Regional Survey

Since 2010 the Brown University Petra Archaeological Project (BUPAP) has been conducting a diachronic regional survey of the landscape north of Petra. In 2013 the authors conducted ethnographic interviews with members of the local communities surrounding Petra, the Bdul and Ammarin Bedouin tribes of Umm Sayhun and Bayda. These interviews aimed to understand contemporary engagements with, and attitudes towards, a landscape that has overwhelmingly been valued for its archaeological and heritage resources. This article combines regional survey and ethnographic methodologies in order to construct complex, multivocal narratives about archaeological remains. We also suggest locally appropriate modes of advocacy that archaeologists might productively pursue at Petra. In particular the results of our project highlight the importance of integrating the historically underrepresented voices of local groups into dialogues concerning conservation, water management and tourism, as well as diachronic interpretations of landscapes.

In this paper we explore the relationship between regional distributions of surface archaeological remains and long term andscape features in the semi-arid southern Wimmera region of Victoria. We conclude that both point and linear water sources concentrate settlement at particular points in the landscape (‘sites’). However, at a regional level, the nature and distribution of water resources also influences the character of the background scatter.

Resumen:
En este trabajo se realiza un recorrido geográfico de Este a Oeste en torno a la paleocosta del antiguo estuario bético, en el entorno del que se señalan las ciudades más importantes, los recursos del territorio y las actividades económicas relevantes durante los siglos II y I a. C. Para realizar este análisis hemos dividido el área de la desembocadura del Guadalquivir en tres áreas geográficas bien diferenciadas: 1) el área noroccidental, incluyendo la vega del Guadiamar, la comarca del Campo y el Aljarafe; 2) la vega del Guadalquivir entre Caura (Coria del Río) e Ilipa (Alcalá del Río); y 3) la ribera oriental del Lacus Ligustinus entre Orippo (Torre de los Herberos, Dos Hermanas) y Hasta Regia (Mesas de Asta, Jerez de la Frontera). En cada una de ellas se incorporan a la discusión los datos ofrecidos por la más reciente investigación arqueológica, tanto urbana como rural, así como los avances de la investigación numismática relacionada con las numerosas cecas, latinas o no, de la zona. Se procura en todo momento la contextualización histórica del registro arqueológico para dar cuenta de la transformación de un espacio geográfico ligado en gran parte al despegue de la minería de la plata y el cobre en la Franja Pirítica del Suroeste.

Abstract:
This work goes from East to West along the ancient coast of the Baetican estuary, around which the main towns, natural resources and the main economic activities between the 2nd and 1st centuries b. C. will be highlighted. In order to carry out this analysis, the mouth of the Guadalquivir river has been divided in three clearly distinct areas: 1) the northwest, including the plain around the River Guadiamar, and the areas known as «el Campo» and «el Aljarafe»; 2) the plain around the River Guadalquivir, between Caura (Coria del Río) and Ilipa (Alcalá del Río); and 3) the Eastern bank of the Lacus Ligustinus between Orippo (Torre de los Herberos, Dos Hermanas) and Hasta Regia (Mesas de Asta, Jerez de la Frontera). For each of them, the discussion will incorporate the data obtained in the latest archaeological research, both in cities and in the countryside, as well as the developments on numismatics related with the many mints, Latin or not, known in the area. At all times, the aim is to contextualise the archaeological record, in order to account for the development of a landscape to a great extent linked with the development of silver and copper mining in the Southwest.

To the north of the Ilgın Plain and on the southern slopes of the Gavurdağ-Karadağ massif lies Yalburt, a summer pasture settlement (a yayla) belonging to the village of Şuhut/ Çobankaya. As the story is told by the residents of Yalburt, immediately uphill from the yayla used to be a well known as Kocakuyu that had the sweetest and the coldest waters in the area. No matter how much you drew from it, its water was never lessened.

The Sinis Archaeological Project is a new regional survey in west-central Sardinia that explores the landscapes of the Sinis Peninsula and adjacent territories from multi-scalar, diachronic perspectives. This island was home to the Bronze Age Nuragic people who constructed monumental stone towers across the landscape, and later to foreign colonizers (Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans) who came to exploit rich resources there. Our survey explores the diverse social and environmental factors impacting resource extraction, settlement patterns, and colonial interactions in this varied and dynamic landscape in the 1st millennium BCE through the present. We are investigating four distinctive environmental zones: the large inland agricultural plains, the coastal region with its seasonal lakes and salt flats, the metal-rich Monte Ferru mountains, and the hill crests that separate the coast and inland plains.
In summer 2018, we held our inaugural season, focusing on the agricultural zone (Zone A). In this poster, we discuss our integration of traditional Mediterranean pedestrian survey suitable for agricultural landscapes with multi-scalar remote sensing.  Using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), we documented structures that were otherwise difficult to access or measure due to terrain and vegetation. This allowed us not only to document the location of these features within the landscape but also record multi-component sites whose interrelated, but dispersed features are critical to understanding their function and spatial connections. Additionally, the utilization of both true color and infrared sensors allowed us to explore spectral properties of the vegetation that may be indicative of buried subsurface features, which were then compared to the results of pedestrian survey. Integrating daily UAV operations was helpful for understanding microtopography and spatial distribution of features both within the intensive survey units and in the broader extensive survey zone.
In order to achieve a broader perspective on the landscape of Zone A, we employed high spatial and temporal resolution satellite remote sensing. This allowed us to evaluate differences in visibility resulting from variance in the agricultural cycle, prioritizing areas where intensive pedestrian survey would be most effective. Following the season, we compared vegetation indices derived from satellite imagery to self-reported visibility and finds counts of the walkers. Through this analysis, we evaluate the effectiveness of our survey strategies and reported results.
Ultimately the integration of these various methods provides a more comprehensive view of diverse landscapes and their histories in Sardinia. Further, this strategy can improve and enhance survey work in the Mediterranean more broadly.