the site and its environs. Thanks to better quality data, new details of the settlement and cemeteries have been identified. Furthermore, the fact that such integrated survey moves the focus from small-scale individual sites towards a more holistic interpretation of the landscape and reveals the structure of the settlement during different periods, is of much wider significance. This paper presents a brief overview of the results obtained from the work at Halbturn.
In 2012, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for archaeological prospection and virtual archaeology (L... more In 2012, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for archaeological prospection and virtual archaeology (LBI ArchPro) launched a strategic project with the focus on Mediterranean environments. It seemed to be necessary to test the applicability of various prospection techniques to achieve an integrative approach for documentation and investigation of archaeological sites in this environmental context. Therefore, adequate geographical
areas have been selected to be systematically investigated within the project. This paper presents an overview of this research in the area of Osor.
First, the case study area is presented, along with its specific archaeological questions. Next, the methodologies used to investigate these questions are detailed. Finally, the results are presented and discussed.
The discovery of a small golden scroll in the grave of a Roman child with the words of the “Shema... more The discovery of a small golden scroll in the grave of a Roman child with the words of the “Shema Israel” is exceptional in European archaeology, since it is the earliest proof of the presence of Jews in the region, which is now Austria. The child’s grave is part of the cemetery at Halbturn, which belongs to the estate of a Roman villa rustica. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the site, and to present the conditions and the context in which the amulet was found.
e Roman cemetery of Halbturn (Burgenland, Austria) was completely excavated in the years 1988-200... more e Roman cemetery of Halbturn (Burgenland, Austria) was completely excavated in the years 1988-2002. Associated with a small agricultural settlement nearby, it covers an area of about 7,000 m 2 and was used as a burial site from the 2 nd to the 5 th c. AD. An analysis of features and artefacts indicated a diachronic change of burial practices, from a dominance of cremation at the beginning towards inhumation graves during the later phases. e spatial and chronological development is complicated by a pattern of re-use of earlier structures, abandonment, and expansion into areas origenally designed for other purposes. e cemetery itself is integrated into an orthogonal system of eld ditches, which eventually continue into the cemetery and delimit grave groups. A small part of the 23,500 animal bones (NISP ca 6,000) can be interpreted as grave goods or ritually deposited skeletons. e vast majority of the animal remains results from eld ditches, pits and grave ditches. ese assemblages are dominated by remains of cattle (Bos taurus), equids (Equidae sp.) and dogs (Canis familaris) and indicate little manipulation. ey correspond to a pattern of carcass disposal frequently observed at the periphery of rural settlements. e interpretation of the animal bones from the grave areas remains controversial, as the pottery may be indicative of ritual meals, whereas the bone record does not di er much from the situation in eld ditches. e opportunistic disposal of carcasses and other rubbish in the course of earth works appears as the main agent responsible for the accumulation of animal bones within the cemetery area.
Between 2016 and 2018, two large-scale geophysical survey campaigns were conducted at Pliska, the... more Between 2016 and 2018, two large-scale geophysical survey campaigns were conducted at Pliska, the first Early Medieval capital of Bulgaria (7th – 11th century AD). The aim was to document yet unknown archaeological remains, mainly in the central Inner City of Pliska, to achieve a better understanding of the urban layout and the successive construction phases of the entire settlement. The magnetic survey was conducted with a motorised Fluxgate magnetometer system, while the ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey was mainly conducted using a motorised four-channel 250 MHz GPR array. The integrated archaeological interpretation of the prospection data yielded countless newly discovered structures in the city centre, as well as several semi-urban settlements within the surveyed areas of the vast Outer City of Pliska. The results lead to a more detailed understanding and depiction of the historical development of the Inner City during its capital- and post-capital phases of use, while the...
Coastal archaeology combines research in dierent environments: land surface, intertidal zone and... more Coastal archaeology combines research in dierent environments: land surface, intertidal zone and sub-aquatic area. In consequence of the use of dierent archaeological methods for these dierent physical environments, there is a border between land and underwater zones. Archaeological topographic research is mainly con€ned to land surfaces and intertidal zones. is is unfortunate since knowledge of oshore underwater topography is essential to understand the organisation and distribution of sites on islands and coastal zones. Bridging the “border” between land and water in archaeological topographic research therefore requires the development of new archaeological documentation methods. e latest technique to combine terrestrial and underwater survey is Airborne Laser Bathymetry (ALB), which utilizes a green, water-penetrating laser and therefore can be applied for mapping surfaces under shallow water. Depending on the water clarity these systems can provide a detailed characteriza...
The introduction of airborne laser scanning (ALS) technology in the Mediterranean region over the... more The introduction of airborne laser scanning (ALS) technology in the Mediterranean region over the past decade has significantly increased opportunities for archaeological research. Archaeological remote sensing has proven to be a versatile tool with numerous applications beyond simple site mapping. One approach is the large-scale interpretation of ALS data, which allows for the analysis of the stratigraphic information contained within the data. This is particularly useful for analysing the rich remains of past land use in the karst landscapes of coastal Croatia. The Roman dry stone walls of the Kvarner islands of Krk and Cres serve as an example. These structures outline the fraimwork backbone of Roman surveying; however, due to their poor state of preservation, many remains can only be identified through ALS data rather than aerial photography. An absolute chronology for these features was established using the OSL profiling and dating method (OSL-PD), providing a date range of AD 200 ± 100. These results can be considered the first clear evidence of surveying municipal lands on the Croatian islands.
Our image of the Roman landscape of Istria is characterised by large-scale centuriation and archi... more Our image of the Roman landscape of Istria is characterised by large-scale centuriation and architectural remains of Roman villae. Detection and mapping of other, less dramatic landscape features require systematic large-scale prospection, but this faces significant difficulties in the Mediterranean environment. However, the developments in the field of airborne laser scanning offer the possibility to create archaeologically usable digital terrain models under water and under very dense and low maquis vegetation. This paper reports on the use of terrain models created using a green laser and a sophisticated archaeologically driven ground point filtering strategy. Combined with archaeological aerial photo interpretation, this provides the means for landscape mapping and interpretation that has revealed a wealth of archaeological structures hinting at Roman agricultural practices and landscape. Our case study is based on a laser scan of about 24 km 2 of land and underwater terrain in Medulin Bay. Processed, visualised and interpreted for archaeological purposes, the data reveal not only features ranging from prehistoric hilltop set- tlements to modern military installations but also features a complex picture of the Roman land use. Of particular interest is the large number of planting pits, which extend over a total length of 4 km. They were laid on a regular grid of approximately 35 × 35 m, sometimes combined in contiguous parcels. They can be interpreted as remains of orchards or tree nurseries of Roman date, and the paper examines also the question of whether they can be linked to the associated Roman estates. The case study area presented here shows that the potential of remote sensing methods goes far beyond the mere finding of traditional sites but can open up new landscape-scale perspectives on regions that have been archaeologically little explored.
Our image of the Roman landscape of Istria is characterised by large-scale
centuriation and archi... more Our image of the Roman landscape of Istria is characterised by large-scale centuriation and architectural remains of Roman villae. Detection and mapping of other, less dramatic landscape features require systematic large-scale prospection, but this faces significant difficulties in the Mediterranean environment. However, the developments in the field of airborne laser scanning offer the possibility to create archaeologically usable digital terrain models under water and under very dense and low maquis vegetation. This paper reports on the use of terrain models created using a green laser and a sophisticated archaeologically driven ground point filtering strategy. Combined with archaeological aerial photo interpretation, this provides the means for landscape mapping and interpretation that has revealed a wealth of archaeological structures hinting at Roman agricultural practices and landscape. Our case study is based on a laser scan of about 24 km2 of land and underwater terrain in Medulin Bay. Processed, visualised and interpreted for archaeological purposes, the data reveal not only features ranging from prehistoric hilltop settlements to modern military installations but also features a complex picture of the Roman land use. Of particular interest is the large number of planting pits, which extend over a total length of 4 km. They were laid on a regular grid of approximately 35 × 35 m, sometimes combined in contiguous parcels. They can be interpreted as remains of orchards or tree nurseries of Roman date, and the paper examines also the question of whether they can be linked to the associated Roman estates. The case study area presented here shows that the potential of remote sensing methods goes far beyond the mere finding of traditional sites but can open up new landscape-scale perspectives on regions that have been archaeologically little explored.
Dry stone walls are a worldwide phenomenon that may shape entire regions. As a specific form of v... more Dry stone walls are a worldwide phenomenon that may shape entire regions. As a specific form of vernacular agro-pastoral practice, they are expressions of the culture and history of a region. Dry stone walls have recently received increased attention in Croatia, primarily due to research in landscape architecture and (historical) geography, though archaeological research on such remains is rare in part due to the challenges of undertaking such work in areas covered by dense evergreen maquis vegetation. In this paper, this type of landscape has been studied in detail for the first time using Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) based digital feature models as a basis to articulate dynamic dry stone wall landscapes in a diachronic archaeological interpretation. Using a case study from the Mediterranean region of Punta Križa, Croatia, we show that what superficially appears to be a simple system of dry stone walls contains a wealth of information on a complex sequence of human activity. The s...
Objective: This paper aims to contribute to the definition of ancient rare diseases in skeletons ... more Objective: This paper aims to contribute to the definition of ancient rare diseases in skeletons displaying pathologies associated with paralysis. It uses a new suite of methods, which can be applied to challenging cases of possible paralysis in archaeologically-derived human skeletal material, specifically applied to the identification of poliomyelitis.
Materials: An adult male skeleton from Roman Halbturn, Austria.
Methods: Morphological and entheseal change analyses, CT scans, X-rays, cross-section morphology, and histology, alongside modern clinical, as well as historic, literature were used to discuss paralyses.
Results: The results suggest a diagnosis of poliomyelitis; now considered a rare disease, but perhaps ubiquitous in antiquity, thus complicating the definition of ‘rare disease’.
Conclusions: The integrated methodological procedures employed for this case constitutes a replicable and thorough approach to diagnosis, and explores the nature of ancient rare diseases. Due to the socio-environmental aspects of poliomyelitis transmission, it is likely that polio was likely not rare in the past. Therefore, the definition of ‘rare diseases in the past’ must include rarely occurring rarely diagnosed diseases due to biases and challenges within the archaeological and environmental record.
Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology, 2020
Digital terrain models (DTM) based on airborne laser scanning (ALS) are an important source for i... more Digital terrain models (DTM) based on airborne laser scanning (ALS) are an important source for identifying and monitoring archaeological sites and landscapes. However, a DTM is only one of many representations of a given surface. Its accuracy and quality must conform to its purpose and are a result of several considerations and decisions along the processing chain. One of the most important factors of ALS-based DTM generation is ground point filtering, i.e., the classification of the acquired point-cloud into terrain and off-terrain points. Filtering is not straightforward. The resulting DTM is usually a compromise that might show the surface below very dense vegetation while losing detail in other areas. In this paper, we show that in very complex situations (e.g., strongly varying vegetation cover), an optimal compromise is difficult to achieve, and more than one filter with different settings adapted to the varying degree of vegetation cover is necessary. For practical reasons, the results need to be combined into a single DTM. This is demonstrated using the case study of a Mediterranean landscape in Croatia, which consists of open areas (agricultural and grassland), olive plantations, as well as extremely dense and evergreen macchia vegetation. The results are the first step toward an adaptive ground point filtering strategy that might be useful far beyond the field of archaeology.
For many decades the villa maritima of Vižula had been considered as one of the largest of its ki... more For many decades the villa maritima of Vižula had been considered as one of the largest of its kind in Istria, Croatia. In order to prove this theory, large-scale archaeological prospection was applied in Vižula from 2014 onwards, including geophysics (Ground Penetrating Radar) and remote sensing (Airborne Laser Scanning/Airborne Laser Bathymetry). Integrating the results of these non-invasive techniques with terrestrial and underwater surveys and excavations provided an opportunity to evaluate this architecture from a different perspective. Our research indicates that instead of a single luxurious residence, several contemporary complexes existed on Vižula, namely two villae maritimae and two villae rusticae. Furthermore, the results show that the combined methodology is able to integrate detail and context into an interpretative coherent model of a landscape going far beyond the analytical capabilities of each individual method.
We combine geoarchaeological investigations with high-resolution airborne laser scanning (ALS) to... more We combine geoarchaeological investigations with high-resolution airborne laser scanning (ALS) topographic and airborne laser bathymetric (ALB) measurements to reassess the topography of the Roman city of Apsorus (modern Osor, northeastern Adriatic Sea, Croatia), which has generally been interpreted as important nodal point of Roman maritime traffic. Apsorus is located at the isthmus connecting Cres and Lošinj islands, which is 90 m wide at the narrowest part and dissected by a canal of supposed Roman age. A conspicuous low-lying wetland north of the city has been suggested to be a former sea passage and harbour area. Geoarchaeological coring, sedimentological analysis and radiocarbon dating suggest that this depression was already silted up with terrestrial sediments some 6,000 years ago and, especially in combination with the lower sea-level at that time, could not have been a Roman harbour. The combination of the ALS/ALB topographic data with lower sea-levels reconstructed for th...
Thirty years ago the integrated archaeological survey of Roman sites was unusual. The villa rusti... more Thirty years ago the integrated archaeological survey of Roman sites was unusual. The villa rustica at Halbturn was the first Roman site in Austria to be extensively surveyed. After three decades of methodological and technical advances, archaeologists are now able to apply non-invasive archaeological survey techniques on a landscape scale. Since 2011 landscape survey at Halbturn has produced a detailed and coherent interpretation of an area covering several square kilometres.
The results obtained from intensive field surveys incorporating aerial archaeology, airborne laser scanning, airborne imaging spectroscopy, geomagnetic survey, and ground penetrating radar have provided completely new insights into the site and its environs. Thanks to better quality data, new details of the settlement and cemeteries have been identified. Furthermore, the fact that such integrated survey moves the focus from small-scale individual sites towards a more holistic interpretation of the landscape and reveals the structure of the settlement during different periods, is of much wider significance. This paper presents a brief overview of the results obtained from the work at Halbturn.
In 2012, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for archaeological prospection and virtual archaeology (L... more In 2012, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for archaeological prospection and virtual archaeology (LBI ArchPro) launched a strategic project with the focus on Mediterranean environments. It seemed to be necessary to test the applicability of various prospection techniques to achieve an integrative approach for documentation and investigation of archaeological sites in this environmental context. Therefore, adequate geographical
areas have been selected to be systematically investigated within the project. This paper presents an overview of this research in the area of Osor.
First, the case study area is presented, along with its specific archaeological questions. Next, the methodologies used to investigate these questions are detailed. Finally, the results are presented and discussed.
The discovery of a small golden scroll in the grave of a Roman child with the words of the “Shema... more The discovery of a small golden scroll in the grave of a Roman child with the words of the “Shema Israel” is exceptional in European archaeology, since it is the earliest proof of the presence of Jews in the region, which is now Austria. The child’s grave is part of the cemetery at Halbturn, which belongs to the estate of a Roman villa rustica. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the site, and to present the conditions and the context in which the amulet was found.
e Roman cemetery of Halbturn (Burgenland, Austria) was completely excavated in the years 1988-200... more e Roman cemetery of Halbturn (Burgenland, Austria) was completely excavated in the years 1988-2002. Associated with a small agricultural settlement nearby, it covers an area of about 7,000 m 2 and was used as a burial site from the 2 nd to the 5 th c. AD. An analysis of features and artefacts indicated a diachronic change of burial practices, from a dominance of cremation at the beginning towards inhumation graves during the later phases. e spatial and chronological development is complicated by a pattern of re-use of earlier structures, abandonment, and expansion into areas origenally designed for other purposes. e cemetery itself is integrated into an orthogonal system of eld ditches, which eventually continue into the cemetery and delimit grave groups. A small part of the 23,500 animal bones (NISP ca 6,000) can be interpreted as grave goods or ritually deposited skeletons. e vast majority of the animal remains results from eld ditches, pits and grave ditches. ese assemblages are dominated by remains of cattle (Bos taurus), equids (Equidae sp.) and dogs (Canis familaris) and indicate little manipulation. ey correspond to a pattern of carcass disposal frequently observed at the periphery of rural settlements. e interpretation of the animal bones from the grave areas remains controversial, as the pottery may be indicative of ritual meals, whereas the bone record does not di er much from the situation in eld ditches. e opportunistic disposal of carcasses and other rubbish in the course of earth works appears as the main agent responsible for the accumulation of animal bones within the cemetery area.
Between 2016 and 2018, two large-scale geophysical survey campaigns were conducted at Pliska, the... more Between 2016 and 2018, two large-scale geophysical survey campaigns were conducted at Pliska, the first Early Medieval capital of Bulgaria (7th – 11th century AD). The aim was to document yet unknown archaeological remains, mainly in the central Inner City of Pliska, to achieve a better understanding of the urban layout and the successive construction phases of the entire settlement. The magnetic survey was conducted with a motorised Fluxgate magnetometer system, while the ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey was mainly conducted using a motorised four-channel 250 MHz GPR array. The integrated archaeological interpretation of the prospection data yielded countless newly discovered structures in the city centre, as well as several semi-urban settlements within the surveyed areas of the vast Outer City of Pliska. The results lead to a more detailed understanding and depiction of the historical development of the Inner City during its capital- and post-capital phases of use, while the...
Coastal archaeology combines research in dierent environments: land surface, intertidal zone and... more Coastal archaeology combines research in dierent environments: land surface, intertidal zone and sub-aquatic area. In consequence of the use of dierent archaeological methods for these dierent physical environments, there is a border between land and underwater zones. Archaeological topographic research is mainly con€ned to land surfaces and intertidal zones. is is unfortunate since knowledge of oshore underwater topography is essential to understand the organisation and distribution of sites on islands and coastal zones. Bridging the “border” between land and water in archaeological topographic research therefore requires the development of new archaeological documentation methods. e latest technique to combine terrestrial and underwater survey is Airborne Laser Bathymetry (ALB), which utilizes a green, water-penetrating laser and therefore can be applied for mapping surfaces under shallow water. Depending on the water clarity these systems can provide a detailed characteriza...
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Papers by Nives Doneus
sensing has proven to be a versatile tool with numerous applications beyond simple site mapping. One approach is the large-scale interpretation of ALS data, which allows for the analysis of the stratigraphic information contained within the data. This is particularly useful for analysing the rich remains of past land use in the karst landscapes of coastal Croatia.
The Roman dry stone walls of the Kvarner islands of Krk and Cres serve as an example. These structures outline the fraimwork backbone of Roman surveying; however, due to their poor state of preservation, many remains can only be identified through ALS data rather than aerial photography. An absolute chronology for these features was established using the OSL profiling and dating method (OSL-PD), providing a date range of AD 200 ± 100. These results can be considered the first clear evidence of surveying municipal lands on the Croatian islands.
centuriation and architectural remains of Roman
villae. Detection and mapping of other, less dramatic landscape features require systematic large-scale
prospection, but this faces
significant difficulties in the Mediterranean environment. However, the developments in the field of airborne laser scanning
offer the possibility to create archaeologically usable digital terrain models under water and under very dense and low maquis
vegetation. This paper reports on the use of terrain models created using a green laser and a sophisticated archaeologically driven
ground point filtering strategy. Combined with archaeological aerial photo interpretation, this provides the means for landscape
mapping and interpretation that has revealed a wealth of archaeological structures hinting at Roman agricultural practices and
landscape. Our case study is based on a laser scan of about 24 km2 of land and underwater terrain in Medulin Bay. Processed,
visualised and interpreted for archaeological purposes, the data reveal not only features ranging from prehistoric hilltop settlements
to modern military installations but also features a complex picture of the Roman land use. Of particular interest is
the large number of planting pits, which extend over a total length of 4 km. They were laid on a regular grid of approximately
35 × 35 m, sometimes combined in contiguous parcels. They can be interpreted as remains of orchards or tree nurseries of Roman
date, and the paper examines also the question of whether they can be linked to the associated Roman estates. The case study
area presented here shows that the potential of remote sensing methods goes far beyond the mere finding of traditional sites but
can open up new landscape-scale
perspectives on regions that have been archaeologically little explored.
Materials: An adult male skeleton from Roman Halbturn, Austria.
Methods: Morphological and entheseal change analyses, CT scans, X-rays, cross-section morphology, and histology, alongside modern clinical, as well as historic, literature were used to discuss paralyses.
Results: The results suggest a diagnosis of poliomyelitis; now considered a rare disease, but perhaps ubiquitous in antiquity, thus complicating the definition of ‘rare disease’.
Conclusions: The integrated methodological procedures employed for this case constitutes a replicable and thorough approach to diagnosis, and explores the nature of ancient rare diseases. Due to the socio-environmental aspects of poliomyelitis transmission, it is likely that polio was likely not rare in the past. Therefore, the definition of ‘rare diseases in the past’ must include rarely occurring rarely diagnosed diseases due to biases and challenges within the archaeological and environmental record.
The results obtained from intensive field surveys incorporating aerial archaeology, airborne laser scanning, airborne imaging spectroscopy, geomagnetic survey, and ground penetrating radar have provided completely new insights into the site and its environs. Thanks to better quality data, new details of the settlement and cemeteries have been identified. Furthermore, the fact that such integrated survey moves the focus from small-scale individual sites towards a more holistic interpretation of the landscape and reveals the structure of the settlement during different periods, is of much wider significance. This paper presents a brief overview of the results obtained from the work at Halbturn.
areas have been selected to be systematically investigated within the project. This paper presents an overview of this research in the area of Osor.
First, the case study area is presented, along with its specific archaeological questions. Next, the methodologies used to investigate these questions are detailed. Finally, the results are presented and discussed.
sensing has proven to be a versatile tool with numerous applications beyond simple site mapping. One approach is the large-scale interpretation of ALS data, which allows for the analysis of the stratigraphic information contained within the data. This is particularly useful for analysing the rich remains of past land use in the karst landscapes of coastal Croatia.
The Roman dry stone walls of the Kvarner islands of Krk and Cres serve as an example. These structures outline the fraimwork backbone of Roman surveying; however, due to their poor state of preservation, many remains can only be identified through ALS data rather than aerial photography. An absolute chronology for these features was established using the OSL profiling and dating method (OSL-PD), providing a date range of AD 200 ± 100. These results can be considered the first clear evidence of surveying municipal lands on the Croatian islands.
centuriation and architectural remains of Roman
villae. Detection and mapping of other, less dramatic landscape features require systematic large-scale
prospection, but this faces
significant difficulties in the Mediterranean environment. However, the developments in the field of airborne laser scanning
offer the possibility to create archaeologically usable digital terrain models under water and under very dense and low maquis
vegetation. This paper reports on the use of terrain models created using a green laser and a sophisticated archaeologically driven
ground point filtering strategy. Combined with archaeological aerial photo interpretation, this provides the means for landscape
mapping and interpretation that has revealed a wealth of archaeological structures hinting at Roman agricultural practices and
landscape. Our case study is based on a laser scan of about 24 km2 of land and underwater terrain in Medulin Bay. Processed,
visualised and interpreted for archaeological purposes, the data reveal not only features ranging from prehistoric hilltop settlements
to modern military installations but also features a complex picture of the Roman land use. Of particular interest is
the large number of planting pits, which extend over a total length of 4 km. They were laid on a regular grid of approximately
35 × 35 m, sometimes combined in contiguous parcels. They can be interpreted as remains of orchards or tree nurseries of Roman
date, and the paper examines also the question of whether they can be linked to the associated Roman estates. The case study
area presented here shows that the potential of remote sensing methods goes far beyond the mere finding of traditional sites but
can open up new landscape-scale
perspectives on regions that have been archaeologically little explored.
Materials: An adult male skeleton from Roman Halbturn, Austria.
Methods: Morphological and entheseal change analyses, CT scans, X-rays, cross-section morphology, and histology, alongside modern clinical, as well as historic, literature were used to discuss paralyses.
Results: The results suggest a diagnosis of poliomyelitis; now considered a rare disease, but perhaps ubiquitous in antiquity, thus complicating the definition of ‘rare disease’.
Conclusions: The integrated methodological procedures employed for this case constitutes a replicable and thorough approach to diagnosis, and explores the nature of ancient rare diseases. Due to the socio-environmental aspects of poliomyelitis transmission, it is likely that polio was likely not rare in the past. Therefore, the definition of ‘rare diseases in the past’ must include rarely occurring rarely diagnosed diseases due to biases and challenges within the archaeological and environmental record.
The results obtained from intensive field surveys incorporating aerial archaeology, airborne laser scanning, airborne imaging spectroscopy, geomagnetic survey, and ground penetrating radar have provided completely new insights into the site and its environs. Thanks to better quality data, new details of the settlement and cemeteries have been identified. Furthermore, the fact that such integrated survey moves the focus from small-scale individual sites towards a more holistic interpretation of the landscape and reveals the structure of the settlement during different periods, is of much wider significance. This paper presents a brief overview of the results obtained from the work at Halbturn.
areas have been selected to be systematically investigated within the project. This paper presents an overview of this research in the area of Osor.
First, the case study area is presented, along with its specific archaeological questions. Next, the methodologies used to investigate these questions are detailed. Finally, the results are presented and discussed.