This paper aims to reconstruct the alluvial activity for the Lilas river, the second-largest catc... more This paper aims to reconstruct the alluvial activity for the Lilas river, the second-largest catchment of Euboea Island (Central Western Aegean Sea), for approximately the last three and a half millennia. The middle reaches (Gides basin) exhibit several historical alluvial terraces that were first recognised in the 1980s but have remained poorly studied, resulting in uncertain chronological control of palaeofluvial activity. In order to reconstruct the past fluvial dynamics of the Lilas river, a ca. 2.5 m thick stratigraphic profile has been investigated for granulometry and magnetic parameters. Absolute dating of the sediments was possible by applying Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL). The results reveal: (i) two coarse-grained aggradational episodes dated from the Mycenaean/Early Iron Age and the Roman periods, respectively, (ii) a phase of rapid fine-grained vertical accretion corresponding to the Late Byzantine to early Venetian periods, (iii) potential evidence for final ...
Agricultural terraces provide farmers in hilly landscapes with effective ways to increase the are... more Agricultural terraces provide farmers in hilly landscapes with effective ways to increase the area available for crops. They mitigate the risks of soil erosion and promote crop productivity by slowing surface water runoff and retaining moisture. As in other parts of the world, terraces have been constructed and used in the Mediterranean for millennia. The availability of terraced agriculture had important socio-economic, ecological, and environmental implications for past societies. However, the chronology of construction, use, and abandonment of terraces in different regions remains uncertain. A more robust set of chronological data will allow better assessment of whether terrace agriculture was a resilient strategy in the face of past economic or ecological instability and, in turn, inform how terraces could be used to address future agricultural and environmental challenges. In this paper, we review the application of luminescence dating to terrace sediments, the key challenges i...
International policies and guidelines often highlight the divide between ‘nature’ and ‘heritage’ ... more International policies and guidelines often highlight the divide between ‘nature’ and ‘heritage’ in landscape management, and the weakness of monodisciplinary approaches. This study argues that historic agricultural practices have played a key role in shaping today’s landscapes, creating a heritage which affords opportunities for more sustainable landscape management. The paper develops a new interdisciplinary approach with particular reference to soil loss and degradation over the long term. It presents innovative methods for assessing and modelling how pre-industrial agricultural features can mitigate soil erosion risk in response to current environmental conditions. Landscape archaeology data presented through Historic Landscape Characterisation are integrated in a GIS-RUSLE model to illustrate the impact of varying historic land-uses on soil erosion. The resulting analyses could be used to inform strategies for sustainable land resource planning.
In response to Timothy Darvill's article, ‘Mythical rings?’ (this issue), which argues for an... more In response to Timothy Darvill's article, ‘Mythical rings?’ (this issue), which argues for an alternative interpretation of Waun Mawn circle and its relationship with Stonehenge, Parker Pearson and colleagues report new evidence from the Welsh site and elaborate on aspects of their original argument. The discovery of a hearth at the centre of the circle, as well as further features around its circumference, reinforces the authors’ original interpretation. The authors explore the evidence for the construction sequence, which was abandoned before the completion of the monument. Contesting Darvill's argument that the Aubrey Holes at Stonehenge originally held posts, the authors reassert their interpretation of this circle of cut features as Bluestone settings.
Ruddons Point, on the Firth of Forth coastline, Scotland, is a laterally extensive terrace of gla... more Ruddons Point, on the Firth of Forth coastline, Scotland, is a laterally extensive terrace of glacial and marine sediment deposits raised above current sea-level, situated near to Kincraig Point, a key site that records a series of stepped erosional platforms carved into the local bedrock, interpreted as post Last Glacial Maximum palaeoshorelines. The deposits at Ruddons Point continue inland, with exposures of the raised sands and gravels cut by the local river, the Cocklemill Burn. The site provides an opportunity to examine the depositional history through the Late Devensian and Holocene. Geophysical survey aided in interpreting characteristics of subsurface sediments such as the transition between the younger saltmarsh sediments and older underlying sands and clays below, which slope in a northerly direction. A chronology obtained through optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating spans from c. 29 ka for sands and clays at an elevation of −0.66 mOD to surface windblown sands...
The report summarizes luminescence profiling, initially using a SUERC PPSL system in Mexico, and ... more The report summarizes luminescence profiling, initially using a SUERC PPSL system in Mexico, and laboratory analysis at SUERC, used to characterise the stratigraphy and interpret sedimentary processes in terrace deposits of the Usumacinta River, SE Mexico. This was then followed, by quantitative quartz OSL SAR dating of five sediment samples, aimed at defining the chronologicalframework of two sedimentary sequences, USU13-1 and USU13-2. In the wider region, the middle catchment of the Usumacinta River, contains numerous archaeological sites dating to the Maya Classic Period, including Bonampak, Yaxchilan and Piedras Negras. The broader aim of the investigation is to assess whether the two fluvial sequences contain a proxy record of environmental change through the archaeological period of interest. Initial luminescence profiling revealed that the stratigraphy in each profile was complex, reflecting multiple cycles of deposition, with signal maxima, followed by tails to lower intensi...
Rivers draining the largest mountain ranges on the planet carry huge quantities of sediment, most... more Rivers draining the largest mountain ranges on the planet carry huge quantities of sediment, most of which is ultimately delivered to the sea hundreds to thousands of kilometres downstream. As sediment is transported downstream by rivers it undergoes a series of transformations, but in virtually all rivers an abrupt transition in river bed grain size from gravel to sand occurs, also known as the gravel-sand transition. Whilst migration of the gravel-sand transition is commonly thought to reflect environmental forcing, such as changes in basin subsidence rate or water and sediment discharges, little is known about whether the transition may also act as a driver of environmental or morphological change. Here we present new point-depth suspended sediment concentration and grain size data between the Himalayan mountain front and immediately downstream of the gravel-sand transition on the Karnali River (west Nepal) to examine changes in sediment transfer and large-scale channel dynamics ...
Roman metal use and related extraction activities resulted in heavy metal pollution and contamina... more Roman metal use and related extraction activities resulted in heavy metal pollution and contamination, in particular of Pb near ancient mines and harbors, as well as producing a global atmospheric impact. New evidence from ancient Gerasa (Jerash), Jordan, suggests that small-scale but intense Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad period urban, artisanal, and everyday site activities contributed to substantial heavy metal contamination of the city and its hinterland wadi, even though no metal mining took place and hardly any lead water pipes were used. Distribution of heavy metal contaminants, especially Pb, observed in the urban soils and sediments within this ancient city and its hinterland wadi resulted from aeolian, fluvial, cultural and post-depositional processes. These represent the contamination pathways of an ancient city-hinterland setting and reflect long-term anthropogenic legacies at local and regional scales beginning in the Roman period. Thus, urban use and re-use of heavy meta...
Please note that the methodological descriptions may contain technical descriptions that are reus... more Please note that the methodological descriptions may contain technical descriptions that are reused from previous reports and can be reused in future reports. We are grateful for help from Nina H. Nielsen, Pernille Trant, Ida-Emilie Nilsson and Thomas Ljungberg during the fieldwork, while background information was kindly provided by Mette Løvschal. The report for the archaeological fieldwork can be found at Viborg Museum, journal number: VSM 10569 Ulbjerg Klint. Financial support Viborg Museum covered Aarhus University' expenses for the fieldwork. Viborg Museum covered costs of the OSL analyses at University of St. Andrews, Scotland. It was funded by Agency for Culture and Palaces (Slotsog Kulturstyrelsen).
The Upper Palaeolithic is characterised by the appearance of iconographic expressions most often ... more The Upper Palaeolithic is characterised by the appearance of iconographic expressions most often depicting animals, including anthropomorphic forms, and geometric signs. The Late Upper Palaeolithic Magdalenian saw a flourishing of such depictions, encompassing cave art, engraving of stone, bone and antler blanks and decoration of tools and weapons. Though Magdalenian settlement exists as far northwest as Britain, there is a limited range of art known from this region, possibly associated with only fleeting occupation of Britain during this period. Stone plaquettes, flat fragments of stone engraved on at least one surface, have been found in large quantities at numerous sites spanning the temporal and geographical spread of the Magdalenian, but they have been absent so far from the archaeological record of the British Isles. Between 2015 and 2018, ten fragments of stone plaquettes extensively engraved with abstract designs were uncovered at the Magdalenian site of Les Varines, Jersey, Channel Islands. In this paper, we report detailed analyses of these finds, which provide new evidence for technologies of abstract mark-making, and their significance within the lives of people on the edge of the Magdalenian world. These engraved stone fragments represent important, rare evidence of artistic expression in what is the far northern and western range of the Magdalenian and add new insight to the wider significance of dynamic practices of artistic expression during the Upper Palaeolithic.
The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2019
We present major new findings on the stability of Norse landing places on the island of Unst, She... more We present major new findings on the stability of Norse landing places on the island of Unst, Shetland using a combination of geomorphology, OSL dating, fetch analysis and sediment transport modelling. Islanders needed reliable access to the sea, and exploited sandy beaches as safe landing places. The persistence of beaches was important for long-term continuity of settlement and could be threatened by stormy conditions. Sediment modelling undertaken on two embayments on Unst, Lunda Wick and Sandwick, reveals major differences in the ability of sandy beaches to reform in these embayments after the onset of persistent stormy conditions; sandy beaches can endure under these conditions at Sandwick, but not at Lunda Wick. OSL dating of blown sands at Lunda Wick reveals a history of sand blow events pointing to large scale depletion of beach material throughout the Little Ice Age (beginning circa 1250 CE). This correlates with known sand blows at Sandwick, but here the beach could be replenished from the nearshore environment, something that was more problematic at Lunda Wick. These findings agree with the emerging picture of increased environment pressure from blown sands on communities throughout the North Atlantic and identifies different models of related beach persistence and change. 'ayr' on sandy beaches. If no ayr or shingle beach was available, fish was either transported wet and dried elsewhere or consumed fresh (Goodlad, 1971). Small Norse boats, such as a faering (4-man boat) were fragile craft, and it was important to have the safest landing places possible, particular in the face of storms, as mentioned by Morrison (1978): ""The extent to which it was felt profitable to push this aspect of Norse design philosophy to its very limits is illustrated by the occasional structural failures that took place in exceptional sea conditions. Undecked fishing boats far out in the open Atlantic often survived only through their sheer speed in making shelter as heavy weather blew up." While these craft may well have been able to withstand rough landings on cobble and rock coasts on occasion, it would have been a more dangerous proposition than a softer landing on sandy beaches.
The gravel-sand transition (GST) is commonly observed along rivers. It is characterized by an abr... more The gravel-sand transition (GST) is commonly observed along rivers. It is characterized by an abrupt reduction in median grain size, from gravel- to sand-size sediment, and by a shift in sand transport mode from wash load–dominated to suspended bed material load. We documented changes in channel stability, suspended sediment concentration, flux, and grain size across the GST of the Karnali River, Nepal. Upstream of the GST, gravel-bed channels are stable over hundred- to thousand-year time scales. Downstream, floodplain sediment is reworked by lateral bank erosion, particularly during monsoon discharges. Suspended sediment concentration, grain size, and flux reveal counterintuitive increases downstream of the GST. The results demonstrate a dramatic change in channel dynamics across the GST, from relatively fixed, steep gravel-bed rivers with infrequent avulsion to lower-gradient, relatively mobile sand-bed channels. The increase in sediment concentration and near-bed suspended grain...
To understand why historic landscapes changed in the past researchers need to identify when and w... more To understand why historic landscapes changed in the past researchers need to identify when and where changes took place, but in rural landscapes, the origins and development of many historic elements including field systems, roads, terraces and other earthworks remain poorly understood. This paper outlines a practical interdisciplinary method using GIS-based historic landscape characterisation (HLC) to integrate data from different sources and model how historic character varies in space. It pilots an innovative approach using luminescence profiling and dating that can underpin the HLC with significantly improved knowledge of historic processes of change. We focus on four case studies of terraced agricultural landscapes in western Catalonia and demonstrate for the first time that existing terrace systems often have medieval or early modern origins.
E. (2016) Using three different approaches of OSL for the study of young fluvial sediments at the... more E. (2016) Using three different approaches of OSL for the study of young fluvial sediments at the coastal plain of the Usumacinta-Grijalva River Basin, southern Mexico. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 41(6), pp. 823-834.
This interdisciplinary study addresses issues of urban-riverine hinterland relationships in semi-... more This interdisciplinary study addresses issues of urban-riverine hinterland relationships in semi-arid environments over millennia at Gerasa/Jerash in Jordan, presenting research that stimulates new lines of enquiry with much broader implications than those relating to this single site. Through the presentation of new data on wadi-sediment responses to social and environmental change, we assess ways in which urban settlements, their hinterlands, and rivers interact over long time periods and how such changes may be read together with historical sources and shed new light on urban-hinterland dynamics. We explore the hypothesis that synergistic relationships between an urban core and its hinterland are essential to the long-term sustainability of both. Our integrated approach gives new insight into settlement dynamics and resource use and carries implications for our understanding of the present through the past.
The Kelly Forks Work Center Site (10CW34) is a deeply buried and stratified late Pleistocene to l... more The Kelly Forks Work Center Site (10CW34) is a deeply buried and stratified late Pleistocene to late Holocene aged archaeological site located on the North Fork Clearwater River in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, Idaho. Previous research suggested the site contained buried archaeological components associated with the Western Stemmed Tradition. Here, we report preliminary results of ongoing reinvestigation of the site to assess the stratigraphy, geochronology, archaeology, and traditional Nez Perce use of the Clearwater River drainage.
The development of functional portable optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) readers over the l... more The development of functional portable optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) readers over the last decade has provided practitioners with the capability to acquire luminescence signals from geological materials relatively rapidly, which allows for expedient preliminary chronostratigraphic insight when working with complex depositional systems of late Quaternary age. Typically, when using the portable OSL reader, infrared (IR) or blue post-IR OSL signals are acquired from bulk unprocessed materials, in contrast to regular luminescence dating which is usually based on measurements on pure Page 2 of 171 http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/esp Earth Surface Processes and Landforms quartz or feldspar mineral separates, or on select silt-sized polymineralic portions. To demonstrate the utility of portable OSL measurements, this paper outlines the basic features of portable OSL readers and their constraints. Afterwards, case studies in which the instrument has been used to elucidate cryptostratigraphic variations in sedimentary sequences for geomorphological applications are reviewed. The studies can generally be grouped into three main categories. The first includes studies where the variation of portable OSL reader luminescence signal intensities with depth are plotted to generate profiles that contextualise sediment stratigraphy. In the second group, portable OSL reader luminescence signal intensities are used to interpret sediment processes that shed light on depositional histories. In the last category, luminescence signals from the portable OSL reader are calibrated to approximate numerical burial ages of depositional units. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible future directions.
Previous studies have suggested that excess variations from single-photon counting systems used i... more Previous studies have suggested that excess variations from single-photon counting systems used in luminescence dating may result in underestimation of errors and profoundly influence age models. In this study ten different photon counting systems have been investigated to explore this effect with a greater number of photomultiplier types and instrumental architectures. It is shown that radiation induced phosphorescence from F1 feldspar produces a controllable low-level light source whose local variance approximates Poisson expectations. However excess variation in dark counts was observed to varying extents from all systems. The excess variance is slightly anti-correlated with the age of the system, with older devices conforming more closely to Poisson behaviour. This observation does not seem to fit the hypothesis that enhanced levels of helium diffused into older tubes increase non-Poisson components. It was noted that a significant part of the non-Poisson behaviour was associated with multi-event pulse streams within time series. Work was also undertaken to develop mitigation methods for data analysis and to examine the implications for dating uncertainties in a test case. A Poisson-filtering algorithm was developed to identify and remove improbable multi-event streams. Application to data from signal-limited single grains of sediments from a Neolithic chambered tomb in Corsica has shown that, for this case, removing non-Poisson components improves the robustness of retained data, but has less 2 of 31 influence on overall dating precision or accuracy. In signal limited applications use of this algorithm to remove one source of excess variation is beneficial. The algorithm and test data are appended to facilitate this.
This paper aims to reconstruct the alluvial activity for the Lilas river, the second-largest catc... more This paper aims to reconstruct the alluvial activity for the Lilas river, the second-largest catchment of Euboea Island (Central Western Aegean Sea), for approximately the last three and a half millennia. The middle reaches (Gides basin) exhibit several historical alluvial terraces that were first recognised in the 1980s but have remained poorly studied, resulting in uncertain chronological control of palaeofluvial activity. In order to reconstruct the past fluvial dynamics of the Lilas river, a ca. 2.5 m thick stratigraphic profile has been investigated for granulometry and magnetic parameters. Absolute dating of the sediments was possible by applying Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL). The results reveal: (i) two coarse-grained aggradational episodes dated from the Mycenaean/Early Iron Age and the Roman periods, respectively, (ii) a phase of rapid fine-grained vertical accretion corresponding to the Late Byzantine to early Venetian periods, (iii) potential evidence for final ...
Agricultural terraces provide farmers in hilly landscapes with effective ways to increase the are... more Agricultural terraces provide farmers in hilly landscapes with effective ways to increase the area available for crops. They mitigate the risks of soil erosion and promote crop productivity by slowing surface water runoff and retaining moisture. As in other parts of the world, terraces have been constructed and used in the Mediterranean for millennia. The availability of terraced agriculture had important socio-economic, ecological, and environmental implications for past societies. However, the chronology of construction, use, and abandonment of terraces in different regions remains uncertain. A more robust set of chronological data will allow better assessment of whether terrace agriculture was a resilient strategy in the face of past economic or ecological instability and, in turn, inform how terraces could be used to address future agricultural and environmental challenges. In this paper, we review the application of luminescence dating to terrace sediments, the key challenges i...
International policies and guidelines often highlight the divide between ‘nature’ and ‘heritage’ ... more International policies and guidelines often highlight the divide between ‘nature’ and ‘heritage’ in landscape management, and the weakness of monodisciplinary approaches. This study argues that historic agricultural practices have played a key role in shaping today’s landscapes, creating a heritage which affords opportunities for more sustainable landscape management. The paper develops a new interdisciplinary approach with particular reference to soil loss and degradation over the long term. It presents innovative methods for assessing and modelling how pre-industrial agricultural features can mitigate soil erosion risk in response to current environmental conditions. Landscape archaeology data presented through Historic Landscape Characterisation are integrated in a GIS-RUSLE model to illustrate the impact of varying historic land-uses on soil erosion. The resulting analyses could be used to inform strategies for sustainable land resource planning.
In response to Timothy Darvill's article, ‘Mythical rings?’ (this issue), which argues for an... more In response to Timothy Darvill's article, ‘Mythical rings?’ (this issue), which argues for an alternative interpretation of Waun Mawn circle and its relationship with Stonehenge, Parker Pearson and colleagues report new evidence from the Welsh site and elaborate on aspects of their original argument. The discovery of a hearth at the centre of the circle, as well as further features around its circumference, reinforces the authors’ original interpretation. The authors explore the evidence for the construction sequence, which was abandoned before the completion of the monument. Contesting Darvill's argument that the Aubrey Holes at Stonehenge originally held posts, the authors reassert their interpretation of this circle of cut features as Bluestone settings.
Ruddons Point, on the Firth of Forth coastline, Scotland, is a laterally extensive terrace of gla... more Ruddons Point, on the Firth of Forth coastline, Scotland, is a laterally extensive terrace of glacial and marine sediment deposits raised above current sea-level, situated near to Kincraig Point, a key site that records a series of stepped erosional platforms carved into the local bedrock, interpreted as post Last Glacial Maximum palaeoshorelines. The deposits at Ruddons Point continue inland, with exposures of the raised sands and gravels cut by the local river, the Cocklemill Burn. The site provides an opportunity to examine the depositional history through the Late Devensian and Holocene. Geophysical survey aided in interpreting characteristics of subsurface sediments such as the transition between the younger saltmarsh sediments and older underlying sands and clays below, which slope in a northerly direction. A chronology obtained through optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating spans from c. 29 ka for sands and clays at an elevation of −0.66 mOD to surface windblown sands...
The report summarizes luminescence profiling, initially using a SUERC PPSL system in Mexico, and ... more The report summarizes luminescence profiling, initially using a SUERC PPSL system in Mexico, and laboratory analysis at SUERC, used to characterise the stratigraphy and interpret sedimentary processes in terrace deposits of the Usumacinta River, SE Mexico. This was then followed, by quantitative quartz OSL SAR dating of five sediment samples, aimed at defining the chronologicalframework of two sedimentary sequences, USU13-1 and USU13-2. In the wider region, the middle catchment of the Usumacinta River, contains numerous archaeological sites dating to the Maya Classic Period, including Bonampak, Yaxchilan and Piedras Negras. The broader aim of the investigation is to assess whether the two fluvial sequences contain a proxy record of environmental change through the archaeological period of interest. Initial luminescence profiling revealed that the stratigraphy in each profile was complex, reflecting multiple cycles of deposition, with signal maxima, followed by tails to lower intensi...
Rivers draining the largest mountain ranges on the planet carry huge quantities of sediment, most... more Rivers draining the largest mountain ranges on the planet carry huge quantities of sediment, most of which is ultimately delivered to the sea hundreds to thousands of kilometres downstream. As sediment is transported downstream by rivers it undergoes a series of transformations, but in virtually all rivers an abrupt transition in river bed grain size from gravel to sand occurs, also known as the gravel-sand transition. Whilst migration of the gravel-sand transition is commonly thought to reflect environmental forcing, such as changes in basin subsidence rate or water and sediment discharges, little is known about whether the transition may also act as a driver of environmental or morphological change. Here we present new point-depth suspended sediment concentration and grain size data between the Himalayan mountain front and immediately downstream of the gravel-sand transition on the Karnali River (west Nepal) to examine changes in sediment transfer and large-scale channel dynamics ...
Roman metal use and related extraction activities resulted in heavy metal pollution and contamina... more Roman metal use and related extraction activities resulted in heavy metal pollution and contamination, in particular of Pb near ancient mines and harbors, as well as producing a global atmospheric impact. New evidence from ancient Gerasa (Jerash), Jordan, suggests that small-scale but intense Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad period urban, artisanal, and everyday site activities contributed to substantial heavy metal contamination of the city and its hinterland wadi, even though no metal mining took place and hardly any lead water pipes were used. Distribution of heavy metal contaminants, especially Pb, observed in the urban soils and sediments within this ancient city and its hinterland wadi resulted from aeolian, fluvial, cultural and post-depositional processes. These represent the contamination pathways of an ancient city-hinterland setting and reflect long-term anthropogenic legacies at local and regional scales beginning in the Roman period. Thus, urban use and re-use of heavy meta...
Please note that the methodological descriptions may contain technical descriptions that are reus... more Please note that the methodological descriptions may contain technical descriptions that are reused from previous reports and can be reused in future reports. We are grateful for help from Nina H. Nielsen, Pernille Trant, Ida-Emilie Nilsson and Thomas Ljungberg during the fieldwork, while background information was kindly provided by Mette Løvschal. The report for the archaeological fieldwork can be found at Viborg Museum, journal number: VSM 10569 Ulbjerg Klint. Financial support Viborg Museum covered Aarhus University' expenses for the fieldwork. Viborg Museum covered costs of the OSL analyses at University of St. Andrews, Scotland. It was funded by Agency for Culture and Palaces (Slotsog Kulturstyrelsen).
The Upper Palaeolithic is characterised by the appearance of iconographic expressions most often ... more The Upper Palaeolithic is characterised by the appearance of iconographic expressions most often depicting animals, including anthropomorphic forms, and geometric signs. The Late Upper Palaeolithic Magdalenian saw a flourishing of such depictions, encompassing cave art, engraving of stone, bone and antler blanks and decoration of tools and weapons. Though Magdalenian settlement exists as far northwest as Britain, there is a limited range of art known from this region, possibly associated with only fleeting occupation of Britain during this period. Stone plaquettes, flat fragments of stone engraved on at least one surface, have been found in large quantities at numerous sites spanning the temporal and geographical spread of the Magdalenian, but they have been absent so far from the archaeological record of the British Isles. Between 2015 and 2018, ten fragments of stone plaquettes extensively engraved with abstract designs were uncovered at the Magdalenian site of Les Varines, Jersey, Channel Islands. In this paper, we report detailed analyses of these finds, which provide new evidence for technologies of abstract mark-making, and their significance within the lives of people on the edge of the Magdalenian world. These engraved stone fragments represent important, rare evidence of artistic expression in what is the far northern and western range of the Magdalenian and add new insight to the wider significance of dynamic practices of artistic expression during the Upper Palaeolithic.
The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2019
We present major new findings on the stability of Norse landing places on the island of Unst, She... more We present major new findings on the stability of Norse landing places on the island of Unst, Shetland using a combination of geomorphology, OSL dating, fetch analysis and sediment transport modelling. Islanders needed reliable access to the sea, and exploited sandy beaches as safe landing places. The persistence of beaches was important for long-term continuity of settlement and could be threatened by stormy conditions. Sediment modelling undertaken on two embayments on Unst, Lunda Wick and Sandwick, reveals major differences in the ability of sandy beaches to reform in these embayments after the onset of persistent stormy conditions; sandy beaches can endure under these conditions at Sandwick, but not at Lunda Wick. OSL dating of blown sands at Lunda Wick reveals a history of sand blow events pointing to large scale depletion of beach material throughout the Little Ice Age (beginning circa 1250 CE). This correlates with known sand blows at Sandwick, but here the beach could be replenished from the nearshore environment, something that was more problematic at Lunda Wick. These findings agree with the emerging picture of increased environment pressure from blown sands on communities throughout the North Atlantic and identifies different models of related beach persistence and change. 'ayr' on sandy beaches. If no ayr or shingle beach was available, fish was either transported wet and dried elsewhere or consumed fresh (Goodlad, 1971). Small Norse boats, such as a faering (4-man boat) were fragile craft, and it was important to have the safest landing places possible, particular in the face of storms, as mentioned by Morrison (1978): ""The extent to which it was felt profitable to push this aspect of Norse design philosophy to its very limits is illustrated by the occasional structural failures that took place in exceptional sea conditions. Undecked fishing boats far out in the open Atlantic often survived only through their sheer speed in making shelter as heavy weather blew up." While these craft may well have been able to withstand rough landings on cobble and rock coasts on occasion, it would have been a more dangerous proposition than a softer landing on sandy beaches.
The gravel-sand transition (GST) is commonly observed along rivers. It is characterized by an abr... more The gravel-sand transition (GST) is commonly observed along rivers. It is characterized by an abrupt reduction in median grain size, from gravel- to sand-size sediment, and by a shift in sand transport mode from wash load–dominated to suspended bed material load. We documented changes in channel stability, suspended sediment concentration, flux, and grain size across the GST of the Karnali River, Nepal. Upstream of the GST, gravel-bed channels are stable over hundred- to thousand-year time scales. Downstream, floodplain sediment is reworked by lateral bank erosion, particularly during monsoon discharges. Suspended sediment concentration, grain size, and flux reveal counterintuitive increases downstream of the GST. The results demonstrate a dramatic change in channel dynamics across the GST, from relatively fixed, steep gravel-bed rivers with infrequent avulsion to lower-gradient, relatively mobile sand-bed channels. The increase in sediment concentration and near-bed suspended grain...
To understand why historic landscapes changed in the past researchers need to identify when and w... more To understand why historic landscapes changed in the past researchers need to identify when and where changes took place, but in rural landscapes, the origins and development of many historic elements including field systems, roads, terraces and other earthworks remain poorly understood. This paper outlines a practical interdisciplinary method using GIS-based historic landscape characterisation (HLC) to integrate data from different sources and model how historic character varies in space. It pilots an innovative approach using luminescence profiling and dating that can underpin the HLC with significantly improved knowledge of historic processes of change. We focus on four case studies of terraced agricultural landscapes in western Catalonia and demonstrate for the first time that existing terrace systems often have medieval or early modern origins.
E. (2016) Using three different approaches of OSL for the study of young fluvial sediments at the... more E. (2016) Using three different approaches of OSL for the study of young fluvial sediments at the coastal plain of the Usumacinta-Grijalva River Basin, southern Mexico. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 41(6), pp. 823-834.
This interdisciplinary study addresses issues of urban-riverine hinterland relationships in semi-... more This interdisciplinary study addresses issues of urban-riverine hinterland relationships in semi-arid environments over millennia at Gerasa/Jerash in Jordan, presenting research that stimulates new lines of enquiry with much broader implications than those relating to this single site. Through the presentation of new data on wadi-sediment responses to social and environmental change, we assess ways in which urban settlements, their hinterlands, and rivers interact over long time periods and how such changes may be read together with historical sources and shed new light on urban-hinterland dynamics. We explore the hypothesis that synergistic relationships between an urban core and its hinterland are essential to the long-term sustainability of both. Our integrated approach gives new insight into settlement dynamics and resource use and carries implications for our understanding of the present through the past.
The Kelly Forks Work Center Site (10CW34) is a deeply buried and stratified late Pleistocene to l... more The Kelly Forks Work Center Site (10CW34) is a deeply buried and stratified late Pleistocene to late Holocene aged archaeological site located on the North Fork Clearwater River in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, Idaho. Previous research suggested the site contained buried archaeological components associated with the Western Stemmed Tradition. Here, we report preliminary results of ongoing reinvestigation of the site to assess the stratigraphy, geochronology, archaeology, and traditional Nez Perce use of the Clearwater River drainage.
The development of functional portable optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) readers over the l... more The development of functional portable optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) readers over the last decade has provided practitioners with the capability to acquire luminescence signals from geological materials relatively rapidly, which allows for expedient preliminary chronostratigraphic insight when working with complex depositional systems of late Quaternary age. Typically, when using the portable OSL reader, infrared (IR) or blue post-IR OSL signals are acquired from bulk unprocessed materials, in contrast to regular luminescence dating which is usually based on measurements on pure Page 2 of 171 http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/esp Earth Surface Processes and Landforms quartz or feldspar mineral separates, or on select silt-sized polymineralic portions. To demonstrate the utility of portable OSL measurements, this paper outlines the basic features of portable OSL readers and their constraints. Afterwards, case studies in which the instrument has been used to elucidate cryptostratigraphic variations in sedimentary sequences for geomorphological applications are reviewed. The studies can generally be grouped into three main categories. The first includes studies where the variation of portable OSL reader luminescence signal intensities with depth are plotted to generate profiles that contextualise sediment stratigraphy. In the second group, portable OSL reader luminescence signal intensities are used to interpret sediment processes that shed light on depositional histories. In the last category, luminescence signals from the portable OSL reader are calibrated to approximate numerical burial ages of depositional units. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible future directions.
Previous studies have suggested that excess variations from single-photon counting systems used i... more Previous studies have suggested that excess variations from single-photon counting systems used in luminescence dating may result in underestimation of errors and profoundly influence age models. In this study ten different photon counting systems have been investigated to explore this effect with a greater number of photomultiplier types and instrumental architectures. It is shown that radiation induced phosphorescence from F1 feldspar produces a controllable low-level light source whose local variance approximates Poisson expectations. However excess variation in dark counts was observed to varying extents from all systems. The excess variance is slightly anti-correlated with the age of the system, with older devices conforming more closely to Poisson behaviour. This observation does not seem to fit the hypothesis that enhanced levels of helium diffused into older tubes increase non-Poisson components. It was noted that a significant part of the non-Poisson behaviour was associated with multi-event pulse streams within time series. Work was also undertaken to develop mitigation methods for data analysis and to examine the implications for dating uncertainties in a test case. A Poisson-filtering algorithm was developed to identify and remove improbable multi-event streams. Application to data from signal-limited single grains of sediments from a Neolithic chambered tomb in Corsica has shown that, for this case, removing non-Poisson components improves the robustness of retained data, but has less 2 of 31 influence on overall dating precision or accuracy. In signal limited applications use of this algorithm to remove one source of excess variation is beneficial. The algorithm and test data are appended to facilitate this.
Doggerland was a landmass occupying an area currently covered by the North Sea until marine inund... more Doggerland was a landmass occupying an area currently covered by the North Sea until marine inundation took place during the mid-Holocene, ultimately separating the British landmass from the rest of Europe. The Storegga Event, which triggered a tsunami reflected in sediment deposits in the northern North Sea, northeast coastlines of the British Isles and across the North Atlantic, was a major event during this transgressive phase. The spatial extent of the Storegga tsunami however remains unconfirmed as, to date, no direct evidence for the event has been recovered from the southern North Sea. We present evidence of a tsunami deposit in the southern North Sea at the head of a palaeo-river system that has been identified using seismic survey. The evidence, based on lithostratigraphy, geochemical signatures, macro and microfossils and sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA), supported by optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating, suggests that these deposits were a result of the tsunami. Seismic identification of this stratum and analysis of adjacent cores showed diminished traces of the tsunami which was largely removed by subsequent erosional processes. Our results confirm previous modelling of the impact of the tsunami within this area of the southern North Sea, and also indicate that these effects were temporary, localized, and mitigated by the dense woodland and topography of the area. We conclude that clear physical remnants of the wave in these areas are likely to be restricted to now buried, palaeo-inland basins and incised river valley systems.
Rivers have always been a magnet for human settlement, providing resources, such as water, food, ... more Rivers have always been a magnet for human settlement, providing resources, such as water, food, and energy, and communication and travel routes. Climate- and human-made changes to the environment can easily affect the fragile balance between the 'natural' and the 'urban', causing droughts, floods, and other changes in riverine systems that challenge economic, environmental, and social sustainability. This is especially true in semiarid regions and in times of rapid climate change and human-driven deterioration of the environment. Therefore a deeper understanding is needed of the evolution of urban-riverine relationships within long-term historical frameworks. This article presents an integrative and interdisciplinary programme for research, which although exemplified by one case study-the city of Gerasa/ Jerash and its hinterland in modern Jordan-can be applied to other locations and regions with benefits.
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Papers by Tim Kinnaird