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Digital automation in reconstruction of apictorial hand torn paper document increases efficacy and reduces human effort. Reconstruction of torn document has importance in various fields like archaeology, art conservation and forensic sciences. The devised novel technique for hand torn paper document, consists of pre-processing, feature extraction and reconstruction phase. Torn fragment's boundaries are simplified as polygons using douglas peucker polyline simplification algorithm. Features such as Euclidean distance and number of sudden changes in contour orientation are extracted. Our matching criteria identify the matching counterparts. Proposed features curtail ambiguity and enriches efficacy in reconstruction. Reconstructed results of hand torn paper document favour the proposed methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2018, the University of Birmingham, UK, hosted a weekend of events for the Association for Environmental Archaeology (AEA)'s spring conference 'Pests of Society'. The event was organised in collaboration with Historic England – the publicly-funded 'Arms-Length Body' with statutory responsibility for the historic environment in England. During the course of the one day conference and workshop the following day, multiple aspects were covered of how pests have interacted, and continue to interact, with humans and their day-to-day activities, as well as their presence in the wider landscape. This paper outlines and describes the meeting, introducing the range of topics covered, and summarises the papers that have been published in the resulting special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) refers to culturally transmitted systems of knowledge, practice and belief accumulated over generations through coadaptation processes between humans and nature. In many cases, TEK is a matter of survival as ancient and contemporary communities require TEK to navigate and thrive in their worlds successfully. More recently, TEK has become a valuable concept for worldwide ecological conservation. Devastating colonial processes across the globe have critically threatened elements of Indigenous biocultural heritage, causing the loss of TEK. Rock art and its associated ecological knowledge have been one of the tangible and intangible biocultural heritages most critically impacted by colonial incursion. The association between both has been rarely recorded in most parts of the world, requiring imperative efforts to maximise its conservation. While the role of Elders and oral histories as cultural mechanisms helping to retain TEK has previously been discussed, rock art, as deep-time evidence for human-environment interactions, has not been explored as a mechanism for safeguarding TEK. This paper outlines the critical role of rock art as a mechanism for safeguarding, maintaining and acting as a reservoir of TEK. As neither theoretical nor methodological approaches linking rock art and TEK exist, this research develops these analytical frameworks for the first time by explaining how TEK is encoded in rock art. I highlight the importance of this approach for enhancing conservation strategies for intangible and tangible biocultural heritage related to rock art and for cultural and ecological conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at re-reading Shelley's "Ozymandias" from a post-colonial perspective. The nineteenth century witnessed colonial expansion and the western countries began negotiating with the eastern countries from a culturally and politically superior position. Asia and Africa came to be perceived as inferior in popular imagination due to the academic endeavours in structural anthropology that had racial characteristics and archaeology that encouraged hegemonic thinking of the superiority of the occident. Poets and thinkers, caught in these sociopolitical thoughts expressed their opinions of the world from a colonial perspective. Thinkers like Karl Marx (1818-1883) and poets like Percy Byshe Shelley (1792-1822) invoked Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC) who had written on Egypt. In the twentieth century Edward Said (1935- 2003) analysed how academia was influential in re-creating a new world order in which the occident was portrayed as higher. This paper attempts to understand how Shelley picturised Egypt in his simple and famous poem "Ozymandias." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Issues in Ethnology Anthropology is the property of Issues in Ethnology Anthropology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Ancient hair and remnant plant DNA are important environmental proxies that preserve for millennia in specific archaeological contexts. However, recovery has been rare from late Pleistocene sites and more may be found if deliberately sought. Once discovered, singular hair fragments are not easily identified to taxa through comparative analyses and environmental DNA (eDNA) extraction can be difficult depending on preservation or contamination. In this paper, we present our methods for the combined recovery of ancient hair specimens and eDNA from sediments to improve our understanding of late Pleistocene environments from the Holzman site along Shaw Creek in interior Alaska. The approach serves as a useful case study for learning more about local environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses challenges inherent in disputes about the reconstruction of built heritage in Kosova, exploring justifications for approval or denial of permits for reconstruction at archaeological sites in the specific political context. To illustrate how standards and principles of conservation, and specifically, of reconstruction, affect decision-making, we present and discuss three sites. Thus, we contribute, through the Kosova experience, to international debate, both empirically and contextually, about the correlation of international standards and principles of conservation and reconstruction, and their impact and perception in the national context. The experience of Kosova shows that adherence to international cultural heritage principles, conventions and policies, within a highly politicized discourse of heritage, is paramount to ensure impartial heritage protection, especially in the rebuilding of ruins. Attempts to build new structures upon old ruins may potentially ignite political, ethnic and religious discord especially in societies where different communities claim heritage ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical engagement and methodological improvements geared in the direction of figuring out the presence and things to do of teenagers in archaeological contexts have accelerated in tempo over the ultimate decade. This paper offers a systematic evaluate of the literature pertaining to the archaeology of hunter-gatherer youth (H. sapiens). The evaluate summarises strategies and consequences from 86 archaeological publications, and finds a wide variety of lookup areas that exhibit cloth way of life referring to hunter-gatherer childhood, inclusive of children's playthings and tools, mastering to flintknap, and their involvement in the making of marks, artwork and footprints. The consequences exhibit a range of proof from all inhabited continents masking an large time frame. Following a thematic synthesis, we similarly discover the implications of these records for our grasp of the cultural variability and patterning of hunter-gatherer adolescents in the deep past. We talk about feasible interpretative pathways that can shed mild on children's getting to know processes, agency, minds and bodies, use of space, and how they had been embedded in social worlds. The paper closes by means of proposing achievable upgrades to archaeological and anthropological lookup that will in addition development our grasp of teens as lively and engaged participants of their societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response by Barbara Isaac to a letter to the editor about her book "Archaeology of Human Origins: Papers by Glynn Isaac" is presented.

Archaeologists routinely create backdirt during excavation, but it is rarely acknowledged and remains surprisingly undertheorized. In this paper, we treat backdirt as a uniquely archaeological product that is socially constructed and guided by culturally and historically situated motivations. Using Chaco Canyon as a case study, we examine the ways in which project priorities changed over nearly 150 years of excavation and (more recently) re-excavation. We illustrate the importance of understanding backdirt as a social product by comparing the avifaunal assemblages created by two major excavation projects at the great house of Una Vida. Differences in these assemblages demonstrate how changes in research goals structured what was collected, what was left as backdirt, and how this ultimately impacts interpretations about Chaco history. Finally, we offer thoughts about the future role of backdirt in archaeological praxis as a space to welcome feminist and Indigenous perspectives in the construction of archaeological narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the author's experience of working at Sanam Temple, a 1st millennium b.c. site in northern Sudan previously excavated at the beginning of the 20th century a.d., this paper attempts to reframe current archaeologists' attitudes towards the backdirt of their predecessors. Using a symmetrical archaeology framework, it centers the concept of backdirt and analyzes it as a means by which different time periods and actors at the site influence each other, drawing them together into a network of relations. The strength of the relationship between these entities, facilitated through backdirt, produces surprising echoes and parallels across different historical periods, including between current and past archaeologists. Though backdirt is disdained, ignored, or rejected by different actors in the temple, it in fact repeatedly acts as a focus for creative engagement at the site and opens up new avenues of interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces and evaluates forensic traceable liquid technology as a potential deterrent for trafficking in cultural property, earlier employed in the UK to reduce heritage crime and recently implemented in Iraq to protect over 573,000 archaeological objects in five museums. The study suggests a theoretical framework and unveils novel qualitative and quantitative empirical datasets acquired through surveying and interviewing 42 law enforcement practitioners from 21 countries. The acquired data confirms the theoretical underpinnings and reveals that forensic traceable liquid, physically applied at the source, is viewed as an efficient deterrent on the market side, providing hard evidence of provenance, enhancing traceability, increasing the certainty of being convicted of dealing in illicit material, introducing risk, and invisibly guarding objects along the trafficking chain. Notably, source-country respondents appear more enthusiastic about this innovation than market-country ones, while the support for its wider implementation is unanimous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much conflict archaeology is undertaken by or with the involvement of community groups and individual volunteers. The strengths and weaknesses of this approach are considered in the light of three initiatives underway in East Yorkshire, which include both relicts of modern warfare and more historic conflicts. The paper argues for ethically informed and sensitive narratives to be derived from conflict archaeology projects of all periods and not just modern conflicts. Community-led archaeological initiatives are seen as posing a challenge to achieving this by overly functionalist approaches to interpreting and communicating the remains of conflict archaeology. The paper concludes that the involvement of community groups and volunteers in conflict archaeology in general, in the construction of narratives and the process of memorialisation is essential. Narratives need to be less functionalist and more social to be more sensitive and informative. In achieving this conflict archaeological projects will meet societal needs, deliver better academic outcomes and in a local authority context meet the requirements of paymasters and politicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological field schools have long played an instrumental role in the early development of many professional archaeologists' careers, sometimes becoming the deciding factor in entering the field. The 1971 joint Nebraska/Minnesota archaeological field school was no exception. It played a pivotal role in my development as a professional archaeologist as it did for a number of my fellow students, as well as providing a unique opportunity for all of us to work and live together as a functioning coherent group. With the help of class notes, letters home, field photographs, classmates' recollections, and my memory, this paper documents my unique experiences during the field school and memorializes the activities of that event which played an important role in many of our lives. These experiences are placed within the larger context of other field schools and how they promote authentic learning environments. The idea for writing this paper in 2021 was inspired by its 50th anniversary and the numerous papers written in recent years by archaeologists involved with the Interagency Archeological Salvage Program, including the Smithsonian Institution River Basin Surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Replicas have the ability to communicate artistic, cultural and intellectual values outside their original context. They do this by physically establishing a canon for ordering and interpreting history. Epigraphical squeezes, as fragmentary impressions of sculpted or incised surfaces, are one example of such replicas, occupying a transitory space between source and copy. However, they are rarely studied within this framework, instead seen primarily as an aide for publication. To better understand how squeezes are implicated in our own processes of knowledge formation, this paper focuses on a single case study, the collection of early Christian squeezes held at Musée L. In mapping the biography of this collection, tracing its connection to the emergence of archaeology as a science based on interaction with material remains at the turn of the twentieth century, this case study will provide a rich model for how squeezes can act as sources for historiographical inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the catastrophic effect on the historic environment of the ethnic cleansing of the 1992-1995 Bosnian War and how it was dealt with by survivors in the aftermath of conflict. It describes the significance restoring the pre-conflict historic environment held for those who had experienced ethnic cleansing and how the act of 'restoring' their presence in the landscape monumentally, even they were not able to 'restore' their presence physically, became a form of memorialization and remembering. It investigates how the quest for historical truth, justice and reparation for the victims of the horrific events of the war involved not only 'restoration' but 'excavation' and looks at how the practices of archaeology were embedded in efforts to document, recover and restore Bosnia-Herzegovina's devastated cultural and social fabric - and at times to impede it. The role of forensic archaeologists in locating, excavating and interpreting mass grave sites during the many war crimes investigations which took place, is explored, as well as their involvement in the ongoing quest to identify those still missing from the conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to dig deeper into the philosophical value of music in "Bamboo Slips from the Tomb of Chu", analyze "existence" and "Tao".Epistemological content, this paper takes the bamboo slips in the No. 1 tomb of Guojiadian in Jingmen City, Hubei Province during the Warring States Period as the research object, measures and excavates them with the help of modern tools, summarizes the philosophical ideas in the bamboo slips, and verifies them with representative songs of contemporary writers such as Xian Xinghai, Tan Dun, and Zhang Chao. Firstly, four sets of bamboo slips were selected from the 804 pieces unearthed for analysis, and the contents of "existence" and "dao" in the bamboo slips were studied, and the characteristics of philosophical content, font lines, and modeling were excavated. Then, the loudness and frequency of the song were tested with the help of software such as the MINI DPS UMil-1 sound field test microphone, the 4K microscope (0.7x) REW2.0, and Microsoft Viso 2.0. The results show that with the help of Viso 2.0 and microscope, the length of the font in the Chu tomb bamboo simplification is 1.23±0.15cm, the width is 1.18±0.01cm, the aspect ratio is 1, and the line curvature is 30°. REW software, mini DPS UMil-1 sound field test microphone test, found that the decibel of Xian Xinghai, Tan Dun, and Zhang Chao's songs was 100~125dBFS, and the song frequency was 300~1000Hz, 20~100Hz; The music frequency is controlled in the range of 0~2000Hz, the music loudness concentration is 400~7000Hz, the concentration time is 35~75 seconds, and the songs are short and concentrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archaeologia Lituana is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

History and Archaeology are sister subjects and complement each other though both sciences have different methodology. Archaeology mainly relies on fieldwork for collection of data whereas history is based on the study of documents. Archaeology provides historians concrete facts in the form of material remains to verify their assumptions. The findings of archaeologists help Historiansto build narratives to designate people their due place in history by highlighting their contribution. Today the emphasis on interdisciplinary approach in social sciences is considered a remarkable advancement. History provides many examples where two or more sciences had been combined and masterpieces were produced. Asar-us-Sanadeed is one such glaring example where the author combined the methodology of History and Archaeology and produced a remarkable scholarly work. It is a description of the buildings and monuments of Delhi. This work is valuable as it can contribute to the decolonization of the historical tradition in south Asia rectifying the assumptions of the orientalists of the nineteenth and twentieth century. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan deserves the credit and appreciation for such research. This paper attempts to highlight the reciprocal relationship of both sciences and how Sir Syed Ahmad Khan consciously or unconsciously used the methodology of both sciences to contribute an original work. This paper evaluates the research methodology Sir Syed employed in writing this book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a unique pyramidal object uncovered during a recent archaeological site survey conducted in the Elmalı Basin (Antalya, Turkey) at the site of Kocapınar Höyük. The execution of its technical features is apparent in its precise construction in truncated pyramidal form, indicating a conscious effort to ensure its functional efficacy. The decorative elements, on the other hand, consist of twenty-four motifs carved on four facets and base that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also symbolically meaningful. Allthough the definitive identification of its function and purpose poses a challenge, the comparative analyses establish a potential association between the Kocapınar pyramidoid and the decorated multifaceted pyramidal seals/seal-amulets, which had their heyday during the Late Bronze Age. In this regard, the present paper makes a critical contribution to the archaeology of pre-classical Lycia in several ways. Firstly, it introduces a previously unknown mound-type settlement, providing new insights into the archaeological landscape of second-millennium Lycia. Moreover, the discovery of a multifaceted pyramidoid adds to the growing corpus of Late Bronze Age material evidence, emphasising the importance of the Elmalı Basin and raising the possibility of interactions between coastal and highland sites during the period in question for future research. Additionally, this unusual find offers valuable supplementary support to existing explanations, highlighting that the main challenge in understanding pre-classical habitations in this region is not the scarcity of archaeological materials, but rather the absence of rigorous systematic investigations. Consequently, the Kocapınar pyramidoid casts doubt on the prevailing assumptions that the Lukka Land(s) was desolate or inhabited by primitive nomadic tribes before the Lycians of the 1st millennium BC. and offers complementary material evidence that provides broader perspectives on the long-term history of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Gero's (1985) germinal article on gender inequities in archaeology, feminist archaeologists have theorized that research processes are gendered: fieldwork is masculine-coded, and lab and museum work are feminine-coded. Goldstein and colleagues (2018) revealed that while more men submit grant applications to the National Science Foundation (NSF) overall, both men and women submit more post-Ph.D. proposals for field-based than for lab-based projects. This paper expands on these data by presenting an analysis of NSF-funded project abstracts (1955–2020) focusing on 1) methods employed, 2) primary regions where research is conducted, and 3) genders and organizational affiliations of principal investigators. We demonstrate that in this dataset, the gendered lab/field divide is not statistically significant; however, there are significant correlations between the genders of PIs and the regions they study. We conclude that the gendering of archaeological methods is in flux but that inequities and gendered patterns continue to shape archaeological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) has been the setting of significant societal and cultural changes over millennia, and served as a connecting point for cultures across Asia, Europe, and Africa. Bioarchaeology, the contextual study of past human remains, explores the dynamic relationship between and within biological, natural, environmental, socio-political, historical, and physical forces; as such, it has found important applications in the EMME. This paper briefly outlines the history of bioarchaeological research in the region and highlights contemporary themes and trends. The latter follow the research trends in Europe and North America with a focus on palaeopathology, followed by dietary reconstructions, activity patterns, and mobility. Emphasis is placed on the extent to which bioarchaeology in the EMME has adopted the concept of intersectionality, which is especially pertinent in the region, but also the degree to which it has explored key issues with contemporary significance, such as migration, structural violence, and climate change. The above concepts and topics can indeed be identified in EMME bioarchaeological studies over the past few years; however, intersectionality and structural violence are almost exclusively addressed implicitly, while all four themes should receive more attention in the future so that they enhance the understanding of these processes in the EMME with greater spatial and temporal resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jabal Dhaylan is a small, isolated mountain on the coastal plain of the Red Sea surrounded by tens of kilometers of featureless sand. The mountain is composed of granitic rocks that were partially covered by limestone reefs during the opening of the Red Sea. The limestone is locally mineralized with deposits of high grade zinc that have attracted geologists since 1968. In the course of evaluating the deposits in 2005-2006, the author encountered many archaeological features, including petroglyphs containing tribal symbols (wusum), rock art depicting animal and human forms, burial cairns, and grinding stones. The finds also include a Paleolithic rock quarry with Levallois style cores, and evidence of silver smelting dating back to 3800 BC, based on dates obtained on a fragment of crucible (cupule) by thermoluminescence. A second period of mining that correlates with the expansion of the Arab empire in the late 7th century was identified from fragments of charcoal, which returned Carbon-14 dates of 692, 670, and 633 AD. It was determined that silver was not found at the mining location; it is probable that galena and calamine were extracted as trade items, possibly for medicinal applications. The tribal symbols were found to be the same symbols used by the Bedouins living in the area today. Family members who left the local clan in the distant past were traced to southern Spain, based on tribal symbols found on a stone stela near Cordoba. Historic accounts suggest this family entered Spain as part of the Arab conquest in 712 AD and settled there. The purpose of this report is to record what was observed for the archaeological record, and to connect these observations to present-day people and historical facts where possible. This paper describes what was found in the course of geologic work at Jabal Dhaylan; an exhaustive survey of archaeological sites was not undertaken and additional features are likely to be present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue du Monde Musulman et de la Méditerrannée is the property of Edisud and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revue du Monde Musulman et de la Méditerrannée is the property of Edisud and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the complex and challenging relationship between archaeology, rock art studies and ethnography. It examines how particular sites that may be deemed archaeological, because they contain rock art, are still part of the ethnographic present in regards to what continues to be known about them by Indigenous people. In this paper, we present a case study of rock art from Yanyuwa Country in the southwest Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia. This is a context in which a Dreaming and kincentric ontology determines the presence and nature of imagery and shapes this imagery as an element of Country which carries its own agentic will. In this instance, the imagery is not rock art, but something altogether more richly configured through a relational ontology that stretches through time, past, present and future. The Yanyuwa example presses us to consider how our research of 'rock art' can be led through ethnographic understandings, rather than seeking ethnographic insights to support already constituted disciplinary understandings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alexandria's archaeological sites face a threat of segregation between their vitality as cultural-touristic sites and the community, and so is the case with Kōm al-Nāḍūra archaeological site and its historic urban setting. It is inaccessible and unrecognisable to the public, despite its multi-layered history of the Fatimid and Mamluk eras, Ottomans, the French Expedition and Muḥammad 'Alī's reign. Kōm al-Nāḍūra area is overshadowed by the Greco-Roman archaeological remains, including the Catacombs of Kōm al-Shokāfa, Pompey's Pillar and Kōm ad-Dikka. Also, the site does not connect with other tangible historical assets of cisterns, Arab city wall remains and Sufi mosques. Following the notion of contemporary archaeology for Kōm al-Nāḍūra to endorse it as a catalyst to connect the surrounding traditional activities and integrate its multi-layered heritage to achieve sustainable urban conservation. It promotes intercultural dialogue and connects the spatial-conceptual urban dots. Also, the absence of scientific publications documenting the historic urban setting of Kōm al-Nāḍūra area; raised this paper to investigate its chronological evolution from the Fatimid era until nowadays. It highlights forms of practice and addresses gaps within the political ecologies of urban heritage. If managed by practitioners, collaborations between individuals and the constitution of the heritage of local policies may take place, thus linking culture with sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article re-evaluates Jules Quicherat's (1814-1882) contributions to French dress studies. Quicherat was the first French historian to develop a theory on the development of clothing in French history by analyzing material artifacts, pictorial, textual, and philological sources. This paper argues that Quicherat should be recognized as the founder of French dress studies, and that his book, Histoire du costume en France, depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à la fin du XVIIIe siècle (1875), is a key text that established a method, theory, and framework for understanding dress history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Central Asia, archaeology has become a renewed focus of attention in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The infrastructure projects associated with the BRI could have a marked impact on the preservation of archaeological heritage, local understanding and use of cultural heritage. With reference to a case study centred on Kazakhstan, the paper examines the complications posed by the BRI in achieving the balance between economic development and tangible heritage preservation. While analysing weaknesses of the current legal cultural framework, it suggests that the archaeological custodianship, both local and international, should be encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the west façade of Wells Cathedral has been carefully studied, a series of problems concerning its date, original form and meaning remain. This paper focuses on the archaeology of its central portal, featuring the Coronation of the Virgin. Working from the archaeological evidence, it offers a reconstruction of the portal which leads to a broader consideration of the place of the imagery in British and European medieval art. This informs an exploration of the meanings of the façade as a whole within the context of then current commentaries on the Song of Songs in France and England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1909 and 1915, the former Iron Age hill fort at Old Sarum was excavated under the aegis of the Society of Antiquaries of London. These excavations were abandoned in 1915, and although the findings of individual seasons were published in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, the principal interpreter of the archaeology, William St John Hope (1854–1919), died before the promised final report could be written. The absence of a final report complicates understanding of the constructional phases of the medieval castle and cathedral, while the lack of a detailed record of the find sites for the 11th- and 12th-century carved stonework hinders attempts to reconstruct the appearance of the cathedral. The following paper reviews the early-20th-century excavations and asks whether what was found is susceptible to alternative interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological heritage has significant impacts on development in the Global South. Projects have informed environmental policies or improved local communities' prospects in managing their heritage resources, and sites promote local economic development through tourism. However, many of these development impacts are short-lived or disappointing due to a lack of critical awareness and tracing of how the project fits with local objectives and its consequences over time. This is related to inadequate or insufficient evaluation. This paper argues that the heritage sector has much to gain from considering evaluation problems through a development lens. It reviews how archaeology contributes to development, the successes and shortcomings of past efforts, and how evaluation can help. The paper then discusses public archaeology as a natural theoretical and methodological bridge between archaeology and international development, and examines the limits of current evaluation methods, which are not systematic or focus on a limited number of impacts. Looking ahead, the review recommends testing development evaluation methods in the context of archaeological projects to develop the toolbox of evaluation methods available in the heritage sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of the degradation state of an unearthed ancient artefact concerns the identification of the material composition and of the corrosive compounds that are present at the surface. The standard investigation makes use of a combination of invasive and non-invasive techniques and complex devices, while it also relies on the extensive experience of the restorer. The current paper puts forward a new possibility of employing an alternative computational solution with the support of deep learning that recognizes and delineates all the corrosive compounds from stereo microscope images of the surface of a metal item. With the input received from a portable microscope, such a fast non-destructive tool would provide straightforward assistance at the excavation site, as well as a second opinion for novice investigators. Iron archaeological objects are considered and four corrosion compounds are identified and outlined by the deep learning models, i.e. Fe 2 O 3 , FeSO 4 , FeCl 3 and FeO. The results show that the deep computational identification and delimitation of the four corrosive types is meticulous even with a minimal annotation provided for training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tracks a world of instruments and global designs in a new era of archaeology, spearheaded by Froelich Rainey in his role as Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Post-WWII scientific development, industrial-military-academic partnerships, and American adventurism were all brought together through Rainey's archaeological expeditions. During the 1960s, Penn's field projects were strategically positioned across the globe, with many trialing a novel technique or different device: Rainey launched a prototype submarine off the Turkish coast, magnetometers and sonic devices across Italy, resistivity in Mexico, and infrared aerial cameras over the Mediterranean. Archaeological innovation was tied to, and developed directly out of, US nuclear ambition and the leveraging of 'peaceful' atomic research, and American Cold War collaborations that united science, exploration, and culture for mutual benefit. Here we underscore the connectivities between diverse actors and activities, nuclear science, tech companies, private foundations, and philanthropists, coupled with the military and intelligence community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The École biblique et archéologique française (EBAF) in Jerusalem possesses an abundant collection of several thousand photographs, glass plates of different sizes, glass slides for educational projections, and paper photo prints. This has been enriched with images from other communities and/or collectors in Palestine who entrusted documents to the school for digitization and processing, which were then returned. The owners granted EBAF rights to use the images and receive the digital version. Some original images have been donated to EBAF and are carefully conserved according to Photographic Activity Test standards. Over fifteen years ago, the author began to discover the plentiful collection of glass plate negatives, ranging from small formats up to 20 cm x 30 cm negatives, nineteenth century prints, to glass slides. The subjects are diverse, including images of religious communities and their schools, the friars' journeys through the Near East, and archaeological and even ethnographic research. Working on these photographic collections, the author imagines myself as if with them in the field, spending long hours with the workers who were doing the laborious work of digging, clearing, and searching. In text and photo montage, Serge Nègre shines a light on the anonymous workers responsible for the hard work on the digs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Middle East and North Africa have witnessed a surfeit of geospatial data collection projects, resulting in big databases with powerful deductive capacities. Despite the valuable insights and expansive evidentiary record offered by those databases, emphasis on anthropogenic threats to cultural heritage, combined with a limited integration of local perspectives, have raised important questions on the ethical and epistemological dimensions of big data. This paper contextualizes maritime cultural heritage (MCH) in those debates through the lens of the Maritime Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project (MarEA). MarEA is developing a unique for the region database for MCH designed to amalgamate a baseline record emphasizing spatial location, state of preservation, and vulnerability. This record will form a stepping stone toward finer-grained research on MCH and its interdisciplinary intersections. It is also developed as an information resource to facilitate local collaborators in prioritizing site monitoring and developing documentation, management, and mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper dates the foundation of the city Augusta Turinorum (Turin) by applying an interdisciplinary and cross-checking method that relies on astronomy, archaeology and philology. The foundation procedure employed in the Hellenistic/Roman time has been reconsidered after a careful reading of the texts of the gromatic treatises of Sextus Iulius Frontinus and Hyginus Gromaticus who inform us that, at some point, the decumanus was oriented following the Sun position at its rising and at its falling by means of a gnomon. Then, an accurate reconstruction of the sun motion and the local measurement conditions by computing algorithms for the True Sun and applying the gnomon theorem, so far never introduced for such studies, provide a range of reliable years in which the alignment of the decumanus (the urban axis of the city) and the course of the Sun occurred. Finally, with the help of historical criticism and of professional astronomical tools, and according to some peculiar historical and archaeological condition of Augusta Taurinorum, the foundation day results the 30th of January, with good chances for 9/8 BC, in concomitance with the celebration of the festival at the Ara Pacis in Rome, instituted by the Senate of Rome in honor of Pax and in order to celebrate the reditus of Augustus from Gaul and Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significance statements express the values of archaeological assemblages and effect the preservation of sites in the United States. Through an evaluation of 219 significance statements from the South Carolina Sandhills, this paper explores trends in the analysis of material culture in Section 106 and Section 110 assessments. A review of archaeological guidelines from 47 states contextualizes the patterns of material culture analysis observed in the Sandhills. This research indicates an overreliance on subjective quantification measures and undefined artifact density calculations fostered by the absence of robust material culture analysis recommendations in state guidelines. A consideration of the impact bias in National Register of Historic Places recommendations suggests that modifications to state guidelines, university curricula, and historic contexts are necessary to address the systems that permit the perfunctory treatment of material culture in compliance archaeology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New legislation in Sweden has put further requirements on contract archaeology that the production of knowledge should be relevant for society and accessible to the public. What happens when heritage goals and laws are implemented in real contract archaeology projects? What is the relationship between different actors and stakeholders and the archaeological heritage landscape, and what are the reasons and factors for this? Who is included and excluded? In a case study on a large excavation from 2016 in Hjulsta, Stockholm, this paper will investigate the cultural heritage goals set by the authorities and how well these were implemented. Studying the outreach programme, I look at the relationship between Swedish contract archaeology and the rest of society. I analyse and discuss the success and problems concerning these established links, utilizing the concept of capital, and suggest strategies for improvement. I also discuss the public potential of archaeology in a more general way. In my conclusion I argue that wider inclusion of the public could help to avoid friction and conflict in a contested landscape. The case study is specifically Swedish in context, but the analysis is applicable in many national systems for undertaking archaeological investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeologists tell stories about the past through the interpretation of material remains, frequently an emotional pursuit. Even so, the profession is often represented simplistically, dispassionately, or problematically, according to perspectives on practice that have little to do with the actuality. The South Korean stage musical Return: The Promise of the Day is an example of how the representation of archaeology and archaeological fieldwork specifically have been incorporated into staging and storytelling to tell difficult stories about the past to both domestic and international audiences. The practice of conflict archaeology is represented as a means of facilitating the understanding of violent conflict across generations. This paper accounts for how Return makes use of archaeology, further showcasing the potential for representations of archaeology and archaeological practice to tell emotional stories and expand heritage audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few years, philosophers and other researchers have been focusing on a post-truth era and its symptoms across society and various disciplines. One of the most glaring manifestations is the declining trust in science experts and the rise of populist attacks on professional communities. Historical sciences are encountering a similar onslaught as well. This paper aims to examine one particular clash between a professional discourse regarding a new archaeological discovery with groundbreaking potential and a populist reaction to it. The study utilises contemporary theory and philosophy of history and its view of historical inquiry to tackle its main goal - uncover strategies populists use to vilify experts and professionals. Even though historiography has been abused throughout its existence, it is argued that recent attacks are substantially different and potentially more dangerous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Archaeologia Lituana is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The increasing use of digital technologies can provide significant benefits to the excavation and interpretative process in archaeology. Yet, despite major developments in the last two decades, digital recording can still be seen as part of the realm of tech savvy archaeologists, well-funded projects, or larger commercial units who can develop their own recording systems or deploy a pre-existing application. The latter are often expensive and can be technologically challenging to implement, and few of these focus on both context recording and feature drawing. In response, this paper presents an accessible and flexible low-cost DIY digital workflow developed by the Comparative Kingship Project, Scotland, allowing field practitioners to benefit from some of the key advantages of "going digital" without the associated costs or complexities of some of the other systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]