Search

Since the onset of conflict in Syria in 2011, several heritage sites have suffered partial or complete destruction. The ancient city of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980, was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2013, alongside five other Syrian heritage sites. Between 2015 and 2017, Palmyra experienced the loss of nearly 40% of its historic buildings and landmarks. The site's remote location and ongoing armed conflict pose additional challenges in accessing and preserving it. This paper introduces an interactive online platform employing 360° media to document and disseminate information about the world heritage site of Palmyra. The platform contributes to the safeguarding process of Palmyra, facilitating public engagement and interaction with the site. It also has potential applications for other sites in Syria and beyond. The platform allows users to explore both archival and current information of damaged historical monuments and buildings, revealing their layered histories before and after demolition. Employing interactive 360° media, similar to applications like Google Street View, the platform offers a reality-based digital environment. Users can virtually move into different buildings or follow specific pathways within the site, accessing archival information and documentation about particular monuments and buildings along their journey. This project serves as a unique informational resource for decision-makers and policy planners, aiding in the understanding of the site and the development of relevant strategies and recommendations. It also proves beneficial as an educational tool. The collective understanding fostered by this platform is expected to positively influence post-conflict restoration and reconstruction plans, making it an invaluable asset for research and educational purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese urban regeneration movement underscores a "people-oriented" paradigm, aimed at addressing urban challenges stemming from rapid prior urbanization, while striving for high-quality and sustainable urban development. At the community level, fostering quality through a socially sustainable perspective (SSP) is a pivotal strategy for people-oriented urban regeneration. Nonetheless, explorations of community quality assessments grounded in an SSP have been notably scarce in recent scholarly discourse. This study pioneers a multidimensional quantitative model (MQM) for gauging community quality, leveraging diverse geospatial data sources from the SSP framework. The MQM introduces an evaluative framework with "Patency, Convenience, Comfort, and Safety" as primary indicators, integrating multi-sourced data encompassing the area of interest (AOI), Point of Interest (POI), Weibo check-ins, and Dianping data. The model's efficacy is demonstrated through a case study in the Gusu district, Suzhou. Furthermore, semantic analysis of the Gusu district's street view photos validates the MQM results. Our findings reveal the following: (1) AI-based semantic analysis accurately verifies the validity of MQM-generated community quality measurements, establishing its robust applicability with multi-sourced geospatial data; (2) the community quality distribution in Gusu district is notably correlated with the urban fabric, exhibiting lower quality within the ancient town area and higher quality outside it; and (3) communities of varying quality coexist spatially, with high- and low-quality communities overlapping in the same regions. This research pioneers a systematic, holistic methodology for quantitatively measuring community quality, laying the groundwork for informed urban regeneration policies, planning, and place making. The MQM, fortified by multi-sourced geospatial data and AI-based semantic analysis, offers a rigorous foundation for assessing community quality, thereby guiding socially sustainable regeneration initiatives and decision making at the community scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the ancient city of Giddan/Eddana in Iraq, which has been overshadowed by its more famous neighbor, Dura-Europos. Recent research suggests that Giddan/Eddana was a significant city in its own right, with similarities to Dura-Europos in terms of size and layout. The article provides an overview of the location and setting of Giddan/Eddana, as well as its identification based on historical sources. The text also discusses the archaeological site of Anqa, which was examined by Aurel Stein in 1938-39. The site had historical significance as a community center, but it has suffered archaeological damage over the years. The remains of Anqa include a large tell and an outer enceinte with mud brick walls and interval towers. The text suggests that Anqa was a significant settlement during the Arsacid and Roman periods, with possible Roman military presence. The similarities between Giddan/Eddana and Dura-Europos are explored, and the lack of research on Giddan/Eddana is attributed to colonial legacy and political borders. The article concludes by calling for further research and excavations at the site of Giddan/Eddana. [Extracted from the article]

The fast rate of replacement of natural areas by expanding cities is a key threat to wildlife worldwide. Many wild species occur in cities, yet little is known on the dynamics of urban wildlife assemblages due to species' extinction and colonization that may occur in response to the rapidly evolving conditions within urban areas. Namely, species' ability to spread within urban areas, besides habitat preferences, is likely to shape the fate of species once they occur in a city. Here we use a long-term dataset on mammals occurring in one of the largest and most ancient cities in Europe to assess whether and how spatial spread and association with specific habitats drive the probability of local extinction within cities. Our analysis included mammalian records dating between years 1832 and 2023, and revealed that local extinctions in urban areas are biased towards species associated with wetlands and that were naturally rare within the city. Besides highlighting the role of wetlands within urban areas for conserving wildlife, our work also highlights the importance of long-term biodiversity monitoring in highly dynamic habitats such as cities, as a key asset to better understand wildlife trends and thus foster more sustainable and biodiversity-friendly cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• μXCT accelerates the numismatic identification process, outperforming current protocols. • It is performed on coins prior physical cleaning, without sample preparation. • Enables virtual reconstruction, preventing risks linked to manual handling. • Digitisation allows for information preservation and guides further cleaning. This study utilises X-ray Computed Micro-Tomography (μXCT) as a non-destructive and non-invasive method to recover the original surface features and reveal the characteristics of encrusted, illegible Roman copper-based coins before any physical cleaning process is performed. The coins were retrieved from the topsoil during an archaeological survey in the countryside of the ancient city of Aquileia, Italy, and were severely degraded, covered with accumulated matter and pronounced encrustations developed over centuries of aging buried in soil. Despite their condition, most of the coins were identified from a numismatic standpoint using tomographic data alone, with the aid of reference images. They were subsequently cleaned using traditional manual methods and the results compared with μXCT. X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis of the coins after the physical cleaning confirmed their numismatic attribution and revealed information regarding the influence of different alloy compositions on the applicability of the μXCT method, as well as on the corrosion process of the coins. This study showcases how the application of μXCT on fragile corroded metal artifacts prior to any intrusive manual procedures can expedite the identification process, mitigating the risk of information loss caused by physical handling and cleaning. This approach proves particularly valuable when dealing with large numbers of coins that would typically require restoration for identification purposes. It also emphasises the numerous advantages of using μXCT for coin identification, provenance determination, dating, virtual restoration, digitisation, and long-term preservation. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Extract ancient city wall sites at pixel level from LiDAR remote sensing data based on deep learning. • Improvement strategies in the dataset generation, model training, and post-processing steps. • A significant source of inspiration for the inspection, conservation, and monitoring of cultural heritage. Ancient city walls, one of the most notable distinguishing features of Chinese ancient cities, are military defenses constructed of rammed earth. The ancient city walls have considerable study value because they served as the city's boundary and a symbol of power. However, as a result of natural erosion and human activities, many sites have been ruined. Existing optical remote sensing technologies, LiDAR point cloud processing algorithms, and deep learning methods are inadequate for the extraction and segmentation of ancient city wall sites. The novel semantic segmentation method for ancient city wall sites is described in this paper that extracts sites at the pixel level from LiDAR remote sensing data based on deep learning. To begin, the point cloud data collected by airborne laser scanning is processed into DEM data, and the distribution of ancient city walls in the study area is obtained through archaeological survey and expert interpretation. The dataset for deep learning semantic segmentation is then generated using image cropping and data augmentation techniques. Third, implement a U-Net semantic segmentation framework for microtopographic archaeological sites, and predict ancient city wall sites in the testing region after model training. Finally, the deep learning results are optimized using the connected component analysis method, and prediction mistakes such as holes and noise are removed. Taking Jinancheng, the capital city of the Chu kingdom, as an example, the proposed method process can identify and extract the ancient city wall sites at the pixel level, where the evaluation metrics reach 94.12% (Precision) and 81.38% (IoU). The experiment results are excellent due to improvement strategies in the dataset generation, model training, and post-processing steps. Thus, this study is significant for the current survey and protection of ancient city wall sites. The source code will be freely available at https://github.com/wshunli/Open-CHAI-CityWalls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the city of Elche, every year, on the 14th and 15th of August, a sacred musical play about the death, the Assumption and the Coronation of the Virgin Mary is held. This event, known as the "Misterio de Elche", is unique in the world. Since the middle of the 15th century it has been performed in the Basilica of Santa Maria and in the streets of the ancient city of Elche, located in the Valencian Community. In this work, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the interior of the temple is transformed into 2 main stages, the scaffold, located in the lower part, and the aerial stage, located in the dome at a height of 27 m. The structure and the traction mechanisms located on the aerial stage allow the aerial devices that take part in the play, "El Araceli", "La Mangrana" and "La Santísima Trinidad", to be raised and lowered. It should be noted that between 2 and 5 singing actors are embarked on these devices. This article describes the main characteristics of the aerial stage structure, the 3 apparatus and the mechanical systems used. In addition, the age and modifications of "El Araceli" are analysed, as well as the results of a non-destructive test carried out on this device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through literature research, field research and urban design analysis methods, based on the self-organization theory, the evolution characteristics of the settlement space of Anju Ancient Town with significant characteristics of traditional mountain settlements were analyzed, and then its internal and external influencing factors were summarized. Finally, appropriate protection and development strategies were proposed, such as reasonably planning functional zones, breaking through the single structure, and creating a good living cultural environment. The innovation of this study is that it integrates the self-organization theory into the cognition of traditional mountain settlement space, and discusses the connection between the mountain settlement space and the traditional regional context under the modem development concept, so as to seek the benign protection and reasonable development of traditional mountain settlement space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This article examines skeletal development in non‐elite individuals from Amarna to identify the age of menarche. Materials and Methods: The total sample (n = 267; 65 female, 39 male, 163 indeterminate) was examined for six variables indicative of the pubertal stage (mineralization of the mandibular canine root [n = 46], distal radius fusion [n = 227], proximal ulna fusion [n = 220], distal humerus fusion [n = 237], presence of the iliac crest epiphysis [n = 24], iliac crest fusion [n = 199]). Age and sex estimates are based on standard criteria for dental development and eruption, cranial and pelvic morphology, and post‐cranial metric analysis. Results: The iliac crest epiphysis is rarely present before age 15 years. Beginning fusion of the distal radius and iliac crest suggests that by age 19, most individuals have entered the maturation phase, providing book ends for the timing of menarche. Variables elucidating the peak height velocity (proximal ulna and distal humerus fusion) narrow that span and suggest menarche is achieved around 15–17 years for most individuals, with a broader estimate of 14–19 years encompassing the known diversity in timing of menarche. Discussion: Menarche is commonly cited as an indicator of adult status. The observed later entrance into this life stage, and the associated reduced fertility, has broader implications for understanding of economic, social, biological, and demographic patterns observed at Amarna and among different social groups in the ancient city, as well as individual life histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deliberate targeting and violent destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq's ancient city of Mosul by the Islamic State (2014–17) has recently given way to the emergence of heritage initiatives aimed at restoring its urban character and reviving its cosmopolitan spirit. Such restoration projects invariably stir debates over timing, funding and local consultation, as well as their potential to contribute to post-war social cohesion and communal healing. This article argues that in post-conflict settings heritage restoration is always an ambivalent and contingent process, involving the selective use of emotive historic symbols to create new realities. Based on 50 in-depth interviews with a diverse section of Moslawi society and site observations from Mosul (2022–23), the article explores local perspectives and the ongoing dynamic negotiation of heritage restoration. Amidst conflicting communal perceptions of large-scale internationally funded reconstruction projects, the article highlights the potential for grassroots heritage initiatives to offer a new impetus towards communal rehabilitation. The paper focuses on three less examined but locally championed Moslawi heritage sites—the souqs, Qila'yat district and heritage homes. These civic spaces may offer greater opportunity for social recovery through economic development, cultural exchange and everyday co-existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, liquid residue was mostly found in sealed bronze vessels associated with alcohol drinks, which are supposed to conserve the complete composition of the beverage, including the additives. So far, most of them have not been sufficiently scientifically verified. In this study, the liquid residue in bronze jars from the late Western Han period in the burial area of Jin Yang ancient city site was investigated by GC/MS, LC–MS/MS, SEM and Raman spectroscopy. These sensitive versatile techniques had unintended consequences in addition to confirming the presence of fermentation products (monosaccharides, alditols, glycerol‐related substances and organic acids). The enrichment of oxalic acid, VLCFA (very‐long‐chain fatty acid), and alkaloids hints that multiple plants were involved in the beverage preparation. The quinazoline alkaloid products from the sediments reveal an important Rutaceae ingredient, which relates to multiple ancient spices and Chinese herbs. Therefore, the liquid residues from Jin Yang ancient city site imply that they are the earliest known herbal wine remains in East Asia to this day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the marriage of paleomagnetism and archaeology (archaeomagnetism) are the backbone of attempts to create geomagnetic field models for ancient times. Paleointensity experimental design has been the focus of intensive efforts and the requirements and shortcomings are increasingly well understood. Some archaeological materials have excellent age control from inscriptions, which can be tied to a given decade or even a specific year in some cases. In this study, we analyzed fired mud bricks used for the construction of the Ishtar Gate, the entrance complex to the ancient city of Babylon in Southern Mesopotamia. We were able to extract reliable intensity data from all three phases of the gate, the earliest of which includes bricks inscribed with the name of King Nebuchadnezzar II (605 to 562 BCE). These results (1) add high quality intensity data to a region relatively unexplored so far (Southern Mesopotamia), (2) contribute to a better understanding of paleosecular variation in this region, and the development of an archaeomagnetic dating reference for one of the key regions in the history of human civilizations; (3) demonstrate the potential of inscribed bricks (glazed and unglazed), a common material in ancient Mesopotamia, to archaeomagnetic studies; and (4) suggest that the gate complex was constructed some time after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, and that there were no substantial chronological gaps in the construction of each consecutive phase. The best fit of our data (averaging 136±2.1 ZAm2) with those of the reference curve (the Levantine Archaeomagnetic Curve) is 569 BCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium carbonate deposits from ancient water systems such as aqueducts are a hidden archive for archaeology and environmental sciences. These deposits formed wherever carbonate‐rich water was in contact with a water‐containing structure and recorded water composition, temperature, biological content, the operation or nonoperation of a water system segment, flow discharge and velocity, the shape of disappeared segments of water structures, the number of years a water supply system was active, disruptions of the water supply and water management such as repairs, adaptations and cleaning. Indirectly, urban development, resilience, population‐ and socioeconomic dynamics can be studied through the stratigraphy of carbonate in water systems. Carbonate archives can also give insight into long‐term changes in paleoclimate and on environmental pollution, deforestation, extreme floods, droughts, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Archaeological and environmental investigations of carbonate deposits can provide data with up to daily resolution over decades to centuries. Although absolute dating of carbonate from water systems is still problematic, each study on the aqueduct of an ancient city, together with its carbonate deposits, provides its own microstory in Roman life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text is a summary of the book "From the Archaeological Record to the Museum: The Path of History. Studies in Tribute to Mercedes Unzu Urmeneta," edited by Javier Martínez Sarasate, Javier Andreu Pintado, and María Jesús Peréx Agorreta. The book presents twenty-five contributions from experts in ancient and medieval history and archaeology of Navarra, addressing topics such as prehistory, the influence of Rome in the Ebro Valley and the Pyrenean region, and aspects of the medieval and modern era. It highlights the importance of Mercedes Unzu in the study of ancient Basques and her contribution to the knowledge of this society in Navarra. The chapters of the book deal with various topics related to the ancient city of Pompaelo and other archaeological findings in the region. The authors of the chapters include several experts in the field of archaeology and ancient and medieval history. [Extracted from the article]

The study focuses on the integrated use of multiscale and multisensor remote sensing techniques and big data analysis for the identification of buried archaeological remains or areas of potential archaeological interest. Satellite multispectral data (at very high and high resolution), drone based visible, multispectral, and thermal imagery, and geophysical prospecting (gradiometer) were used. The ancient city of Metaponto was chosen as case study, as it was a very important city in the formative panorama of Italian Magna Graecia and it also is one of the most important and best preserved archaeological sites in southern Italy. The analysis of remote sensing data from different sensors, with different resolutions, and referable to different physical parameters, allowed to deepen archaeological knowledge on a landscape scale, as well as on a site scale, going from the analysis of traces of the ancient landscape (e.g. palaeo-channels, canalisation system, main roads), to the discovery of small features (e.g. secondary roads, houses, facilities). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of petroleum substances has a long historical tradition in Iran. Glance (1970) reported that the "first man‐made oil well was dug" in the ancient city of Susa (present‐day Shush), about 40 km northwest of Ahwaz, in 500 BC during the reign of the Achaemenid emperor Darius I. Writing in the fifth century BC, Herodotus described petroleum production near a place called Ardericca, probably present‐day Masjed Soleyman, located 210 furlongs from Susa (Lees, 1950). The petroleum substances produced included bitumen which was used in construction and the waterproofing of ships. Sorkhabi (2005) detailed the petroleum history in Iran during ancient and medieval times. The modern quest for oil in Iran dates from the second half of the 19th century. From a historical perspective, this modern period can be divided into six distinct phases: (i) The early years, 1872–1900; (ii) The Anglo‐Persian years, 1901–1932; (iii) The Anglo‐Iranian Years and Nationalization, 1933–1953; (iv) The second Pahlavi years, 1954–1978 including the rise of OPEC; (v) The Islamic Revolution and Iran‐Iraq War, 1979–1989; and (vi) Buyback Contracts and US Sanctions, 1990–Present. The search for oil was singularly unsuccessful during the first of these phases and the early years of the second phase. However, after a difficult six‐year exploration campaign, oil in commercial quantities was struck in the early hours of 26 May, 1908 at Maidan‐e Naftun, which in later years achieved world fame as the Masjed Soleyman oil field. Since then, more than 120 oil and gas field discoveries have been made in Iran's onshore areas and its territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The story of oil has always been an emotive and politically charged issue in Iran and has been the focus of great national interest and debate for over a century. Certainly, the discovery in 1908 marked a milestone in Iran's 20th century history: it ushered in a new era – an era not only of progress and prosperity, but also of social and political upheaval and turmoil that has not yet ended (Ala, 2007). In this paper, important events in each of the historical phases identified above are briefly reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the emergence of the modern petroleum industry in Iran, and the early phases are covered in particular detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Trojan war occupies an important place in Greek mythology. Homer describes this in detail in his epic works of "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey." The ancient town of Troy is located south of the Dardanelles Strait in Turkey. Until the late nineteenth century, scientists thought that the Trojan War was a legend. German businessman and amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann (1822–1890) began excavations in Troy. The Turkish Empire (Ottoman Empire) granted excavation permission in 1871 on the condition that the artifacts discovered would be preserved and exhibited. Schliemann found "the treasure of the Trojan king Priam" in 1873. He smuggled the treasure to Athens. In 1874, the Ottoman government discovered this and went after the treasure. They sued Schliemann in Athens. According to archaeologists, the treasure dates back to 2600–2400 BC. The horde that Schliemann found could not have belonged to the Trojan King Priam. It was during this time that Schliemann met Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902). Virchow was interested in anthropology and prehistory. The Turkish state granted Schliemann new permission to conduct excavations. Virchow stayed in Troy for a month in 1879 as an excavation site physician. He provided health care services to the excavation workers and local people and made observations. Virchow came to Troy once again in March 1890 to attend the second Trojan conference organized by Schliemann. Virchow was also an influential politician in Berlin. He was a member of the Berlin City Council. Thanks to the relations established with Chancellor Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm, Virchow ensured that the Treasure of Priam would be permanently transferred to Berlin from London (it is currently at the Victoria and Albert Museum), where it was temporarily exhibited. Trojan treasures were exhibited in the Ethnological Museum (Völkerkundemuseum) and in the Martin-Gropius Bau (formerly Kunstgewerbemuseum –The Decorative Arts Museum) until 1945. After the Soviet Army entered Berlin following the Second World War, the treasure was lost. It was discovered in 1994 that the treasure was at the Pushkin Museum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agricultural heritage is an essential subject when investigating urban history. The preservation of it contributes to inheriting farming traditions, supporting local food, and reinforcing the cities' cultural identity. To emphasize the significance and urgency of preserving urban agricultural heritage, this article first describes the concept of urban agricultural heritage from historical, ecological, social, and economic dimensions. We then choose the traditional urban grape garden in the Ancient City of Xuanhua as a case study. According to a new method we have developed, we provide a comprehensive description of the existing issues in the grape garden and the external factors that impact the study area. The results show that the traditional farming technique has been inherited; the urban fabric of courtyards containing grape funnels has not changed; the study area still lacks social concerns; and a part of households should optimize their business models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Kasuga's art came to me; it is not the other way round", says Sugimoto, addressing the agency of ancient art embodying a rich cultural and religious context of Shintoism (Norimatsu [3]). Other artworks in this section of the exhibition include traditional six-piece folding screens adorned with landscape photographs of the Kasuga-Taisha temple and the long-exposure seascape works of the artist. Hiroshi Sugimoto, a leading Japanese photographer whose artistic oeuvre now expands into sculpture and architecture, steps into the field of curatorial practice with I The Descent of the Kasuga Spirit i . [Extracted from the article]

This study explores the collective memory and identity of a Chinese neighbourhood at the old city centre of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Since the 1990s, this old neighbourhood, which has a famous Cantonese name – 'Chee Chong Kai' (CCK) – has been contentiously rebranded by the state as 'Chinatown'. The purpose of the present study is twofold. First, by drawing on observational data, interviews, questionnaires and photographic data, this paper uncovers the collective memory of the neighbourhood. Second, this study offers a critical insight into the renaming and rebranding of the CCK, identifying the ways in which the renaming/rebranding has affected the neighbourhood's collective identity. The findings reveal concerns over the changing landscapes in the neighbourhood that have affected or erased its character and heritage and the potential contention between the official and the 'vernacular' collective memory/identity. More importantly, the renaming/rebranding of the place itself reflects, paradoxically, the pressure to forego the neighbourhood's Chineseness. Drawing on the wider international tourism market and other power-related concerns, this study argues the need to reposition the CCK and an absence of major efforts to sustain the urban space and urban heritage in a way that would represent and proclaim a truly integrated (and inclusive) Malaysian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The port of Callao is important for its varied historical and archaeological heritage, which includes several military buildings that were the main actors and witnesses of the colonial era of Peru (from the 16th century to the country's independence from Spain early in the 19th century). Despite the studies that have been carried out on the basis of documents and some eventual archaeological excavations, the port's main monument, namely, the Real Felipe Fortress, continues to hide very important information that could be used to understand the role that the fortress played in numerous historical events throughout the centuries. The main contribution of this study is the use of photogrammetry software and a Geographic Information System (GIS) to examine the Real Felipe Fortress. In this way, the nature of the atypical construction within the fortress is determined. As a result, it is possible to accurately establish the location of the defensive wall that surrounded the ancient city of Callao, as well as its first churches, whose records were lost after being destroyed by the 1746 earthquake and tsunami in Lima, the worst cataclysm registered in the history of Peru and South America. As a result, this study demonstrates that technology can be successfully used to establish and validate with great precision the existence of the location of churches that have been built in the port of Callao since the founding of Lima in the 16th century. Such identification allows architects, engineers and students who are interested in the history of monuments to discover hidden structures and buildings and carry out the necessary restoration and archaeological works, with the aim of recovering the history of the colonial architecture of Callao and other similar cities and ports worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mudbrick constructions are extremely common in ancient western Asia, including the 1st millennium structures of the southern Caucasus and Armenian highlands. However, in the Caucasus the geoarchaeological study of these materials to provide insight into building practices and social structure is a topic little researched, especially when focusing on the longue durée. Artashat/Artaxata (Ararat region, Armenia) was the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of the Artaxiads, founded in the eighties of the 2nd century BC, but even before this the site was occupied in the Chalcolithic period, (ca. 5200–3500 BC), Early Iron Age (ca. 1200–900 BC) and in the Urartian period (ca. 800–600 BC) as well. All the previous occupation phases showed communities that made extensive use of earthen constructions as determined during past and recent archaeological excavations. This multidisciplinary study seeks to examine mudbrick architecture as a proxy for environmental and social interactions during the 1st millennium BC combining geoarchaeology, archaeobotany and building archaeology. We analyzed changes and continuities in architectural form and practices, alongside reconstruction of technological and social processes, to identify issues of raw material procurement, attestation of re-use, and consistency of building practices. The results of the geoarchaeological analysis of the earthen building materials used in different parts of the ancient city point to a re-use of materials over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suburbs and other zones of urban sprawl are not recent phenomena; they are as old as cities themselves. However, archaeological investigation of them has been relatively scarce, biasing reconstructions of the scale and diversity of early urban populations, industries, and economies, as well as reconstructions of ancient cities' size and form. Here, we use aerial and satellite imagery in combination with ground survey to identify and characterize the extramural areas of one of the world's earliest cities, Ur (Tell al-Muqayyar), in southern Iraq. The results suggest the need for some revisions of earlier impressionistic ideas about the extent, location, and dates of Ur's suburbs. The distributions of ceramics of periods spanning the fifth to first millennium BCE suggest that Ur may have been founded in the fifth to fourth millennium BCE as a pair of spatially separate settlements that grew at different rates, only one of which developed into the city's highly mounded core; that more distant suburbs formed by the third millennium BCE; and that intensity of occupation of various extramural zones covering hundreds of hectares shifted throughout the third to first millennium BCE. Overall, the data challenge characterizations of Ur as more compact and spatially continuous than other early Mesopotamian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extensive magnetic survey has been carried out on a large part of the Roman and late antique city of Pollentia (Alcúdia, Mallorca, Spain), combined with ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electric resistivity imaging (ER Imaging) to obtain data for a better understanding of the ancient city. For magnetic measurements, the 7‐probe fluxgate gradiometer array was used. The GPR data were collected by means of a system equipped with two dual‐frequency antenna boxes of 200 and 600 MHz, respectively. The geophysical data provide some new insights into the layout of the city, with the identification of numerous structures in areas that are still unexplored by archaeological investigation. The results fill the gap of previous partial geophysical surveys and show an interesting, unseen image of ancient Pollentia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Chinese settlements are successful examples of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Traditional Chinese settlement culture (TCSC) is the product of its inhabitants' adaptation to the natural and social environment and has national cultural originality and transmission. Core cultural elements of these being chosen to stay can be considered as memes. This study considers traditional Chinese settlement cultural memes (TCSCM) as a special kind of knowledge, and proposes a meme-based approach to mine, organize, and present traditional Chinese settlement cultural knowledge from a knowledge management perspective. This approach is composed of identifying memes, constructing the memes ontology, and the memes knowledge graph, mainly describing and establishing the memes identification index system, the ontology conceptual framework, and knowledge graph construction rules. In addition, the feasibility of the above work is verified by a case study of Jinggang Ancient town in Hunan province. This study provides new practical ideas for the authentic conservation and industrial construction of TCSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Grand Canal is one of the most important hydraulic engineering projects in Chinese history. The city of Suzhou has abundant and concentrated cultural heritage sites in the southern section of the Grand Canal. However, due to natural hazards, anthropogenic damage, and lack of human management, the cultural heritage sites have suffered irreversible damage. Digital preservation of these sites will make it possible to maintain their aesthetic and cultural value. This paper takes cultural heritage sites along the Suzhou Canal as its research subject and establishes a cultural heritage dataset using geographical information system (GIS). The paper uses geocoding and spatial analysis methods based on GIS, including nearest neighbor analysis, kernel density analysis, center of gravity analysis, and standard deviation ellipse. The paper explores the distribution of 104 cultural heritage sites along the Suzhou Canal across six historical periods and discusses the influencing factors for evolution of the distribution. The results show that: (1) major constructions on the Grand Canal water system were started in the Pre-Sui period and completed in the Sui and Tang Dynasties; (2) the degree of clustering of the distribution has increased since the Sui and Tang Dynasties until Modern Times; (3) the high-density area has been centered around the ancient city since the Pre-Sui period, and has shown a migration trend towards the Shantang Canal since the Ming Dynasty; (4) the center of gravity first moved from northwest to southeast along the Canal and then moved northeast towards the ancient city; (5) the aggregation of the sites peaked in the Qing dynasty (1636 CE-1911 CE), and the elliptical direction of distribution has become stable since then; and (6) the types of the cultural heritage in the evolution process are affected by the joint effects of natural and human factors, namely, elevation, canals, population, water transportation, and intangible cultural heritage, among which the canal characteristics play the decisive role. This study reveals the internal evolution mechanisms of the cultural heritage in the Suzhou Canal area and presents a scientific basis for the protection and utilization of the cultural heritage in other parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an analysis of China's land border cultural heritage, aiming to offer guidance for its protection and development. The study compiled a comprehensive database of heritage sites and analyzed their mathematical characteristics based on quantity, type, and quality. The spatial pattern of the cultural heritage was described using kernel density analysis, spatial variability, and spatial correlation, while the driving mechanism was measured based on Geo-Detector model. The findings revealed that the land border areas of China have a total of 1227 cultural heritage, comprising two main types and 18 subtypes. National cultural heritage accounted for 22.74%, with ancient city ruins being the largest type of cultural heritage. The Southwest and Northeast regions of China exhibited high-high clusters and low-low clusters, respectively. Moreover, the study identified history of administrative succession, evolution of historical and cultural, altitude, distance from the city, population density, minority population ratio, urbanization process, and per capita GDP as significant factors impacting the spatial pattern of land border cultural heritage in China. Based on these findings, the study suggests that the government should invest more in border cultural heritage, improve transportation infrastructure in border areas, ensure dynamic inheritance and protection of cultural heritage, and promote the joint development of different types of cultural heritage. The research results will provide data support and decision-making reference for the sustainable development of cultural heritage in land border areas, and can provide a new perspective for the management of cultural heritage in similar areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the perspective of heritage tourism, this paper selected Dali Ancient City, one of the first group of national historic and cultural cities, located in Yunnan Province, China, as case study to analyze the motivation, satisfaction, and loyalty of tourists to national historic and cultural cities with concentrations of ethnic minorities. Through the questionnaire survey on the experience of tourists during their stay in Dali Ancient City, the study identified two motivations related to their visit: cultural motivation and multi-factor motivation, such as delicious food, enjoying holidays. By identifying and understanding the type, motivation, behavior, perception, and experience of tourists in national historic and cultural cities, it was hoped to provide reference for destination management and formulation of corresponding countermeasures. In addition, this study also discussed how tourist motivation analysis contributed to higher satisfaction and loyalty of tourists to a destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of northern Guatemala has identified a concentration of Preclassic Maya sites (ca. 1000 b.c.–a.d. 150) connected by causeways, forming a web of implied social, political, and economic interactions. This article is an introduction to one of the largest, contiguous, regional LiDAR studies published to date in the Maya Lowlands. More than 775 ancient Maya settlements are identified within the MCKB, and 189 more in the surrounding karstic ridge, which we condensed into 417 ancient cities, towns, and villages of at least six preliminary tiers based on surface area, volumetrics, and architectural configurations. Many tiered sites date to the Middle and Late Preclassic periods, as determined by archaeological testing, and volumetrics of contemporaneously constructed and/or occupied architecture with similar morphological characteristics. Monumental architecture, consistent architectural formats, specific site boundaries, water management/collection facilities, and 177 km of elevated Preclassic causeways suggest labor investments that defy organizational capabilities of lesser polities and potentially portray the strategies of governance in the Preclassic period. Settlement distributions, architectural continuities, chronological contemporaneity, and volumetric considerations of sites provide evidence for early centralized administrative and socio-economic strategies within a defined geographical region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of low-density urbanism has developed in archaeology over the past 20 years to characterize settlements that display the same types of features as nucleated cities (monumental architecture, services provided for a hinterland, division of labor, class differences) but lack dense populations. Ancient cities that emerged in tropical regions typically resemble a distributed urban network (Scarborough and Isendahl 2020) with interconnected and regularly spaced monumental nodes scattered among dispersed residences and agricultural land. The monumental nodes in the region did not permanently house dense populations but drew the countryside into a habitual pattern of centripetal movement to frequent religious, economic, and administrative services provided there. We demonstrate that the Gulf lowlands of Mexico exemplify this type of urbanism, and we highlight its features related to land use, governance, and longevity. Given the formidable challenges of understanding a distributed urban network, we advocate approaches that do not impose hierarchical interpretations or discrete territories but, rather, explore them as a network of places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'Tomb of the Philosophers', owing its name to the iconographic theme depicted on the interior of its walls, offers a rare example of high-quality early Hellenistic painting, which enhances our knowledge on the use of painting materials and techniques in Greece during the late 4th–early 3rd century BC. The tomb was excavated in 2001 by the 17th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, in the area of the east cemetery of the ancient city of Pella and is among the largest built cist graves to have been found in the region to date. This article presents the results of a scientific investigation of the painting materials and techniques used in the tomb's decoration by means of high-resolution visible- and raking-light imaging, broadband imaging (IRR, UIL, UVR, VIL), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and SEM-EDAX microanalysis on a representative number of samples. The examination of the paintings testifies to the application of elaborate painting techniques and to the use of a varied and rich chromatic 'palette' (iron oxides, Egyptian blue, malachite, conichalcite, cinnabar, lead white, carbon-based black, a purple organic colorant, yellow-orange arsenic and vanadium-based pigments). Furthermore, iconographic elements of the paintings were better visualized, allowing for a more accurate description and interpretation of the decorative program of the tomb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being one of the most important ancient cities, Aizanoi in Kütayha's Çavdarhisar town is settled continuously by Turkish tribes from the 13th century onwards. As well as ancient building remains, buildings belonging to the Turkish-Islamic period can be seen in Çavdarhisar, and it is known that there are civil architectural works that preserve their original state. Some examples of these buildings are granaries. In Çavdarhisar, where the continental climate is dominant, almost all the agricultural production consists of grain products. The surplus of cereals such as barley, wheat and chickpeas or the seeds for the next year were stored in these granaries. Built with only wooden material using "çantı" technique (joint notched, also known as dog's neck cornered), the granaries were placed on simple foundation walls or stone blocks and raised from floor level by disconnecting their contact with the ground. Built in available places on house yards without any concerns about direction, it is not known when and by whom these granaries were built. Although many granaries in Çavdarhisar are known to be demolished, undone, or even sold to other cities; there are still some examples that preserve their original state. In this study, a total of eighteen granaries located in four neighborhoods of Çavdarhisar's old settlement will be introduced. By discussing the common features and differences of similar examples in Anatolia, the place and importance of Çavdarhisar granaries, which are a concrete example of traditional architecture place and importance in Turkish art were emphasized.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The morphology of differential weathering is digitized by 3D laser scanning. • The differential weathering features are characterized by the roughness indexes. • How spatial features of walls affect the differential weathering is discussed. • The classification of differential weathering degree is explored preliminarily. Earthen heritage sites have been undergoing lengthy surface weathering since they were built, which can pose a severe threat to the protection and utilization of these cultural treasures. Especially for differential weathering, one of the most common surface weathering patterns of earthen heritage sites in northwestern China, has not been well studied yet. Hence, in this paper, Suoyang Ancient City was selected as the study area, and six analysis domains (S1 to S6) exhibiting various differential weathering degrees were determined on wall faces and their morphological data were collected by a 3D laser scanner. Based on the point cloud data, the morphology of each domain was digitalized and reconstructed, and ten typical profiles were selected for roughness analysis. Concretely, for these profiles, six roughness parameters, including average asperity inclination (A i), mean curvature (R′da), textural slope parameter (Z 2), roughness coefficient (R p), self-affine fractal dimensions (A and D) and directional roughness metric (G (i)) were calculated to characterize their differential weathering features. The results show that the wall with a higher differential weathering degree has greater values of R p , G (i), A and D. It can also be found that different roughness indicators can reflect different wall surface morphological characteristics. In addition, the main driver of differential weathering developing is the prevailing sediment-laden wind, and the degree of differential weathering is also affected by the building techniques, wall endowment environment, wall orientation and morphology. Finally, according to the roughness values and wall surface morphology, the differential weathering degrees were classified into five grades (from level I to level V). In this case, the differential weathering degrees of S2 (level IV) and S5 (level IV) are the highest, followed by S3 (level III), S6 (level III), S1 (level II) and S4 (level II) respectively. Overall, the proposed approach based on 3D scanning and surface roughness is feasible to characterize the differential weathering degree, contributing to better prevention and mitigation of damage on earthen heritage sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to reconsider some aspects of archaeology and historical geography related to the Urartian presence in the territory of modern-day Armenia in the light of the recent discovery of the important Iron Age site of Solak-1/Varsak. In particular, the possibility is put forward in this text that the ancient city of Dara(ni) , mentioned in the Elar inscription made by Argišti I (CTU A 8–8), was not the small fortress of Elar, as was proposed before, but the great Iron Age site of Solak-1/Varsak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's tourism industry is on the right track, the country has gradually paid more attention to the ecological protection of tourism areas. Under the concept of sustainable development, the research on environmental adaptability of tourist attractions has become a hotspot. This study took Huanglongxi Ancient Town in Shuangliu District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province as the research object, and determined seven ecological protection spaces of Huanglongxi Ancient Town by MSPA method, and then used the landscape connectivity method to identify the priority of ecological sources. The high green space and water are the "source", and finally the path network is constructed using space syntax, and the relationship between the flow of people and the path resistance disturbance is calculated. After analysis, it is concluded that Huanglongxi Ancient Town has 2 green spaces with higher priority and 1 water area with higher priority. The route layout can meet the current annual reception volume and will not cause obvious congestion during the daily peak. Huanglongxi Ancient Town has 6 enterprises above designated size and 20,000 square kilometers of arable land. The average dLLC of the green space in Huanglongxi Ancient Town is 19.10, the average dPC is 20.92, the maximum time resistance is 0.951 + 1.703*10 - 7 *V 151.3 , and the maximum time resistance disturbance is 0.999. Huanglongxi Ancient Town can pass between paths 7–8. Add new paths to improve the path situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to deeply study the main components, appearance, whiteness and change process of Chinese blue and white porcelain glaze, 21 pieces of porcelain excavated in the Great Shangqing Palace of Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi Province in 2014~2017 were studied as the research objects, and electron microscope, energy dispersion scanner and main component analysis method were used to analyze and compare blue and white porcelain tire glaze. The results showed that the silicon, aluminum and other components of blue and white porcelain tire glaze were similar to those of the Hutian kiln and Fanchang kiln in the Song Dynasty (AD 1018~1032), and the shape and color were also similar. Among them, the silicon and aluminum content of 21 pieces of porcelain gradually increased, and the width of the bowl mouth gradually increased. This shows that at the end of the Song Dynasty (AD 1028~1032), the shape and technology of blue and white porcelain were upgraded and changed, and gradually showed the characteristics of the early Qing Dynasty (AD 1042~1052). The blue and white porcelain excavated by the Great Shangqing Palace of Longhu Mountain has historical and cultural value for exploring the porcelain-making technology, porcelain design and excavation of ancient Chinese blue and white porcelain, and the ancient city's ruins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life brings us some of each construct, and perhaps not surprisingly, Mr. Fisher's perspectives on life's twists and blind alleys (as well as on fun) are illuminating. The artistic contrast between a natural setting and a creative design is compelling, whether sculpture within a landscape park, a hedge maze beyond exuberantly planted gardens, or a labyrinth discovered within a distant forest setting. 2 The Marlborough Maze at Blenheim Palace, England, celebrates the Duke of Marlborough's victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Spiritual seekers have been walking labyrinths - so-called unicursal mazes, with only a single route to the center and no tricks (Minotaur misinformation notwithstanding; sorry Theseus) - for nearly four millennia [[3]]. [Extracted from the article]