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Publications (50)
The Late La Tène settlement of Basel-Gasfabrik (170/150 to 100/80 BC; Switzerland) functioned as a central site with supra-regional connections. Extensive micromorphological analysis have led to new findings relating to layer formation processes, the identification of various (craft ) activities and the “biographies” of pits and ditches, including...
In archaeological soil and sediment micromorphology, research is grounded in observations made with petrographic microscopes. These observations are recorded using standardised terms and microphotographs. The two-pillar database system allows a user-friendly recording of these observations with I-GEOARCHrec and the possibility to link these data to...
In this study, the path of the raw material silicite (cf. flint/chert etc.) from its extraction in the mine to its disposal is analysed in detail. On the basis of over 32,000 archaeological finds and with the inclusion of various integrative investigation methods, the question of whether the archaeological data provides evidence of production proce...
Geoarchaeological analysis (micromorphology) on three agricultural soils (Late Neolithic; Bronze Age; Iron Age) in Zurich (Switzerland)
Experiments on the heating of (Bronze Age) pottery and the resulting taphonomic overprinting at temperatures of 600-1200 degrees Celsius.
Vor 110 Jahren wurde die spätkeltische Siedlung Basel-Gasfabrik in der Nähe des heutigen Voltaplatzes bei Aushubarbeiten zum damaligen Gaswerk entdeckt. Seither fanden in unterschiedlichen Intensitäten mehr als 400 archäologische Rettungsgrabungen statt, die immer in Zusammenhang mit Bauprojekten standen. Mit dem Auslaufen der Feldarbeiten konnten...
Palaeoradiology is increasingly being used in archaeological and forensic sciences as a minimally invasive alternative to traditional histological methods for investigating bone microanatomy and its destruction by diagenetic processes. To better understand ancient mortuary practices, taphonomic studies using microCT scanning methods are gaining an...
Recent technological advances have broadened the application of palaeoradiology for non-destructive investigation of ancient remains. X-ray microtomography (microCT) in particular is increasingly used as an alternative to histological bone sections for interpreting pathological alterations, trauma, microstructure, and, more recently, bioerosion wit...
Excavation of the Late Neolithic dolmen of Oberbipp BE, Steingasse in the Swiss Central Plateau provided a unique opportunity for a comprehensive study of the archaeological and anthropological evidence. In multidisciplinary studies, we investigated the processes at work during construction, use, and abandonment of the megalithic structure, as well...
![Number [n] of bones observed within the thin sections per microfacies....](publication/358732900/figure/fig5/AS:1131557045710859@1646795631185/Number-n-of-bones-observed-within-the-thin-sections-per-microfacies-The-percentages-of_Q320.jpg)
This paper is the first to use an innovative multi-proxy approach to obtain insights into hitherto unknown Mithraic cult practices. Using soil micromorphology, zooarchaeology and histotaphonomy, we investigated two mithraea (Biesheim FR, Kempraten CH) and one cult cave (Zillis CH). This was also the first study to include micromorphological and his...
Recent advances have broadened the application of palaeoradiology for non-destructive investigation of ancient remains. X-ray microtomography (microCT) in particular is increasingly used as an alternative to histological bone sections for interpreting pathological alterations, trauma, microstructure, and more recently bioerosion with direct or anci...
Disarticulated human remains are a regular occurrence in Iron Age sites, especially during the La Tène period. They are usually recovered from inside settlements, both in apparent ritual installations and common features like settlement pits or layers in residential areas or craft zones. These disarticulated bones are interpreted as relics of multi...
For the first time, histotapohnomic analyses were carried out on human bones from the context of Neolithic wetland sites. The analysed pieces consisted of a fragment of each a femur (BAS 1) and a scapula (BAS 2). Both are dated to different chronological horizons (BAS 1, 3830-3780 BC/ BAS 2, 3340-3100 calBC) and have been found on the Neolithic sit...
As part of an interdisciplinary research project on the Late La Tène period settlement at Basel-Gasfabrik, ceramic sherds, animal bones and archaeological sediments from different archaeological structures (one large pit, two ditches and four archaeological layers) were examined in respect of 21 taphonomic features (proxies). These proxies, in turn...
To interpret artifact assemblages, it is necessary to understand the processes that have formed and influenced them: layer formation processes, cultural practices, and the way resources were used. In this study, we present our results of micromorphologically analyzed pits, ditches, house floors, and occupation layers found within the younger Iron A...
Many archaeological research projects today are interdisciplinary and combine different research traditions, questions, perspectives, and types of data. Such approaches are indispensable when answering complex questions; however, they also necessitate a complex working practice. Combining and correlating the results from various disciplines as well...
Histotaphonomy has become an important area of research in funerary archaeology. It focuses on diagenetic alterations in bone microstructure and the reconstruction of post-mortem processes. Microbial bioerosion is the most common diagenetic change observed in archaeological bone, and its probable causes have been the subject of ongoing discussions....
Basel-Gasfabrik (Switzerland) comprises an extensive La Tène (chiefly Lt D, 150–80 BCE) settlement and two associated cemeteries at which strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope analysis of human and animal teeth investigated regional and supra-regional contacts. The interpretation of the analytic data, however, requires information on the isotopic baseline...
The Basel-Gasfabrik site (Switzerland) is among the largest and best investigated proto-urban centres of the La Tène period (chiefly La Tène C2/D1; 200/150–80 BCE). Excavations revealed evidence of an urban lifestyle, crafts production as well as a multitude of imported goods. Human skeletal remains were recovered both from two cemeteries and from...
Funerary archaeology is rediscovering histological methods regarding their potential for reconstructing post-mortem biographies of bones. We analysed skeletal remains of humans and animals from burials and settlement features at the late Iron Age site of Basel-Gasfabrik (Switzerland) using a combination of anthropological and geoarchaeological hist...
Shape, preservation, embedded components and groundmass characteristics allow distinction between herbivore excrements and the coprolites of omnivores or carnivores. Herbivore dung remains may occur in a wide range of onsite archaeological features but are also known from offsite situations. Fresh herbivore excrements are usually porous, loosely pa...
Micromorphologists are often interested in identifying surfaces intercalated within stratified sequences, and in analysing the activities that took place on them. This chapter illustrates the micromor-phological features deriving from trampling, poaching and traffic through a series of examples from archaeological contexts. Trampling usually takes...
The micromorphological analysis of faecal remains started with the investigation of hyena excrements in connection with cave-sediment studies. In an archaeological context, coprolites of domestic pigs are reported rarely - mostly with uncertain attribution. This apparent lack of pig excrements in archaeological sediments is probably a consequence o...
In 1996, well preserved deer bones, antler fragments and black grouse bones were found in a filled karst crack. Those animal remains were discovered in a limestone quarry in the Jura Mountains near Dittingen (canton Basel-Landschaft, Northwest Switzerland). The site is located in a gully of a dry valley beneath a loess covered high plain. In the fr...
Der Rhein bildet seit je die Lebensader nicht nur der Stadt Basel, sondern auch ihrer ur- und frühgeschichtlichen Vorgängersiedlungen. Funde und archäologische Strukturen sind in geologische Ablagerungen eingebettet, die allesamt Zeugnisse der Geschichte des Rheintales sind. Bei der Erforschung der Geschichte des Rheins und der an seinen Ufern lebe...
Die Fundstelle im Schachletetal bei Dittingen (Kt. Basel-Landschaft, Schweiz) ist nicht nur wegen der spektakulären späteiszeitlichen Tierfunde, sondern auch wegen der landschafts- und klimageschichtlichen Daten von Bedeutung. Obwohl die Wildtiere ohne Zutun des prähistorischen Menschen in die Karstspalte gelangten, ergab die Auswertung der Grabung...
The Swiss Basel-Gasfabrik site represents an important Celtic settlement of urban character. Two species of intestinal parasites, Trichuris sp. and Ascaris sp., were identified in micromorphological thin sections from settlement pits. Species identification is complicated by taphonomic effects as well as the random representation of samples and cut...
Questions
Question (1)
Thanks to micromorphological analyses, glass crafts were identified at three different sites in Switzerland (2 x Medieval, 1 x Iron Age). What was surprising, however, was that at all three sites, in addition to ashes, charcoal, small glass drops and fragments of the oven constrution, guano from chickens was detected with striking regularity. For me, this raises the question of whether guano (from chickens) might have had a specific use in glassmaking. Does anyone have any idea what guano might have been used for in glass craft?
Many thanks in advance!
David
