Archaeology
Bronze Age burnt mound complex uncovered at Suffolk site
Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology have discovered a Bronze Age burnt mound complex in Suffolk, England.
The discovery was made during excavations at Laxfield, where trial trenching revealed a burnt mound complex and an enclosure system from the Bronze Age, in addition to the remains of three Iron Age roundhouses and evidence of medieval activity.
Burnt mounds are enigmatic prehistoric features known from across the British Isles. Well-preserved examples are characterised by a flattened mound formed from discarded burnt stones. The stones were heated which functioned as “pot boilers”, heating water in nearby earth-cut, possibly timber-lined troughs.
The purpose of burnt mounds is speculated, with one interpretation suggesting that they served as saunas for bathing. Other theories suggest dyeing or leather treatment, fulling, or for cooking. They are often found near a river, spring, or natural water source, however, for the example at Laxfield, a large pit or well was dug to the level of the water table.
Dating the site was possible by a radiocarbon analysis of preserved organic plant material found in the waterlogged soils filling the well – indicating that the burnt mound ceased being active before the Middle Bronze Age.
The enclosure system dates to around the Middle Bronze Age and was used for livestock farming, although this occurred after the activities of the burnt mound.
The area of the enclosures became active again during the Iron Age, with the construction of three roundhouses and evidence of domestic waste.
The larger of the roundhouses was dated by the Iron Age pottery and other finds from its surrounding gully, in addition to domestic waste dumped in the top of the adjacent Bronze Age ditch.
Little associated evidence was found in the other two roundhouses to confirm a date, but the team suggest that these two are also from the Iron Age based on their locality to the larger roundhouse remains.
Header Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
An archaeological survey has identified three clusters of ancient qanats in the Diyala Province of Iraq.
A qanat, also known as a kārīz, is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well over long distances in hot dry climates without losing water to evaporation.
Qanats use a sequence of vertical shafts resembling wells, linked by a gently inclined tunnel that serves as a conduit for channelling water. Qanats efficiently transport substantial volumes of underground water to the surface without requiring pumps.
The water naturally flows downhill by gravity, with the endpoint positioned at a lower level than the origin. When the qanat is still below ground, the water is drawn to the surface via water wells or animal driven Persian wells.
Image Credit : State Board of Antiquities & Heritage
Some Qanats are divided into an underground network of smaller canals known as kariz, functioning similarly to qanats by staying beneath the surface to prevent contamination and evaporation. In certain instances, water from a qanat is stored in a reservoir, usually with nighttime flow reserved for daytime usage.
The technology for qanat’s first emerged in ancient Iran around 3,000-years-ago and slowly spread westward and eastward.
A recent survey within the Diyala Province has discovered three clusters of qanats stretching between the areas of Jalulaa and Kortaba. Initial studies dates the clusters to around AD 1000, a period known as the “Iranian Intermezzo”, when parts of the region were governed by a number of minor Iranian emirates.
The first cluster consists of 25 wells on a linear alignment connected to an adjacent 10 metre deep water channel. The second cluster also has 25 wells and is connected to a 13 km long hand dug channel, while the third cluster consists of 9 wells connected to water canals dug on both sides.
Header Image Credit : State Board of Antiquities & Heritage
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists have discovered a 16,800-year-old Palaeolithic dwelling in the La Garma cave complex, located in the municipality of Ribamontán al Monte in Spain’s Cantabria province.
The La Garma cave complex is a parietal art-bearing paleoanthropological cave system on the southern side of the La Garma Hill.
The cave complex is noted for one of the best preserved floors from the Palaeolithic period, containing more than 4,000 fossils and more than 500 graphical units.
A project led by Pablo Arias and Roberto Ontañón from the University of Cantabria has recently announced the discovery of a Palaeolithic dwelling within the cave system, described as “one of the best preserved Palaeolithic dwellings in the world.”
The dwelling is an oval space and is delimited by an alignment of stone blocks and stalagmites that supported a fixed structure of sticks and skins leaning against the cave wall. The total area of the space is around 5 square metres that centred on a camp fire.
Archaeologists also found vestiges of various daily activities associated with Magdalenian hunters and gatherers at the dwelling, including evidence of stone manufacturing, bone and antler instruments, and the working of fur.
In total, over 4,614 objects have been documented, such as dear, horse and bison bones, 600 pieces of flint, needles and a protoharpoon, shells of marine mollusks, as well as numerous pendants worn by the cave dwelling inhabitants.
Additionally, the researchers also found a number of decorated bones, including a remarkable pierced aurochs phalanx engraved with a depiction of both the animal itself and a human face—a distinctive artefact unique to the European Palaeolithic era.
Due to the national importance of the discovery, the team used innovative non-intrusive techniques in their study of the dwelling. This includes continuous tomography of the soils, 3D cartography, the molecular and genetic analysis of soils and Palaeolithic objects, mass spectrometry, and hyperspectral imaging.
Header Image Credit : University of Cantabria
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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