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Open Journal of ArchaeometryNumber of Followers: 4
Open Access journal ISSN (Online) 2038-1956 This journal is no longer being updated because: the publisher no longer provides RSS feeds
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- Archaeomagnetism of four pottery kilns in central Portugal: Implications
for secular variation and dating Authors: Michael Edwin Evans, Antonio Correia Abstract: We report archaeomagnetic results from four pottery kilns in Portugal which are thought to belong to the period of Roman rule (3rd Century BCE-4th Century CE). Very few details have been published to date, so this broad assignment is based on the general archaeological context at each site. Our motivation was to see if a more precise chronology could be established by means of archaeomagnetic dating. Concomitant goals were to compare these results from Portugal to their counterparts in Spain and to expand geographic coverage of the regional geomagnetic secular variation reference curve. Experimentally, all the samples behaved in a very coherent manner during progressive alternating-field demagnetization and yielded high-precision mean archaeomagnetic directions (a95<3°) for each site. The results suggest that two of the kilns, Castelo de Vide and Peniche, were most likely in use during the late 1st/early 2nd centuries CE, whereas the two kilns at Seixal are somewhat younger, dating to the late 2nd to early 4th centuries CE. PubDate: 2018-10-01 DOI: 10.4081/arc.2018.7171 Issue No: Vol. 4, No. 1 (2018)
- Provenance analysis of human cremations by 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratios:
migration into an Iron Age mining region in North-Rhine Westphalia Authors: Sidney V. Sebald, Manuel Zeiler, Gisela Grupe Abstract: The Siegerland (North-Rhine Westphalia, FRG) is famous for its early mining industry and ore exploitation. The archaeological context of cremated burials as well as grave goods indicate parallels to today's Wetterau (Hesse), suggesting migration into the Siegerland. After morphological examination of the cremations augmented by a histological age-at-death determination, provenance analysis by use of stable strontium isotope analysis was carried out. 60 individuals from the burial mound at Netphen-Deuz in the Siegerland were available for anthropological examination. The 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratio was measured in 29 dentine and 15 bone samples. At least 19 individuals exhibited a non-local isotopic signal which was compatible with a provenance from the Wetterau region. Since 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratios in the bioapatite are thermally stable, provenance analysis of cremated finds is thus possible, whereby a testable archaeological hypothesis is prerequisite. Histological examination of cremated bones proved indispensable for the age-at-death estimation. PubDate: 2018-06-13 DOI: 10.4081/arc.2018.7512 Issue No: Vol. 4, No. 1 (2018)
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