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This paper tests the suitability of automated point cloud classification tools provided by the popular image-based modeling (IBM) software package Agisoft Metashape for the generation of digital terrain models (DTMs) at moderately-vegetated archaeological sites. DTMs are often required for various forms of archaeological mapping and analysis. The suite of tools provided by Agisoft are relatively user-friendly as compared to many point cloud classification algorithms and do not require the use of additional software. Based on a case study from the Mycenaean site of Kastrouli, Greece, the mostly-automated, geometric classification tool "Classify Ground Points" provides the best results and produces a quality DTM that is sufficient for mapping and analysis. Each of the methods tested in this paper can likely be improved through manual editing of point cloud classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of historical records and geological data show that tsunamis are a common phenomenon affecting the eastern Mediterranean coastline. However, the possible impact of older tsunamis on prehistoric societies has not been investigated. Here we report, based on optically stimulated luminescence chronology, the earliest documented Holocene tsunami event, between 9.91 to 9.29 ka (kilo-annum), from the eastern Mediterranean at Dor, Israel. Tsunami debris from the early Neolithic is composed of marine sand embedded within fresh-brackish wetland deposits. Global and local sea-level curves for the period, 9.91–9.29 ka, as well as surface elevation reconstructions, show that the tsunami had a run-up of at least ~16 m and traveled between 3.5 to 1.5 km inland from the palaeo-coastline. Submerged slump scars on the continental slope, 16 km west of Dor, point to the nearby "Dor-complex" as a likely cause. The near absence of Pre-Pottery Neolithic A-B archaeological sites (11.70–9.80 cal. ka) suggest these sites were removed by the tsunami, whereas younger, late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B-C (9.25–8.35 cal. ka) and later Pottery-Neolithic sites (8.25–7.80 cal. ka) indicate resettlement following the event. The large run-up of this event highlights the disruptive impact of tsunamis on past societies along the Levantine coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent excavations in south-eastern Wadi 'Araba in Jordan have revealed the first early Islamic-period copper-smelting site known in the eastern side of the valley, which extends south of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of 'Aqaba. Five test pits were excavated in 2012 at Khirbat al-Mana'iyya, a prominent copper-smelting camp in south-eastern Wadi 'Araba, Jordan. The results of these excavations demonstrate that the site was primarily active in the seventh-ninth century AD. Its distance from the copper sources of south-west 'Araba suggests that its location was chosen based on proximity to wood and water resources, rather than copper ore deposits. The discovery that the site dates to the early Islamic period has implications for previous and future work in south-east 'Araba. In particular, it challenges the common-until now-view of the region as virtually devoid of settlement during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the excavations of 2016 season at the Mycenaean site of Kastrouli, Phokis. The site has been looted in the past decades and excavated in a very limited scale by the Archaeological Service. It is located on the top of a rocky hill and delimited by a fortification wall, probably constructed in two phases, the earliest of which could be Mycenaean. A hybrid rock-cut and built chamber tomb, excavated at the westernmost part of the fortified area, contained an undisturbed commingled burial of at least fifteen individuals. The main pottery shape is the stirrup jar, and the small finds include Phi and Psi figurines, steatite beads, and fragments of gold foil. The period of the original use of the tomb falls between the LH IIIA 2 and the LH IIIC Early or Advanced. There is some evidence that the tomb has been reused in the Middle Geometric Period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the contribution of the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) to the study of the ancient copper mines of Faynan, Jordan. It reveals that it was a PEF expedition that first reported smelting remains in the northern part of the Faynan region, and demonstrates that the reported remains are the Iron Age site of Khirbat al-Jariya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present ArchField, a GIS data recording solution that has the potential to enable any archaeological project to inexpensively adopt real-time 3D digital recording techniques. The software addresses one of the fundamental bottlenecks in archaeology: the curation and analysis of massive datasets recorded over multiple seasons of excavations. ArchField records sub-centimeter accurate 3D coordinates from total stations and RTK GPS units and links them to artifacts and loci metadata as they are recorded in the field. A key feature is the auto-generation of GIS top plans while in the field. The processing pipeline enables the generation of publishable online maps from the first day of excavation to the last. The software builds upon a decade of previous methods of digital field recording (Levy and Smith 2007) and has undergone several major revisions over the past three years as it has been thoroughly field tested in Southern Jordan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific visualization allows researchers to examine their data in high definition 2D and 3D environments. Field research conducted in the Middle East by the UC San Diego Levantine and Cyber- Archaeology Lab, in collaboration with the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Art, Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3) takes full advantage of a suite of state-of-the-art visualization platforms at the UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute. Research interests include terascale scientific visualization and virtual reality, image-based modeling and rendering, as well as distributed and remote visualization. The Qualcomm Institute's team has been active in virtual reality research for over a decade and the stringent VR requirements have served as important performance criteria for our large-scale distributed data analysis and visualization projects. Through collaborative work both on campus and abroad, our group has contributed to making a significant transformative impact to both diagnostics and the preservation of cultural heritage. Here we briefly summarize a range of 3D applications using data from our research in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the UC San Diego Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project's (ELRAP) development of a Structure from Motion-Based 3D field recording project. It includes a brief discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages of this technique over other three-dimensional recording systems. The article also describes in detail the equipment and techniques used to collect the data needed to create 3D models of excavation units and sites to help other researchers interested in applying this methodology. We outline the workflow of processing data into 3D datasets and GIS-compatible georeferenced 2D datasets. Finally, there is a discussion of the practicality of adopting this technology for archaeological purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past year, our team has been developing a complete work-flow for field cyber-archaeology incorporating UAV technology. We conduct automated aerial 3D scanning using multi-rotor copters. A joint archaeological and computer vision project was initiated to digitally capture the ruins and excavations of ancient Dedan in Saudi Arabia. The project focused on previous seasons' excavations and the ancient Lihyanite "Lion Tombs" carved into the nearby cliff faces. The site was used as a test bed to validate the potential of UAV technology for rapid cultural heritage documentation. By using a combination of non-invasive 3D scanning techniques we can digitally preserve the site as it appears shortly after each season of excavation, document its inevitable decay, and provide objective datasets for future analysis and study. The integrated approach has allowed us to successfully provide a key base dataset that can be expanded as excavations continue over future seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Khirbat Nuqayb al-Asaymir, in the Faynan region of southern Jordan, is one of the best-preserved Middle Islamic-period copper production sites in the southern Levant. Two seasons of survey in Wadi al-Ghuwayb and Wadi al-Jariya revealed much about the site and the landscape surrounding it, which during the Middle Islamic period was exploited primarily for mining and pastoral activities. The finds from these surveys, focusing on those collected at Khirbat Nuqayb al-Asaymir, are presented here. A new model explaining the revival of copper mining and smelting activities in Faynan during the Middle Islamic period, linking copper from Faynan to the expanding Jordanian sugar industry, is also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faynan in Jordan contains the largest copper ore resource zone in the southern Levant (Israel, Jordan, Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria, and the Sinai Peninsula). Located 50 km southeast of the Dead Sea, it is home to one of the world's best-preserved ancient mining and metallurgy districts encompassing an area of ca. 400 km2. During the past three decades, archaeologists have carried out numerous excavations and surveys recording hundreds ofmines and sites related to metallurgical activities that span the past 10 millennia. Khirbat Faynan (Biblical Punon), is situated in the main Faynan Valley and is the largest (ca. 15 ha) settlement site in the region and has remained unexcavated until 2011. As Jordan's most southern mound site with indications of widespread ancient architecture, we employed a suite of noninvasive geophysical survey methods to identify areas suitable for excavation. Earlier geophysical surveys were carried out in the Faynan region by our team in the late 1990s when only EMI (electromagnetic induction) proved successful, but with relatively poor resolution. As reported here, by 2011, improvements in data processing software and 3D ERT (electrical resistivity tomography) sampling protocols made it possible to greatly improve the application of noninvasive geophysical surveying in this hyperarid zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on ancient copper-pit mine fields in the Faynan copper ore district of Jordan. It is suggested that the fields date to the early Iron Age and were part of the Faynan copper industry, based on the proximity of the fields to copper smelting sites. The discovery of the plate-like depressions in archaeological survey areas by a research team from the Department of Antiquities of Jordan at the University of California, San Diego is discussed. The article discusses how the mining changed the landscape in the Faynan district.

Discusses whether or not there should be an end to unnecessary archeological excavations in Israel. Disconnection between the increase in excavations and the lag in their publication; Factors blamed for the lag; Uniqueness of the archeological endeavor; Suggested remedies and questions.

Discusses the findings of the archaeological excavations in the Negev Desert, Israel regarding the interaction between Canaanites and Egyptians in the third century. Role of Egypt's King Narmer in the expansion of the Nile Valley civilization; Impact of the development of the Nile Valley to the Canaanites.

The article discusses the discovery of the remains of the first Chalcolithic cemetery complex to be found in Meẕad Aluf, in the Northern Negev desert of Israel. The 1979 discovery is accredited to a survey team led by Thomas Evan Levy and David Alon, the authors of the article, express anticipation that evidence will be uncovered to elucidate the nature of the social organization of Chalcolithic societies.

Cutting-edge photogrammetric techniques combined with traditional methods are a boon for archaeologists interested in performing spatial analyses. Low-altitude aerial photography (LAAP) combined with photogrammetric Image Based Modeling (IBM) comprise a workflow that allows for precise and accurate recording of both photographic and elevation data of archaeological sites with a great deal of speed and efficiency. Through these techniques, the researcher can create spatially-referenced orthophotos and digital elevation models (DEMs), which can serve as the basis for investigations into site formation processes. Due to the rapidity of the creation of these datasets, analysis of site formation processes can be completed over the course of hours or days. The results of such site formation studies can inform and guide further archaeological investigations of sites. This paper presents the application of a combined LAAP-IBM method to acquire GIS data, which serves as the basis for a case study of a new model of the effects of erosion on archaeological sites – a key factor in understanding site formation processes. These methods are applied to Khirbat Nuqayb al-Asaymir, a Middle Islamic site in southern Jordan, as a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]