Cyber Archaeology

In this paper we claim that during the First Temple period, no organized or fixed system of liquid volume measurements existed in Judah. The biblical bath, which has been understood to be the basic measurement of the system, was not a measurement at all but a well-known vessel – the Judahite storage jar–also known as the  lmlk jar. The nēḇel and the kaḏ were two other vessels that had other uses. The lōḡ, hîn, and iśśārôn, which are usually termed “measurements” and considered part of the system of liquid volume measurements, were actually vessels that were part of the official Temple cult during the Second Temple period and were never part of the First Temple economy and administration.

In our European Research Council (ERC) funded project entitled Ancient (Biblical) Israel: The Exact and Life Sciences Perspective, we use a novel approach to integrate the macro and microscopic archaeological records from the Iron Age. The project is organized into ten tracks that were formulated in order to shed light on five main themes related to ancient (biblical) Israel:
1. The time of Ancient Israel:
a. Radiocarbon: correlating the chronology of Ancient Israel with neighboring lands, especially the Mediterranean basin, as well as enhancing the dating of the different phases in the Iron Age and deepening understanding of relative chronology based on ceramic typology.
2. The genesis of Ancient Israel:
a. Ancient DNA: collected from humans and animals to track origin and movement of ancient populations.
b. Geo-archaeology: understanding formation processes, use of space, and tracking subsistence economy practices in Ancient Israel by examining sediments in sites that represent Iron Age towns and villages.
c. Palynology: studying cores of sediments from the Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee in order to obtain information on paleoclimate, subsistence practices and settlement oscillations.
3. The life of Ancient Israel:
a. Ceramic petrography: reconstructing production and trade patterns in ceramic vessels – the most common type of macro-artifact in the field.
b. Metallurgy: tracking technological advances, specifically the shift from bronze to iron, during the Iron I–IIA period.
4. The mind of Ancient Israel:
a. Daily mathematics of dimensions: examining pottery vessels to discern, for example, the relationship between units of length and volume for the sake of determining the “mathematical” knowledge of the people of the Iron Age.
b. Epigraphy: using advanced computational methodologies in order to study the development of writing in Israel and Judah.
5. The identity of Ancient Israel:
a. Residue analysis: of pottery vessels in order to determine the usage of vessels, culinary practices and long-distance trade.
b. Archaeo-zoology: studying a large number of assemblages from different sub-phases of the Iron Age in different regions and varied
contexts in order to better understand subsistence strategies in the past
In most of the ten tracks the investigations are being conducted with special reference to both the diachronic and synchronic dimensions. This is done by comparing finds in one site/region along the chronology scale and comparing a given assemblage to finds from the same period in other regions.

Mobilizing the Past is a collection of 20 articles that explore the use and impact of mobile digital technology in archaeological field practice. The detailed case studies present in this volume range from drones in the Andes to iPads at Pompeii, digital workflows in the American Southwest, and examples of how bespoke, DIY, and commercial software provide solutions and craft novel challenges for field archaeologists. The range of projects and contexts ensures that Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future is far more than a state-of-the-field manual or technical handbook. Instead, the contributors embrace the growing spirit of critique present in digital archaeology. This critical edge, backed by real projects, systems, and experiences, gives the book lasting value as both a glimpse into present practices as well as the anxieties and enthusiasm associated with the most recent generation of mobile digital tools. This book emerged from a workshop funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities held in 2015 at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. The workshop brought together over 20 leading practitioners of digital archaeology in the U.S. for a weekend of conversation. The papers in this volume reflect the discussions at this workshop with significant additional content. Starting with an expansive introduction and concluding with a series of reflective papers, this volume illustrates how tablets, connectivity, sophisticated software, and powerful computers have transformed field practices and offer potential for a radically transformed discipline.

Individual chapters are available for free download, here:
http://dc.uwm.edu/arthist_mobilizingthepast/

Paper about data management in archaeological projects.
Together with Martina Trognitz, Jörg Räther & Sabine Jahn. 

IT-Empfehlungen
Für den nachhaltigen Umgang mit digitalen Daten in den Altertumswissenschaften

Deutsches Archäologisches Insitut
IANUS Forschungsdatenzentrum

A produção deste livro, primeiramente, vem atender à escassez de material de aporte teórico e metodológico em língua portuguesa na área das Humanidades Digitais. Ao mesmo tempo, e especialmente, pretende inovar nesta temática ao usar como estudo de caso a produção do aplicativo tridimensional interativo (jogo eletrônico) baseado em Herculano, denominado O Último Banquete em Herculano. Consiste, pois, em uma análise acadêmica de um componente da programação educativa do LARP, ou projetos piloto, precedido de um guia didático lançado juntamente com o jogo, o qual, por sua vez, é acompanhado de oito vídeos de curta duração (de dois a quatro minutos) para complementação de informações dos temas tratados.

X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scans were conducted on impregnated sediment blocks from the early Holocene rockshelter site of Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil. The analysis was designed to investigate the presence of termite mound fragments in the archaeological sediments and test the value of complementary techniques in micromorphological studies. Soil feeding termites have been common in the tropical soils of Central Brazil since the Paleogene/Neogene and exist in high concentrations in the surroundings of Lapa do Santo. The micro-CT scans revealed a distinctive spongy microstructure inside some of the clay aggregates in the sediments that are not visible in thin section, matching the spongy microstructure inside termite mound fragments. The microstructure consists of a mix of clay and organic material (feces, saliva and other body fluids) produced by termites to cement the mounds' matrix. The cements are undistinguishable from the matrix under the microscope, but clearly visible in the micro-CT scans given the low attenuation coefficient of organo-mineral matter. The termite mound fragments appear dispersed within the ashy matrix (made of intact and reworked combustion features), suggesting their possible use in earth ovens. The combination of combustion features and reworked earth ovens attests to the complex input of anthropogenic sediments in the formation of Lapa do Santo. This study demonstrates that micro-CT can potentially disclose materials not visible in thin section and can be utilized as a complementary technique to micromorphology.

Arad Ostracon 16 is part of the Elyashiv Archive, dated to ca. 600 b.c. It was published as bearing an inscription on the recto only. New multispectral images of the ostracon have enabled us to reveal a hitherto invisible inscription on the verso, as well as additional letters, words, and complete lines on the recto. We present here the new images and offer our new reading and reinterpretation of the ostracon.

The problem of finding a prototype for typewritten or handwritten characters belongs to a family of "shape prior" estimation problems. In epigraphic research, such priors are derived manually, and constitute the building blocks of "paleographic tables". Suggestions for automatic solutions to the estimation problem are rare in both the Computer Vision and the OCR/Handwriting Text Recognition communities. We review some of the existing approaches, and propose a new robust scheme, suitable for the challenges of degraded historical documents. This fast and easy to implement method is employed for ancient Hebrew inscriptions dated to the First Temple period.

During the 2010 excavation season, two inscriptions showing Hieratic signs written with black ink were found at Qubur el-Walaydah in the coastal plain of southern Israel. Although unearthed recently, new color photographs show that their legibility has deteriorated compared to those taken shortly after excavation. We imaged these inscriptions using multispectral (MS) techniques described by (Faigenbaum and Sober et al. 2012). Notwithstanding the fading of the ink, these MS images significantly improved the inscriptions legibility. In several cases, faded and unrecognizable letters are clearly seen. The new MS photographs, which were essential in deciphering the inscriptions, are presented.

We deal with the general issue of handling statistical data in archaeology for the purpose of deducing sound, justified conclusions. The employment of various quantitative and statistical methods in archaeological practice has existed from its beginning as a systematic discipline in the 19th century (Drower 1995). Since this early period, the focus of archaeological research has developed and shifted several times. The last phase in this process, especially common in recent decades, is the proliferation of collaboration with various branches of the exact and natural sciences. Many new avenues of inquiry have been inaugurated, and a wealth of information has become available to archaeologists. In our view, the plethora of newly obtained data requires a careful reexamination of existing statistical approaches and a restatement of the desired focus of some archaeological investigations. We are delighted to dedicate this article to Israel Finkelstein, our teacher, adviser, colleague, an...