Detection of Body Dump Sites and Clandestine Burials: a GIS-Based Landscape Approach

Forensic archaeology has been of inestimable help in the location and excavation of clandestine burials (Hunter 1996a:16-17, 1996b; Killam 2004; Levine et al. 1984). Landscape archaeology techniques have been adapted and widely applied for such purposes. In this article, an adaptation of one of the most common applications of archaeological GIS, that is predictive site location, is applied to the detection of body dump sites and clandestine burial sites, bringing together in the process the fields of landscape archaeology, forensic sciences, and GIS.

Arqueología de paisajes altimontanos pirenaicos: formas de explotación y usos del medio en época romana en valle del Madriu-Perafita-Claror (Andorra) y en la Sierra del Cadí (Alt Urgell)

long-term cultural history of the Madriu-Perafita-Claror valleys (Andorra) and the Cadí Range (Catalonia) has been investigated thanks to the combination of archaeological surveys and excavation, analysis of written sources, multiproxy alaeoenvironment analysis (pollen, NPP, micro and macro charcoal, sedimentology and geochemistry), and digital technologies such as stereophotogrammetry, multispectral imaging, DGPS and GIS. The project has been designed from a landscape archaeology approach and the study area has been selected due to the suitable setting it provides for a meaningful application of the aforementioned techniques. Consequently, archaeological, historical and palaeoenvironmental data have been all treated as cultural proxies. Their comparison has allowed obtaining not only coherent but also complementary results. The project outcomes show an uninterrupted occupation of these high mountain valleys (2000-2600 m a.s.l.) from the Mesolithic until the present. This human occupation shows strong spatial and chronological variability in human practices ranging from a stable long term group occupation in the Late Neolithic to the diversification of representative practices during the Roman period (metallurgy, pine resin exploitation, charcoal production, pastoralism, etc.). This high diversity of activities leads to complex cultural landscapes in the high Pyrenean areas. The reconstruction of the cultural history at the study areas will allow the development of more sustainable politics for these landscapes management.

Consells d’extracció i conservació del material arqueològic in situ

Aquest petit treball pretén esdevenir una guia bàsica per aquells arqueòlegs que desconeixen l’aspecte conservatiu dels materials arqueològics. Així, en primer lloc analitzarem, a grans trets, la composició físicoquímica dels diferents objectes que podem trobar en una excavació i quins són els agents que més els malmeten. Després tractarem d’introduir alguns consells pràctics pel treball de camp.

Els assentaments de les edats del bronze, ibèrica i romana d"Els Llirians del Mas i Les Torres (Salàs de Pallars, Pallars Jussà)

[cat] En els anys 2003 i 2004 una intervenció arqueològica preventiva en el terme de Salàs de Pallars va permetre documentar seixanta estructures excavades al subsòl. La majoria de les estructures foren identificades com a sitges, però també es documentaren cubetes i fosses de diversa funció, algunes utilitzades com a sepultures. L"estudi dels materials recuperats, complementats per datacions radiocarbòniques, indiquen dos períodes cronològics: el bronze inicial i l"etapa ibèrica plena, als quals s"ha d"afegir una única estructura que pertany a començaments de l"Imperi romà. Les dades obtingudes informen sobre les pràctiques de les comunitats agrícoles assentades en el sector meridional de la comarca del Pallars Jussà en tres moments històrics diferents. [eng]In 2003 and 2004 a Preventive Archaeological Excavation was done in the locality of Salàs de Pallars. This allowed to catalogue the sixty structures found in the subsoil. Most of the structures were identified as silos, but we also documented basins and pits with different functions, some used as graves. The study of the recovered materials, supported by a radiocarbon analysis technique, ages this around two chronological periods: the Early Bronze Age and Iberian Period. We must add a third period to classify a single structure that belongs to the Early Roman Empire. The obtained results provide us information about the farming methods used by the communities placed in the southern Region of the Pallars Jussà during the three different historical moments.

Dynamique du peuplement et activités agro-pastorales durant l’âge du Bronze dans les massifs du haut Champsaur et de l’Argentiérois

Des programmes de recherche pluridisciplinaires sur l’occupation du sol et le pastoralisme de la Préhistoire au Moyen Âge dans le sud du massif alpin sont menés, depuis 1998, sur les massifs du Haut Champsaur, de Freissinières et de l’Argentièrois (Hautes-Alpes). Des dix phases d’occupation et d'activité agropastorale mises en évidence (prospections pédestres et fouilles), entre 1600 et 2700 m d’altitude, trois se distinguent: la fin du Néolithique, l’âge du Bronze et la période médiévale. Au travers des premières données archéologiques et environnementales, cet article présente, depuis le milieu du IIIe millénaire au début du Ier millénaire, les grandes caractéristiques de l’occupation du sol mais aussi l’originalité et l’importance de l’activité humaine dans cette zone alpine. La fin du Néolithique et l’âge du Bronze correspondent à une multiplication des gisements archéologiques marquant de façon évidente une rupture dans la gestion de l'espace montagnard. Les paysages sont largement façonnés par les activités humaines et l’entretien des terres cultivées, des prairies et des alpages, paraît continu. À la lumière des données de terrain, l’une des évolutions qui apparaît sur les sites d’altitude durant cette période concerne l’apparition de structures pastorales bâties entre 2 067 et 2 303 m d’altitude (datation 14C).

Bat assemblages in the Nietoperek bat reserve (Western Poland) and their conservation strategies

Międzyrzecz Fortified Front, were Natura 2000 site PLH080003 Nietoperek is situated, was built by the Germans in the 1930s and during the World War II. It is composed of above ground bunkers connected by underground tunnels of ca. 32 km total length. Nietoperek is the eighth largest bats hibernation site in EU. Monthly censuses were carried out from October to April during three consecutive winter seasons (2011/12 – 2013/14) in area covering ca. 30% of the undergrounds. The aims of the study were: (1) to describe changes in numbers of each species in the course of hibernation season, (2) to suggest deadlines for counting particular bat species to obtain maximal numbers and (3) to describe negative impact of tourism on hibernating bats. The results will be useful for restriction of winter tourism in Nietoperek. The total number of bats observed during the study was 37869 individuals of 9 species. Because of difficulties in distinguishing without handling M. mystacinus and M. brandtii were treated as one group. M. myotis constituted from 53% (first season) to 64% (last season) of all hibernating bats. The maximal numbers of individuals were observed in November (first two seasons) and in December (third season). M. daubentonii constituted from 27% (first season) to 21% (last season) and M. nattereri from 10% (first season) to 11% (second season) of all bats. During the three seasons the maximal numbers of M. daubentonii and M. nattereri were observed in November and December respectively. B. barbastellus and P. auritus constituted from 4% (first season) to 2% (last season) of the multi species colony. The maximal numbers of B. barbastellus were observed in January and P. auritus in January (first and second seasons) and in December (third season). Results indicated that the best period for counting maximal numbers of M. myotis and M. daubentonii is November, for M. nattereri is December and for B. barbastellus and P. auritus is January. The study undertaken in the part visited by tourists in winter (total length of 900 m) proved negative effect caused by human disturbance with 23% decline of total bat numbers.

Un conjunto numismático del siglo XVI en la Cova del Ramal de la Raconada (Castelldefels, Barcelona)

[eng]A few 16th century coins found in the Cova del Ramal de la Raconada (Castelldefels, Barcelona) This paper announces the finding of eight coins at the excavation site of the Cova del Ramal de la Raconada (Castelldefels, Barcelona). An analysis of the cluster enables this numismatic material to be situated chronologically in the third quarter of the 16th century and to associate it with the monetary circulation at the beginning of the Modern Age. In addition, the material from the Cova del Ramal de la Raconada and other Bajo Llobregat locations enables us to make assumptions on the historical context at the end of the 16th century in the Barcelona coastal region.