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Die archäologische Landschaft von Halbturn. Ergebnisse aus drei Jahrzehnten integrierter archäologischer Prospektion
Abstract
Thirty years ago the integrated archaeological survey of Roman sites was unusual. The villa rustica at Halbturn was the first Roman site in Austria to be extensively surveyed. After three decades of methodological and technical advances, archaeologists are now able to apply non-invasive archaeological survey techniques on a landscape scale. Since 2011 landscape survey at Halbturn has produced a detailed and coherent interpretation of an area covering several square kilometres. The results obtained from intensive field surveys incorporating aerial archaeology, airborne laser scanning, airborne imaging spectroscopy, geomagnetic survey, and ground penetrating radar have provided completely new insights into the site and its environs. Thanks to better quality data, new details of the settlement and cemeteries have been identified. Furthermore, the fact that such integrated survey moves the focus from small-scale individual sites towards a more holistic interpretation of the landscape and reveals the structure of the settlement during different periods, is of much wider significance. This paper presents a brief overview of the results obtained from the work at Halbturn.
... Luckily, the image-based DSM made it possible to investigate this area, depicting major parts of the town wall and its towers (Figure 11c and 13). Thus, the combined interpretation (Figure 11d and 17) provides considerably more information than that of any individual dataset, clearly demonstrating the advantages of an integrative, multi-methodological archaeological prospection approach [46][47][48]. ...
... Luckily, the image-based DSM made it possible to investigate this area, depicting major parts of the town wall and its towers (Figures 11c and 13). Thus, the combined interpretation (Figures 11d and 17) provides considerably more information than that of any individual dataset, clearly demonstrating the advantages of an integrative, multi-methodological archaeological prospection approach [46][47][48]. To enable a quantitative comparison of the detected structures in the area covered by all three methods, the cumulative length of all subjectively interpreted walls in the respective datasets was calculated. ...
Large parts of the urban layout of the abandoned Roman town of Bassianae (in present-day Serbia) are still discernible on the surface today due to the deliberate and targeted quarrying of the Roman foundations. In 2014, all of the town's intramural (and some extramural) areas were surveyed using aerial photography, ground-penetrating radar, and magnetometry to analyze the site's topography and to map remaining buried structures. The surveys showed a strong agreement between the digital surface model derived from the aerial photographs and the geophysical prospection data. However, many structures could only be detected by one method, underlining the benefits of a complementary archaeological prospection approach using multiple methods. This article presents the results of the extensive surveys and their comprehensive integrative interpretation, discussing Bassianae's ground plan and urban infrastructure. Starting with an overview of this Roman town's research history, we present the details of the triple prospection approach, followed by the pro-cessing, integrative analysis, and interpretation of the acquired data sets. Finally, this newly gained information is contrasted with a plan of Roman Bassianae compiled in 1935.
... Since the beginning of the re-investigation of the Neolithic KGA at Velm, it was the goal of the LBI ArchPro to improve not only the geophysical prospection methods themselves, but also the integrated interpretation of multiple archaeological prospection datasets. Only by combining the advantages of the different prospection methods can the available archaeological data be appropriately understood [32,33]. ...
Middle Neolithic circular enclosures, known as Kreisgrabenanlage (KGA), are the oldest known monumental sites in Central Europe, dating roughly to 4850-4600/4500 BC. These large prehistoric monuments are mainly discovered by aerial archaeology and have been investigated by geophysical prospection and archaeological excavations since the 1960s. The site of Velm (Lower Austria) was discovered by aerial photographs in 2001. Due to its unusual location on a flat gravel plateau, the enclosure has become the object of intensive interdisciplinary research in recent years. In 2016, two motorized ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were conducted, resulting in a detailed three-dimensional dataset visualizing the circular ditches, palisades and dwellings of an adjacent settlement. The high contrast between the gravel sediments and the humic earthen backfill of the ditches, palisades and individual postholes resulted in a highly detailed visualization of the Middle Neolithic monument. Based on this survey, selected structures were investigated by targeted archaeological excavations to evaluate the GPR results and to take samples for radiocarbon dating. This paper presents a synopsis of all the methods used. An integrated interpretation of aerial photo information, magnetometry and GPR is conducted, and it is shown to what extent these could be verified by the targeted archaeological excavation. By a detailed analysis of all applied archaeological prospection methods, it is now possible to interpret the monument in its entirety and confirm its dating to the Middle Neolithic Lengyel cultural complex.
... Halbturn is a villa rustica (small individual farm) located in the hinterland of the Roman city of Carnuntum (Bad Deutsch-Petronell), an important regional center in the province of Pannonia (Fig. 1). Between roughly 150 and 450 AD, Halbturn was a thriving settlement which included houses, roads, paths, agriculture and stock breeding that extended over several square kilometers (Doneus et al., 2018). There are three cemeteries on the high-ground associated with the nearby settlement. ...
Objective
This paper aims to contribute to the definition of ancient rare diseases in skeletons displaying pathologies associated with paralysis. It uses a new suite of methods, which can be applied to challenging cases of possible paralysis in archaeologically-derived human skeletal material, specifically applied to the identification of poliomyelitis.
Materials
An adult male skeleton from Roman Halbturn, Austria.
Methods
Morphological and entheseal change analyses, CT scans, X-rays, cross-section morphology, and histology, alongside modern clinical, as well as historic, literature were used to discuss paralyses.
Results
The results suggest a diagnosis of poliomyelitis; now considered a rare disease, but perhaps ubiquitous in antiquity, thus complicating the definition of ‘rare disease’.
Conclusions
The integrated methodological procedures employed for this case constitutes a replicable and thorough approach to diagnosis, and explores the nature of ancient rare diseases. Due to the socio-environmental aspects of poliomyelitis transmission, it is likely that polio was likely not rare in the past. Therefore, the definition of ‘rare diseases in the past’ must include rarely occurring rarely diagnosed diseases due to biases and challenges within the archaeological and environmental record.
Significance
The developed suite of methods has not been applied to establish a diagnosis of polio in the past.
Limitations
The individual considered in this study is fairly well-preserved; thus, this set of analyses may not be applicable to all remains where preservation is poor or highly fragmentary, and the discussion of rare diseases requires relatively secure diagnoses and context.
Suggestions for further research
Large collections and series of skeletal human remains are recommended to develop definitive conclusions.
For many decades the villa maritima of Vižula had been considered as one of the largest of its kind in Istria, Croatia. In order to prove this theory, large-scale archaeological prospection was applied in Vižula from 2014 onwards, including geophysics (Ground Penetrating Radar) and remote sensing (Airborne Laser Scanning/Airborne Laser Bathymetry). Integrating the results of these non-invasive techniques with terrestrial and underwater surveys and excavations provided an opportunity to evaluate this architecture from a different perspective. Our research indicates that instead of a single luxurious residence, several contemporary complexes existed on Vižula, namely two villae maritimae and two villae rusticae. Furthermore, the results show that the combined methodology is able to integrate detail and context into an interpretative coherent model of a landscape going far beyond the analytical capabilities of each individual method. Keywords Mediterranean, Roman villa maritima, archaeological prospection, ALS/ALB, GPR, underwater archaeology, integrated interpretation of prospection data. Zusammenfassung-Archäologische Prospektion von Siedlungen im Küstenbereich. Neubewertung der römischen Architektur von Vižula, Kroatien Viele Jahrzehnte lang galt die villa maritima von Vižula als eine der größten ihrer Art in Istrien, Kroatien. Um diese Theorie zu überprü-fen, wurde seit 2014 großflächige archäologische Prospektion in die Erforschung von Vižula einbezogen, und das Gebiet mittels Geo-physik (Bodenradar) und Fernerkundung (Luftbild, Airborne Laser Scanning / Airborne Laser Bathymetrie) untersucht. Die Integration der Ergebnisse dieser nicht-invasiven Techniken in die Resultate der terrestrischen und Unterwasserausgrabungen bot die Gelegenheit, diese Architektur aus einer neuen, gesamtheitlichen Perspektive zu bewerten. Unsere Forschungen deuten darauf hin, dass statt einer einzigen luxuriösen Residenz mehrere zeitgenössische Komplexe auf Vižula existierten, nämlich zwei villae maritimae und zwei villae rusticae. Darüber hinaus zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass eine kombinierte Interpretation von integrierter Prospektion und Ausgrabungen Re-sultate ermöglicht, die weit über die analytischen Möglichkeiten der einzelnen Methoden hinausgehen. Schlüsselbegriffe Mittelmeer, römische villa maritima, archäologische Prospektion, ALS/ALB, GPR, Unterwasserarchäologie, integrierte Interpretation von Prospektionsdaten.
Traditionally, ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) measurements for near‐surface geophysical archaeological prospection are conducted with single‐channel systems using GPR antennae mounted in a cart similar to a pushchair, or towed like a sledge behind the operator. The spatial data sampling of such GPR devices for the non‐invasive detection and investigation of buried cultural heritage was, with very few exceptions, at best 25 cm in cross‐line direction of the measurement. With two or three persons participating in the fieldwork, coverage rates between a quarter hectare and half a hectare per day are common, while frequently considerably smaller survey areas at often coarse measurement spacing have been reported. Over the past years, the advent of novel multi‐channel GPR antenna array systems has permitted an enormous increase in survey efficiency and spatial sampling resolution. Using GPR antenna arrays with up to 16 channels operating in parallel, in combination with automatic positioning solutions based on real‐time kinematic global navigation satellite systems or robotic total‐stations, it has become possible to map several hectares per day with as little as 8 cm cross‐line and 4 cm in‐line GPR trace spacing. While this dramatic increase in coverage rate has a positive effect on the reduction of costs of GPR surveys, and thus its more widespread use in archaeology, the increased spatial sampling for the first time allows for the high‐resolution imaging of relatively small archaeological structures, such as for example 25 cm wide post‐holes of Iron Age buildings or the brick pillars of Roman floor heating systems, permitting much improved archaeological interpretations of the collected data. We present the state‐of‐the‐art in large‐scale high‐resolution archaeological GPR prospection, covering hardware and software technology and fieldwork methodology as well as the closely related issues of processing and interpretation of the huge data sets. Application examples from selected European archaeological sites illustrate the progress made.
Imaging spectroscopy acquires imagery in hundreds or more narrow contiguous spectral bands. This offers unprecedented information for archaeological research. To extract the maximum of useful archaeological information from it, however, a number of problems have to be solved. Major problems relate to data redundancy and the visualization of the large amount of data. This makes data mining approaches necessary, as well as efficient data visualization tools. Additional problems relate to data quality. Indeed, the upwelling electromagnetic radiation is recorded in small spectral bands that are only about ten nanometers wide. The signal received by the sensor is, thus quite low compared to sensor noise and possible atmospheric perturbations. The often small, instantaneous field of view (IFOV)—essential for archaeologically relevant imaging spectrometer datasets—further limits the useful signal stemming from the ground. The combination of both effects makes radiometric smoothing techniques mandatory. The present study details the functionality of a MATLAB®-based toolbox, called ARCTIS (ARChaeological Toolbox for Imaging Spectroscopy), for filtering, enhancing, analyzing, and visualizing imaging spectrometer datasets. The toolbox addresses the above-mentioned problems. Its Graphical User Interface (GUI) is designed to allow non-experts in remote sensing to extract a wealth of information from imaging spectroscopy for archaeological research. ARCTIS will be released under creative commons license, free of charge, via website (http://luftbildarchiv.univie.ac.at).
Although centuriation was only one system of Roman land division, its impact on the landscape and its visibility in modern field arrangements make it the most commonly recognized expression of Roman landscapes. Centuriated grid systems are usually analyzed from a materialistic point of view and consequently are regarded as an assertion of Roman dominance over conquered territories. In this sense, their productive function is clear. The hinterland of Tarraco (the ancient capital of the Roman province of Tarraconensis) offers one of the most clearly documented examples of multiple-grid centuriated systems. From 2006 to 2010, the Landscape Archaeology Research Group of the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology employed a wide array of digital and field methodologies at Tarraco to record the traces of centuriated land divisions and their Roman origin. Most importantly, these methods have allowed research to move beyond pure description of the traces to explore the concepts and ideas behind the making of a centuriated landscape. By using Tarraco as a case study, this article shows how centuriation was not only a system for dividing the land but also a conceptual appropriation of the landscape based on a strong mythical and religious background.
The future demands on professional archaeological prospection will be its ability to cover large areas in a time and cost efficient
manner with very high spatial resolution and accuracy. The objective of the 2010 in Vienna established Ludwig Boltzmann Institute
for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology, in collaboration with its nine European partner organisations, is the
advancement of the state-of-the-art. This goal will be achieved by focusing on the development of remote sensing, geophysical
prospection and virtual reality applications. Main focus will be placed on novel integrated interpretation approaches combining
cutting-edge near-surface prospection methods with advanced computer science.
In May 2006 high-resolution measurements using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetic gradiometer systems conducted over selected areas at the site of the Viking Age settlement and trading place Birka in central Sweden demonstrated the suitability of these methods for archaeological prospection of Scandinavian proto-urban settlements. The non-invasive geophysical surveys revealed numerous structural details of the settlement: houses, property boundaries, track-ways, buried remains of the town ramparts dating from different building periods, including a gate, were mapped with a manually operated single-channel GPR system and a four-channel magnetometer array. The combination of these two prospection methods, state-of-the-art data processing and visualization and archaeological interpretation within a geographical information system resulted in valuable new information about the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site Birka-Hovgården. We present methodology and results of this first archaeological prospection case study conducted in 2006. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
pdf at http://www.archprospection.org/eacguidelines --
The aim of these guidelines is to provide an overview of the issues to be considered when undertaking or commissioning geophysical survey in archaeology. As every project differs in its requirements (e.g. from finding sites to creating detailed maps of individual structures) and variations in geological and environmental conditions lead to different geophysical responses, there is no single ‘best’ survey technique or methodology. This guide, in its European approach, highlights the various questions to be asked before a survey is undertaken. It does not provide recipe- book advice on how to do a geophysical survey or a tick list of which technique is suitable under what conditions: there is no substitute for consulting experienced archaeological geophysicists on these matters. Using geophysical techniques and methods inappropriately will lead to disappointment and may, ultimately, result in archaeologists not using them at all.
There is no formalised standard for the conduct of geophysical survey in archaeology, mainly because there are many parameters that determine the outcome, and there are various purposes for which the results may be used. A variety of geophysical techniques is available (e.g. Magnetometer, earth resistance and ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey) and an archaeological geophysicist will chose a particular methodology for collecting data with any of these techniques (e.g. a gridded survey with a specific transect separation). The choices will depend on the archaeological questions being asked (whether broad, like “are there any archaeological features in this planned road corridor?” or detailed as in “is this wall foundation one brick wide or two?”). The following sections discuss the issues for consideration when selecting geophysical techniques and methodologies, but do not specify specific requirements as these will vary according to context.
Airborne remote sensing for archaeology is the discipline that encompasses the study of archaeological remains using data collected from an airborne platform by means of digital or film-based aerial photography, airborne laser scanning, hyperspectral imaging etc. So far, airborne hyperspectral scanning or – more accurately – airborne imaging spectroscopy (AIS) has occupied only a very small niche in the field of archaeological remote sensing: besides reasons of cost, the common archaeologically-insufficient ground-sampling distance can be considered the main limiting factor. Moreover, the technical processing of these data sets with a high level of potential redundancy needs specialized software. Typically, calculation of band ratios and a principal component analysis are applied. As a result, the few practical applications of archaeological AIS have not been entirely convincing so far. The aim of this paper is to present new approaches for analysing archaeological AIS data. The imagery under study has a ground-sampling distance of 40 cm and covers the Roman town of Carnuntum (Austria). Using two algorithms embedded in a specifically developed MATLAB® toolbox, it will be shown how the extracted archaeological information can be enhanced from high-resolution hyperspectral images. A comparison with simultaneously acquired vertical photographs will indicate the specific advantages of high-resolution AIS data and the gain one can obtain when exploiting its potential using any of the newly presented methods.