Volume 2, Issue 1

This paper discusses the authors’ approach to designing an interface for the Gabii Project’s digital volumes that attempts to fuse elements of traditional synthetic publications and site reports with rich digital datasets. Archaeology, and classical archaeology in particular, has long engaged with questions of the formation and lived experience of towns and cities. Such studies might draw on evidence of local topography, the arrangement of the built environment, and the placement of architectural details, monuments and inscriptions (e.g. Johnson and Millett 2012). Fundamental to the continued development of these studies is the growing body of evidence emerging from new excavations. Digital techniques for recording evidence “on the ground,” notably SFM (structure from motion aka close range photogrammetry) for the creation of detailed 3D models and for scene-level modeling in 3D have advanced rapidly in recent years. These parallel developments have opened the door for approaches to the study of the creation and experience of urban space driven by a combination of scene-level reconstruction models (van Roode et al. 2012, Paliou et al. 2011, Paliou 2013) explicitly combined with detailed SFM or scanning based 3D models representing stratigraphic evidence. It is essential to understand the subtle but crucial impact of the design of the user interface on the interpretation of these models. In this paper we focus on the impact of design choices for the user interface, and make connections between design choices and the broader discourse in archaeological theory surrounding the practice of the creation and consumption of archaeological knowledge. As a case in point we take the prototype interface being developed within the Gabii Project for the publication of the Tincu House. In discussing our own evolving practices in engagement with the archaeological record created at Gabii, we highlight some of the challenges of undertaking theoretically-situated user interface design, and their implications for the publication and study of archaeological materials.

Bathymetry maps derived with satellite-based multispectral sensors have been used extensively for environmental and engineering coastal studies and monitoring. However, so far this technique has not been widely exploited in other coastal applications, such as underwater archaeology. Submerged settlements and shipwrecks are often located in water depths where the application of multispectral satellite data is feasible. This could lead to more efficient field work practices thus enabling more optimal allocations of costs and labour during archaeological excavations. This study explores the contribution of processed satellite bathymetry maps to the recording of two archaeological coastal sites: a submerged prehistoric settlement in Greece and a shipwreck of a modern cargo vessel in Italy. The results indicate that even though the accuracy of satellite derived bathymetry is high, the level of detail (spatial resolution) is not sufficient to fully replace field-based measurements. However, the use of satellite data complements the existing techniques and can help to place the archaeological sites within a broader spatial context as well as to efficiently monitor the deterioration of a site due to natural causes or human activity, which inevitably leads to risk management. When the study of larger objects is involved (for example First World War shipwrecks) the potential of using satellite data in underwater archaeological studies becomes more promising.

Research on the emergence of institutionalized inequality has traditionally maintained an analytical divide between lived institutions that affect daily life and performed institutions materialized in mortuary contexts. Here, we argue that convergence or divergence between lived and performed contexts reveals key aspects of past social organization. When combined, mortuary archaeology and bioarchaeology provide a methodological framework well suited to evaluate the coherence or dissonance of such institutions. Three case studies from prehistoric Europe highlight how new insights gained by studying tension between institutions, identities and experiences across social dimensions can transform our understanding of the development of institutionalized inequality.

Mercury was commonly used to treat syphilis in post-medieval Europe, but debate persists about whether it ameliorated infection or exacerbated it. As there are no in vitro studies on mercury’s effectiveness, Hg levels were characterized using an established technique, portable X-Ray Florescence Spectrometry (pXRF) in syphilitic skeletons (N=22) from six post-medieval London cemeteries. Levels were assessed against proxies for syphilitic infection severity (lesion type, episodic involvement, extent of involvement), oral health indicators, and age at death. The findings are equivocal, likely obfuscated by background poor oral health and high mortality, and cannot elucidate whether mercury ‘killed or cured’.

The only known evidence of Dorset Palaeoeskimo drum use ever documented was salvaged decades ago along with thousands of other Late Dorset Palaeoeskimo artifacts from an eroding coastal site (PfFm-1) at Button Point on Bylot Island, Nunavut (Figure 1) (Mary-Rousselière 1976, Taylor 1971-1972). These finds consist of two nearly complete wooden drums and various other drum frame fragments that date to the centuries surrounding A.D. 1000 (Taylor 1971-1972). In the spring of 2014, the authors and Lori White re-examined all of the wood fragments recovered from Button Point, documenting the known drum pieces and discovering nearly a dozen previously unidentified drum fragments. These fragments represent instruments in a range of sizes, but with a consistent and uniquely Late Dorset Palaeoeskimo style that has not been identified prior to our research. In this paper, we discuss a proposed typology of the Dorset drums and drum fragments, and contrast their stylistic attributes with subsequent historic Inuit drum morphology in the region. We will also discuss some of the functional aspects of how the drums were manufactured and the use of foraged coastal resources in their construction. Finally, we offer an interpretation of the driftwood-constructed drums as part of what we believe to be elements of Late Dorset shamanism.

This paper describes a cluster of large communal structures in the Oxford Bay region of southeastern Victoria Island in Nunavut, Arctic Canada. The structures consist of linear stone outlines of up to 24 meters in length, and resemble the relatively well-documented Late Dorset longhouses which have been found across much of the Eastern Arctic. However, radiocarbon dates indicate that the Oxford Bay structures were built and used from roughly 200 to 600-700 cal AD, placing them in the Middle Dorset period. Elsewhere, Middle Dorset communal structures are rare, making the Oxford Bay phenomenon unique. The sites are interpreted as resulting from population aggregations associated with the fall caribou hunt, and may represent direct predecessors of the more widespread Late Dorset longhouses.

Many of Canada’s non-Indigenous polar heritage sites exist as memorials to the Heroic Age of arctic and Antarctic Exploration which is associated with such events as the First International Polar Year, the search for the Northwest Passage, and the race to the Poles. However, these and other key messages of significance are often challenging to communicate because the remote locations of such sites severely limit opportunities for visitor experience. This lack of awareness can make it difficult to rally support for costly heritage preservation projects in arctic and Antarctic regions. Given that many polar heritage sites are being severely impacted by human activity and a variety of climate change processes, this raises concerns. In this paper, we discuss how virtual heritage exhibits can provide a solution to this problem. Specifically, we discuss a recent project completed for the Virtual Museum of Canada at Fort Conger, a polar heritage site located in Quttinirpaaq National Park on northeastern Ellesmere Island (http://fortconger.org).

For archaeologists, the task of processing large terrestrial laser scanning (TLS)-derived point cloud data can be difficult, particularly when focusing on acquiring analytical and interpretive outcomes from the data. Using our TLS lidar data collected in 2013 from two compositionally different, low Arctic multi-component hunter-gatherer sites (LdFa-1 and LeDx-42), we demonstrate how a manual point cloud classification approach with open source software can be used to extract natural and archaeological features from a site’s surface. Through a combination of spectral datasets typical to TLS (i.e., intensity and RGB values), archaeologists can enhance the visual and analytical representation of archaeological huntergatherer site surfaces. Our approach classifies low visibility Arctic site point clouds into independent segments, each representing a different surface material found on the site. With the segmented dataset, we extract only the surface boulders to create an alternate characterization of the site’s prominent features and their surroundings. Using surface point clouds from Paleo-Inuit sites allows us to demonstrate the value of this approach within hunter-gatherer research as our results illustrate an effective use of large TLS datasets for extracting and improving our analytical capabilities for low relief site features.

In 2013, an Arctic-based organization known as the Inuit Heritage Trust spearheaded a new campaign to increase archaeological awareness in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. While Nunavut remains an Inuit-centered territory—founded on the knowledge and values that have long sustained its predominantly Inuit population—the rules and regulations surrounding archaeological resources are largely grounded in more scientific, and distinctly non-Inuit, valuations of the past. For multiple reasons, Inuit and non-Inuit traditions for understanding and preserving heritage resources have proved difficult to reconcile, despite numerous attempts at community outreach programs and the regular hosting of archaeological fieldschools. For many Inuit, the methodological and impersonal approach to history endorsed by incoming archaeologists remains a foreign concept. This paper will present a series of community resources developed as part of the Inuit Heritage Trust’s new archaeological awareness campaign, produced in partnership with archaeologists Brendan Griebel and Tim Rast. These resources seek to address the question of how to educate about Nunavut’s past through a framework that aligns with the interests and realities of both professional archaeologists and Inuit populations. To date, this campaign has produced two unique resources: the first, a guidebook series that explores archaeology’s relevance to community members, students and heritage workers in Nunavut, and the second, a portable excavation and experimental archaeology kit. While the campaign does not intend to change the way that either Inuit or archaeologists value the past, it does attempt to create a mutual awareness of differing worldview so that both groups might better navigate the complex landscape of regulation and interaction ascribed to Nunavut’s heritage resources.

From the beginning of metal-detector based archaeology practiced by members of the public, the formal heritage sector in Denmark determined to pursue a liberal model based on cooperation and inclusion rather than confrontation and criminalization. Based on the findings of the ‘2015 Danish detectorists survey’ it is argued that Danish metal-detector archaeology has challenged the classic division of roles in archaeology and heritage management, and that at least a large proportion of Danish detectorists practice their hobby adhering to the highest professional standards, which stand in sharp contrast to the often-cited stereotype of the detectorists as mere ‘treasure hunter’.

The credit for having made figure 4 should have gone to Claus Feveile instead of Mogens Bo Henriksen. The correct caption to figure 4 is as follows: Figure 4: Distribution of findspots for treasure trove finds discovered with metal detectors in Denmark up to and including 2006. Data: Kulturstyrelsen; drawing by Claus Feveile, Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen.

This outline article presents and critiques legislation as it affects the metal detecting hobby and the archaeological profession. It considers some of the ways in which metal detectorists themselves have caused controversy but also positive news in relation to archaeological heritage in Finland. A selection of examples of collaboration based on the authors own experiences is presented, also the impact of metal detecting on material culture and archaeological research. The continuing object-oriented focus of both metal detectorists and the media is identified. New collection and engagement strategies could enhance archaeological research, while engaging this particular section of the wider public.

This paper will consider the positive contribution from hobbyist metal detecting from both the perspective of the archaeological and metal detecting community. Are we currently opting for a path of least resistance with a ‘better than nothing’ approach to encourage reporting and to maintain good working relationships, even if it risks the loss of valuable archaeological information? Using selected case studies, as well as the results of a recent research project, this paper will draw on the perspective of both archaeologists and hobbyist metal detectorists to further understand what it is to have a responsible and constructive nonprofessional interaction with the archaeological record.

Archaeologists in England and Wales have a long tradition of liaising with metal-detectorists, particularly following the reform of Treasure law and advent of the Portable Antiquities Scheme - a project to record archaeological finds discovered by the public. Although this process of dialogue has been seen by most as productive and mutually beneficial, there still remain issues that divide archaeologists and detectorists. This paper will highlight some of these with a view to possible solutions.

Much research on hobbyist metal detecting has either focused on the archaeological impact only, conflated hobbyism with criminal activity (namely looting and illicit trade), or generalized the motivations and drivers for metal detectorists. Studies to date have targeted specific countries and regions, with only limited reference to metal detecting activities elsewhere. This has meant that the transnational aspects of metal detecting – such as the international trade of metal-detected objects, and transnational movement of metal detectorists themselves (for example through touristic activities) – has mostly been overlooked or merely speculated upon. Much debate has revolved around assumptions, stymied by perceived ethical barriers and accepted attitudes which limit deeper engagement with the metal detecting community. Approaching the study of hobbyist metal detecting at a trans-European level would encourage greater understanding of the scale of hobbyist metal detecting and the world views, activities and contact and trade networks of metal detectorists. This may challenge traditionally-held perspectives concerning what should be valued as cultural heritage and who is entitled to make use of it. In this paper I set out our current state of knowledge, and propose directions for future research.

The sudden emergence of metal-detector users and subsequent swelling of their numbers rocked the field of professional archaeology due to the impact that the use of metal detectors has on the conservation of archaeological heritage. The situation has led to confrontation, polarisation and mistrust on both sides. These problems are particularly severe in countries such as Spain, where the law does not allow the unauthorised use of these devices. However, merely enforcing the law is not enough to resolve such conflicts, just as encouraging ‘treasure hunting’ is no solution either. This paper uses sociological models to explain the lack of communication and distance between the two groups with a view to finding principles that can be used to establish rational grounds for communication. Here ‘rational grounds’ is understood to mean foundations that will enable the convergence of the different interests whilst at the same time respecting the social function of archaeological heritage. To this end, a model is suggested based on a new wave of scientific communication aimed at including detectorists in archaeological research projects.

Metal detecting has become a popular hobby in Norway. The use of metal detectors is legal, as long as one has the landowner‘s permission, and complies with the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Act. As in other countries, the relationship between private metal detecting and archaeology is complex. The perspectives and experiences of archaeologists and heritage management representatives in regard to what challenges and positive effects that arise from private metal detecting varies greatly. With this article we wish to address various sides of the relationship openly.

The paper discusses the issue of the use of metal detectors in Poland in its legal and practical aspects. The possession and the use of metal detectors in Poland is legal, but to search for portable monuments a permit is required. All historical and archaeological finds belong to the State. Detectorists, whose number is estimated to over 50,000, commonly break the law by conducting illegal searches and by appropriation of the discovered objects. This paper describes legal and illegal activities of the detectorist community, giving numerous examples. The authors address the issue of prospects of cooperation between archaeologists and detectorists and comment on the attempts of the latter to depreciate archaeology and the principles of modern heritage management, as well as their rivalry with professional researchers. The authors believe that archaeologists should, therefore, speak and act for archaeology and heritage, instead of accepting the views of the detectorists. The paper also presents threats to archaeological heritage resulting from illegal metal detecting, and draws attention to the problem of low social awareness regarding the rules and needs of archaeological heritage protection in Poland. Solving these issues requires multidimensional activity, encompassing education and training, as well as the consequent prosecution of crimes against archaeological heritage.

Presented as an inoffensive hobby that is motivated by the interest for past and history, metal detecting represents an invisible danger for heritage. Since the passage of a 1989 law, it is prohibited in France without having an official authorization. However, there are loopholes in the legislation and the law is regularly flouted, even if the last years saw trials and condemnations. Detectorists claim they are not looters and want to participate in archaeological research, but there is a twilight zone between a „good detectorist“ and a nighthawk. Despite the restrictive legislation, it seems that metal-detecting still will be practiced and we will have to deal with it. Therefore, some French archaeologists agree to record the detectorists‘ finds to avoid the loss of data. In so doing, however, they unwittingly become a crucial link in a vicious circle of looting and selling the common past. They provide to the detectorists a justification to always dig deeper to seek artefacts, and they participate in the black market by giving an added value to detectorists’ finds. The protection of our heritage will be efficient only when these archaeologists stop breaking the rules by practicing an „object archaeology“ like the 19th century scholars.

Since 2016, hobby metal-detecting is legal in Flanders (Belgium), although it was unofficially tolerated for many years before. However, research on metal-detected artefacts in Flanders is hindered by a low reporting rate. The MEDEA project aims to address this by encouraging detectorists to record their finds on an online platform. Finds experts are invited to enrich records with further information and thus instigate a rewarding feedback cycle. This paper discusses MEDEA’s ‘Human-Centred Design’ development process and the design choices underpinning the platform. MEDEA may be seen as an example of ‘Open Archaeology’ and related trends in digital humanities.

Since metal detecting started in Austria in 1970, the National Heritage Agency (BDA) has focussed too much on prohibiting metal detecting. The strategy chosen, increasingly restrictive legislation, has turned out to be a failure. Rather than improving the protection of archaeological heritage from ‚unauthorised‘ metal detecting, the ‚hobby‘ has grown steadily. Yet, the changes to the law have made protecting archaeology more difficult and are restricting civil liberties, quite possibly making the law itself illegal. Five decades on, Austrian archaeology isn‘t better off, but considerably worse, and it is mainly our attempts to prevent metal detecting that are to blame.

This paper details the punitive responses that Spain’s legal system has established for attacks on archaeological goods through the use of metal detectors. These responses to illegal acts are not the same across the board; sometimes they stem from the criminal justice system (in the most serious cases) and sometimes from the Public Authorities. Below, I have analysed these responses and their scope in an aim to provide a broad view of the different instruments related to the fight against archaeological looting.

Since the Valletta Convention (1992), the debate concerning non-professional archaeological metal-detecting in Europe has been conducted largely at the level of individual legislations. Papers in this Topical Issue take stock of current knowledge of and attitudes towards metal-detecting across Europe; its nature and impact as well as the policies and approaches that arise from it within professional archaeology and heritage management. With this collection of papers, the editors aim to stimulate a more unified debate and, ultimately, a common understanding of ethics and best practices in relation to metal-detecting that transcends national and jurisdictional boundaries in Europe.

The Brześć Kujawski culture emerged in the Polish Lowlands in the second half of the 5th millennium BC. It shares many characteristic features with Chalcolithic cultures of the Carpathian Basin indicating that BKK communities belonged to the wider ‘late Lengyel interaction sphere’. However, there are very striking regional distinctions in the material culture of these communities, which appear to reflect a conscious attempt to emphasize local identity, incorporating both innovation and conservatism. This article focuses on one of the most distinctive features of this culture – trapezoidal longhouses, presented here in the context of astonishingly various and hierarchical settlement system of the BKK. In this respect the iconic character of houses expressed by the uniformity of their form and size, seems to be a deliberate decision that stressed local identity in reference to the LBK heritage as well as other contemporary communities inhabiting the Polish Lowlands in the 5th millennium BC.

The paper is focused on the period of cultural change at the turn of 6th and 5th millennia BC, when the uniform Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) occupying an extensive area disintegrated in several local groups or cultures, including the Stroked Pottery Culture (SBK) emerging in the regions of Bohemia and Saxony. The data comprising pottery, animal bones, lithics, as well as architectural attributes from Hrdlovka site, situated in northwest Bohemia, are presented. In accordance with the sites of Hrbovice-Chabařovice and Dresden- Prohlis a rather uninterrupted LBK/SBK transition has been observed, which contrasts with the image of “LBK crisis” observed in other regions. Lithics production and distribution networks of raw material seem to be stable. The change in stockkeeping strategies correlating with the transitional period are considered rather as modification of local environmental conditions. On the level of households, a similar architectural development has been documented at the Hrdlovka and Dresden-Prohlis sites. The processes of LBK/SBK transition in terms of cultural change are also discussed.

Remains of the houses in the Late Neolithic of Northern Greece are as a rule less well preserved than in some other regions of Greece such as Thessaly. The site of Stavroupoli-Thessaloniki is a settlement with a dense habitation pattern, but poorly preserved architecture. Several habitation phases have been distinguished, dating to the Middle and Late Neolithic. Radiocarbon dates place the earlier phase to 5890 B.C. or slightly later. As the domestic unit in Stavroupoli can barely be approached through their architecture, the ceramic wares and particularly the cooking vessels will be used as a proxy to identify households and clarify aspects of their organization. The size of domestic units is approached through capacity of cooking pots, assuming that sharing cooked food on everyday level is a vital element of these units. Also, variability in cooking techniques between houses and possible changes through time will be examined through both the shape and the size of cooking vessels. Finally, Stavroupoli’s cooking pots will be compared with cooking vessels from other contemporaneous sites in order to approach the issue of household on a regional level.

In the last few decades, archaeological research has invested more energy into better understanding of past societies than ever before. There are several different factors that have made these changes possible. The development of non-destructive investigating techniques has made it possible to choose more precisely where to collect new data. Furthermore, advances in information technologies and the natural sciences have provided new tools to analyze and evaluate the data. Our project started in 2012 in order to evaluate the enormous amount of archaeological material excavated at Polgár-Csőszhalom, the most significant site of the post-LBK period in North-East Hungary. Our main motivation was to reconstruct the community of this complex site with the application of multilevel statistical methods and spatial information technologies. The investigation of raw material from the chipped stone industry yielded sixteen different activity zones on the flat settlement. The differentiation of these zones was possible through the recognition of the repeated patterns of the raw materials used. The analyses show that whilst individual households, as the elementary building modules of the settlement community, were self-sufficient in tool making, the procurement of raw materials seems to have been communal. The homogenous picture apparent from the distribution of the local raw materials and the lack of accumulation from more distant sources suggest conformity at household level.

Research into the development of LBK villages rarely focuses on those features that can be interpreted as sunken-floored buildings. The aim of this article is to draw attention to the presence of this type of feature and to analyse its significance in the context of village development based on several examples of LBK sites excavated in Małopolska (Lesser Poland). We believe that in many instances analysing the locations of sunken-floored buildings and their diversity in terms of their potential functions can lead to the identification of domestic/kitchen zones that centered around these features. Their location in the vicinity of longhouses, traces of fire, and the presence of pottery sherds and grain remains may indicate that sunkenfloored buildings served as an important additional ancillary space for the residents of longhouses and constituted part of the farmstead.

Neolithic houses can be classified into different types according to their construction; therefore, we tried to find whether the inhabitants of different types of Neolithic houses engaged in different economic activities. The existing interpretation of the function of individual parts of Neolithic houses was broadened to include a hypothesis based on an exceptional case from the Harta settlement in Hungary. We used the revised analysis of animal bones from the Bylany settlement as a starting point to assess the means of subsistence of the inhabitants of Neolithic houses. The way that food was handled and consumed was observed in the distribution of formal functional types of pottery according to the number and the lipid compounds. Based on current results, we can prove that inhabitants of different types of Neolithic houses used different means of subsistence. Food was shared similarly in all types of houses; however, the processing and preparation of food differed. Therefore, we can support the hypothesis that the inhabitants of a single settlement were of different genetic and historical origins.

During the first and second centuries of the fifth millennium BC, the LBK (Linearbandkeramik) pottery style disappeared in the Rhineland (Germany); it was replaced by the Großgartach style, which was in turn followed by the Rössen style. While in some regions, the former settlement sites of the LBK population remained occupied by subsequent Middle Neolithic societies, nearly all were abandoned in the vast loess area located between modern-day Cologne and the Netherlands. Middle Neolithic villages were instead established in new locations. The following text considers some possible reasons for this development.

In the Editorial for the special edition on Neolithic Housesholds, we introduce the history of house and household studies in European Neolithic Archaeology and outline the papers in this collection.