Using experimental archaeology and micromorphology to reconstruct timber-framed buildings from Roman Silchester: a new approach

Determining the internal layout of archaeological structures and their uses has always been challenging, particularly in timber-framed or earthen walled buildings where doorways and divisions are difficult to trace. In temperate conditions however, soil formation processes may hold the key to understanding how buildings were used. The abandoned Roman town of Silchester, UK, provides a perfect case study for testing a new approach combining experimental archaeology and micromorphology. The results show that this technique can resolve previously uncertain features of urban architecture such as the presence of a roof and the changes in internal organisation and use over time.

An assessment of the impact of trees upon archaeology within a relict wetland

An evaluation of a surviving stretch of the Abbot's Way, in the Somerset Levels and Moors, was undertaken to assess the consequences of the previous management regime and inform future management of the site. The scheduled site appeared to have been dewatered and desiccated as a consequence of tree planting and the effects of a deep, adjacent drainage ditch during the previous decade. The evaluation considered the condition of the Neolithic timbers and associated palaeoenvironmental record from three trenches and, where possible, compared the results with those obtained form the 1974 excavation (Girling, 1976). The results of this analysis suggest that the hydrological consequences of tree planting and colonization had a detrimental effect on both the condition of the timbers and insect remains. However, pollen and plant macro-fossils survived well although there was modern contamination. A trench opened outside the scheduled area. where the ground was waterlogged and supported a wet acid grassland flora, revealed similar problems of survival and condition. This almost certainly reflects a period of peat extraction and an associated seasonally fluctuating water table in the 1950s and 1960s; in fact pollen survived better in the scheduled dewatered area. These results are compared with those recovered from the Sweet Track which was evaluated in 1996. Both sites have been subject to recent tree growth but the Sweet Track has been positively managed in terms of hydrology. The most notable difference between the two sites is that insects and wood survived better at the Sweet Track sites than at the Abbot's Way. Insects seem to be a more sensitive indicator of site desiccation than plant remains. It is recommended that any programme of management of wetland for archaeology should avoid deliberate tree planting and natural scrub and woodland generation. It should also take into account past as well as present land use.

'The debatable territory where geology and archaeology meet': reassessing the early archaeobotanical work of Clement Reid and Arthur Lyell at Roman Silchester

The first large-scale archaeobotanical study in Britain, conducted from 1899 to 1909 by Clement Reid and Arthur Lyell at Silchester, provided the first evidence for the introduction of Roman plant foods to Britain, yet the findings have thus far remained unverified. This paper presents a reassessment of these archaeobotanical remains, now stored as part of the Silchester Collection in Reading Museum. The documentary evidence for the Silchester study is summarised, before the results are presented for over a 1000 plant remains including an assessment of preservation, identification and modern contamination. The dataset includes both evidence for the presence of nationally rare plant foods, such as medlar, and several archaeophytes. The methodologies and original interpretations of Reid and Lyell’s study are reassessed in light of current archaeobotanical knowledge. Spatial and contextual patterns in the distribution of plant foods and ornamental taxa are also explored. Finally, the legacy of the study for the development of archaeobotany in the 20th century is evaluated.

Integrating archaeology and palaeoecology to understand Jê landscapes in southern Brazil

Around AD 1000, the southern Brazilian highlands witnessed a convergence of phenomena: climatic change, the abrupt expansion of Araucaria forest and the appearance of large pit-houses and monumental mound and enclosure complexes, which signal fundamental socio-political and ideological change amongst southern proto-Jê (SPJ) groups. These developments raise intriguing questions regarding the relationships between people, vegetation and climate over the last 2000 years.

Towards high-resolution shell midden archaeology: Experimental and ethnoarchaeology in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina)

This paper discusses the ongoing ethnoarchaeological research carried out in Yamana shell middens of Tierra del Fuego. Ethnoarchaeology is used in this research as a tool to improve the archaeological methodology by testing it against anthropological, ethnographical and ethnological sources for achieving more accurate reconstructions of past societies. The ethnographical/ethnological information also is coupled with an experimental approach devised to understand physical and social processes, such as site formation processes and resource use and management. Specifically, this experimental approach was applied to the archaeological sites Tunel VII and Lanashuaia I (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina). (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

Book Review of Archaeology as a Process: Processualism and Its Progeny by Michael J. O'Brien, R. Lee Lyman, and Michael Brian Schiffer

The field of archaeology incorporates a confusing assortment of ideas and approaches to the record. With studies ranging widely in ideology and goals, from strict descriptive materialism to sociological interpretation, language used to communicate key concepts (not to mention which concepts are key) also varies widely, resulting in low levels of mutual interest and intelligibility across the discipline. Archaeologists commonly ignore the majority of available literature as a result, further widening intellectual chasms.

On Accidental Archaeology

Archaeological excavations in the nineteenth century presented images of past and present collapsed together. Examining the accidental excavation of Roman remains in London and the failed excavation of Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, this essay shows how the intrusion of material from one time into another disrupted notions of linear chronology.