Ditches

Ring ditches are a peculiar
phenomenon for the Thracian Bronze
Age. The earliest ones are known from
the beginning of the period but the high
tide of their distribution can be seen
at the end of the EBA II and especially
during EBA III (the so-called Sv. Kirilovo
phase). Referred to as sanctuaries, they
mostly constitute of a ditch enclosing
a circle area (temenos) and an entrance
towards the usually empty inner space.
Sometimes, a single building, a central
pit or group of pits are surrounded
by the enclosure. Such features are
widely spread throughout Central and
Western Europe in the Late Prehistory.
Named as Rondels, Kreisgrabenanlagen
or Ringgrabeanlagen and causewayed or
ditched enclosures, they bring in a similar,
if not the same, idea for certain ritual
activities. The following article does not
aim to present new field data that will fill
in the blanks about the Early and Middle
Bronze Age ditched enclosures. It rather
intents to draw a general outline and
review on the Rondels-problem as well as
to focuses on specific characteristics of
the sanctuaries. I will discuss the already
published information for this type of
sites and will give more detailed insight
into the different theoretical approaches
regarding their interpretational models.

In this chapter, the rich dataset on Iron Age settlements
from the Dutch coversand landscapes is reviewed in order
to better understand Iron Age habitation patterns in
general and the process of settlement nucleation in particular.
In order to facilitate understanding, brief attention
is first paid to specifics of Dutch Iron Age periodization
and landscape genesis. A discussion of the different
palaeogeographical regions and their Iron Age occupation
history in general terms serves as the backdrop for
a more in-depth analysis of the settlement patterns in the
sections that follow. A brief digression into the settlement
dynamics of the preceding Bronze Age (essentially
a combination of single-phased house-sites indicative of
‘wandering farmsteads’ and multiple-phased house-sites
that show regional patterns such as remarkably frequent
extending of farmhouses in the northern coversand areas)
moreover allows to study Iron Age settlement patterns
from a long-term perspective.
With the transition to the Iron Age, the basic model of
‘wandering farmsteads’ is still thought to be applicable,
but the relocation is now tied-in with the (re)use of fields
within a ‘Celtic field’ system. Moreover, according to traditional
views, settlement nucleation and differentiation
are visible from the Late Iron Age onwards. We however
argue that the supposed interrelation of Celtic field use
and Iron Age habitation is far from evident.
In the Early Iron Age, single-phased house-sites dominate,
but some long-term continuity of house-sites is suggested
by the rebuilding of their granaries.By the Middle
Iron Age, prolonging the use-life of previously occupied
house-sites by renewing or extending the house becomes
more frequent.
In addition to increased locational stability (houses are
more frequently rebuilt or extended), the Middle Iron Age
also shows an increase in the number of houses placed in
closer proximity. It is however evident that in the Middle
Iron Age, in coversand areas in the northern and southern
Netherlands, settlements comprising multiple-phased
house-sites and settlements consisting of single-phased
house-sites were (contemporaneously) current.
In the Late Iron Age houses appear more frequently to
be (repeatedly) rebuilt on their house-sites, reflecting
intended long-term farmstead usage. In addition, the
distribution of houses clearly indicates a nucleation of
house-sites that evolves into (fenced-off) Roman period
settlements. The evidence from the southern coversand
area shows that the aggregation of houses peaks during
the Late Iron Age, effectively demonstrating that this is
an internal development and not a phenomenon influenced
by direct Roman rule or proximity. Besides the increased
number of houses, also the first differentiation of
settlements (such as enclosed or ‘fortified’ settlements)
is traceable during the Late Iron Age and the first settlement
demarcations appear. Here again regional distinctions
are evident, with settlement( area)s demarcated
with ditches being more common in the southern coversand
area and ‘fortified’ settlements being more common
in the north.

The fortification of the archaeological complex near the village Sidorovo – the largest hillfort of Khazar time on this territory is analyzed in the paper. Fortification consists of two lines of ditches and ramparts, located at a distance of 120 m from each other. The East side of the slope of the hillfort is fortified with the escarpment. Investigations produced on the inner and outer lines of fortification, showed that they were originated at different times. The small settlement was fortified by an internal line (perimeter 1,2–1,3 km). There was a need for the construction of another line of fortification in the process of its growth (the perimeter of at least 2.5 km). The time of the construction of ditches and ramparts internal lines – not earlier than the middle of the IX century – has been defined by the artefacts, found in their filling. Remains of wooden structures in the filling of the ditches indicate that the settlement had wooden or wood-earthen walls. The author considers the materials on fortifications of close type, existed in this territory in the XVII century, which contain data on the size of the garrison necessary for the normal defense of these fortresses. Comparison allows the author to suggest that there had to be a considerable military contingent on the hillfort near the village of Sidorovo. Otherwise, the construction of the fortifications described above would be meaningless.

The article contains the description of the Crusader Castle of Enfeh (Nephin) as it was identified from the archaeological survey works. It is the most fortified castle of the County of Tripoli. All its towers were identified with several posterns places and Landing Stages. The Castle had three main components: a complexe fortified entrance,  the main courtyard of the castle and the seigniorial residence. The main  entrance of the castle knew two consecutive stages during the 12th and 13th centuries under the Franks. Each of these entrances was strengthened with the three ditches and five to six gates.

In the last decades, the discourse on the subject of Prehistoric ditched enclosures from the Iberian SW underwent various changes, ranging from its theoretical interpretation – residential spaces vs. temporary ceremonial spaces – to its terminology – settlement (povoado) vs. enclosure; indeed, both aspects are intrinsically related.
As far as Portugal is concerned, and though it may be argued that those changes resulted from the identification of new data in the archaeological record, that process never took place. What really happened was a huge increase in the number of identified sites, which was not duly followed by the publication of the corresponding monographs.
The scarce number of works focusing on the comprehensive analysis of the empirical data gathered at those locations has been showing that sites delimitated by ditches are residential and permanent settlements (e.g. Ponte da Azambuja 2), and that the only element that tells them apart from the so-called povoados is their architecture (namely the presence of delimitating ditches).
This paper aims at reflecting on the interpretive model that regards these sites as exclusively ceremonial places. The proposed reflection is based on a critical review of the specialized bibliography and on the available empirical data. Several issues are approached, including i) architecture, ii) material culture and iii) the subsistence strategies identified at the referred sites, in order to assess whether the presence of a ditch is enough reason to change the interpretation of such settlements as residential sites.

In 1997, under the coordination of Era-Arqueología, aerial photographs, surface prospections and archaeological excavations were carried out at the Neolithic-Calcolithic site at Perdigões (Reguengos de Monsaraz, Portugal). As a result, a quite accurate idea of the general layout of the site was achieved, allowing archaeologists to continue working there for more than ten years. In 2006, a new collaboration project was started to boost research at Perdigões, with the participation of several international public and private institutions, amongst which is the University of Málaga. The earliest contribution of the Spanish-Portuguese cooperation is the geophysical prospections performed in 2008 and 2009, which show Perdigões as a juxtaposition of several subcircular ditched enclosures, articulated with a funerary area and a cromlech.

Abstract The Terramare civilization (ca. 1650–1150 cal bce) on the Po plain in northern Italy is considered to have been an agrarian society typical of the European Bronze Age, with a subsistence economy based on arable and livestock farming, and which showed some innovations such as the introduction of millets as cultivars. Some questions are still open concerning the agricultural system, the food and non-food uses of plant resources and the organization of labour at these sites. In this paper, for the first time, phytolith analysis has been integrated with more standard archaeobotanical methods applied to material from the long-lasting settlement of Fondo Paviani, Verona. The aim of the study was to use phytoliths as a tool to investigate the cereal economy in order to detect different grass subfamilies and possibly provide hints about local crop processing activities. For this purpose, two contexts, a shallow ditch at the edge of the site that had been filled with domestic waste and a near-site fen with natural infilling, have been the objects of a multi-proxy inter-disciplinary investigation. This includes the analyses of phytoliths, pollen, NPP, sediment texture and micromorphology. The phytolith record shows remains of panicoid as well as pooid grasses, including chaff material with frequent traces of threshing that indicate the processing of cereals at the site and the possible use of chopped straw as fodder. The comparison of different kinds of evidence strengthens the interpretation and offers a new perspective on the application of phytolith analysis to Bronze Age northern Italy.

The settlement of ancient Lete was inhabited almost continuously, from the end of Early Neolithic period to the Late Antiquity. In this paper we attempt to reconstruct the settlement evolution during the Neolithic period.
Part of two ditches mark the habitation area of the flat and extended settlement during Liti I (Middle Neolithic period). The ditches were constructed in two different techniques, by chains of pits or in a continuous V-shaped profile. Their depositions included large quantities of pottery and other finds and among them a large group of feet belonging to clay tables, which were related to cooking activities. Two separate settlement areas were investigated; the first was situated to the NW of the modern Liti and the second in a distance of 850 m, near its center.
The two areas display differences in pottery groups that are related mostly to the decoration of pot surface, while the shapes and the typology are similar. Both groups are dated during the same period (Middle Neolithic) and the differences might be related either to the slight chronological variations, or possible alternative choices, related to the social identity and use of each era.
The Neolithic depositions of property no. 7 were interrupted by series of ditches related to viniculture. The ditches were situated in rows of two, oriented in NW-SE direction, in a distance of 1,90 m between them. They measure 2,20X0,35 m and are 0,40 m deep. This is a common system of viniculture in the Greek world. The ditches date after the 4th century BC. Vine was produced for local consumption, not for trade or exports.

The article deals with the problematic issues of tracing and dating the fortifications of the city of Bolgar in pre-Mongol times (from the end of the 9th to the beginning of the 13th centuries). On the basis of topographic referencing of the excavations, in which the filled ditches were discovered, all the data available on the placement of the defense lines of the early Bolgar are systematized. There is not enough data to exactly date them, therefore, the sequence of appearance of these lines is not obvious. The ditches indicate that there were ramparts next to them, the earth of which was used for the subsequent filling of ditches. Interesting tracks, on which, immediately after filling the earlier ditch, a new one was pulled out, with an indent to the outside. The task of new studies of the early fortifications of Bolgar will be to clarify the dates of their creation and spatial distribution.

The Terramare civilization (ca. 1650–1150 cal BCE) on the Po plain in northern Italy is considered to have been an agrarian society typical of the European Bronze Age, with a subsistence economy based on arable and livestock farming, and which showed some innovations such as the introduction of millets as cultivars. Some questions are still open concerning the agricultural system, the food and non-food uses of plant resources and the organization of labour at these sites. In this paper, for the first time, phytolith analysis has been integrated with more standard archaeobotanical methods applied to material from the long-lasting settlement of Fondo Paviani, Verona. The aim of the study was to use phytoliths as a tool to investigate the cereal economy in order to detect different grass subfamilies and possibly provide hints about local crop processing activities. For this purpose, two contexts, a shallow ditch at the edge of the site that had been filled with domestic waste and a nea...

The Terramare civilization (ca. 1650–1150 cal BCE) on the Po plain in northern Italy is considered to have been an agrarian society typical of the European Bronze Age, with a subsistence economy based on arable and livestock farming, and which showed some innovations such as the introduction of millets as cultivars. Some questions are still open concerning the agricultural system, the food and non-food uses of plant resources and the organization of labour at these sites. In this paper, for the first time, phytolith analysis has been integrated with more standard archaeobotanical methods applied to material from the long-lasting settlement of Fondo Paviani, Verona. The aim of the study was to use phytoliths as a tool to investigate the cereal economy in order to detect different grass subfamilies and possibly provide hints about local crop processing activities. For this purpose, two contexts, a shallow ditch at the edge of the site that had been filled with domestic waste and a near-site fen with natural infilling, have been the objects of a multi-proxy inter-disciplinary investigation. This includes the analyses of phytoliths, pollen, NPP, sediment texture and micromor-phology. The phytolith record shows remains of panicoid as well as pooid grasses, including chaff material with frequent traces of threshing that indicate the processing of cereals at the site and the possible use of chopped straw as fodder. The comparison of different kinds of evidence strengthens the interpretation and offers a new perspective on the application of phytolith analysis to Bronze Age northern Italy.

Waterbirds can move into and exploit new areas of suitable habitat outside of their native range. One such example is the little egret (Egretta garzetta), a piscivorous bird which has colonised southern Britain within the last 30 years. Yet, habitat use by little egrets within Britain, and how such patterns of habitat exploitation compare with native piscivores, remains unknown. We examine overlap in habitat preferences within a river catchment between the little egret and two native species, the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) and great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo). All species showed strong preferences for river habitat in all seasons, with other habitat types used as auxiliary feeding areas. Seasonal use of multiple habitat types is consistent with egret habitat use within its native range. We found strong egret preference for aquatic habitats, in particular freshwaters, compared with pasture and arable agricultural habitat. Egrets showed greater shared habitat preferences with herons, the native species to which egrets are most morphologically and functionally similar. This is the first study to quantify little egret habitat preferences outside of its native range.